I didn't have to spend too long in the Steam Frame reservation queue. I'd just sat down on the sofa, after having dinner yesterday evening, opened the MacBook to hack on some code, and had this turn up:
I didn't hesitate. However, during the checkout journey, there was a glitch. I opened the email, clicked on the link to go and confirm the purchase, and on the Steam site I was greeted with a message to the effect that the quantity I was buying was too great! It wouldn't let me proceed to the payment. I clicked on the button to view my basket and this is what I saw:
This did make me slightly nervous for a moment. It was an obvious glitch, but was it double-counting the same unit, or had it somehow added two units to my basket? Given that I couldn't progress without doing something, I removed one and... it was all okay.
So as of right now I'm paid up, I have an active order, and now I wait for physical delivery. The estimated delivery time seems to be between 3 and 5 (working?) days.
Meanwhile, I now need to figure out what to do about prescription lens inserts. The inserts that Valve recommend on the Steam Frame page are currently "coming soon", which is mildly annoying. I have noticed in the Steam Frame subreddit a couple of people mentioning other companies who are already manufacturing and shipping inserts. I might take a look at them.
The need for prescription lenses is one annoyance of VR for me. Sure, it's easily fixed, but it's a bit of a shame when, upon opening the box, I have to go with a blurry experience for a wee while. Of course, I could wear my glasses in the headset, but based on my experience when I got my Quest 2 back in late 2020, that's not comfortable and there's the danger of scratching the glasses, headset lenses, or both.
It's not worth the risk.