Your order is in the shipping queue.

  
From the terms of sale:
"We start shipping within 2-3 days of a new catalog opening, but we process many orders, so allow two to three weeks for delivery."
If you are a regular AGM customer, you are likely quite used to the idea that you may order on opening day of a new catalog, pay your bill that same day, and your box arrives 2-3 weeks later.  However, we occasionally have new customers who are confused / concerned / upset by this.  Fortunately most are reasonable folks, and once they understand the system, their concerns are relieved.  Toward that end, here's the deal:
 
Though we begin shipping quickly, it will take every bit of two weeks to pick, wrap, and ship the orders that arrive on Day 1 of a new catalog opening.
 
The math is pretty simple.  On Day 1 we typically receive 250-300 orders.  2 or 3 days later the order volume has slowed down enough for one person to handle, and everyone else switches to shipping mode.  When they start, though, there will literally be hundreds of orders to process.  Doing 20-30 orders per day, it takes approximately 10 days (2 full work weeks) to get caught up.
 
Something else you should know about our shipping - we take it VERY seriously.  I am always amazed by the unbelievably crappy job that other individuals and businesses do in this regard.  Anna and Laura really put in a lot of extra effort to make sure that your order arrives safely.  We do not skimp on supplies, nor do we use worn-out 'recycled' boxes or wrapping material.  A lot of the material that we send is both expensive and fragile; it is properly wrapped and protected.  We view the wrapping job as a key element in customer service.  A good package not only makes us look good in the customer's eyes, but it prevents loss or damage of vaulable artifacts.  
 
That's a thoroughly sufficient explanation for most folks.  For some, though, it just raises more questions which I will try to answer below, both for those who really want more answers, and those who are just here for giggles.
 

----------------------- Shipping FAQ's -----------------------

 
Ridiculous!  All  I ordered was an insignia.  It should take all of 5 minutes to ship, even for you morons.  What's the hold-up? 
Well, the hold-up is the hundred or so people in line ahead of you.  Have you ever gone to the post office to buy a stamp and been stuck waiting in line for 20 minutes behind someone who is trying to mail a baby goat to Afghanistan?  Yes?  Well, if it helps, just envision that scenario.  (It is likely rather accurate.)
I never have to wait this long when I order from other militaria dealers. 
Many good things have a small negative side-effect, and that is the case here.  One of the key elements in our business is the opening day rush.  It builds anticipation, encourages sales, and allows us to work in batches, rather than item-by-item.   However, it also means that a very small business gets a very large batch of orders all at once.  Most dealers with a website typically have updates that feature a few dozen new items at the most.  If you order from them, then yes - they should certainly have no problem getting an order shipped out the very next day.  Even if every single thing on their update sold, that would only be a day or two of shipping.  In our case, we are looking at 250-300 orders, typically involving 500+ items. 

Saying "you are not our only customer" sounds like we don't value you, which is absolutely not the case.  We value all of our customers!  However, after a new catalog opens, we have a lot of them to value.. not exactly a fair comparison to other dealers who may have sold 12 whole items to 6 different people.  They can love you quickly.  We love you long time.
 
I never have to wait this long when I order from Amazon, or other online retailers.
Please bear in mind that though these organizations receive thousands of orders per day, they also have thousands of employees at distribution centers all over the globe just waiting to process your order as soon as it pops in.  AGM is not quite that big yet (we can only dare to dream..)
 
So why don't you just hire more people so packages would go out quicker?
I would love to! However, finding good folks for wrapping up fragile and expensive antiques is not as easy as you would think. In the past we have had some extra help for wrapping and shipping that was great, but unfortunately they have moved on to other employment. Just hiring anybody off the street to wrap packages may be an option for the factory selling rubber duckies and whoopie cushions, but spiked helmets and regimental steins require a level of care that even some trained museum professionals have not been able to deliver.  Frankly, there are sometimes packages that Anna won't even let me wrap!