Thanks. I actually knew that. Just want to hear him speak on that. After all, It’s pretty important that every single part of the work area be able to have the same quality across the board.
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Sure I just mean it’s not that it’s actually disabled, I don’t think, just focusing at the wrong time. That, at least to me, seems like a simple step to correct.
- If Glowforge has such sufficient venture funding and isn’t tapping into the actual purchase money until products ship in order to guarantee refunds, why not just give everyone refunds, hold their place in line, and then charge upon shipping like a normal company? I understand the crowdfunding approach to start, which I’m sure helped bring in more venture funding. But at this point you’re not using our money, so why not give it back until you can provide a product?
Everyone is justifiably frustrated and there have been a lot of posts questioning your trustworthiness and transparency. Giving a benefit that isn’t actually tied to delivery of a Glowforge would be enormously comforting.
(Thanks to @sagertat for bringing up the idea in the main update thread.)
- Can you provide any information on people’s spots in line? I ordered very early (Sept 24th 2015) so I know I’m towards the front, but how hard is it to provide an actual number towards this? Or even a small range? I can imagine there’s concern about doing this in case person 51 gets theirs ahead of person 50 because of lasers are being shipped to different locations or other reasons, but is providing a general range (1-50, 51-100, etc) possible?
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I’ve asked a few times about the price of the laser tube as I’m also a UK backer this is really worrying me as I’m a basic back (haven’t the money to privately fund a Pro). The team have clearly sourced the laser at this point so they should know the cost of replacements. Not telling us at this stage just makes me fear that the price will be high (as will shipping and duty now the £ is getting a kicking) and the US first drive will mean it’s unsustainable to run.
I want answers on this before I let Glowforge keep my money.
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To sell the product in any country it has to pass their national safety tests to obtain a certificate. I’m asking how far down the road they are with this for the UK and would expect a formal answer not just “we’re doing our best”.
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As everyone else, I am deeply disappointed. But NOT surprised.
I didn’t chime in before, but when other Glowforge members asked to see boxes of packed lasers, and silence was the response, a delay was inevitable. Up to this point, Dan’s attempts to placate the users has been met with a massive amount of goodwill, with empathic owners drowning out the REASONABLE request to see boxes of packed units.
I hope now, that the empathetic users will join realistic ones who have worked in manufacturing and know how to TEST a manufactures ability to deliver in a timely manner by asking for demonstrable proof as each stage of the process. This is how we do it in manufacturing, send me a picture of the raw material, now send me a picture with cut parts, now send me a picture of assembled units, now send me a picture of finishing… et cetera.
Now the open question, are we ENTITLED to such information? It’s quite proprietary, and a large client with many ongoing projects can demand such proof. But can we, End Users demand this as customers? It would take great confidence and courage on Glowforge’s part. And it has been shown they’d have failed royally.
Finally, to reiterate, those users who demanded proof that Lasers were packing were smart and were asking for something completely reasonable.
THANK YOU to those users/customers for asking! I appreciate your resilience in the face of unreasonable optimism.
Charles
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This is not the thread to post opinions on folks - post specific questions that @dan can answer in his Q&A.
And only those questions. Otherwise they won’t be seen or answered.
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My question: How about a discount on the Glowforge itself instead of gift certificates for materials and designs? If not that, then how about beta/pre-release access or discounts to the future upgrades – specifically the 3D extruder?
Here’s why:
I appreciate that the material and design store are additional revenue streams (and I certainly don’t begrudge you the revenue), but I don’t plan on using your materials for production. The materials I want to use aren’t from your shop – they’re reclaimed barn wood, glass, blanks made by friends who work with hand-made materials, etc. Getting more expensive materials from you is nice to play with, but frankly, I don’t gain anything from them.
The same applies to the design catalog. The globe light is amazingly cool, but thousands of people will be making it which ruins any potential market. The same with the little lanterns, the doll house, etc. They’re really nice, but they have no long-term use in a business setting.
Thanks for being upfront with us about this.
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Dan and team. You need to provide more details about why you have delayed shipping once again. Your company has taken investment money, and you really need to give honest information that would allow us to make a decision about whether to keep with you on this road. Your announcement only says that your queue of printers not working was longer than the ones that were, but provides scant details on the reasons. Some questions I have right off the cuff, for which I’d appreciate some honest answers:
- I ordered a Pro but I understand from your previous update that there several fundamental problems with the laser and air extraction. Are these serious problems for which you can see a solution or are you still working on the solution. As an engineer myself, I know when I’m faced with a problem I can’t solve and I’d appreciate some honesty, not just repentance.
