ORDER CANCELLATION before it ships

Hi everybody!

I have recently seen so many bad reviews, that prior to purchasing I did not see. It seems within the last week in all of my Facebook groups, so many people have had machines that do not work right out of box. I do not feel comfortable spending this much on a machine that is not guaranteed to work/ takes 2+ weeks to hear back on parts or a replacement.

I have emailed the company today for a cancellation before it ships because I do not want to pay a restocking fee. I have also replied to another thread I had open with customer service. I am writing here to see if there is anywhere else I should message to make sure it gets cancelled.

Thanks!

Your only options are to call or email. They don’t monitor the forum anymore. Good luck!

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Thanks! I will call first thing Monday morning as i assume they dont work weekends. I emailed twice so hoping that works

If you do not manage to cancel the order you might want to actually use it and shock yourself at the ease of use.

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Good luck. Facebook may or may not be a good source of information, but you have made up your mind. Very few people go on Facebook to talk about the ease of use of the Glowforge because they are so busy making things.

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There are over 100,000 Glowforge machines out there now. They sell thousands a month. If 1% are damaged in transit by UPS/FedEx (which is NOT hard to imagine), you’d see posts all the time about machines not working right out of the box. Yet, 99% work right out of the box, and the other 1% get replaced with ones that do right away.

I wouldn’t let that spook you. Nobody can guarantee you a machine that will work on delivery at any price. Ask anyone that’s spent $100,000+ on a brand new Tesla car. So if that’s the standard, you’ll never buy anything nice.

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I, too, have seen an increase in negative GF comments on social media forums, but with like most things, people will complain more than they will give kudos. I’m a little suspect of some posts, like the recent “unexpectedly exploded” GF or the “it just started on fire for no reason”. There is always more to the post than they will either admit or let on. Operate your machine with responsible use and proper care, like you would with any pricey purchase. Make your own opinion based on your own experience. As far as customer service or response times, it will take the time it takes to research and respond. Whatever you decide, best of luck!

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I think my biggest worry is how many I have seen from the recent batches that are having issues and not given any information or reply on when to expect their new unit. If there was a better reputation with their customer service team I would feel more comfortable . It is the all around lack of response and transparency that worries me

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I can understand why you are spooked, I got in on the pre-sale just before it closed in 2015 and having never backed a new company I was slightly paranoid. the $1995 was more than I had ever spent on a tool.
All I can say is from my own experience, with the laser - and Facebook.
Personally, my laser has worked fine since I finally got it in 2017. That’s right, I paid in full and waited 2 years for it. I still feel it was one of the best investments I ever made. I bought it for pure self-indulgence without any plans on making money with it. In spite of that, it has generated a bit more than $10,000 without any solicitation or online store.
Regarding FB, I generally equate what I read there with some graffiti spray-painted on a wall in a downtown alley.

Hey, you gotta follow your heart, but if you want to make an informed decision, and really wanted a laser, I would suggest you do some reading around here instead of the FB groups. There are a lot of people here with years of experience with these machines.

I have to say the criticism of support is valid from the context of it being slow, but across my experience here I have seen the company stand behind their product.
Good Luck!

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I got a brand new machine in late January and, it is working great! I have done a number of things with it already and, it is spot-on for accuracy, power and reliability. I had my previous machine for almost 4 years. It had a developing issue with the cooling system but, was still functional when I sent it back.

YMMV

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Hi!

Thanks for the feedback. After reading through it all, it is making me second guess cancelling. I might just have to give it a shot and hope things work out great

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The biggest issue I have seen is folk jumping in without understanding or giving rough treatment that bites back. The window you see is the part you can use (19+" x almost 11") with the extra area of the 20"x12" material above and to the left. There is a part of setting up that includes making pieces to help you understand how things work, and there is a calibration to get a fisheye lens to reflect what a regular lens would see from much further off. This is very sensitive to the thickness of the material so there is a set focus command to precisely identify that thickness. After you use the set focus you can place the design very precisely.

A very common complaint is that the machine does not cut where expected because they did not know (think about) the area not in the window, or they placed the design and then ran set focus :roll_eyes: or did not run it at all but were upset when the machine ran it automatically so the image jumped just before cutting, in either case, of course, the focused point is where it was always aimed but showed it after the focus was set.

This is one of several complaints we see here and I can guess very common in Facebook, that is misunderstanding rather than a bad machine, but they will swear it is a bad machine.

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Hi there!

I agree that definitely sounds like a user error. What makes me nervous is the amount of people posting that they bought recently and the quality of these are nothing compared to those bought a year+.

I worry that I get one of those machines I have seen people complain about that has faulty parts. I have seen people running business off these machines (bought 1 yr ago +) , but recent customers say they are so faulty they can’t rely on it.

Most people that bought recently did not buy a machine a year ago.

