Information for old customers

[notaz]

General questions

Even though many preorderers will only remember one place they ordered from, there were actually always 2 companies involved: OpenPandora Ltd., the company behind "Craig's shop" aka "OpenPandoraSales" and OpenPandora GmbH, the company behind the "GP2X Shop" (now known as "DragonBox shop"), aka "ED's Shop".

• Craig's shop/OpenPandora Ltd./OpenPandoraSales (run by Craig): started the whole project and originally took majority of preorders back in late 2008 and more recently 1GHz preorders. Most probably in financial trouble right now, as customers are reporting they have been waiting for refunds for quite a while. No longer involved in production, but occasionally sells leftover parts of refurbished units. Their remaining preorders are currently being fulfilled by OpenPandora GmbH with profit made from new sales.
• GP2X Shop/DragonBox shop/OpenPandora GmbH (run by EvilDragon): Originally took preorders too, but they were mostly limited to Europe. Currently in charge in production and in good financial state. Able to ship new Pandoras as soon as they are ordered.
• Link's shop/Ithic.com LLC - Official US reseller and service center, helping to reduce shipping costs. Also shipping without delay as long as he got units on stock.

So you say it's possible to get a pandora now?
Yes, new orders as well as upgrades from old preorders are shipped as soon as they are ordered. Waiting days for new orders are over (well except weekends).
 
 

Information about preorders

Where is my pandora I preordered 1/2/3/4 years ago?
It's waiting for more funds from sales to be available, so that it's production could be paid for.

Huh? But I already paid full price for it's production years ago?
You did, but since then several bad things happened for the project and all that preorder money is lost now. Major losses were caused by a board production company destroying huge number of boards by populating oxidized bare boards. There were also quality issues with certain parts like nubs and LCD cables at the beginning which caused RMAs, among other things. All this caused huge losses and current preorder situation.
You can find a more detailed history here.

Wow you guys mismanaged it all badly.
There are various opinions about this; even though OpenPandora Ltd. was in charge of production when those bad things happened, there were many factors involved and it is how it is now. Currently the production is running well, but there are no extra funds to cover hundreds of remaining preorders so sale profits are used instead, what makes clearing preorders rather slow.

Why don't you sue the board company that did you the most damage?
Deals with that board company were made by OpenPandora Ltd., so only they can do that, but currently there is no information about the status of this matter.

What about 1GHz preorders? I took one when Craig brought them up.
These are mostly in the same situation as normal preorders, as Craig reported all money got used up for refunds. There was no money left to produce enough pandoras after that to cover 1GHz queue.

How many batch1/batch2 preorders are left?
OpenPandora GmbH: 0 (March 20th, 2013)
OpenPandora Ltd.: unknown
Unfortunately Craig usually does not give OpenPandora Ltd. numbers, although constantly being asked by the community. Last update about it was here.

I ordered from OpenPandora GmbH (formerly gp2x Shop) and didn't receive my unit or an email that it's ready yet?

As a long time has passed between the order and the shipment, we contact EVERY customer via email before shipping the unit to confirm the address.

If the email is no longer valid, you probably didn't get it.

If that's the case, head over to the contact sheet at www.dragonbox.de and let them know you're still waiting. You need at provide your name, though it would be best if you could provide your order number as well.

That sucks, I want a refund!
Check what shop you ordered from (see below). If you ordered from ED, you'll get your refund fast, if from Craig, there are reports it's taking months due to likely bad financial situation.

Now that's real bad, is there anything I can do?
There is an option to upgrade from Craig's queue and have it shipped directly by ED without waiting, but at additional cost to cover production. That upgrade will give you the 1GHz unit and it will be shipped right away.

Oh. If I decide to upgrade to the 1GHz unit, how do I do that?
Contact the shop you originally ordered from (see below) and let them know you want to update.
Please provide details about your original order (order number, address, etc.) so the shop can confirm the upgrade.
In case you don't get a reply from OpenPandora Ltd., use the contact-us form on www.dragonbox.de and send your details there.
You will then receive a voucher which you can use on www.dragonbox.de and complete the upgrade.

After all these years, I don't remember where I have ordered from. What can I do?
Check your original order emails. If you ordered from EvilDragon's company (OpenPandora GmbH), you have received the confirmation mail from GP2X Shop. The order numbers will be a four or five digit-number.
Otherwise, you have ordered from Craig's company (OpenPandora Ltd.)

Who do I contact for information about my order?
If you ordered from OpenPandora Ltd., send an email to openpandorasales@gmail.com.
If you ordered from OpenPandora GmbH, please use the contact us-form on www.dragonbox.de.

 

[klapse]

Mods please sticky this. The only thing I'd add is that Craig's 1ghz preorders seem to be shipping first. I seem to recall that there were about 70 left to ship - is that right?

 

[elwing]

nice post, but there's also new information from ED claiming he finally cleared his preorder queue. there's only the several hundred classic preorder and the 70 or so 1GHz order from craig to clear right now

 

[Znirk]

nice post, but there's also new information from ED claiming he finally cleared his preorder queue. there's only the several hundred classic preorder and the 70 or so 1GHz order from craig to clear right now

What ED said was that he's done with his batch 1 queue. Batch 2 preorders can be in the same situation, except they're not among the first 4000. According to Notaz, who claims to have received information on the matter yesterday, there are indeed 84 such preorders left with ED.

 

[EvilDragon]

Those 84 are my Batch 2 remaining preorders.

 

[elwing]

doh, my bad... sorry... great post anyway

 

[rohezal]

There is an option to upgrade from Craig's queue and have it shipped directly by ED without waiting, but at additional cost to cover production. That upgrade will give you the 1GHz unit and it will be shipped right away.

