"Eight (now) business days might have been acceptable in the days when written orders were sent through the postal system, had to be delevered internally to the order department, manually checked against inventory, typed in triplicate, routed to the manufacturing or shipping departments, etc., etc. But in the electronic age, human delays of this sort have become quite rare."

Ummmmm... not really. There are plenty of places I do business with online and they advise that with regular, non-expedited shipping, orders may arrive from 7-12 business days later. I'm usually willing to give someone 10 business days (which amounts to 2 weeks) before I start asking questions. Earlier this spring I ordered some videos which the post office (not the vendor) lost. After 10 business days, the vendor sent me a replacement via FedEx, and the original package (shipped via Priority Mail) has never, ever shown up.

My point is, even in the electronic age, humans still operate the electronics. Humans still have to check inventory, and pack the items in a box, and deliver them to you. Internet business is a great thing, but still subject to human foibles.