We are not trying to talk you into keeping the Glowforge you ordered, just explaining that the experiences expressed on Facebook may not reflect reality for the majority of users. You ordered a Glowforge for a reason, if you cancel what laser will you purchase or are you just going to change directions entirely?

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Recent customers are generally new users but if one should rely on a single point of vulnerability they are asking for it, taking a risk every time they take an order. I have been amazed at the fad of “just in time” how the entire infrastructure has tried to increase profits by pushing the costs of inventory ever lower in the food chain, and now that risk has come back to bite them big time. And even Glowforge has had issues with growth and covid to make difficult and clumsy what was easy before.

I just got an email from Walmart that the huge load of noodles had been delivered that I had not ordered, and I found it was a spray-wash machine I had ordered instead. I will probably be next week sorting that out :roll_eyes:

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Hi there,

I was just comparing the timeline difference I have seen between users. I have looked into OMtech and Thunder, but personally want my first laser to be a plug in play, which is why I chose Glowforge

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I’m not trying to sway you either, but would just like to say I’ve read plenty on the Facebook page and although you can get some ideas and tips from some on there…and in a few cases you can get good advice, in general the GUG group is rife with misinformation and as you have noted, lots of complaints and issues due to user errors. This forum is the first and best resource for good information and help.

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That’s not a bad thing down the road, if your needs dictate it.

I’ve owned a few brands and there is no easier system to get up and going.

It’s really a pretty magical combination… I can’t tell from your posts if you’re trying to monetize the device (or product), but I say a pretty magical combination in the sense of its relatively affordable in the grand scheme of things as far as equipment to start a business; and ease of use that allows you to focus on designing things rather than modifying things, aligning mirrors, etc.

I won’t lie and say that reliability shouldn’t be or isn’t a concern. And support seems to really be off their game the past 6-7 weeks, in terms of long response times, etc. It hasn’t historically been as bad (support-wise) as it is right now, for whatever reason. The reliability of the systems can be a concern - it’s usually stupid little things like the lid cable, a bearing/wheel, etc.

The fact is, IMO (it can be fact and opinion, right?) that you’re never going to get an all-in-one device — that being a device that has rock solid reliability, rock solid support, that is easy to use, requires minimal tinkering with, etc. None of these machines are guaranteed to work right at delivery, but I do know that Glowforge will get it taken care of and fixed. Albeit the response may be a little slower than anyone would like, at this point in time.

In fact, they seem to be overly generous in replacing machines even when user error is the issue. I know of several people who have had several machines, only to find out it ended up being user error… (that’s probably something that should be sussed out on the support end, but it does show the lengths they’ll go to, to try and make their owner base happy).

So it kind of depends on you, and what you’re comfortable with, and want to focus on. If you want to spend time learning how to be a laser operator, there are a number of other systems out there. If you want to spend time learning how to be a laser technician, there are a number of other systems out there. If you want to put forth more effort designing things than trying to make things work, this is a pretty good system.

Again, my opinion, building a business is tough. Especially a traditional home-based start up - which is almost always under-capitalized, under-staffed, one person wearing all of the hats. It can be tough if the machine breaks and you’re not able to make anything for a few weeks. It can be tough trying to align or realign mirrors or figure out some other technical issue. They all take time away from the building of your business.

You will have some sort of issues, at some point, with any and all of these systems - $500 k40, $2000 Omtech, $4000 Glowforge, Thunder, Aeon, Universal, Epilog, Trotec. All of them. I promise. Part of your plan should be to establish a SHTF ( :poop: hit the fan plan) - what to do when stuff doesn’t work. What’s your back up plan?

Personally, I think from a starting perspective, it’s easier to learn about being a designer and building in that way, than having to be an operator or technician. The operator and technician stuff, you’ll kind of learn along the way - not entirely, because the GF doesn’t require a ton of that stuff, but some of the very basics, familiarity, and confidence.

If down the road, your growing business dictates something larger, more powerful, faster, the transition isn’t incredibly difficult… but when you do make that transition, you’ll probably realize how much you’ve learned about these systems, and how having to learn all of that up front to even use the system can be tough.

Just my .02.

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I too, did the early buy program with the LOOOOONNNNNGGGGG wait.

I have to tell you it was worth it. I did have the misfortune of it finally arriving about 3 weeks before we were all hands on deck around my house prepping for a move to a new house and sale of one we had. Along with finishing an over 1100 square foot LVP flooring installation. I did go to the UPS depot to pick it up. numerous stories of “last mile” damage kinda freaked me out.

here I am 4 years AFTER that move. I am finally getting to really use it. and it is/was worth the wait. Practical cuts, gifts. fun times!

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On top of all the good advice you have received on this thread may I suggest, if you do go ahead and get the GF, that you learn how to use a program that will allow you to create or modify artwork. There have literally been people asking for help to make a circle. I kid you not.
What ever you decide, good luck.

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