I would write it up nicer.

There is an option to upgrade from Craig's queue and have it shipped directly by ED without waiting. You will get a 1 GHZ Pandora for its production costs, which are 375€ instead of 540€. This money is used to produce a Pandora and send it to you right away.

Btw. great post .

 

[eki]

Huh? But I already paid full price for it's production years ago?


You did, but since then several bad things happened for the project and all that preorder money is lost now. Major losses were caused by a board production company destroying huge number of boards by populating oxidized bare boards. There were also quality issues with certain parts like nubs and LCD cables at the beginning which caused RMAs, among other things. All this caused huge losses and current preorder situation.

Can someone explain to me; When a production company and/or faulty parts destroys something, and how the customer (in this case Craig and his company) gets victimised by this?

Im no expert, but I believe also those types of firms have a warranty on their products?

 

[EvilDragon]

Well, that's the case if you are an end-customer and buy a finished product, but it's not as easy if you're a company, give an external company your design and let them produce it.


If something fails, it doesn't have to be the fault of the producing company. It could be your design as well. This is something that needs to be checked first.


In the case of CC (the PCB production company): They claim it's the PCB design causing issues. We all know that's not the case, as the German company produces the same design without issues.


However, this can only be solved by going to court, which probably isn't easy as well, as it's a UK company going against a Texas company.


The only one who can file a lawsuit is Craig, but as mentioned above in the text, there are no further reports except that he wanted to do this.

 

[ShleeDragon]

Those 84 are my Batch 2 remaining preorders.

Sexy! Please ship all of those and finish your queue completely before you ship any more to Craig's Queue.

Having your preorders finished would be both a cause for celebration and a financially safer route for you and your investors!!

 

[EvilDragon]

Well, it seems quite a few of my customers are helping out with upgrading to 1GHz, so it will probably move down faster anyways


Thanks to all of you for your support

 

[Zelest]

I upgraded to a 1ghz unit in Craigs' queue just before things went from bad to worse. Is there a way to cross upgrade to ED's queue? How much would that be? After an original unit + upgrade + donations + metal Pandora I don't really wanna think about how much money I already spent, but if the cross upgrade is affordable, and if it helps someone get their unit quicker in the process, it might be worth it.

 

[Binky]

Hopefully reaching the end of the GP2X preorders will bring in more customers

Having a huge backlog of years-old unfulfilled orders doesn't look good.

 

[elwing]

Hopefully reaching the end of the GP2X preorders will bring in more customers

Having a huge backlog of years-old unfulfilled orders doesn't look good.

I hope so, but I'm afraid it won't happens until at a strict minimum 6month... I'm afraid selling pandora is becoming harder and harder with the other devices... even if none fills exactly in the same niche...

 

[EvilDragon]

I hope so, but I'm afraid it won't happens until at a strict minimum 6month... I'm afraid selling pandora is becoming harder and harder with the other devices... even if none fills exactly in the same niche...

I'm currently selling about 4-5 per day, Link also is out of stock (will change soon), and that is without much publicity lately.


I'm currently preparing units for bloggers and reviewers to improve that and there's the FOSDEM coming up as well.


Doesn't look that bad

 

[elwing]

yes, most certainly, but craig huge backlogs seems to contain several hundred rebirth version, even at 4-5 a day it will take some time... and all the while you'll keep that bad image...

 

[EvilDragon]

Well, I still hope he'll do something against it... I feel kinda stupid decreasing his debts while keeps promising to do something to increase the sales of the Pandora but nothing ever seems to happen.


And I'm even using ALL the profits of my shop to deliver to old customers, so he doesn't only gain from Pandora sales but also profits from Everdrives...


I hope with the iCP2 he can put in at least 100k into the whole thing.


If he simply makes profit with the icp2 without caring about what he leftn behind, that will really speak for itself.


Let's hope for the best.

 

[siddharta]

ED, your devotion to the project is beyond anything..

All those sleepless nights and your shop does not generate any income is not what you deserve.

I hope that at one point in the future you are beginning to make profit.

Also do I hope (but not believe) that craig is able to find a way back..

Cheers Christoph

btw, as Pandora does have some audio capabilities, it should also be marketed towards audiophiles. Those people are paying a lot for some highendplayers as iBasso (~800$), just look at hifi-forum.de..

If the right people over there would receive a unit for measuring and reviewing and it came out fine, they probably would also spread the words..
        
  

 

[Mr_Loon]

Mods please sticky this. The only thing I'd add is that Craig's 1ghz preorders seem to be shipping first. I seem to recall that there were about 70 left to ship - is that right?

ED Does not currently have any 1 Ghz Pre Orders so all outstanding 1 Ghz Pre Orders go to Craigs customers.


My Understanding is that ED, being the good man he is, ships alternate units to his pre order queue & Craigs.

...


Unfortunately Craig usually does not give OpenPandora Ltd. numbers, although constantly being asked by the community. Last update about it was here.


...

Just noticed that Craig did not state the year for the queue cleared by October prediction.  PS Many thanks for creating such a clear, concise & balanced guide.  


@ ED are you going to make a final countdown thread in the news section? If you don't then I'll make one in general talk where we can all raise a glass on the day your pre order queue is cleared. The day the official supplier clears his pre order queue will be a momentous day in the history of the Pandora project. 


Please give us an update on numbers in your pre order queue every couple of weeks or so.

 

[Seamus]

Upgraded to a 1ghz unit today sent back my old unit looking forward to using the faster machine.