Customer Service here IS terrific. Note that you are ordering two items on backorder, in mid-Feb, needing them the first week of March.... There are people on a waiting list for both those items, last I heard. So Customer Service was being Honest with you. Rather than have you learn the first week of March, they are telling you at the time of ordering, and again when you queried, that if you Really Need them at that time, you should order something else, even if that means PCB loses the order. That is a class act, in my opinion.
If you really need lighting in hand the first week of March, well, then you have been made aware by Customer Service that those two items might not meet that need.
Do you need the vagabond? Will you not have ac power access at the reception hall? Maybe you can get extension cords in the meantime. You could, alternately, order an AB800 and get it real fast. And you could check on rental gear if you can't receive what you want to actually end up owning in time for the event.
You can do a search on guide numbers here in the forums. Guide number is a complex, potentially misleading piece of information if you are not deeply familiar with it, how it is calculated, and the fact that one light vs another's guide number can be meaningless, in some cases, as the modifiers (reflector) are not addressed.
Since you have an urgent need, I would order an AB800 asap. Any modifiers you get for it will also work with an eventual Einstein purchase later on. You need to get your hands on your new gear so you can practice with it. And the AB800 is a great product. Not as fully featured or advanced as the Einstein, but a reliable, quality product.
If you choose to rent, rent SOON to practice with the gear, and be sure you have the SAME gear reserved and available for the event. For the price of rental, I bet you could simply just buy and own the AB800, though, or close to it.
Good luck to you.
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