The Samsung Galaxy Nexus went on sale at retail stores in the United Kingdom on Nov. 17; however, those who pre-ordered their handsets online may not receive them for several days.

Reports indicate that several suppliers are experiencing delays that have left the shipping dates of the smartphone uncertain.

U.K. carrier Three accepted pre-orders for the Galaxy Nexus, but announced on its Twitter that due to stock delays, the delivery date for pre-orders handsets changed to Nov. 22.

U.K. supplier Clove announced on its blog that Galaxy Nexus pre-orders will ship Nov. 23. Meanwhile, The Order listed a Dec. 1 shipping date.

Supplier MobileFun listed on its website a Nov. 21 release date, and Amazon U.K. has the Galaxy Nexus listed on its website with Dec. 2 as an approximated release date.

Industry insiders are unsure why release and shipping dates are varying so vastly in the U.K.

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Consumers usually see pre-ordering as a method of ensuring that they will receive the bought product on time and to avoid long lines at retail stores.

Many Apple customers experienced similar issues during the release of the iPhone 4S. Some who pre-ordered the iPhone 4S Oct. 7 reported that their handsets did not on arrive on Oct. 14 as they were supposed to.

They were reportedly told that due to high demand, some devices could take 21 to 28 days to ship.

Several other countries expected to release the Galaxy Nexus have not yet confirmed release dates, such as Canada and the United States.

The Galaxy Nexus is expected to release between December and January with several Canadian carriers, while exclusive U.S. launch carrier Verizon said the smartphone would release “later this year.”