The mailman delivered the scanner this afternoon!

That about sums up the positive part of the story. It arrived in a damaged box, and first inspection revealed that the software and USB-cable were missing. No worries, I knew I was buying it from a factory outlet, so I expected some minor problems. To my unpleasant surprise, though, the scanner's only response after turning it on were some screeching sounds and a flashing red light. Second inspection revealed that not only the box was damaged, but some heavy object also pounced through the bottom plate, probably wrecking the mechanical internals that drive the scanner head. That sure wiped the smile off my face...

I called the store (I won't be mentioning any names here) right away, and fortunately they were pretty OK about it. They had another one lying around, only without the adapter, so they've wrapped it up and shipped it right away. It should be here either tomorrow, or early next week, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. To be continued...