Respectfully - Any more delays, and I'm out

I think this is my first post ever.

Respectfully, Glowforge: If shipment is delayed again, I’ll be asking for a full refund.

I pre-ordered on 9/29/2015. On 10/28/15 I added the air filter. So I’ve spent $2,770 in total, including shipping.

Yes, at the time I did have the impression my unit would have been shipped during the first quarter of 2016. (At the time, the website mentioned the first units would ship in December 2015.)

Since then, the schedule has changed several times. Stuff happens, I get that. But stuff has happened in my life too, which affects the balance of my desire to own a Glowforge (at an unknown date) versus my desire to have access to $2,770.

I’m not cancelling yet. This is just fair and open communication. If you need to consider another delay for any reason, I’m sure you’d like as much information as possible about how it may affect cancellations.

I am just one of your many customers, but I doubt I’m alone. If others feel the same, please respond so Glowforge knows it. (It’s not an insult. It’s useful information. I’m a business owner myself, and when someone tells me they’re dissatisfied and thinking of asking for a refund, I’m GRATEFUL they came forward, while I could still address the issues.)

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I’m not sure if I’ll cancel if there’s another delay, but I have been researching alternatives so I’ll be prepared to pull the trigger if there’s another delay or if the feature set on release is significantly limited compared to claims that were made a year ago.

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There are many people who feel that way Paul. Each time there is a delay, a higher percentage of people will decide that they can’t hold out anymore, than did the last time. People’s circumstances change, and sometimes they need the money.

I hope you can afford to wait until the units arrive, because I think they’ll ultimately be worth the wait for those that can afford to. :slight_smile:

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Having been drawn in by the excitement of other kickstarter programs, I can tell you, I would never do it again except with this group. The major difference is that Dan has a high standard and I know that this will be worth the wait. With that said, I have a laser cutter already that I purchased in 2006 and I love it but… it’s a beast to use with rediculous steps to do simple things. I spent over $15,000 on it and just spent another 2000 a few months ago to recharge the laser tube. Waiting is painful and we all want this machine to live up to the expectation. In other kickstarters with other companies, they ship unfinished product to us and we live with all the first generation problems and they make zero accommodation. Ultimately I have first gen, just barely works, hardware, and then the companies have the odacity to charge you for the parts to “upgrade” to make it work. 2nd gen buyers benefit from the money we put up to work out their bugs and we get nothing. Welcome to low risk entry to business startups because the risk was just assumed by us suckers.

I have never met Dan Shapiro but given what I have read about his past ventures and the way he has continued to give us add ons for our patience and been brutally honest at every step, I say you made the right choice to wait so far. Don’t pull the plug and buy some other wannabe. If you pull out . Pull out because you don’t want a laser cutter anymore or you need to free up the cash. This workflow is a gamechanger in the making (in my humble opinion) . I have a well know brand now and it works great but it’s a dumb, clunky, creativity sapping process to use.
You can Get a laser cutter with more power and way lower price right now but you will be sorely disappointed. Hang in there man…!

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I’ve never used a laser before, but I work as a CAD modeler and set up files for pattern cutting of fabrics, CNC routers, CNC plasma cutters, and the software makes or breaks the process… In most cases I have seen, it breaks more than it makes. I mean, a company spends $100k on a CNC fabric cutter and the software to operate the machine is a clunky piece of crap. So the Glowforge is so, so promising in that regard.

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Despite my intent to cancel if it’s delayed again, I must say I think the forge is gonna be a great product.

For me, I was getting it for a specific project in acrylic. It’s custom enclosures to create a “built-in-looking GPS” for the dashboards in my fleet of business vehicles. (It helps discourage theft of GPS’s, and prevents employees from borrowing my GPS’s for their personal vehicles.)

The project couldn’t wait, so I’ve been paying someone to cut the acrylic from my DXF files. Now most of the fleet is already upgraded. The total fees I’ve paid are nearly the cost of the glowforge, so I certainly wish I had it sooner.

My daughter is an artist so she might enjoy it, and I’ll probably have fun with it too. But for me the need is greatly diminished since the day I paid.

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I also ordered in early October, 2015. I had a fair grasp of the complexity of developing a product like this, so I wasn’t surprised at the first couple delays. I did feel a year of development seemed fair, plus whatever time was spent developing the product to feature in the glossy video for the pre-sale campaign. Let’s remember, it did look quite developed at that point, even on par with what we’re seeing as “pre-release” units now.

To address your question @paul, I don’t yet know if I’ll request a refund at the next delay. However, this most recent schedule announcement was the first time I considered it. It’s likely that I will consider it more seriously next time.

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Thanks for writing, Paul. We know that we let you and everyone else down with this delay, and are working hard to meet or exceed your expectations when you get your Glowforge.