Barnes & Noble's Weird Shipping
I wanted to order 3 books, and I wanted them by the end of the week. 2 of the books were "usually ships within 24 hours" and the third was "usually ships within 2-3 days." My original order was for all 3 books combined, with an estimated ship date of 11/18. Low chance of on-time arrival.
I called up and broke off the 2-3 day book into its own order. The first two books shipped tonight. The third book has an estimated ship date of 11/17. It seems that shipping fewer books is faster for Barnes & Noble.