One week to go... and so much work to do (2012-02-10)

[levi]

If I read ED's reply to the one above mine, an email will be sent by Craig with details of the upgrade. I guess this means more cashola per order.     in which case not good in the slightest.


If anyone gets their email can they post on here please.

To be clear, the 'upgrade' to which we're referring is the upgrade to become a new order.  It's a shame it's come to this, but understandable after the costs the project's had to incur. Still, if you aren't able to fund the difference between an old order and a new one, you'll still get a Pandora and it will still be the same spec as the other new ones, just it may come a little later, provided the Pandora keeps selling and ED doesn't go bust first.

 

[reyawn]

I placed my order on September 30 or October 1st, whatever that year it was when the preorders were first announced . I recently had to change my address and at the same time out of curiosity asked for my queue position. Apparently I'm at 1300-1400 after all of this time. Hopefully one day this lovely box will show up on my doorstep!


I've toyed with upgrading my order multiple times but haven't done it yet.

 

[trapef]

If I read ED's reply to the one above mine, an email will be sent by Craig with details of the upgrade. I guess this means more cashola per order.     in which case not good in the slightest.


If anyone gets their email can they post on here please.

To be clear, the 'upgrade' to which we're referring is the upgrade to become a new order.  It's a shame it's come to this, but understandable after the costs the project's had to incur.  Still, if you aren't able to fund the difference between an old order and a new one, you'll still get a Pandora and it will still be the same spec as the other new ones, just it may come a little later, provided the Pandora keeps selling and ED doesn't go bust first.

As I seem quite out of date with all this perhaps you might shed some light on a couple of questions:


1. What is the upgrade cost?


2. If I pay it do I go to the back of the new order queue (albeit still ahead of my old order position)?


I must add this is very very frustrating, when is Craig sending his "emails" and will they be like his other updates which have never been sent?

 

[Naynay]

I recently had to change my address and at the same time out of curiosity asked for my queue position.

I have the same problem. I emigrated countries while waiting two months two years. I think my order is with Craig's pile in the UK, but trying to email openpandorasales@gmail gets me no response. I hope he will confirm the send address with the pandies start shipping again, cause there's no way I'll be able to get it if it ships to my last address!

 

[mosschops]

I have the same problem. I emigrated countries while waiting two months two years. I think my order is with Craig's pile in the UK, but trying to email openpandorasales@gmail gets me no response. I hope he will confirm the send address with the pandies start shipping again, cause there's no way I'll be able to get it if it ships to my last address!

i had 2 responses in a couple of hours yesterday from the gmail address.


if you are sending an email i'd recommend putting your order number in the subject and being as clear as possible.

 

[Gein07]

Surely you guys have crunched some math and thought of a ratio, right? Maybe 3 new pandoras for every 1 Batch 1 unit shipped?

Without any upgrade, the ratio is about right yes.


Ratio gets better for old preorders with every upgrade.

Hopefully there are considerations for RMAs in that ratio as well? Maybe 3 new padoras, 1 rma, 1 batch 1 preorder.... I'm sure that math is probably not right, just so long as rmas are squeaking out along with new orders and old preorder fills. God I can't wait!!! Time to start filling up SD cards again.

 

[pubzombie]

As a classic pre-order dude - 3 years and counting. the wait is now starting to make me really twitchy. I must admit half of me is beginning to believe that this is all bs and it will never arrive on my doorstep. Currently torn between upping my order to a premium or just buying a PSVita with the extra cash and a load of Gamer vouchers that i have.


the horror


the horror of 3 years dreaming of retro with a physical keyboard on the go


Thank you ED for your efforts without you this would have gone a long time ago.

 

[Arkay Firestar]

As a classic pre-order dude - 3 years and counting. the wait is now starting to make me really twitchy. I must admit half of me is beginning to believe that this is all bs and it will never arrive on my doorstep. Currently torn between upping my order to a premium or just buying a PSVita with the extra cash and a load of Gamer vouchers that i have.


the horror


the horror of 3 years dreaming of retro with a physical keyboard on the go


Thank you ED for your efforts without you this would have gone a long time ago.

