Apple begins shipping build-to-order MacBook Pro orders, cites March 3rd delivery date

Apple’s first build-to-order units for its 2011 MacBook Pro notebooks began shipping, the company promising delivery by next Thursday.

Per AppleInsider, Apple began dispatching these shipments from its Far Eastern manufacturing facilities to Fed-Ex’s Shanghai, China-based shipping hub where they’ll be mailed via air fright this weekend to the courier’s stateside hubs for delivery to customers early next week.

Apple is currently promising delivery by Thursday the 3rd through its own order status system, while FedEx is a bit more ambitious, promising delivery by 10:30 am local time on Wednesday the 2nd for this particular order.

It should be noted that the custom configured MacBook Pro shown in the order below was shipped via Apple’s US$18 2-3 day shipping method, as opposed to its standard free shipping method. This particular notebook was upgraded with a 256GB SSD drive and 8GB of memory.

Meanwhile, several of Apple’s larger authorized resellers are already reflecting stock of the company’s five standard retail configurations for the MacBook Pro. And a handful are offering considerable early discounts of up to US$150 on the new models.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.