So considering I purchased one @ $850 for shipment in late August, are the chances of me making any profit from mining with this slim? Also does Bitmain ever ship batches early?
Yes, by the time that you get your rig, the difficulty will have shot up on all the coins that have retained the Equihash algo. Good news will be that by that time, the rig should be working on most pools, including Nicehash. Also, if this bear market continues, people who are just now getting their miners may have difficulty achieving ROI. I haven't purchased a Z9 miner myself. Only reason that I am following this thread is that I was considering it.