June Update Discussion

We live near the corporate office which is attached to one of the Joann stores. We suggested this to Dan back in March of this year because we knew someone who worked in the corporate office of Joann that could have helped them out with sales. We never received any kind of reply back. Even though no one responded to us, we still hope they start to carry proof grade at that store as well.

Sorry to announce, moved to oct.

Question @dan,

Iā€™m a wired caseā€¦ The glowforge was purchased for me as a wedding gift, and the purchaser choose to wait till the air filter is done. Will our founder discount still be good when we get there filter and glowforge together? Or are we out of luck??

Thanks for your time.

2 Likes

Holy cow, great wedding gift! (Sorry, doesnā€™t answer the question.) :smile:

3 Likes

I totally agree!!! However I still donā€™t have my glowforge because we are waiting on the air filterā€¦ Which means I donā€™t have access to purchase proofgrade, or access to the other founder benefitsā€¦ Yetā€¦

True story: in the United States more than 10% of marriages end in less time than pre-order customers have been waiting for their Glowforge filters. Perhaps the gift was a statement of confidence in the solidity of your relationship. But you wonā€™t be able to laser cut the traditional leather 3-year anniversary gift.

3 Likes

We didnā€™t think of this, but your question lead us to talk through it - yes, we will extend your discount as well. I appreciate you bringing it up so we can do right by you and everyone else affected.

4 Likes

Excellent!!! Thatā€™s the answer I wanted!!! :slight_smile:

Well I could hand craft itā€¦ Leather is fun to work withā€¦ although I prefer metal. B-)

For metal youā€™ll need a Wazer or the like. Fortunately they are on the verge of shipping; if your gift giver got a refund on the Glowforge and bought you a Wazer instead, that might actually get to you quicker.

Yea, iā€™m familiar with Wazer, and I would rather not loose silver and gold in it. Iā€™ll still stay with Glowforge, Iā€™ve been here since the beginning. While Iā€™m not longer on here enough to be counted as a regular any more, I am still on here frequently. And I want my Glowforge!!! :smiley:

4 Likes

Forum team, fellow forgers, and @danā€¦ I was in Columbus, OH for work today, and about 25 minutes away from the new format JoAnn store with the ā€œCreatorā€ area, and the GLOWFORGE. (So I had to take a little side trip!) While they have one unit hooked up - no one was using it / renting it when I was there - 7:30 PM on a Tuesday night - what I found very interesting was that they have venting in place for two additional units. I spent some time speaking with several of the staff - and they love it - and customers love it.

Apparently, when the GF team was there to help people see what was possible, the entire staff made a tremendously positive impression on both JoAnn employees and customers. One customer apparently wanted to engrave his phone (back side) as he has a DJ business - and after he convinced everyone that he realized it was ā€œat his own riskā€ and that if something went wrong (i.e. - phone was damaged) - he would not hold them responsible. The story I was told by the JoAnn staff there was that it turned out beautifully, and he was so impressed, that later that day, he ordered his own 'Forge.

Apparently they have a few real experts on the staff - but it didnā€™t sound like anyone is accessing these forums, so I mentioned it to one of the ā€œnon-expertsā€ who said sheā€™d pass it along to their top 'Forger. Apparently one of them has a customer that was trying to make an anniversary present for her husband, and they werenā€™t able to get something to work as expected - It sounded like the design was going off the printable area - due to how they were trying to do round-cut corners (Iā€™m guessing that some portion of the ā€œhiddenā€ 3/4 of each corner circle is still in existence - but not visible, so it wouldnā€™t cut it. So there is probably an opportunity for some additional training / coaching. Perhaps @Dan should offer to fly @Jules to Columbus?

On a separate note - since I drove here, it meant that I had trunk space in the car. And I can (Happily) confirm that JoAnnā€™s frequent coupons (and those of their primary competitors (Hobby Lobby and Michaelā€™s) are gladly accepted by the staff at this JoAnnā€™s store.

So while the ProofGrade materials are slightly more expensive than at the GF store (small acrylic sheets were 5.99, Cherry Medium PG Ply (12x20) was 19.99, and Walnut Ply (medium 12x20) was 24.99ā€¦ applying a 50% off on a single regular price item to any one of these items made themā€¦ wellā€¦ irresistible. So Iā€™m taking back a few more sheets of PG to add to my stash at home.

The materials are in a far back corner of the store - just one 4 ft wide shelving section, but itā€™s a good way to get some of the basics if you are in the area. Instant, no shipping charges, and discountable - both at reg price (for a % off the order) or by using very good % off one item coupons. (HINT: If you havenā€™t already, get their app, and register for getting additional coupons sent to you by email or text.)

Just wanted to provide a little update from seeing another 'forge truly out live in the wild.

14 Likes

Thanks for the field trip report! I think that forum participation (or at least access) is pretty important for success with the Glowforge. I would guess that the average consumer is not going to get everything they could be getting from the machine, or be as successful as they could be, without it. Iā€™ve been using a Glowforge for well over a year and am still learning new things that improve my results.

5 Likes