How did you see it?
A Facebook link to the promotional video.
What did you first think?
Sheer joy at the thought of having a such a powerful, creative tool in my home! My husband heard me squealing with excitement and I made him come watch the video with me. I remember him saying “Wow, I’m pretty sure you have to have that!”. 
(Hubby doesn’t get that excited about things like this and that was high praise indeed lol.)
How long did it take you to decide?
About 2 seconds to fall madly in love and a few weeks to gather the funds. Owning a reliable laser was never even a consideration becasue of the cost. It was a no brainier when I saw the Glowforge was in my price range.
What, if any, reading did you do or discussions did you have before deciding?
I researched basic laser information and compared what other options were available for the same money. I was breaking my own rule of pre-purchasing an unknown product, so I also checked into Dan and the company. Having a guaranteed refund option gave me the confidence to purchase before really knowing a lot about lasers. Having the forum to watch, ask and learn from sealed the deal for me and I never looked back after seeing the pre-release units in action.
Was anyone else a part of the decision?
Dear Hubby.
What do you hope to get from your Glowforge?
I hope to have something that makes all the art and ideas in my head come to life.
If the purchase was wildly successful, tell us why and how you feel about it!
It has exceeded my wildest expectations and allowed me to bring my art to life. I was restricted to just a few mediums before and now a whole new world of possibilities has opened up for me.
My biggest fear was the Glowforge being too basic and limited to beginners. I didn’t want to quickly outgrow my machine and be stuck wanting to upgrade to a more sophisticated laser. After using my machine for 8 months now, I have no doubts my Glowforge will keep up with me and be my go-to machine for a very long time.
My only complaint is there aren’t enough hours in the day to laser all the things!