Got the same email for Gold Mario. In my online account though, it says March 27-30th. As long as it doesn't cancel I'll be happy. All I want is one for my collection after all.
I got my buddies from Target today (that was quick). I'm expecting King Dee to be delivered soon too :) The only one that had bubble cushion in the box was Sonic for some reason. None of the boxes had any damage though. No biggie either way because I open them up.