Will Apple Store site charge me for order immediately or wait until ready to ship?

[illitrate23]

Hi everyone,
I'm just about ready to place an order on the apple store website for a new iMac to replace my current Core Duo one.
The site says there is a 2 week wait until shipping.
Do you know if they'll charge me right away or will they wait until the unit is ready to ship and then try to extract the money from me credit card?

The reason for asking is that it is two weeks until payday - if they charge me after i get paid, buying things like food will be a little easier
but if they're going to charge immediately and then begin to process the order once the money clears, then if i'm sensible i should wait until after payday to place the order. but that means waiting a whole 4 weeks for it to arrive and i'm too impatient

 

[thegoldenmackid]

They will charge you immediately.

Are you doing BTO? If not, then why not just wait two weeks and hope that the wait disappears?

 

[rdowns]

They will authorize your card for some lesser amount at the time of sale. They will not bill your credit card until they ship. Be smart and wait until the money is in your account.

 

[techound1]

Be smart and wait until the money is in your account.

But, but, but.... that's not the American way...

EDIT: oops - I see the OP is in the UK. I retract my criticism.

 

[thegoldenmackid]

They will authorize your card for some lesser amount at the time of sale. They will not bill your credit card until they ship. Be smart and wait until the money is in your account.

They billed my BTO order the same day of order, it shipped two weeks later. Perhaps it was the developer store?

 

[illitrate23]

Thanks very much for everyone's answers!

Yeah it is BTO which is why i thought they might wait until the build was complete and ready to ship.
It'd make sense that they'd charge a percentage right away and then charge the balance once they've got it ready.

Be smart and wait until the money is in your account.

lol - that's not the British way either!!
Actually, having checked more closely and by removing the extra items in my order (software, applecare, etc) and ordering them after payday, there should be no problem - the only issue is when to move the money out of my savings account where it is working for me by offsetting against mortgage.

I think I'll compromise and wait a week

 

[Habitus]

Hi everyone,
I'm just about ready to place an order on the apple store website for a new iMac to replace my current Core Duo one.
The site says there is a 2 week wait until shipping.
Do you know if they'll charge me right away or will they wait until the unit is ready to ship and then try to extract the money from me credit card?

The reason for asking is that it is two weeks until payday - if they charge me after i get paid, buying things like food will be a little easier
but if they're going to charge immediately and then begin to process the order once the money clears, then if i'm sensible i should wait until after payday to place the order. but that means waiting a whole 4 weeks for it to arrive and i'm too impatient

The Apple online store charges your credit/debit card when your order ships.

Habitus

 

[JessicaMarshall]

Hi everyone,
I'm just about ready to place an order on the apple store website for a new iMac to replace my current Core Duo one.
The site says there is a 2 week wait until shipping.
Do you know if they'll charge me right away or will they wait until the unit is ready to ship and then try to extract the money from me credit card?

The reason for asking is that it is two weeks until payday - if they charge me after i get paid, buying things like food will be a little easier
but if they're going to charge immediately and then begin to process the order once the money clears, then if i'm sensible i should wait until after payday to place the order. but that means waiting a whole 4 weeks for it to arrive and i'm too impatient

I understand that but here is Apple's policy to help you make the best decision...

When Apple charges your account

When you place an order, Apple will contact your credit or debit card's issuing bank to confirm it is a valid account. Apple requests an authorization, which holds the funds for the full or partial purchase amount. As Apple prepares your items, authorized funds will be unavailable and may display as "pending" on your credit or debit card's online statement.

If you are shipping an item, your card will only be charged after the item has shipped. For pickup items, you will be billed before your item is ready for pick up. If your order contains multiple items, you may see multiple charges on your credit or debit card statement.

If you cancel your order before your items are billed, any authorizations placed on your credit card account can take up to 30 days to expire and any authorizations placed on your debit card account can take up to 10 days to expire. Contact your financial institution for their specific timeframes.