Frankly, 3 months into my 2+ year wait, when all sorts of "obstacles" started to present themselves, I considered the money lost. I don't really feel the kind of respect for the investment I made from the OP team, at least not as much as I think it deserves. An overt sense of responsibility for sitting on my money for such a long time. Apologetic acknowledgement every time necessity essentially screws the people who've waited the longest. Some form of efficient communication with folks who've been waiting for a while, even the shortest of emails, would be appreciated.


I don't mind waiting longer if it means everyone gets a chance, but I don't care for the "this is the only way" attitude. If the project had been run better obviously this wouldn't be the only way. If you want public investment, use Kickstarter. If you need to make people wait longer, send them a damn email letting them know the lay of the land, apologize, and let them know you're working hard and that you appreciate their patience, money, and faith. Sure as hell haven't gotten one of those. And then there's the whole mess with "who did you order from." I didn't really realize that would present additional problems... I figured I was giving my money to the OP "Team."


Anyways, PubZombie, I'd say that as long as you're OK with the idea of never getting the thing and you're just interested in supporting the idea like I was/am, then I guess there's nothing to do but wait around and see what happens. I figure the ordeal of trying to get my money back at this point would be far more difficult than whatever the challenge is for the team in getting the things made and shipped.

 

[mmKALLL]

But if the day comes when it does arrive, will you feel grateful? If not, that's kinda like saying you don't care about the hard work they have done. And that's alright with me, everyone is entitled to their opinions, although I don't feel nearly in the same way. (then again, I haven't waited that long either, but I'm sure that ED and everyone else are doing their hardest. Just look at his eyelids lol)


If you do, would you think for even a moment of whether it's righteous or not? As in, why weren't you having faith for the project, the hard work despite the enormous drawbacks, and gratefulness for at least having the (at this point quite likely) chance of having a Pandora in your hands fairly soon rather than having your money taken? Or just like, the sort of gratefulness that happiness brings with itself, the somewhat artificial one, the one which just tells that you're glad you get to toy with something you paid for? Even though it's worth every penny, if not more?


/rant about humanity


my $0,02 on being annoyed

 

[Arkay Firestar]

But if the day comes when it does arrive, will you feel grateful? If not, that's kinda like saying you don't care about the hard work they have done. And that's alright with me, everyone is entitled to their opinions, although I don't feel nearly in the same way. (then again, I haven't waited that long either, but I'm sure that ED and everyone else are doing their hardest. Just look at his eyelids lol)


If you do, would you think for even a moment of whether it's righteous or not? As in, why weren't you having faith for the project, the hard work despite the enormous drawbacks, and gratefulness for at least having the (at this point quite likely) chance of having a Pandora in your hands fairly soon rather than having your money taken? Or just like, the sort of gratefulness that happiness brings with itself, the somewhat artificial one, the one which just tells that you're glad you get to toy with something you paid for? Even though it's worth every penny, if not more?


/rant about humanity


my $0,02 on being annoyed

They have ~$380 dollars of my money, an amount they've had for over two years. In that amount of time I've quietly waited, with the occasional forum post. I've emailed them only once following the initial order process, and that was to change my address (because my company moved locations in the amount of time I had to wait).


I've received nary a single email about delays, the upgrade program, public funding. Nothing.


Sorry, but there's nothing righteous about any of it. My money is my support for this project. I haven't really even once considered taking it out, again because 1) I'd like for them to succeed and 2) I figure it would be a tremendous pain at this point. Customers are entitled to certain expectations. I may be more lenient and patient than the average consumer, but that's not to mean I'm not frustrated by all of the various ways in which things could have been better handled. It's important for their growth as business people to hear criticism and feedback from their customers, seeing as how the customers are the only reason they've been able to move forward with their dreams.


I wish them luck, obviously. It's not as though I'm wishing the thing never turns up. I'm just drastically lowering my expectations to avoid disappointment.

 

[levi]

As I seem quite out of date with all this perhaps you might shed some light on a couple of questions:


1. What is the upgrade cost?

I don't think it's been set yet, but it should simply be the difference between the new price and what you've already paid (which varies depending on when you ordered it).  The new price is going to be higher than any previous preorder round though, so there will be an upgrade charge for everyone as I understand it.

2. If I pay it do I go to the back of the new order queue (albeit still ahead of my old order position)?

Yes, that's my assumption (and the only fair way to do it in my opinion - if new orders go to the front of the queue, older orders never get serviced)

I must add this is very very frustrating, when is Craig sending his "emails" and will they be like his other updates which have never been sent?

