Update 7 (or something like that)
Ordered Wed Sept 14. 7 Plus, 128 Matte, ATT. Paid full price for phone. Ordered from Apple website. Order showed Oct 7-13 as delivery.
Card charged Sunday Sept 18. Status changed from processing to preparing for shipment Monday Sept 19.
Remained preparing for shipment all last week, except on Thursday the 22nd briefly went back to processing. Card showed hold all last week as well.
Saturday the 24th, phone status changed to shipped. It showed arrival scan (UPS tracking) to some location in China...along with a delivery date of the 27th.
However....phone has not moved from the location in China at all. Same place, same location scan as Saturday morning.
Funny how Apple can get some orders from one side of the globe to another in 24 hours. Others can get held up for whatever logistical reason that either UPS or Apple decide.
For the record; I'm not in a hurry; I'll get my phone earlier than Apple had originally stated. Just curious why it went to a black hole of a warehouse on the 24th, where it remains as of this writing, instead of being shipped along.