In all seriousness, @dan I can safely bet that the Glowforge team is working 24/7 to do the best they can with the circumstances at hand and delays are just part of the unique production process, no matter how much money you throw at it. I wish I am able to contribute to the forum much more than some of my entertaining memes and countless “AMAZING” or “OMG IT’S SO AWESOME” comments, but I just don’t know enough about lasers to provide any value to the threads.
I am a very optimistic person, so my post will not sit well with many of the Crabby McCrabbersons out there, but I feel it is my place to give you a virtual pat-on-the-back, a high-five (and a hug, if needed) for all of your efforts to-date. I, too, have many people vested in my Glowforge venture since I will be turning it into a home business and they are more upset about the delays than I am! However, it is what it is and all we can do is be patient and respectful because we can’t lose touch with why we decided to back Glowforge in the first place.
When the Pro safety information is released, will it be posted to the forum or emailed? and could there be a Q&A set up with your laser safety professionals to make sure nothing is misunderstood?
I have pre-ordered a Pro and am really excited about the Pro’s extra features, but having no previous experience with a Class 4 laser I want to make sure I am operating it safely.
So working through some completely fake numbers that I created in my head, here is the schedule for deliveries. This does not include foreign shipping, so you are on your own there…
Assuming exponential acceleration in production, and starting at 5 units per day (starting June 1st for Basic and July 1st for Pro), and assuming 10,000 orders, 60% being pro, and assuming that production will take the full 153 days (June 1st through October 31st). This is also assuming linear initial purchase (130 Basics sold per day, 193 Pro’s sold per day during the month long campaign).
Basic unit fullfillment date:
order date -> Unit Produced by date
September 24 -> June 24
September 25 -> July 10
September 26 -> July 21
September 27 -> July 30
September 28 -> August 6
September 29 -> August 13
September 30 -> August 19
October 1 -> August 24
October 2 -> August 28
October 3 -> September 1
October 4 -> September 5
October 5 -> September 9
October 6 -> September 13
October 7 -> September 16
October 8 -> September 19
October 9 -> September 22
October 10 -> September 25
October 11 -> September 28
October 12 -> September 30
October 13 -> October 3
October 14 -> October 5
October 15 -> October 8
October 16 -> October 10
October 17 -> October 12
October 18 -> October 14
October 19 -> October 16
October 20 -> October 18
October 21 -> October 20
October 22 -> October 22
October 23 -> October 24
October 24 -> October 26
Pro unit fulfillment:
September 24 -> July 27
September 25 -> August 9
September 26 -> August 17
September 27 -> August 24
September 28 -> August 29
September 29 -> September 3
September 30 -> September 7
October 1 -> September 11
October 2 -> September 14
October 3 -> September 18
October 4 -> September 21
October 5 -> September 23
October 6 -> September 26
October 7 -> September 28
October 8 -> October 1
October 9 -> October 3
October 10 -> October 5
October 11 -> October 7
October 12 -> October 9
October 13 -> October 11
October 14 -> October 13
October 15 -> October 15
October 16 -> October 17
October 17 -> October 18
October 18 -> October 20
October 19 -> October 21
October 20 -> October 23
October 21 -> October 25
October 22 -> October 26
October 23 -> October 27
October 24 -> October 29
Again, this is numbers from my head using completely made up starting conditions. In any case, I’ll be right near October 31st… Sad times. Even though Dan was asked directly on these forums about 2 weeks ago “If you knew things were going to be delayed again would you tell us right now?”. His answer: “I don’t see why not.”
I have a K40, It has little in the way of safety, no interlocks, poor grounding, and no FCC. I did get a mild shock from it once. It still seems to have made its way here.
Shipping itself costs around $1000 and it was mentioned by @Dan that we will be getting these extras.
_A $20 gift certificate per month of delay, which we’ll calculate and credit to your account at the time your Glowforge Basic or Pro is ready. This money can be used towards purchases in the Proofgrade store or the Glowforge design catalog. _
_On top of that, you’ll get a $50 gift certificate for the Glowforge design catalog. _ As a Glowforge Founder, you’ll also get a 10% discount on Proofgrade materials and in the Design catalog.
Shipping is very expensive. Is there any way that we can purchase whatever materials to be shipped together with the glow forge in order to save some money?
I stand by my statement. This isn’t just about recouping the initial investment. I’ve lost any interest on the money had it stayed in my bank account. I’ve lost 2 years of potential revenue on the products I was going to make with this tool. I lost market share because so many others who went with competitors now already have their clientele established. I could go on… anyone who can’t see the greater value lost in a 2 year delay is definitely not capable of looking at the bigger picture.
Do you think that the Chinese company who makes those junk lasers is at all worried about being sued? Glowforge has to be worried about that. Whoever makes the K40 isn’t.
I recall to days living in other counties too due to military orders and I know the pain of it but here is another option to consider if you wish to save on import fees and shipping to where you are stationed. Go ahead and have the unit shipped to a family member here stateside then pay to have them ship it to your APO box address (this at least the last time Lived in Europe) should remove the taxes as if the address still processes as if it were going to NY (if memory serves me right) but that was also back in the early 1990’s.
I think they will be organised by purchase time when that particular country starts shipping but each country will only start when its legal and logistical requirements have been solved.
Lily Drone. 34 million in purchases, 15 mil in private funding (or more for both, just what I remember) and zero shipped. Money doesn’t guarantee anything.
Plastc raised millions (about 10 I think?) - never released a thing.
There are a great number of “too big to fail” examples out there - Glowforge’s only difference is they appear to be shipping something out. Won’t be until they meet all their commitments that I think final judgement can come in.
Dude, just demand your money back and go buy something else. That’s the way this crowd funding thing works. At least these guys will give you your money back. I’ve had other deals go south (not for this much money though).
Don’t get me wrong. Let’s just use the word unhappy to describe how I feel (and most of us reading this). But, I have no reason to doubt the intentions of the glowforge team.
