I agree! I love the idea of this product, which is why I pre-purchased it, but I want to feel confident and comfortable about my purchase, and know that the manufacturer also has the customers’ satisfaction in mind. This is not an inexpensive product.
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I don’t disagree that it’s important to have this information before the product ships, but Dan has said that these policies will be clarified and accessible before shipping. Yes the wait is frustrating (at times even nerve wracking) but personally, I do feel that Glowforge has demonstrated reasonable transparency and sincere respect for their customer base. Yes there have been delays and complaints about communication (which IMO, they have responded to and improved) but there has also been strong evidence of progress toward an excellent product. That’s why I’m willing to stick it out for a while longer, though I do understand that we all have our own unique needs and wants.
With that said, if you’re this far into this purchase and you’re still feeling doubts or concerns about the integrity of the company I would urge you to consider a refund. I’m not saying this to be combative, but because you’re right, this is a large purchase. Now that we’re at the 1.5 yr mark, I think everyone should have enough evidence to make our own decisions whether to bail out or to stick it out. If the warranty info is the critical factor for you, then by all means stick it out until that information is provided - but if you do, please recognize that it is your choice, and do so without any further accusations or implication of wrong doing.
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This is a public forum, you shouldn’t have your phone number listed.
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Lawyers you know…nothing fair or reasonable about it, and there never will be for this kind of product. It’s a liability issue, because this isn’t a toaster.
What happens if you get tired of it after a month or two and give the product to someone, but oops! You lost the User Manual so the person who gets it doesn’t know not to cut PVC? Okay, they’re fine, but they damage the lens.
Do you think it’s fair and reasonable to expect Glowforge to replace that?
Because I sure don’t.
Do you think it’s fair and reasonable to expect Glowforge to have to pay damages because someone that they didn’t get a chance to inform of the potential hazards decides to sue them?
Again, I don’t.
The lawyers are considering all of these ramifications in order to keep Glowforge in business for longer than a couple of months, and it only takes one sue-happy idiot to screw the pooch for everyone.
If Glowforge goes down, we all get stuck with very large paperweights. Which winds up pissing off a whole lot more people than just a few that want promises that they can transfer their warranties.
My (somewhat) educated guess is that no, they are going to decide that the warranties are not transferable.
ranton/
(I can’t get around some of those liability issues, and I’m not the one building it. And unfortunately in today’s litigious society, new companies have to account for the lowest common denominator, or they will face possible destruction.)
Believe it or not, this is absolutely normal for a new business. You just haven’t ever watched what one has to go through to start up before. And we reap what we sow. Just put the blame where it belongs please…on us. All of us as a society have created this.
/rantoff
I wish I could say that made me feel better, but we’re all still stuck in the pile we’ve created for ourselves. Fewer and fewer new things will make it to market…the odds are astronomical. (sigh!)
Hopefully that explained a little bit of what is going on and now no one believes there is some dark conspiracy going on around here.
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My bet is that’s likely. In fact, except for cars, I don’t know of many things with transferable warranties. Just too many headaches for the mfg.
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Thinking the only item left up in the air is the transference of warranty. Everything else I need to know is in the FAQ under “what is the warranty”.
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I agree! When shipments begin, we’ll post the warranty here. When your personal shipment is just about ready, we’ll also send you an email with all the latest information on the product, including the warranty. We will confirm with you that you are OK with the final T&Cs and the final warranty before we ship your unit, and refund you fully if not.
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Suggestion – to ease your mind, request a refund. Then when they are shipping and all the information you are seeking is readily available, you can decide if you really are comfortable with what is being offered, and you can order one then if you are so inclined.
At this point in time, you know exactly what information is available…
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Perhaps I misunderstood - could you clarify exactly what you’re asking? I tried to clarify my answer, above.
If I may… @je.young please forgive me if I got this wrong.
I think he’s asking the following:
If I was order number 117 and it was for a Pro, and I canceled, why can’t he now be order number 117.
Why are the warranty details and the safety details not available now? We are miles past the any of the previously proposed shipping dates. Does that mean that not only is the hardware delayed and the software miles behind but also the legal work is way behind schedule?
If the original shipment dates had ever been realistic one would expect something to have been ready by now.
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I keep thinking the same. And about the manual as well.
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Having been distantly involved in these kinds of things, I doubt it. Until the units are ready to ship, the final wording of all the paperwork is necessarily subject to change. Not in big ways, but in ways that some litigious idiot could still try to make a big deal about. And from GF’s point of view there’s no upside to it.
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If the last update was to be believed they should be shipping in bulk in March. It’s a bit late to be finalising the warranty details and safety instructions.
Whenever anybody asks for any firm details about the product they never get a straight answer. This leads me to believe it is still a long way from being shipped.
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And particularly the warranty legalise, as that isn’t much to do with the product at all, just company policy and legal issues. The length of the warranty, which would depend on product reliability and lifetime, has already been stated.
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It was in hope that someone (Dan) would actually call.
Is there something you’re still unclear on? We’re a pretty helpful bunch when we can be.
I am asking if I could assume someone’s place in line for a pro. That way a basic would be refunded instead of a pro.
That’s something that should be sent in a more private setting. I would suggest sending your request/contact info to support@glowforge.com.
Going on a public forum and asking for special treatment (basically cutting in-front of numerous people who ordered before you) is probably not the best idea. IMHO, even if they would have considered it, they will say no. If they agreed to it, they run the risk of multiple people wanting to do that and pissing off customers who ordered/upgraded earlier.
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I am going to guess here – and make up a story based totally on conjecture – that it isn’t that the warranty isn’t completely thought out – it is just that they don’t want to release it until they have a product shipping to go with it. Having the warranty right now is of no value until you actually have or are about to get a GF.
People that want to give/sell/ trade their GF to someone else before even having it was probably never a consideration in the creation process, and is probably very, very far down a very long list of “really important stuff needed to work out before the GF ships”.
As for the manual – while completing the GF hardware and software, I am sure it is an evolving work in progress,
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