Clint wrote:
Regardless of whether they'll sell them or not by Friday/January, I'm
surprised something couldn't be worked out to throw one in a box and ship it
out to a customer. That seems pretty reasonable to me, especially for a
company that prides itself on it's customer service. I realize they're busy
this time of year (I used to work in retail computer store in a mall), but
it wouldn't take long to fulfill the customer's request.

I agree with you in principle, but it really isn't all that simple. The
OP appears to be american (from his email addy). Now for a retail store
to ship to him, they will:
- need to locate a suitable box
- locate suitable packing materials
- figure out if they are allowed to do this without a card. I know for
express orders from the store (where you call in/fax an order prepaid
with a CC) they still require to see the card at pick-up
- Figure out how to charge for shipping, and most importantly how to put
that in the computer
- Figure out the tax issue. THey won't be charging taxes; however, I
doubt the retail computers will easily not charge tax without a tax
examption number
- Arrange with a shipper and fill out the duties information. Who in the
store is authorized, how to fill it out, etc will all be issues.
- Finally get it out the door.

Shipping things, especially cross border in a commercial environment, is
non-trivial.

PK