Dick, I don't think anyone here believes you're not entitled to value for money.
However, I've yet to see a single mass-produced product qualify as faultless. If you look hard enough, you'll find a fault with almost every object generated by human hands.
Are your expectations too high? Well, that's a value judgment. Is the hassle you've endured worthwhile? Probably not.
Perhaps you should ask for a refund and just sit back and wait. Expecting anything to be perfect - especially at the micro-intensive level of scrutiny applied by many on these forums - is probably futile.
Honestly, I think you just said it best! There will always be something wrong, some imperfection. Is it worth the hassle of going through yet another exchange? No, it's really not. I think I have decided that I will keep this machine. Plus, I just installed the latest OS updates, restarted the device, and no more BLUE TINT! Apparently, the screen was locked on one of the inferior color profiles and I couldn't change it without restarting first.
Actually kind of happy now. The screen looks beautiful, acceptable to me anyway, and that minor blemish can easily be hidden with the free hard-case Apple sent me for all the trouble.
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I can understand your frustration. Waiting on my third BTO replacement as we speak. First one would not boot up. Second one was lost by FedEx for a week. When it finally arrived, the box looked like it was dragged behind the truck. Unpacked it and two massive scratches across the the top of the unit. Back it went and waited to receive my third Air. Low and behold, the audio jack would not play in stereo. Troubleshot the issue with Apple Care with no success. Back it went. Now I am patiently waiting for my FOURTH Air. This is ridiculous. I have been a Mac user for over twenty years and never had to return any of their products! The only concession they have given me is a "coupon" for $15 dollars off a purchase of $100. This is my last time going through the replacement process. If this fourth unit has any issues, I am giving up. This whole process started on the 5 of November. So I have been dealing with waiting for replacements and sending them back for over a month now.
Damn man, I can definitely feel your pain. This is why I hate ordering custom. Everything takes so much longer having to ship back and forth. I really wish Apple would carry more popular custom configurations in their stores, that way one could inspect the laptop over and very easily swap out for a replacement if there was something wrong. Anyway good luck and I hope it works out for you very soon!