Pretty certain there was never a December delivery. Beta units maybe, but not production units. So again, it’s only been once.
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During the preorder, the GF website listed the ship date as Dec '15. Here’s a capture from Sept '15 via archive.org:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150927190345/http://www.glowforge.com/order
- Edited to add - apparently that info on the order page was confusing to many of us who were not on the forum early on. Those who were active on the forums may have been clearer about shipping times. This is from a GF email sent Nov '15:
"Most backers will get their machines in the first half of 2016.
When we launched, we said “First units shipping December 2015”, and then went on to say that units purchased before October 23 would ship in the first half of 2016. Now the first shipments are about to happen! (Stay tuned for an email in a few days on how you can apply to get one of the first few beta units). However, we’ve heard from a few people who thought that all the shipments would happen in December. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. To make sure your final Glowforge is as good as it can possibly be, we’re going to start by shipping a small number of beta units starting in two weeks. We’ll build the next set of units on a small test line over the course of the month. Then, the majority of units will roll out in the first half of next year. The date that we ramp up our production and start shipping thousands of units will depend on your feedback and our quality testing, but we’re on schedule to have all units that were purchased before Oct 23 shipped in the first half of 2016. Units ordered after Oct 23 will ship in the summer of 2016."
So @wesleyjames - you’re correct that there’s only been one delay, but hopefully you can also see where the Dec '15 notion came from.
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Oh, absolutely. Since I didn’t see the reply til at work, I hadn’t had time to go and dig up anything to reference it. I do remember how much confusion there was even back at even just shortly after the 30 day run and for quite some time before it was finally clarified across the board. 
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Ship Date was December 15th during the pre-order. That it was meant to be beta units would have certainly stopped me from ordering at that point. Nowhere at that point in time (In September), did it say it was beta units. That was “clarified” later - so it has been 2 delays from a lot of people’s perspective, in part due to the poor communication of when the deliverables will actually happen.
So yes, 2 delays.
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Yes, I interpreted it that way also. Had the delivery date been clearer during preorder, it probably would have stopped me too.
Like you, I’ve been thinking of it as two delays, and I’ve been scratching my head every time someone says it was just one. I was starting to second guess myself, which is why I finally looked it up on archive.org + dug through old email.
At the end of the day, I suspect that those who were active on the forum from the start may have had a clearer understanding of delivery times all along; those of us who were relying only on email updates had a different takeaway. Thus the differing perspectives.
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I had some time to blow while I listened to some audio, so I searched back to try and find when the forum knew.
Best I could find was:
Back that far it only lists the month and year, not the specific date. But that thread is all posts in October of 2015, so potentially within the initial 30 day window. And they speak of it as a known element, so something discussed to the point of being communal knowledge by the time this thread exists.
Doesn’t change the fact that for a large portion of the people waiting on the machine, their hopes have been dashed twice. I was just satisfying my own curiosity, because I know that the moment I pressed the button I was thinking “Sweet, I can have this to use in Spring semester with my students!” and I am back to thinking that once again.
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Well I’m out. Ordering a FS this morning. I’m tired of waiting, and the FS is just as promising with more support.
Hope you like it.
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FWIW, I do too!
Just wanted to take a second to state that, because I know that I’ve been vocal about concerns or frustrations with the delay - hopefully that doesn’t read as “all angst, all the time”. Yes I’m frustrated about the delay (and yes, I’ve considered canceling) but that has more to do with how the delay impacts my goals and timelines, than a lack of faith in the product or company. The reasons for pushing back delivery are sound, and I respect that even if I’m not thrilled about the end result. I do believe that they’re working hard, and that it will be an excellent product once it ships.
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So, I guess I’m a bit different in that I wasn’t shopping for a laser, wasn’t particularly interested in them, and I don’t need one. If I didn’t buy a glowforge, I wouldn’t be purchasing the alternatives that are available because, for me, they don’t do what I want them to do. The things that appeal to me about the glowforge are, in no particular order,
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the software. This cannot be underestimated. I use two programs in my day job that do essentially the same things. One is user friendly and pretty and just easy. The other makes me grind my teeth and swear at the computer screen. If I only had the crappy one to work with, I would hate every second of something I generally find very pleasant and enjoyable. And it isn’t that I don’t know how to use it. It’s that every single thing it needs to do is more difficult and uglier and more time consuming than it needs to be.
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the cloud and Internet connectivity. I know this is not generally seen as a feature by a lot of people, but I love this. My computer does not need one more USB or Bluetooth connected device.
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the cameras. Those cameras are going to make the things I do and make so, so, so much easier and faster. I haven’t seen any other lasers that have this, but maybe they exist. That ugly program I mentioned earlier? You use flipping coordinates to position things. COORDINATES! Did you ever play that game where two gorillas on a skyline throw bombs at each other, and you aim by picking the velocity and angle? I don’t want that to be a part of my workflow.
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it’s small and looks pretty. I don’t have, like, an awesome woodworking shop with woodworky things and a concrete floor and a shopvac. I have an office. It’s a pretty office. I like how it looks. I may be the only one who cares, but I like that the glowforge is aesthetically pleasing. Everything else I’ve seen, Chinese and American and cheap and super-expensive, is pretty ugly. It’s stupid, probably, but I don’t want to look at the laser equivalent of an iron lung for hours and hours every single day.
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venting/filter. Built in and self contained. And also doesn’t require me to figure it out.
