Don’t get me wrong, I’m really happy for all of you who got their Glowforge, but just today my date moved back again. Every time this happens, I’m more disheartened, and of late I’ve got no idea how to argue why it happens to my friends and family. They start to ask if I got duped and I’m sick of telling them "No, it’s only because I’m an international buyer."
I have a nagging feeling that I won’t have the Glowforge this summer either and “soon” it’ll be three years and no laser. Wonder what’ll help me to cheer up again. 
5 Likes
I’m so sorry. I wish there was something I could do to help.
3 Likes
So here’s something that may cheer you up. I’m wildly speculating but here goes…
For a long time, us International Buyers had a specified date; mine was 31st Jan. It stayed that way for ages. For US customers, those dates were dynamic. They were changing backward and forward. There were many posts complaining/cheering about this.
A little while ago, all international dates jumped back by about 6 weeks and there was uproar (I know, I was one of the ones shouting). International buyers felt left out in the cold, we weren’t given any information and there were some forum posters that had little sympathy for us. All of which made matters worse.
However…
Since then my date has changed twice. It fell back by one day and jumped forward by 3 days. Something… some information… is feeding into this delivery date change. Before, I expect that the delivery date was effectively on hold awaiting news of European Compliance (I’m in the UK) but now it is updating by a few days. This makes me feel like this is more to do with construction, shipping etc
So I believe, we may see International owners getting their glowforges starting sometime in March. It may still slip but it feels like slips may be smaller than before.
That’s my theory and I’m sticking (clinging, praying, begging) to it.
8 Likes
I agree. The fact that the date is now dynamic reflects new input. The ball is rolling. 
2 Likes
Thank you, but the response alone helps a lot!
1 Like
Your theory sounds plausible, and I’ll stick (cling, pray and beg) to it too, from now on. Thanks!
1 Like
I know it’s of little consolation now, but I can tell you after a frustrating 2 year wait, the memory of the trial of patience quickly evaporates, replaced by the adventure of exploration.
3 Likes
I’ll chime in and reinforce the notion - it’s worth the wait.
2 Likes
I was very frustrated during the 2 year wait, and reading the forum was one of the primary reasons I stuck around; although some of the extreme venting from certain members would sometimes make things worse.
However, since receiving my GF in August, I have forgotten all about that frustration. Of course, there are still things about it–software issues, limitations–that can sometimes be annoying, but it has been much more positive than not.
Only you know how much frustration you can absorb, but my advice is to stick it out and ask questions to pass the time.
8 Likes
The forum is really great and wets the appetite to realize own ideas. I think that’s the reason I lately got more frustrated. Looking back what I could absorb so far in my life (surviving cancer included) I think I just had to vent my frustration a bit but the response helped sooo much!
Thank you all!
3 Likes
I understand the comments. I frequently heard “What? You still haven’t gotten that?” Part of the reason I hung in there was the additional round of venture funding after the pre-order. I expect any VC funding would do their due diligence before investing.
I can’t help you with the delivery but can sympathize. 
2 Likes
That was big for me also. The VC’s research went miles deeper than my own.
2 Likes
You guys have way more faith in VCs than I do (having been through multiple rounds of it over my career). 
You’d be amazed at what a VC or PE firm will buy into. Guy Kawasaki (ex-Apple, etc) has a great bit on what it takes to get VC funding in Silicon Valley. It’s funny because it’s so true. Just because big money is involved doesn’t mean deep thinking and uncover-the-rocks research was effective 
2 Likes
My faith wasn’t so much the VCs as it was a combination of they have money to burn through, which means they have a better chance than if there was only crowd funding plus friends and fools money, and the fact at least some of the VCs had experience in the space. Without that combination I may hand over a couple hundred dollars, but not several thousand. As it was, my comfort zone had been exceeded, but my greed for those beautiful things won the mental fistfight.
Keep up the faith ylene. At this point I would hope it is clear there is a functioning product. That is a huge hurdle. Now they just have to make the transition to functional going concern. Even if things behind the glowforge curtains are a total financial shambles, with the quality of the machine and the install base, I would expect them to be able to suck up a lot more investor capital to keep them going for years. To be clear - I doubt things are a financial shambles, but I have never been behind the glowforge curtains.
Our last investors had no experience in our sector combined with management that may not have been forceful with what to expect, so umm, yeah…
3 Likes
I agree with everyone above. VC doesn’t mean it’s solid, but the amount invested certainly gave me faith. Plus (in my situation) it didn’t matter if or when it came thru, and watching the development just made me more and more excited to be a part of it. By this, I mean I didn’t have a business plan hinging on delivery of my GF…
In short - it is worth the wait…
3 Likes
Yeah, the ‘.com’ episode attests to that. I think the same applies to Bitcoin currently.
1 Like
As another International here i might suggest:
PROs
I think there are some Pros to this ridiculous situation for Internationals.
- We have seen the delivery problems decrease as Glowforge tighten up their processes and box structures
- We have seen machine errors come and go. If it helps, visualise it as: all those USA owners who got their machines first have been BETA testing for us!
- We are likely to (finally) get ours when more features have been rolled out… also we are seeing which of the advertised features are likely to be delivered, and which are not… so we still have the option to choose if this is the right machine for us.
- If it keeps going on much longer we might also start to see units suffer wear and tear and drop out of their warranty, so we can see how easy replacements/fixes are and also the cost involved.
- Shipping Internationally is going to be a HUGE task from both a monetary and logistical POV, I would hope that our machines have been double-checked on top of all the other checks because as much as we don’t want a dud machine, Glowforge would want the costs associated with it less.
- As Proofgrade purchases are likely to be far too expensive to be an option for us we are getting to see the experienced USA users post their non-PG setting in Beyond the Manual
CONs
- The wait… but honestly, after 2+ years if you have not decided to refund because of the interminable delays then you are unlikely to at this point. Be patient… and, if it makes sense ‘care less’
- It is hard to be excited about something that one has not even SEEN (which leads to)
- The loss of excitement… i think this is a common one i am meeting in discussions with International purchasers… Many of us don’t want to miss out on the machine. But to stop the bitterness that comes from repeated disappointments the excitement of what Glowforge represents has died over time.
As always it is up to you whether it is worth the wait… but i hope you are under no financial strain. If not then the battle is only psychological.
Ohne Fleiß kein Preis.
8 Likes
That was my view of the upside of having the VCs. It wasn’t due to the research they do/did before investing but the fact that their money was a) large and b) allowed for the escrow of the pre-order money. That meant it was likely that GF wouldn’t run out of capital (which is probably the biggest problem startups face) and even if they did, we’d have our refund money in escrow. (Escrow may not be totally correct - I don’t recall if it was formal or if they just had it as set aside funds.)
1 Like
I thought about a lot of the PROs too and agree with you. Maybe there is one more: All the USA owners have a lot of ideas which gave me quite a few suggestions for when I get the Glowforge.
Since I “only” have to pay back my sister (which I mostly did already) and I’m used to financial strain for years now I will battle on for sure. After all, I really learned to be patient when I had my chemotherapy (it took ages to finish since I was allergic to the poison). And as the saying goes:
Good things come to those who wait.
Oh, by the way, there is a little twist to that proverb Ohne Fleiß kein Schweiß 
4 Likes
Ha ha! Too true.
I lived in North Germany, up there they did not believe anything could be fun without sweat!