i ordered mine mid last week. i opted for the free, cheapest, shipping... i was not in a hurry for it. i recieved my email saying that it was being processed and then i got one back on friday saying it had been shipped. i checked and for _some_ reason it had been shipped with priotiry overnight saturday delivery. they never charged me anything for shipping. so hey... thank you apple.
i got it in one of those protective manilla envelopes. a cd, a dvd, and two small manuals, and it was shipped from sacramento, ca.
is this where most apple stuff gets shipped from? since the bt mouse i just ordered has been shipped from the same place.
hope these answer your question.