LED screens out of stock and ThinkPad T400 shipping delay

[strungalong]

I ordered a Thinkpad T400 on February 14 but I am still waiting for it (it's now March 16). The delay is because of a delay in the screen type I had selected in the customization (the WXGA+ with LED backlight). I learned on the Lenovo forum shipping thread that this type of screen may be discontinued. (More information here: http://forums.lenovo.com/lnv/board?boar ... _ThinkPads ---> see "New and Improved T-series shipping thread", post from 03.03.09)

My original estimated ship date was February 26, but a day or two before the 26th, it suddenly changed to the 27th - of MARCH. So I called Lenovo on Feb. 27 and the sales rep told me the update from the supply team was a ship date in the week of March 16, but “it could be much earlier.” After requesting to talk to a supervisor, I was transferred to a shift supervisor who said they would add my name to the “Critical List.”

When I followed up about my order on March 2, I was informed that the new ship date was now March 12. This didn’t sound so bad, so I decided to stick to my decision to wait it out rather than go with the next best alternative – a ThinkPad notebook with a fairly similar configuration from Best Buy for Business, that was in stock and ready to ship. Price was within $50-100 of the custom built one.)

Today (March 16) I followed up again since I had not received any notification of shipment on the 12th or 13th and my card had not been charged. This time the shift supervisor with whom I had been emailing back and forth told me that, based on the update from the supply team, the ship date would be March 23.

I am very frustrated about this situation as I have now been waiting over a month for the notebook, and it could be 6 weeks or more before it ships. That is an eon to wait for a laptop. Had I known about the indefinite nature of the delay (or discovered the Lenovo forum’s shipping thread!!) when I called at the end of February, I would have canceled my order and moved on. Instead I naively decided to wait for the March 12 ship date that never materialized.

It shows terrible customer service on Lenovo’s part that I was told different things at different times, if not a lack of regard for the customer altogether. If they really can’t do anything about getting the screens sooner they could have at least been forthright from the offset and said “we don’t know when it will ship, if you want a computer in less than 4-6 weeks your best bet might be to cancel your order and buy elsewhere.” Right…

If anyone has any feedback or advice, I would be grateful. At this point I have the following concerns:

- How do I go about talking to someone who can give me a straight answer about the ship date?
- Is it possible the date could be delayed further than even March 27?
- Should I cut my losses now and reorder a pre-configured laptop elsewhere?
- The new customization options don’t even include the WXGA+ with LED backlight any more. Instead, there is the “WXGA TFT High Nit with LED Backlight”, which I believe has a resolution of 1280x800 and not 1440 x 900. Is it possible that even after waiting all this time I may not get the original screen I had ordered? That would be hilarious. It’s quite possible, based on a post on the lenovo forum shipping thread by kawika I just read dating from 03.03.09 that said the WXGA+ with LED Backlights were discontinued.
- What would you do in this situation?

Thank you for your comments.

[ricerocket]

Lenovo doesn't make LCDs. They're at the mercy of the market as much as any other laptop manufacturer; it's not like they outwardly tried to screw you. If a supplier delays/cancels a shipment, there's really nothing they can do except start their own LCD factory...

If you find one preconfigured, jump on it.

[archer6]

I ordered a Thinkpad T400 on February 14 but I am still waiting for it (it's now March 16). The delay is because of a delay in the screen type I had selected in the customization (the WXGA+ with LED backlight). I learned on the Lenovo forum shipping thread that this type of screen may be discontinued.

Sadly I've had the exact same experience as you, and far too many others have had. It seems nearly impossible to obtain the information one requires, when in this position, to make an appropriate decision. I would certainly be the first to offer a suitable suggestion if there was one, however to the best of my knowledge there isn't one. I've learned the hard way that if the model I'm interested in says "ships in 4 weeks or more" that choosing to order then, equates to a serious gamble. Conversely if the estimated shipping time is under 10 days, one chances are greatly improved if not assured. In the rare event the estimated time is under five days then delivery of what you've ordered is rather likely. Just once did I find a model I wanted where the shipping time was 2 days and that one was assured. The new approach I have taken over the last year, which is very laborious, yet it works, is to watch the site daily whenever I am thinking of purchasing. Short of that the obvious answer is to buy from a vendor who can deliver the ThinkPad you want.

