This is an Amazon.com item; according to Amazon.com, this ships directly from Amazon.com.  When I placed my order for this item, from Amazon, they never stated this item was out of stock or back-ordered (the transaction was processed as if this item was in stock and would ship within 3-5 business days).  I waited three months for this to ship after I purchased it, and every month I would receive an email from Amazon.com apologizing for the delay in shipment and then they would add yet another month for an "estimated" shipping date...after THREE MONTHS of waiting, I canceled the order.  Never again.