Farnell or RS - who will ship first, more problem free?

I apologize if this has been discussed elsewhere, but the forum search didn't return any current and useful results. I got invitations from both Farnell and RS, only days apart.

I currently reside in Germany. I don't need any additional components as far as I can tell, I should have most if not all necessary components in my drawers somewhere and/or can get them cheaper locally than from either company.

Farnell's ordering system includes VAT and comes with a free T-Shirt, so customs should be less of a problem and, hey, I can always use a free T-shirt.
But Farnell doesn't give me any kind of dispatch or shipping date.

RS on the other hand is giving me a dispatch date of 3 weeks, which is earlier than I expected. And I really do want my little rPI to play with soon.

Since Farnell's invite came a little bit earlier I already placed my order, but all I got was:

"When stock is allocated to your order, we will send you a full order confirmation including prices, availability and expected delivery date."

I don't think canceling my order and going with RS would be an issue at this time.

So, in your experience, who is going to get the Raspberry Pi to me faster, cheaper and more problem free (my next custom's office is quite far away and I hate having to drive there, the drive would also increase the total price considerably)? Other than that, from the looks of it, the difference in pricing is marginal after tax which I expect to pay in either case.

[plugwash]

I would go ahead and place the order with RS. Then wait until one of the orders arrives and canvel the other.

In the event you do end up with two pis you can always sell one on ebay, they are still going for well above face value afaict.

Since farnell and RS are in the EU both should be charging VAT at the time of sale.

Logically, all things being equal, the one you ordered with first should get a Pi to you first, as you will be further up the queue.

Get both and gift one/get a friend to pay for one/flip one on eBay.
I got a Pi from Farnell Export and a Pi from RS, and the RS one was better packaged and delivered via DHL...but Farnell Export is a whole 'nother beast from Farnell proper from what I've gleaned, and other people who've ordered Farnell (non-export) received theirs in much more robust packaging.

Logically, all things being equal, the one you ordered with first should get a Pi to you first, as you will be further up the queue.

I think the two companies have a different approach. RS appear to be only taking orders when they have units to ship, whereas Farnell took my order back in March, and are due to ship in another 8 days.
My guess would be RS will ship first, but order both, then either cancel one of them, sell it on, or donate it to a good cause.

I am having an experience with RS at the moment with regards returning my Pi. One of the USB prots was not working, and I had to send it back. With Farnell, they send you a replacement before you send the duff one back. RS on the other hand, have you fill in a downloadable form, then you post it back at your own expense. Then you hear nothing, and have to phone customer services who rarely know what's going on. So you sit and wait. Still waiting!

So if you are worried about potential problems. Go with Farnell.