[strungalong]

To ricerocket: no, it's not like they set out to screw me, but they WERE screwing around changing the expected ship date at different times, rather than simply saying "it will be March 27 or whenever the screen comes in." Plus their customer service is awful any way you slice it. The lenovo forum has 70 pages worth of posts on the shipping thread, and I'm not the only one experiencing problems.

To moderator: you make some good points. When I'd first ordered there was the standard 10-business day time trame for the laptop to be ready. If at that time there was something about 4 weeks, I would never have ordered.

[ian12345]

what do you guys think of buying from an ebay seller? It has the led balcklit LCD.

http://cgi.ebay.com/LENOVO-THINKPAD-T40 ... 240%3A1308

In case link doesn't work it is item #150333057846

[BillMorrow]

pricing aside, that seller sure sounds good..
the only thing that would give me pause is the no local pickup statement..

if anyone wants to buy from this ebay seller then they should do their homework and check this seller out..
he has a business partner logo on his ebay page..
that should be an easy thing to check..

wait..!
one other thing is he says he ships world wide..
when i was selling new thinkpads selling a US thinkpad abroad was a nono..
for what its worth..

one last observation:
have you checked the deals on thinkpads.com..?
and the coupons offered by ecoupons..
check the forum banner as these deals come and go quickly..
like the new X61 tablet for $650 (more or less)..

[Harryc]

That EBay seller looks OK, but he also has delayed shipment; " PLEASE NOTE THERE IS A 2 WEEK BACKORDER ON THESE UNITS. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU READ THIS NOTE AS WE WILL COPY AND PASTE IT TO YOU AFTER AN ORDER IS PLACED AS A REMINDER."

Don't forget livesearch cashback if you shop on EBay, currently at 10%.

[ian12345]

That EBay seller looks OK, but he also has delayed shipment; " PLEASE NOTE THERE IS A 2 WEEK BACKORDER ON THESE UNITS. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU READ THIS NOTE AS WE WILL COPY AND PASTE IT TO YOU AFTER AN ORDER IS PLACED AS A REMINDER."

Don't forget livesearch cashback if you shop on EBay, currently at 10%.

How do you use Cashback on ebay. I have a cashback account but don't see ebay as a specific store.

[Harryc]

You have to search for and find the item on EBay thru Livesearch.

[ian12345]

You have to search for and find the item on EBay thru Livesearch.

Yea I tried that. It must not be available through livesearch.

[closersource]

In defense of the seller, Paypal is really not friendly for local pickups.
There are a lot of people on EBAY and the seller has no idea if you come from this reputable forum or not.

In other words the seller would immediately lose any case for a pickup, because he does not have traceable proof of delivery.
He has no way of fighting an Item Not Received claim even if he videotaped the transaction! It's hard to believe, but unfortunately it's all too true.

On the other hand he really should not have that delay notice all the way on the bottom of the page, but hey it's not my business.

I guess you just have to balance the cost/benefit out. With EBAY there are usually no taxes and you have a good level of protection through your CC company. Since you are dealing with a live person you also will usually get faster responses and have a lot more flexibility... to complain.

[strungalong]

One question about ordering from eBay: how do you know those computers aren't from an older batch, before they corrected the keyboard flex issue that reviews from fall 2008 mentioned?

[closersource]

Well you would probably have to ask the guy when the machine was manufactured. There's a date on the outside of the box. Since he is saying delayed shipment he probably has a new batch coming in. You should ask, and if he can't find that label then you know something is wrong.

[ian12345]

I ordered from him today. I will let you know how it turns out. The free shipping and no tax is sweet.

[Harryc]

I don't know, I don't think I am that much smarter than the average guy. It took me 2 to 4 minutes on live search to find that auction. If you didn't wait, you just gave away $134.90.