Instant Pandora with a premium?

[andrewe1]

Ok so as I understand it:


Person who just found out about the pandora and has 500usd to spare: Get it in 7 days


Person who has been following the project for years and ordered from the first batch (me): Get it in..."a few weeks".


Something got twisted inside me but at this point im just going with the flow, there's nothing I can do about it :mellow:


And look at that, google checkout... no messing around with bank transfers and all that crap, guess some people will just be lucky <_<

Don't forget first batchers also saved a ton of cash

A ton of cash? I actually paid more than 350 usd with the reordering mess and exchange rates and whatnot. 150 usd is not that much to skip the queue, I think it should be at least 700 usd to justify giving the finger to all the first batchers and skipping the queue just like that.


All in all, I don't feel its fair that someone new can just come in and get a pandora just like that, while many first batchers are still waiting.


Also, I have friends that have always wanted a pandora but never bothered to follow the project because they didn't think it was real since pandoras were not shipping, if one of them finds out about this and gets a pandora BEFORE me and then rubs it in, I swear im gonna stab them in the face with a butterknife.

 

[Linopoly]

I apologize for not reading every single reply to this thread, and for this long post.


I'm glad Craig was able to spot an obvious opportunity ($500+ Pandora units on eBay this week) and take it. One of the reasons I didn't buy an N900 instead of a Pandora is because I really want to see a Pandora 2 at some point, not a dead project that serves as a discouragement to others, so I like to see more money going to the OpenPandora team.


That being said, it's obviously important to keep in mind that the demand for $500 units may dry up at any time in the face of e.g. the N900 and tablets (they are the competition, even if they don't play games). It's important to have a newer Pandora design as soon as possible that can justify a premium by having more powerful silicon inside.


It's also important to treat the first batch people with care and respect, they are your most loyal customers/investors, and those who have been waiting since 2008 really deserve some kind of bonus in the future (when it becomes possible) for investing in the project, even if that wasn't part of the original agreement. If you're getting too many orders to build the $500 units in 7 days, better temporarily increase the price on that offering further instead of unduly delaying the first batch people.

 

[DavidBowman]

Wow, it's been a very long time since I've had anything to say (and have never had anything to say on the new forum). But I did want to stop in and say this:


We have to be rational about this. It isn't about your order number, it's about the viability for this device to make it, and - since it was a business venture as well - it's about the OPT not having to take a financial loss after all the time and money they've invested.


Craig, you and the team did what you had to do to keep the project alive, and I support that. This was a good idea, despite the few drawbacks. Economics teaches us that nothing can be done without some sort of drawback.


It's been said before, but it could stand repeating: either this project gains some momentum or it fails. What good will it do to anyone to finally get their Pandora if there is no community behind it to drive the software? That would be like buying a car without a steering wheel.


I want this project to succeed more than anything. It's been a wild ride, but what a terrible ending it would be for all the hard work to be for naught.


Most of what I would have said has already been said by those who have thought this through. We have to look at the long-term goals for this project. Developers aren't going to stick around for a device that only had a few thousand units produced. We need production to continue and we need OPT not to take a loss.


Merchandise is a great idea, and I see I got beaten to the punch on that. I would buy some swag for sure. I wouldn't worry about any cancellations: there will be plenty of other customers to take their place.


So, for those of you who are worried about losing your place in the queue, ask yourself this: would you prefer to have a device that only has a few more months of developer support or would you prefer to wait a little longer and have one that will survive for years to come?





I think you know the answer.


