We changed all of our backordered products yesterday to more accurately reflect current conditions and uncertainties.
Previously we provided a ship date, like "Backordered, ships May 5," which caused many people to camp out and wait until, like, May 4, then place an order and expect it to ship on May 5. The problem is, even if that date held, we'd be clearing deep backorders and unable to ship their order. So they'd be irritated, having expected their order to ship almost immediately.
So, now we have changed a delay range, like, "Rolling backorder, ships in est. 4-6 weeks." This more accurately reflects the wait for a product to ship when you order that day. It doesn't set expectations for a single magical date. It allows for surprises in the extremely difficult environment we're operating in--seriously, one part out of hundreds can hold up a product indefinitely. Analog Devices DACs are now 26-45 week lead times. Many tiny, seemingly insignificant parts, like capacitors, are out of stock or delayed (or different, and have to be requalified. The lead time for steel and aluminum has drawn out--hell, the cost of sheet steel is up 2X from November and 4X from a couple of years ago (!)
Bottom line, the pedal is on the floor. Everyone at Schiit knows they are empowered to expand, hire, accelerate, but we can only produce so many products of high quality and reliability. We don't want these backorders. Nobody does. And we're working to fix them. I hope the "estimated X-Y weeks" on many products is a pessimistic estimate.
So: best to order and wait, if you really want something in backorder. Or move on. Our estimates are exactly that--estimates. As in, guesses. And to be clear, we don't charge your order until it ships.
