1, Shipping companies apple use to ship their products
Apple mainly uses UPS and FedEx. If the apple products you buy are in a US warehouse or US distribution center, then Apply will ship them to you through FedEx. If the product you want is still in china then it is UPS. So far I have not received any of my apple products from USPS.
if you order apple products that are custom-built or engraved, that means they come from china then this will ship to you via UPS.
if you are in countries other than US, thus the shipper couriers will be different. Such as DPD, UPS are used in UK, Blude Dart in India, or DHL Express in Netherland.
2, Shipping options you can choose from apple.com
Different countries have different options. Below is the list of shipping options available in US
- Free next day shipping
- Free two-day shipping
- Guaranteed shipping service
- Scheduled courier delivery
- Overnight shipping
- Free Standard Delivery 1~3 days
3, Shipping cost of Apple products
Shipping is free on all orders with standard delivery
There is shipping cost if you choose overnight shipping, Guaranteed shipping service etc. Applicable shipping fees also apply to apple print products
Apple US does not offer international shipping. if you purchase in the US and want to ship to other countries, you may need to choose an international carrier yourself, but you will need to pay import taxes and duties that might add to the overall cost. I do not recommend shipping apple products internationally. Apple has online stores, physical stores all around the world, why not purchase in your country to reduce risk and shipping costs.
4, Where do apple products ship from?
Apple products ship from several distribution facilities around the US, if you purchase in the US. For international orders, apple ships their products from various distribution centers in those countries.
Apple.com and apple physical stores are different. if you purchase a product from apple.com, Apple will ship your product from one of their distribution center in the US. Apple will not ship one from a store next to you. The physical store’s inventory is only for customers who purchase products on site.
if your product are custom built or engraved, then your product will ship from china directly becuase most apple products assembled in china
5, Is apple’s delivery date accurate?
Apple is very conservative when estimating shipping time. The majority of customers will receive their product earlier than the estimated delivery date.
We can not blame apple’s inaccurate shipping window. Once the cargo is on the road, many things can happen. It is out of apple’s control. The accident could happen, the weather may become severe, too many things are not controlled by human beings. That’s why apple only gives an ESTIMATED shipping time frame.
Apple has more precise delivery window if the product you want is generic and apple has stock. Apple tends to give a wide span of time frame, if the product you want is very special and has many custom build features.M
6. Shipping status of apple
Many people confused on shipping status that apple provided. below are detail explanations of each phase of shipping.
Order Acknowledgement
Once you click to purchase online, you will receive this order acknowledgment. Apple will give you an estimated ship and delivery time window on this acknowledgment email. You will receive this order achnowlegement immediately after purchase.
Order Processing
The order processing time is the time that Apple needs to find out where and how to get this item for you. During this order processing time, Apple will figure out whether the item you purchased is in stock or not. Which distribution center has this product, if it is in stock. Most newly-released or very popular products are not in stock, thus apple must send their order request to the china assembly factory. Order processing might take 1~2 days.
Preparing to ship
Once Apple figures out where is the product, they will send shipping instructions to either the distribution center or china. A distribution center or china factory will start work on your product. if your product is in stock in the distribution center, it probably only takes a few hours to prepare to ship. They just pick up the item and record them in their system, then pack and ready to ship.
If your item is custom made and has many custom-built features then preparing to ship might take a couple of weeks. Factory need time to work on your special product
Once your order complete production, packing hence, preparing to ship phase is complete and ready to ship
Shipped
Your product has shipped, this also means that your can track your order on courier’s website
Delivered
Your product delivered to you
7, Carrier delivery options
The standard delivery time will be 9 am to 9 pm for the residential address. 9 am-6 pm for business address
Apply also let you choose 3 pre-selected delivery time to fit your needs. below are the 3 delivery time frame:
- 9:00am – 12:00pm
- 12:00pm – 5:00pm
- 5:00pm – 9:00pm
you can have your order delivered to alternative address other than your home. Once your order has prepared for shipment or has shipped, You can not change your shipping address
Most apple carriers need your signature when deliver your prodct. If you are unavailable to provide a signature, you have 3 alternative ways to receive your order
- Pre-sign online, complete and print the shipment release authorization form. leave the form on your front door for the carrier
- Sign to release your shipment to your neighbors or rental office
- Pickup package at carrier’s local facility
Apple carrier will leave you a delivery notice after the first delivery attempt. There is a phone number on the delivery notice for you to contact. if you do not want to spend half a day waiting around for your package, you can call the phone number on the delivery notice and inform the carrier that you are going to pick up your package in their local office.
Remember to bring the delivery notice and your government ID with you when picking up your package. The carrier will not release the package unless you can identify yourself as the person on the shipping address.
Resources
https://www.apple.com/sg_smb_5200/shop/help/shipping_delivery