//First day pre-order, so I know your pain


//Will gladly donate again to the team to make up for the difference in actual cost vs. purchase price

 

[theshining]

Well I still don't understand where the Pandora team has suddenly found the boards/nubs etc needed to make these "premium" Pandora's, as I asked in the 3rd post in this topic, I get that if people are willing to pay the higher price they'll queue jump, but until now we've been told all the delays are to do with the supply chain, so what has happened have you now sorted out the supply problems? and you can reliably knock out around 200 Pandoras a week, because if not it looks a lot like you're trying to make some fast cash on your remaining stock before this adventure goes belly up, I don't want to appear negative and I'm not cancelling my order, (paid by credit card so I'm pretty safe), but I would like to know, I don't even know or care where I am in the queue you took my money and that's the last I ever heard from you, but come on guy's a bit of clarity would be nice.


I'm with Coldbird post 167, I'd definitely buy merchandise and or a spare battery and a tv out cable, or make a donation, just can't afford all that extra cash in January, but you really do have my best wishes for the project.

 

[tsh]

All set to buy one with extra battery and case then I realised those prices (UK) were not including VAT..oops! Oh well...batch 3 for me unfortunately.

I wonder if you may have missed the boat... This is not a temporary price increase, I think this is the new price (for now).


Edit: see post 6 in this thread, although I'm sure they will still accept a batch2 pre-order if you want to try that!

 

[MattF]

I was going to jump in and say "this sounds like a good idea", but I did a thread read-through before posting and saw the link, so I have jumped on it straight away.


I have also emailed sales and asked them to cancel my original (late batch-1, 30 December 2009) pre-order, as I won't need both.


Every time one of the queue-jumpers is somebody who is late-batch-1 like I was, that means we have "slightly hastened" everyone who was behind me in the queue (batch 2 I guess?) by stepping out of that queue, in addition to the general "all units can be made faster due to the cash injection" thing.


I don't begrudge the OP team having had use of my original pre-order cash for a year and a bit to help make all the other orders happen. I knew full well when I placed that pre-order that there was still a risk of Things Taking Time To Happen and I had mentally "eaten" the original cost of that order (and paid it off my credit card bill, and so on) ages ago. To be clear, I wasn't thinking "the money is lost, it will never turn up", I had just accepted that I was paying Money now for Awesome Toy to arrive at some vague time in the future.


I can fully understand people feeling a bit tetchy about people turning up from literally nowhere and "jumping the queue", but I hope everyone can understand that there's definitely some of us who are pre-existing pre-orderers who are just willing to throw some more money at the project to help the entire process happen quicker.

 

[TrashyMG]

I just placed an order for the Pricey Pandora, I still plan on waiting for my first batch (~3250 in queue) Pandora..


I can now have a Development Pandora and a stock one to play with.

 

[craigix]

Thank you from the whole team, you're making me smile like a loon, we're already moving quickly to take advantage of all this from Monday morning.

 

[Blue Protoman]

Pandora's Box shall remain open!

 

[gadgetoid]

Thank you from the whole team, you're making me smile like a loon, we're already moving quickly to take advantage of all this from Monday morning.

So. Will I get my position ~2300 Pandora in time for my birthday on Feb "29th"?


That will make me grin like a loon

 

[Blue Protoman]

Is your birthday really on February 29th?

 

[Jumpman]

I've been following this project since right around february of 2008, so I would say I'm a long time supporter, and if my unit hadn't shipped when it did, I would have gladly paid to get one off of Ebay at 500+. If the 3DS wasn't region locked, I would have made a preorder for an import unit at close to 500 for that device. Many here aren't of that mind set, but many are.


This is a community problem, and as such, the community needs to help fix it. Yeah, we didn't buy faulty nubs, and no we didn't hire the Chinese mould company, and no we didn't like CC telling us lies, but if you got a cheap unit, or got a 1 nubber, or if your in batch #2 it doesn't matter, we are ALL IN THE SAME BOAT. Let's all do our best to make the current sitiuation better for all.


This is a most important transition for this project. It is time to go from the garage, to an office. From small community project, to getting worldwide recognition. Apple started this way at one point, as did Microsoft, as did Nintendo. There is also hundreds of companies who never get this far, and many more who get started, only to go down in flames shortly there after.


