Oculus drops shipping fees as apology for Rift delays

The majority of people who preordered the Rift virtual reality headset are still waiting for it after its launch last week, and now Oculus VR is finally updating those people about the status of its shipping operation.

You will no longer have to pay the shipping costs for your Oculus Rift if you have ordered one through today, according to the Facebook subsidiary. Oculus sent out emails this morning to its customers with open Rift orders confirming that it is experiencing component shortages that are causing a number of delays. In response, the company is now charging a flat $599 for the Rift as long as you get your order in by today. I checked, and my personal Rift no longer has the $30 fee attached. This is a big move as Oculus strives to keep the faith of its earliest adopters, who are likely the ones who will fuel VR’s word-of-mouth buzz as it potentially grows into a business worth $30 billion by 2020 (as tech adviser Digi-Capital predicts).