I may come off wrong but I don’t intend for this to sound mean or condescending but how about we appreciate the fact that they are willing to lose 7 figures on an apology. Really seems crazy that people are mad they are getting free stuff. All they had to do was announce a delay in shipping and that’s it, no need for them to spend more money to ATTEMPT to make you happy.
For me it is simple, I read the email, had some dissapointment that I wouldn’t receive it till December then thought, “WOW that was really nice of @dan and crew to throw in some stuff, they didn’t have to do that.”
For me it is better than being delayed on a flight, $200 dollars worth of stuff is way better than cheap peanuts and half a coke. And if you don’t want or need your freebies I am more than willing to take them off of your hands.
Not a relevant argument in this context. We are not just ‘getting free stuff’. Dan’s offer is an expression of an apology. Our engagement here is a response to one portion of that expression. It is both expected and healthy. The delay is not insignificant and is does not have insignificant consequences for many of us.
The premise of my own argument and that of some other people as expressed here is, ok, we accept that there is a delay though it hurts. But, how about engaging with the users on their thoughts about the form of compensation - something like this:
Send us small samples of all the materials please so that we can experiment with all the materials;
Give us the OPTION of which materials we may want to the value of $150 - one user would find more use with leather, another with acrylic or ply.
That way the apology that is offered is more useful to the users. I do not think that is an unreasonable suggestion.
I actually really like this idea. It would be awesome to have a small sample of the Proofgrade™ materials.
Having 10000 people choose there material will be a huge logistical effort. They would have to spend time and energy setting up the system to do this, then packaging each set individually. Honestly, while it would be nice to get to choose what I get for free, I would much rather them focus there energy and resources on getting the product out as quickly as possible.
As long as it is a suggestion or request it’s more than reasonable to do so. What has happened is terrible. What Glowforge is offering is neither required or typical. It’s not compensation, it’s an apology.
Thank you @Dan. The tag work-around does the trick for isolating posts about the Beta units, and thank you for clarifying that there isn’t actually another forum category that I somehow missed.
Man, I gotta say: I am totally fine with this! I mean, I feel terrible for everyone that has a business and was relying on getting it by 6/30, and also for you, @dan, as I can’t imagine how hard that must have been to write.
But for me, personally, I have always said from Day 1 that I would be happy to wait another year if necessary, in order to get a perfectly working product. And Dec gives me 6 more months to learn software, think of ideas, justify this as a Christmas present, etc etc.
And then you’ve added all these extra perks?! HELL YEAH!! I know it’s probably not much solace, but you’ve made at least 1 person happy in a way…
Getting some data points on the people who already ordered a Glowforge would be helpful in establishing some criteria to judge just what is the common good for 10,000 people. The survey they send out about desired materials will be helpful.Given that the vast majority of folks who have ordered are not posting in the forum, it’s hard to tell what is the common good. In keeping with the primary mission of Glowforge to put a desktop laser cutter/engraver out to the average person who would not need any computer design skills, nor an understanding of materials science, and it would just make stuff, putting a good quantity of material in the hands of purchasers right off the bat serves the company mission, and I believe the majority of the user cases. Getting free materials is not going to be a hindrance nor complicate peoples lives. It will enhance everyone’s use. It may not meet the needs of many power users, but I don’t see the case where it becomes a nuisance. I can agree that a logical work flow for almost everyone will be to first do a small sample of material and then decide what to do next. That won’t be too exciting, but at least helpful. Giving good quality materials with designs ready to go will satisfy both the need to test out the machine and make something right off the bat.
The titanium we’ve experimented with looks amazing when engraved. Fiber lasers have a very different appearance, it’s worth comparing both to see what you’re looking for.
When you put the macbook in the GF and engraved it, that’s really what sold me on the purchase.
Granted, it’s not engraving as others have talked about, but I have a CNC mill for “true engraving”. I want to “embellish” the raw Ti with a pattern, possibly etch it with acid, then anodize over top of that and “embellish” again on top of the anodized layer. I think it will really bring some new 3D layering possibilities to the market on my (and others) Ti products. I was thinking of doing a similar thing by base embellishing (no anodizing) on aluminum/steel by using some chemical agents that bond to the metal once they are heated up by the laser.
I really want to stick in and wait for the GF, however waiting until end of year is a definite bummer.
I agree with you 100%. Lots of rude and nasty comments about some pretty nice gifts that didn’t even need to be given.
I’ve only seen one or two truly “rude” comments. I think most of us are expressing the let down of the delay and then responding to the idea of “being comped” for something that isn’t as valuable to SOME of us as it would be to others.
While logistically it would be easier (and cheaper) to provide the materials IN THE SAME BOX as the GF when it ships (which most people are completely glossing over), some people (including me) would like the OPTION to apply that comp in a few different ways. That being said, I do like the idea of whoever suggested a smaller “sample pack” of the materials and a different coupon than the “full complement” of what Dan announced.
ouch. that hurts. but, fecal matter occurs. I will have to work up a new plan for my students, but I’m sure we’ll survive. Keep on keepin’ on I guess. it’s a funny combination of being pissed and understanding how all this stuff works. I’ll hang with this crew and keep my money in this dream.
