Glowforge shipping date, beta releases, and bonus materials

[jenamos]

Ugh! Seriously…? So bummed.

[dan]

@jamescush

Honestly, that they’re being made in the USA instead of overseas is what makes the delay palatable for me.

Thanks James. We were really excited to be able to build your units here too.

@nathan

I wish there was a second round of beta units

We are continuing to roll out beta units, and it’s not too late to apply - you can see the beta thread here for all the details.

@dhanvinddvs

what the Glowforge offers me is the ability to open up that creative outlet to my wife and child.

I think of my family all the time, and don’t want to ship a product that isn’t going to make them proud to use. As my daughter said this morning, “It’s OK daddy. It will be better later.”

@a.novakovic999

what happens with us who are overseas and will move countries in the meantime?

We’ll gather updated shipping information when the units are ready to go out, and modify countries etc. then.

@B_and_D_T

As such, my gut tells me that this new 6 month later estimate has a whole bunch of new slack built in

Right. We thought the schedule from scratch, we didn’t just tack a few months on the end.

@stephanie

my confidence in your company is greatly diminished.

I don’t blame you. We failed you, and that is my fault. I am truly sorry. Let us know if you need to cancel and we will take care of that for you posthaste.

@henryhbk

A questionable PSU is worth a delay for.

Yes - it’s one of the things we have to get absolutely right; it’s not like software, where we can update it later.

@Star-Lord

They’ll just ignore me like I don’t exist and I will remain a blissful idiot who awaits the splendor of having what was promised, just not as promised and not when promised.

I’m so sorry, @Star-Lord. I can see we’ve let you down in our communications and our delivery. I don’t blame you for being upset. Please let us know if you’d like to cancel and we’ll take care of that for you right away. I apologize.

[andistarnes]

I’m imagining everyone has been going crazy trying to hit the deadline and worried about the same thing. Hopefully this means less stress for all of the employees.

[steph]

Thanks @andistarnes and @morganstanfield for the leather info!!!

@chris.majewski, on the 10% discounts, how I understand it is that the materials store and the design catalog will be two separate shops, so just the 10% discount through each individually.

[marisol]

Hi Dan,

I was happy thinking that I was finally getting my GF. But I want to be REALLY HAPPY when getting it. I appreciate your honesty I have no problem waiting. No complains

I will be waiting for Christmas as a child!

Regards,
Marisol

[jdodds]

To quote a quote. . .

“Here, take a cookie. I promise, by the time you’re done eating it, you’ll feel right as rain.”

[cfarrar]

I don’t neeeeed the money but I was just weighing my options. I’ll probably wait it out

[JonS]

@jdodds

Wow, criticize a person that believed in the sales pitch and implicitly absolve the one who made it. Not cool.

Didn’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings, just stating an opinion. I agree that the Glowforge has great potential for business, but until it is an actual living product in the wild, banking on it is too risky.

I’m not saying businesses shouldn’t invest, I am saying businesses shouldn’t rely solely on the product coming to fruition in any certain amount of time. As @JeremyNielsen said, something like this should have a really good backup plan and a delay in its production should not affect the outcome of your business.

[PrintToLaser]

My eternal optimism has me agreeing with @morganstanfield and @B_and_D_T.
Dan did his best to anticipate inevitable delays. An incorporated time contingency for them proved to fall short. They are not likely to repeat that misstep.

I fully expect the new timeline reflects the intention to have everything ironed out well ahead of time and be able to deliver a pleasant surprise ahead of expectations, and without the pressure of scrambling to beat the clock.
Corporate Cheerleader? Yeah, I’ll own that.
Most companies (and VC backers) would choke on dispersing Two Million in swag for any reason that didnt bring a return - much less just to smooth fuffled feathers.
The founders just voluntarily took a six figure hit on the company to demonstrate the profound remorse for their inability to accurately predict the course of events.
That’s who Dan Shapiro is - his VC backers know that, they trust in his vision and guidence. I guess they are cheerleaders too!