Everyone here who has gotten a unit, can attest to how great the Pandora is, and how amazing it is that 4 guys from around the world put it together. No it isn't perfect, but in many was it is perfect! Many here have been waiting 2+ years, so if everyones unit can be completed a little sooner, and more staff hired, I don't really see the problem. Every successful business goes thru growing pains, most companies just don't tell the public what they are.


The ICP has a ton of interest, and that will only help the Pandora, as the Pandora can only help the ICP. All of this will help bring in support and buzz from the industry. Production and supply is finally going well, and if the team doesn't make an effort now to take advantage of potential business, they will be doomed. Yes I have a unit, it is currently being repaired, but I want customer 4000 to get his unit as quickly as time will allow, just as I want customers 8000, 10,000 to get there's ASAP. Just in the last few weeks, software support has jumped due to another 500 units shipping. Can you all imagine what it will be like once batch 1 is complete? It's going to be nuts!


Yes, there are many here who are not happy. There are many more who are. Like always there is never a perfect solution that everyone will be happy with. That's the way of the world. At the end of the day, the team has to do what is best for previous customers, present customers, and future customers. Steve Jobs has never asked any Apple user what he or she may or may not like, he just does what he feels is best, and that is what the team needs to do currently. DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO, AND DON'T APOLIGIES FOR DOING IT, JUST DO IT!


Chris

 

[gadgetoid]

Is your birthday really on February 29th?

Yes. Terrible, isn't it.


And before you call me 6.5-years old. That "joke" is so old that Jesus' grandfather used to tell it.

 

[Viking]

Is your birthday really on February 29th?

Yes. Terrible, isn't it.


And before you call me 6.5-years old. That "joke" is so old that Jesus' grandfather used to tell it.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/3GrV3OZdjP8?feature=oembed

 

[Blue Protoman]

Is your birthday really on February 29th?

Yes. Terrible, isn't it.


And before you call me 6.5-years old. That "joke" is so old that Jesus' grandfather used to tell it.

How old are you, legally?

 

[DaMummy]

hah, youre a 6 and a half year old! get off the internets!

 

[htl2001]

Ok so as I understand it:


Person who just found out about the pandora and has 500usd to spare: Get it in 7 days


Person who has been following the project for years and ordered from the first batch (me): Get it in..."a few weeks".


Something got twisted inside me but at this point im just going with the flow, there's nothing I can do about it :mellow:


And look at that, google checkout... no messing around with bank transfers and all that crap, guess some people will just be lucky <_<

(a few other examples of the same I wont quote)


This seems to be the only issue that people have, is that someone can jump the line. While normally this is a bad thing, if it means that the actual waiting line moves faster as a result, and everyone waiting in the normal line gets their orders sooner than if these line jumper orders didn't exist, I see no problem. If you still have a problem with this plan, its because you want your Pandora SLOWER just so you can prevent newcomers (who are willing to pay more) from ordering and helping out the project.


I will echo someone else though, make sure this does not effect late-1st batch customers by causing you to run out of cases or something. I'm not late 1st batch myself but that would not be nice...


EDIT: oh, and about the people who say they will cancel: this will just allow them to sell one more $500 unit while refunding you about $300, so that won't exactly change their mind about doing this I'd think.

 

[maplesugarlover]

My guess is that Gadgetoid was born February 29,1984

 

[Wootson]

If OpenPandora has more money in their pockets, there is basically more money for everything to pay up front. So eventually they could order more Pandora materials at the same time, which is everyones benefit in the long term. Let's not forget that they haven't been taken very seriously by a LOT of people out there. By this I mean companies that deliver the goods to build these things.


I don't see how anyone could disagree with such a situation. Eventually you need money to make more money, it's just the way things are.

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

If this is whats needed for openpandora to continue then go for it.The thought of no batch 3 is unthinkable really.Its good youre keeping us all in the loop so we can all try to help. I just hope you can deliver enough pandoras on demand.