- Have you started the process of obtaining authorisation to sell the product to the UK, where I am based?
- Are you currently experiencing problems in physically shipping the unit outside the States? Have you tried international shipping and did it work without damaging the unit?
- How come you have only recently decided on which manufacturer to use? Is it because the previous choices couldn’t actually make the Glowforge?
- What was the feedback from each specific consultant you mentioned in your apology?
That’s all for now. Mightily disappointed.
Steve Carney
I second this. This is so much easier and transparent. Especially for international customers. For example it is quite easy and cheap in Germany to source lasersafe plywood and plastics. It just makes no sense to spend $35 to ship one sheet of material, if I can buy it for $5 here myself.
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just want to add to those words of support - I’m sure there are many of us in the forum who feel the same. Hang in there. [we need an emoji for “big group hug”]
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@dan …I’m from a small island in the middle of nowhere. 4000 dollars is A LOT of money for us (I am NOT rich). I got into a debt in order to purchase the GF. I’ve been here since the beginning and I have understood and actually valued your policy of quality first.
However, for the last shipping announcement, for some reason I believed you guys, but just in case, I wrote by the end of October asking if it was for sure December. Rita said yes, so I purchased a set of –non-refundable– plane tickets in order to go to US to pick up my GF (its actually cheaper/safer that way).
Now… will you loan me the money in order to purchase a second set of plane tickets? I can’t risk purchasing (nor have I the money to do so) a second set of plane tickets. I can’t take any more delays, and no… I can’t have the refund cause I already own more than the refund will cover, so I might as well wait and make money with the GF in order to pay back (should it ever become a reality). Is this latest delivery date REAL??? Please, no more bull.
Also, since us international backers cannot take advantage of all the goodies you are offering as compensation, any chance we can get those in cash refund instead? I could really use the money.
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I have a question about the warranty and repairs after the warranty has ended. Since you have acknowledged that some units have had issues will Glowforge offer repairs after the warranty and how much would it cost? I don’t want to spend several thousands of dollars to find out that after 1 year the product has broken and no one will repair the unit.
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Goodmorning Dan,
I would just like to say this update is unfortunate, but I’m here to stay coming from a Marines Corps Vet and current aviation maintenance technician student I’ve got faith man keep working hard!! Semper Fi !!!
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life is like waiting to die, but no one wants that to come sooner. i am fine with the delay, but the fact that it has to be delayed for another 6-8 months means you guys knew for a while now and just started telling us this now. i just don’t understand why you can let people know a little sooner.
a little bit of transparency goes a long way.
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This is the second time I’ve seen a reference to Pro laser and air extraction problems. I’m guessing both were your posts? I’ve read every single post on the forum and do not recall any specific issues with Pro hardware. Some discussion that the S/W for pass through would be completed after Basic S/W. Could you elaborate or point us to where Dan said anything like this. Thinking it was a misunderstanding.
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It was in his update which I read about 2 days ago, showing the standard letter he had sent out to beta testers…
This new delay, by over 1/2 a year AGAIN is beyond upsetting. The email received this morning basically says “oh we’re delaying again but we won’t tell you exactly why.”
“I realized we had a problem.”
How about a bit of transparency and actually telling your customers what the problem is, and why the lack of quality?
You keep dangling the carrot in front of your backers, and every time it’s the same story: we have a problem with , but we will give you a few incentives (warranty, materials, etc.) while you wait another 3-6 months, at which point we still don’t guarantee that the GF will ship on time.
How many more of these delays will happen, how many more emails will we receive, and at which point will the next email be "sorry, but we have run out of money and won’t be able to ship any units to any of the backers because we’ve run out of money and our investors backed out because we weren’t able to deliver"? Then what happens to the money everyone paid?
While I am not pulling my support yet, I am beyond disappointed in the constant broken promises. I plan to use the duration of the current delay to research other options. If there is another delay after this one, I’m withdrawing my support. At that point, I will pay more for something that already exists and that has a proven track record, rather than wait for something that may never materialize.
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It would be uncharacteristic of me to miss that type of statement. Of course it’s still possible. I just went through all 216 posts of the pre-release letter and every post of Dan’s since Nov 22. Couldn’t find anything discussing those Pro issues. Is it this topic?
Edit: Or maybe you are just saying that the Pro and Filter aren’t ready for pre-release. If that is so the wording of your question misled me.
Edit2: I give up. Can’t find any such reference.
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