I feel for those who doubled down on their gamble by forming business plans contingent on the anticipated estimate of delivery date. I understand why they aren’t cheering, but in my opinion that was a gamble riding on another gamble.
“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” You are not alone, @dan just had to back up and regroup. Right now he’s getting wrung out through emails from round the world.
My problems don’t even rank.

[bailey]

I’m checking on it now - stay tuned!

[seaton]

I’ll accept the delay just to keep some jobs in America instead of China, for a change.

[JeremyNielsen]

@JonS

I am saying businesses shouldn’t rely solely on the product coming to fruition in any certain amount of time. As @JeremyNielsen said, something like this should have a really good backup plan and a delay in its production should not affect the outcome of your business.

Exactly.

[cditty]

@dan For the people backing out and getting refunds, can I move into one of their spots so I can get my GF sooner?

[talktalk_ag]

When I read the email I was excited to see shipping…Then as I was reading it, my heart just dropped. I was actually expecting it september time so march does seem a long way away as its a best part of a year away. ill admit im having mixed feelings about it. I appreciate shit can happen, But from 5 months away and excited to 11 months and annoyed are the things im fighting with. is this exaggerated time slot just so if there is a delay…again, then you won’t need to set the shipping back again or what??

Thanks for the honesty though!

[cacike_coki]

I must say I appreciate the info and the honesty better late with less bugs than early with major bugs. I can imagine how much work you guys are putting into the product. Again keep up the good work and thank you for your updates.

[soldiercoleman]

@cditty

@dan For the people backing out and getting refunds, can I move into one of their spots so I can get my GF sooner?

Well, for every refund requested your spot in line goes up one(Unless they ordered after you).

[yelruhrj]

Being in a job where there is never an end, makes me able to deal with this. Try working with animals, for 20 years been able to go ok, next problem.

If Wilbur Wright said you want to buy an airplane. I said sure, then he said hey there is a slight problem with the engine (power supply) because everyone wants one now. do you want me to get it right or do you want something that may break and cause you harm… I’m all for waiting.

[dan]

@dhanvinddvs

I would not have parted with 2 Mil worth of gifts to say sorry easily if I were in their shoes

That was a fun conversation with our investors, but they were 100% supportive of doing right by all of you. We’re fortunate to have good investors.

@LauraM

I’d love to have pretty much all of them but, being vegan, would rather not receive any leather and would probably choose to opt out entirely if it can’t be removed.

Thank you for the heads up - we’re not sure if leather will be included in the sample pack, but if it is, we’ll have a solution for people who’d prefer not to receive it.

@rubenborg

It’s extremely unfair to your backers and the “freebies” you’re offering, isn’t really enough to make up for it.

I don’t think it’s fair to our customers either, and I agree that we can’t make up for missing our schedule.

@rubenborg

I see people post about how they’ve taken out loans, how they’re paying the minimum on their credit cards and being charged interest on a product that continues to be delayed.

I think about this every day.

@jrnelson

I feel like this might be something Dan was keeping under his hat (given his prior comments on the subject) in case they needed a feather to pull out for a delay.

I know the timing is remarkable and all, but we just got permission to share this last week, so it’s not that I was holding back. I was hoping to be able to announce the manufacturer last week too, but stay tuned for that.

@tlazzaro11

If you choose to upgrade does our machine ship based on the original date we purchased or the date of the upgrade.

Original date.

@tlazzaro11

Would it be possible to travel to a Maker Faire in the Chicago Area?

No plans but we’ll look into it. We’d love to visit.

[Alyssa]

I’m really tired of hearing things like this. The project wasn’t presented like a traditional crowdfunded idea. You saw an amazing video with a product that looked ready to ship. The wording led people to believe they would be getting their order soon. If so many people weren’t fooled then I would listen to your argument all day. I read things 5 times so I understand exactly what I’m getting myself into so I saw past all of the fluff and knew I wouldn’t see it for months. You can blame people for not thoroughly reading, but not for not understanding how crowdfunding works. One thing I cannot handle is the holier than thou attitude by some on this board. I am not trying to be rude but maybe you should try to see things from another perspective when people are rightfully bummed out.

[michell_tateoka]

Is our place in line (crowdfunding campaign) still safe if we choose to upgrade at this point to a pro model?