A lot of the time preordering can be a pain in the neck. Despite the fact that you’ve laid your cash down in advance, you often don’t get your hands on the goods until after the launch date. This is especially true if the device sees unprecedented demand or makes any kind of splash with the media.

Earlier this week we reported that T-Mobile had plowed through 500,000 units in presales and had ordered more to keep customers who couldn’t wait to get their hands on the device happy. Despite placing a subsequent order with HTC for a significant shipment of G1s, preorder sales were this week rumored to be in and around the 1.5 million mark.

With the official launch (October 22 in the U.S. and October 30 in the UK) looming, many expect the demand to increase with each passing day. What’s going increase the demand exponentially is the fact that many customers will reportedly have their G1s in time for the weekend. A full five days before those queuing at stores will get their hands on the device.

Last month when the media was all a flap about the G1, VentureBeat cited a reliable source as saying the G1 would begin shipping on October 13 and arrive on October 17. While T-Mobile and HTC set the October 22 as the launch date, would be G1ers are advised to check the UPS website to track their order as many eager customers say their device was shipped on October 13 with three-day shipping.

This could be T-Mobile being very on the ball with its preorders and if that’s the case, kudos. However it could just as easily be a way to drum up a bit more excitement for the offline sales. If people see the G1 already out and about before next Wednesday they may be more likely to queue up for their own.

With a UK release date of October 30, the Android-based HTC G1 will be offered for free when users commit to certain plans costing around $70/£40 per month.