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I dont want to know how the laser works, I don’t want to figure it out, I don’t want customer service to have to walk me through it, and I don’t want to ruin anything. I mean this in the nicest possible way, but glowforge is designing their machines to be more idiot proof than other machines I’ve looked at. For me, not having to align and clean mirrors or calibrate anything is a big deal. Glowforge put it where I can’t touch it. And that’s best for everyone.
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Like a MILLION times. Couldn’t have said it better, although it would look cool with a jet black housing too. 
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Fantastic and thorough roundup of positive reasons for wanting a Glowforge. There were several memorable phrases, but this one is my favorite!
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I’m finally going to chime in…wasn’t going to, but I sense that some people are getting a bit antsy about what they think are delays, and panic can spread if you don’t look at the economics of the thing.
Hate to see that happen, because sticking it out can be an excellent use of your money if you want a laser with the “ease of use” that this one will have.
Consider:
It’s costing me $2300 to get a basic model with filter. (I got in on the kickstarter, and saved a hundred bucks through a referral.)
Okay, so that means that Glowforge gets to hang on to my money and generate interest off of it for (currently) a grand total of 14 months. (October 2015-December 2016)
Since i took that money out of a high-interest bearing account, at a big fat 0.06% (that’s .06%, not 6%), that means that over a 14 month period, I have lost exactly $1.75 in interest.
I can’t understand what kind of investments all of these people who are freaking out over how long this is taking are into…obviously they’re much more genius at finding banks with good rates than I am. (And I won’t touch the stock market right now, it’s waaaay overdue for a correction and I hope it happens before it’s too late for the next generations to be able to recover from it.)
But to continue…
In exchange for letting Glowforge keep the buck seventy-five, I save, at a minimum $700 ($2995 - $2295) given the difference in the kickstarter price and the current pre-order price. Possibly much more than that, because we don’t know what the final price will be, although if I had to guess, I would put it in the$3200- $3500 range. (It will probably not go all the way up to the retail price of $5000, they never do.)
Okay so $1.75 versus $700-$1200. Looks good to me.
Matter of fact, they could hang on to it (my money) for several centuries before it would become economically unfeasible at today’s interest rates. 
This calculation works only as long as you don’t need the money for something of course, but investing in kickstarters is inherently risky. I’m afraid a lot of people didn’t (or don’t) understand how they work.
By investing in a start-up company, you can get a really nice return ($700+ minimum worth of value when the product is delivered), but you are taking your chances on getting it in a specific amount of time, and there is no contract that says they have to deliver the product within a certain time frame. There is also the outside chance that the company will fail, and you lose your money.
I do NOT think that is going to happen here, or I would not still have my money invested. If you’ve never invested in the stock market, it is exactly the same thing - you are taking a chance on a company succeeding, or continuing to succeed. But with the stock market, the company is already established, so the risk is less.
And the return is much less.
Big risk = BIG reward.
A $700 savings is a 26% rate of return over a 14 month period.
(simple interest - I’m too lazy to do the compound calculation for 14 months)
If it (heaven forbid) runs to 2 full years, it’s still a 15% rate of return, at a minimum.
Don’t think I can match that in the stock market!
(Sure as heck can’t do it drawing interest in any kind of account or CD.)
Besides, I’m not about to wait through almost an entire year and bail at the home stretch.
Sticking it out is actually the smart thing to do if you are not in a complete bind for the money.
If you need the money, go ahead and take it out. But don’t do it because you’re nervous about it being delivered. Based on the interactions with the people building and testing it here on the forum, I have zero concern.
The things that might yet delay it are going to be things that will be out of their control, but I think we’re going to get a kick-ass product sometime fairly soon.
So hang in there if you can.
(Okay, that’s enough rah-rah! I think I was a cheerleader in a previous life.)
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love this… Ya I don’t under stand people saying bla bla im loosing interest… Savings accounts at the bank pay nearly nothing and far less then inflation so keeping money in savings you loose buying power. My 401k ranges from 18%-6% depending on the year but that’s a heck of allot more then the price of basic and a filter and at that rate still less then what we save by pre order. My lending club investments are between 8-12% but that’s on 36 months before that becomes liquid again. And my bit coining is 200% if(huge if) the bitcoin currency market doesn’t tank and difficulty doesnt sky rocket and it will 18month before roi and then wait 24 months for the next split where it may stop being profitable. So ya really the pre order is making you money at a super fast rate should the asking retail actually be reality
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It’s excruciatingly complex, which is why I hesitated to try to explain it. And it does put most people to sleep pretty quickly, at that. (One way to calm everyone down. Chuckle! )
Inflation hasn’t happened yet, not while this money has been invested. But it will, and pretty soon, I’m afraid.
(And you’re some kind of brave to try Bitcoin - too much risk for my blood. )
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Tbh I should have gone in much sooner I missed out on some good opportunity the most recent split makes it rough cover operating and turn roi with a profit. I have it modeled for operating and roi for 18 month then for 30 months operating and profit before the next split. But ya super super super high risk so I am only in for a modest amount just enough for the sport of it not enough to loose my shirt and if it works out ill have a few extra k to pay off some of the gf and if not I had fun
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I’ve put my money in the Basic purely as a hobby toy. But what I don’t have much personal understanding of is people saying, “I’m buying this for a business and I’m losing money by not having it ASAP!” That’s pure speculation to my ears; it assumes instant success with whatever they have planned. I don’t put much value in speculation, I suppose.
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I think you can safely add integrated closed loop cooling to that list too. buckets, pumps, and bubbles sound like a nightmare to me.
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A clear case of counting chickens before they hatch.
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