Yeah but what's the alternative? Unfairly ding me instead of the business? Not sure I should be forced to accept that.

I need something by date X, Amazon says they will deliver by X-1, they actually deliver on X+2, so I buy from a physical store on X because I still need it on X, and now I have an extra item and it's not my fault.

I mean, if someone here is an Amazon manager and can convince their engineers to add an "shipping delayed" option to the list for free return reasons, I'm all for it, and I'll use it.

You didn't get dinged, you got the item you ordered. You should contact Amazon about shipping issues since they're responsible for it. Also they don't guarantee delivery dates, and it's reasonable that shipments will be delayed occasionally.

Returning for the wrong reason just creates more work while you end up with nothing, and creates waste as the returns usually end up in the trash while the seller loses money and reputation for something they can't control.

Amazon does have guaranteed delivery dates. Almost always in my experience (I live in a top 5 metro area in the US). Sometimes they provide an estimate and it will be listed as such. But anytime they say, "Delivery date: specific date", then that is a guarantee.