Hello all,
I pre-ordered my GF on Oct 16th, it has been 421 days! I am not angry or upset with the delays and that is not the reason I am considering canceling. Looking at the specs and looking at other products I can get a traditional laser cutter with a 20x28" cutting area, 80W and a 3 year warranty with a rotary attachment for just a few hundred more than I paid for the GF (before referrals).
Notice I only said specs, it is the features of the GF that are the real selling point but are they worth the smaller size and less power?
Now my other issue, with my 10 referrals I am only out of pocket $994 for the basic. The machine is currently priced at $2,995 (is that right?) I could wait until I get the machine and sell it for $2,500, also receive my referral money back $1,000, and I could profit a few bucks. Would the warranty transfer to the new owner? even if I don’t open the box?
Not looking for troll comments or negativity, I am sure my wife and I would love the GF and its ease of use but in the end I am not sure if the small size and 40W is going to suit my needs.
I’d wait til it ships man. I am in a similar boat. I went ahead and bought a Chinese laser beforehand, and to be honest the software is terrible. The laser can make some cool stuff, but I’m really looking forward to the glowforge after using it. My ultimate goal is to have 2 lasers. One which is a glowforge and the other a large bed Chinese (I want to engrave things like doors lol).
I’d say if you didn’t like the glowforge just sell it afterwards and make some money. The discount price + referral bonus is just free cash in your pocket.
I have a feeling that you’ll probably want to keep it once you get it. Especially if you haves used a Chinese laser in the meantime =P
Yes, the basic is now selling for $1,000 more than we paid for it.[quote=“helifrek, post:1, topic:4104”]
I am not sure if the small size and 40W is going to suit my needs.
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Personally I would try to better determine if the size and power would fit my needs before I gave up on the position you’re in with the 1/2 price purchase and all of the referrals.
I can’t imagine that the warranty wouldn’t transfer, but I have no idea. Dan has said that the lawyer who specializes in warranty is currently working on it, so I don’t know if he would have an answer for you yet.
Listen to what you feel. In an undecided situation, flip a coin and see if before it hits the ground, you find yourself wishing for a particular outcome.
Good luck Brandon!
The referrals do make it hard to cancel & move on. I’m in the same boat with 10 (though who knows if any have cancelled) and it really does put an extra $ gap between the GF & competitors.
Someone else asked about transferring the warranty recently. Here’s @dan’s response. I would say even if the warranty doesn’t transfer, you could probably still make more that what you paid for it!
How the heck did you score that many referrals, dude? (I gave one to jsc, but couldn’t get any takers on the digital cutting side, so mine’s costing me about $2300.)
You’d be insane to not pick it up for that price. I’ve been watching them build it over the last year - it’s gonna be as solid as the M2. Still got a bit of work ahead on the software side, but it’s coming along well enough.
Go take a look at the stuff in the Made on a Glowforge category. Got some pretty sweet little items shaping up.
And like you said, if nothing else, you can sell it immediately once the good news goes out and turn a bit of profit on it.
Nothing to lose by waiting it out except a little more time. Unless you need a laser now for some specific project you’ve got going.
Thanks for all the great comments and suggestions guys.
The 10 referrals took some work, I actually probably have about 30 or 40 total but only the first 10 count. I spammed the crap out of every youtube glowforge video and a few forums!
At the pricepoint I am at right now it is really hard to beat but I could be making some money immediately. I have been telling people I have a laser cutter on the way for over a year and I have so many people waiting for me to start making them things. A lot of people are requesting large plaques (I’m in the army and plaques are super popular) and alot are asking for engraving of mugs, both of those things will be hard on a GF or may even be impossible.
Personally I want to cut out rc airplanes from foam and the bigger the bed the better! So needs wise, the other laser might be better.
Hey again Jules! I have been watching the forum! Lots of neat stuff getting made. I am also on some facebook groups and one guy has been pretty convincing of his Chinese 100w laser cutter doing livestreams of the entire process and the quality is just as good as the stuff I see here. The speed and power is insane on his machine. I want the 80w version of what he has because they ship from the US, the 100w is pretty much only sold in china.
I appreciate everyone’s input here, it does help alot. Maybe a coin toss is the best idea though! In a perfect world I would just get both… I can only afford one though. Will keep you guys and gals posted.
Ha nice! It makes a pretty big difference to have that many referrals waiting to be paid out. I got quite a few and wish I could distribute some for use by makerspaces or schools. I think I’ve already spent that referral money twice though haha. Once in 2015 for an x-carve and then again last month for a new 3D printer. If they keep delaying I might end up spending it again hahaha.
I would encourage you to really look at the specs in great depth.
Cutting area, power ratings and warranty have nice numbers, but is the power really 80W (check out Sarbar Multimedia about his testing of tubes, how are they labeling their tube power - tested versus paper calculations) and how is the warranty handled (do you send parts back and wait for them to be tested and returned, what has the actual response been of those who own it and their warranty usage, what is really covered under warranty, in country versus overseas) and does it change your proposed working location (inside versus a very well ventilated shop)?
Also, if you are planning heavier production runs, instead of home hobby usage, the Glowforge might not meet your needs (bedsize, material choices, continuous running times). This must be weighed against maintenance (adjustments/alignments, cooling requirements, general servicing), ease of use (for both the technically inclined versus the non-technical, software usage) and safety (both user and home).
I admire that you got 10 referral discounts. You do have to weigh the discounts (and the possible loss of those who might cancel their orders) making your Glowforge $1000 off the 50% initial Pre-Order campaign.
Your decision is ultimately yours, but I would hope that all those concerns have been taken into account.
If you do decide to go with a larger bed model, drop me a note sometime on either forum and let me know how it works out for you…ease of use and all that.
I wasn’t planning to do anything that the Basic won’t be able to handle, size-wise, but I’m almost wishing now I’d upgraded to the Pro back in the beginning of time. That alignment feature might have some potential, and I could have gone larger.
Oh well, it is what it is…(and i don’t really need it, i guess.)
I’m waiting and buying the pro seperate for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that I want to make sure I can do everything I’m wanting to do with the glowforge on the basic/cheaper unit first. The second reason is I am waiting for all the software and features to be implemented before I buy the pro, otherwise it’s just a more expensive basic unit. I also think it will be nice to have a unit in the house for smaller projects and one in the garage for larger ones.
I’m discovering that a whole basement with an office/workspace is barely enough to contain all material in the queue. Then there is the finished product location, staging areas, weeding bench, photo booth, cat chair, and a place for me to sit.
It’s big enough but I have to neaten up soon! a materials cart, kind of like the food service hotel pan carts or ones that hold full sheet pans, may be in order for volume production. So @helifrek, whatever laser you get, the workshop is an essential ingredient, I’m discovering.
I would have had my garage weather conditioned and insulated for minnesnowta frigid cold, but with all the troubles, couldn’t get that opportunity this year. I’m trying to be patient and wait for the forge, staring at the tube I cut out of that Chinese 60/50w that sits in the cold. Next year… Next year…
There are limits with other lasers I just won’t have with the forge.
My garage has an apartment above it that I don’t rent so that I don’t have to pay all of the fees and insurance that come with rental property. I have plans to turn it into my wood working shop and leave the garage open to park in. That would solve the issue of keeping the glowforge climate and humidity controlled. But I don’t know if I would feel right doing some heavy wood working in a dry walled and carpeted area lol. I’m used to working in the heat and or cold for work and at home in the garage. It might be weird to have ac and heat when doing manual labor
