I ordered this on 12/14/2004 07:42:29 PDT and paid for priority 2-3 day shipping. I did not receive the package until:
Your item was delivered at 4:09 pm on December 20, 2004 in MORRISVILLE, NC 27560.
I realized immediately after ordering that I had accidentally ordered the wrong part (alcu instead of cu on the zalman 7700), so I began emailing and calling to have the order changed. I could not reach anyone until almost noon the FOLLOWING day (a full 28 hours AFTER I had placed the order) to discover the package had not shipped, double edged sword here. I wanted to change the product but I was SHOCKED to find out it was not shipped by noon the following day.
The package did not ship until the third day. I paid for an upgraded shipping options (choosing priority over ups ground because I was on the east coast). I was not pleased with the difficulty in communication or the slow shipping, however once I finally did reach someone they were able to change the part number and let me pay the difference in a seperate paypal transaction.
The shipping wasn't impressive. The retail zalman package (which is designed for POS hanging, an extruded clear plastic container) was placed in a USPS priority box with peanuts, however on the top and the bottom of the package, there was zero protection. Basically it was copper thin fin heatsink, extruded plastic package, usps cardboard (no peanuts, no bubble wrap, nothing on the top or bottom of the package). Luckily, my package did not appear to have taken a hit.. but wow, what a chance to take.
Overall, I have to say I'm not overly enthused with the experience. I will not be ordering from sharka corp (or their new face, sharka computers) again. Slow delivery, difficult communication, and very poor packaging are enough to send me in search of another provider.