I am starting to experience this.

I ordered the Inspiron  543 MT on Sept 14

Told twice last weeks its shipping in 5 days. ETA was for today.

Called today. Rep said new eta is OCT 22!

I was not notified by phone or email. NOTHING> not even the website is updated. My current pc is dying and i need it for my home business. I can not wait a month for the pc.

I am so angry right now .

This does not sound too unusual, at least for the XPS Studio 435 systems, where build delays have been "legendary" since early in 2009.  The problem actually seems to have improved some over the year (based on my reading a thread with 85+ pages), but based on posts I'm seeing here, it sounds like in recent weeks Dell is again having a hard time meeting estimated delivery dates.

It could be worse...

...I'm a bass-player, and the most popular custom site to order from (Carvin) has delays of up to a year!  Still, I'm currently sharing your frustration re: the wait.

If your computer hasn't shipped, you can probably cancel at any time.  I looked pretty hard at Tom's Hardware re: building my own (and at HP, among others), but opted to wait-it-out.  Unlike you, though, my PC is fine, and separate from my "work PCs".

I think i am more angry that i was not even notified. Their site states, if there is a delay i will be notified. I wasn't, not by email or phone.

Their website still says. ETA Sept 28

I'm still impatiently waiting on my system too, but the updates on Dell's web-site have been much more timely for me.  I'm in the US, but notice that folks in different countries have diffent experiences.  In the US, there are 3 methods to check, all of which I use:

1. The link originally provided in the confirmation email - this is the most detailed.
2. Going to "check order status", and manually typing-in the order/customer number.  The most up-to-date information appears as a single row in the resulting table.  Selecting an order (in the table) takes you back to #1 above.
3. Calling 800-999-3355, and selecting the first option (check order status).

I found that options 2 & 3 were more timely (by 1-2 days).  Option 1 can be much slower to update.

I think i am more angry that i was not even notified. Their site states, if there is a delay i will be notified. I wasn't, not by email or phone.       Their website still says. ETA Sept 28

Well I called Dell, and am waiting for a manager of customer care to call me back with more info. See what happens...

Hello Community,

I am experiencing the same thing, but with a different mode the Inspiron 546mt. 

The Good: Knowing that I'm not the only one, Getting a good deal on a Great system. They are notifying me at least, unfortunately not in blrussel's case

The Bad: cannot track down a specific reason why all agents and reps wont say anything, no compensation of any kind, a rebate,discount, upgrade on parts/shipping

The thing that strikes me as odd is having to reply to their email by Phone or email within 24 hours or your computer will be cancelled due to FTC requirements considering that it was a great deal, it appears to good to be true or they just want you to not respond and lose your system and purchase the same one at a higher price

Sorry to hear that. How many times has yours been delayed? After about the 2nd or 3rd time, they upgraded me to 2nd day shipping. But I guess it helps them to have more days to work on it...

I'm having the same problem here.. Ordered an Alienware Aurora desktop about a month ago and it was suppost to arrive 2 days from now.. Well I just received an e-mail today stating that it would take them another whole month to deliver.. I mean what the? If it's going to take a whole month longer to put the order together would't they know it WAY sooner than 3 days before the estimated arrival date? Especially since it's shipped from Poland or China (Dell Europe).

It's OK if it's going to take them a bit longer to deliver, but I want to know sooner. Now I've already asked for a day off from work so I can be there to accept my order so I just wasted it. And seeing the other posts I shouldn't be suprised if it's going to be delayed even more... *sigh*

Ah well I hope this is the only delay i'll get or i'll seriously consider cancelling my order and demanding my money back.

Orderd my Aurora Desktop a few weeks ago, ship date is a month and a half away! This is my 4th time ordering from Dell, and by far this is the longest I've ever had to wait for an order to be shipped, guess they were not ready for the mad rush on orders :)

Yeah really frustrating... Maybe they're fresh out of crashed flying saucers to salvage alien tech from. I contacted my rep today tho and he said he was going to figure out what the cause of the delay was and send me a mail back about it. He was also going to try and see if he could get my Aurora shipped with Win7, since it wasn't released at the time I ordered (bout a month ago). When I have to wait another full month I at least expect the new OS already on the machine. I'm glad he sounded like he was actually going to make an effort and I hope I can give you guys an update when I receive his mail.

I'm seeing the same delays. I'm curious as to what is causing the delays, not enough manpower? Parts? Alien abductions at the production facility? Windows 7 throw a monkey wrench into the works?

Whatever the delays are its getting rather stressful finding out 3 days before scheduled delivery that your order has been delayed... twice now...

The representative I spoke with said that the M17x system is "very popular" and due to the high demand there has been a backlog of orders.

Going through DELL's automated order status system I was able to find out that my order is in the build stage. So with luck and perhaps a few happy thoughts the M17x I ordered on the 23rd of September should ship before October 30th.

The Orion messenger bag I had ordered alongside the M17x arrived on the 14th, and is quite nice with plenty of storage for stuff.

Checked my desktop order status today, still listed as "In Production" with a November 18th delivery date. So far, that date hasn't changed, hoping that it doesn't I really want it :)

I ordered a desktop computer for $1,500 on Sept 30. I get an email stating that it will be delivered on Oct 27. I just checked my email today and it stated it has been pushed forward to Nov 3. I canceled a trip and took vacation time for Oct 27 (to be at my home when it was delivered), so I lost both the trip and vacation time. When I called Dell, I was disconected 4 times and transferred 6 times, with a hold time of over 1.5 hours. Funny thing is I was not complaining about the push forward date, I was just asking for a little compensation for the delay by changing the shipping format from the 3 to 5 days to a over night delivery. I explained that I am the Manager of Security and Guest Service for a mall, and when the mall screwed up on something, we take care of our guest by compensating them the best we can; after all they are our guest and we like their continue business with us. Let’s keep in mind; the customer has the right to shop at another place.

So, this is where I stand at this time, if Dell’s attitude towards their customer is this non-caring, then I will be taking my business to Best Buy (on a side note, I don’t have to wait for over a month for my computer, I can walk home with it that day). I have been told I can cancel my order all the way to the shipping date, and seeing the date has been pushed forward, that gives me more time to make my decision. Remember, as a customer, have the right to choose who will be getting my $1,500.

wow what a nightmare for some people. i've been ordering machines from Dell for years and it really seems in the past few years, things have gone down hill :(