I share your skepticism, but given final assembly of the new units hasn't started let alone sales I'd not expect an email just yet, but hopefully soon as we should be less than a week away from the first units rolling off the production line now.

 

[evg2000]

I'm still not really sure who I bought mine from as one email I received back in Oct 2008 was from "GP32 Distribution Ltd" order number starting with GXX, but when the whole payment issued occurred I received an email mentioning "Account Name: Open Pandora Ltd.". So not sure who I bought it from, I just home that I some time in the near future.

 

[gruso]

"Ltd" is an English thing, so that means Craig The German equivalent (for ED's business) is GmbH.

 

[elwing]

"Ltd" is an English thing, so that means Craig The German equivalent (for ED's business) is GmbH.

there's also an easier way to found out... did you receive an E-Mail in the last two years, if yes you didn't order from Craig

 

[pubzombie]

does anybody know if anybody has even got any money back from the UK classic preorders? I am not asking for money back, just interested to know given that there are no replies to mails or answering of telephone from what people have said.


As for the wait - yes I consider us classic preorderers as investors so I kinda expect a better model than the original specs to account for the wait we have.


Sounds like a winge but I am grateful for the hard work that folk have done to keep things moving forward.

 

[Link]

^


They answer their phone and do reply to emails. If you need questions answered immediately, give them a call. Email can take a few days.

 

[elwing]

yes, I wasn't saying the do not replay e-mail, just that they never send status update or information e-mail...

 

[TDT]

...


I've received nary a single email about delays, the upgrade program, public funding. Nothing.


...Customers are entitled to certain expectations....

My guess is the OP team wasn't really from a business school - or has had experience running a business before this. This doesn't really excuse the email issue. My guess is ED and Craig have learned *a lot* about business from how this all worked out. While still not perfect, I think things have improved in this area.


The way I'm looking at the expectations thing...since I've actually had a few orders in the past few years, and been a lurker since this project has been born, is to simply not think about the past. I know, not exactly the most practical or smart, but I don't see the point in getting disappointed..it won't help anything. At this point, the pandora looks like it's coming, and any day now we should see a "mass production started" email. I'm also willing to bet, or a least hope, that once the shipments become "stable" (after the first 1k or so, probably), that there will be some seriously looking at "ok, what complaints have there been, and how do we fix them". Who knows, maybe the email thing could be one of them. A mailing list of sorts, where the announcements would go to, would be nice. It wouldn't replace the forum, just supplement it. I also think that updates were, perhaps, given a little too fast in the past. Both good and bad news, coming out kinda quickly, It's a double edged sword.

 

[elwing]

My guess is the OP team wasn't really from a business school - or has had experience running a business before this. This doesn't really excuse the email issue. My guess is ED and Craig have learned *a lot* about business from how this all worked out. While still not perfect, I think things have improved in this area.

the last information e-mail I received is two year old, how did they improve that?

 

[EvilDragon]

...


I've received nary a single email about delays, the upgrade program, public funding. Nothing.


...Customers are entitled to certain expectations....

My guess is the OP team wasn't really from a business school - or has had experience running a business before this. This doesn't really excuse the email issue. My guess is ED and Craig have learned *a lot* about business from how this all worked out. While still not perfect, I think things have improved in this area.

Well, Craig ran a business before, and I'm also doing this for years, so we both know communication is important.


However, it was just TOO much work.


Don't forget: We thought that all units would go out smoothly from the very beginning, so the full order system has not been setup that you can easily just send an eMail to all those who are waiting.


In my shop, for example, this is buried within all other orders, and osCommerce (which I'm using) doesn't allow me to send mails just to everyone who ordered a Pandora.


The biggest problem is that the Pandora got way more interest and orders that we we ever imagined at the beginning, which led to tons of eMail work.


Combine these things together, and you just run out of time doing the mails.


That's why I'm mostly concentrating on newsposts at these boards here


Even now I still got a backlog of mails of over a month (that's about 600 eMails!), as I just didn't find the time to reply to them all while organizing the production itself.


However, it's not easy to find someone who can properly reply to these mails.


The person needs to exactly know what's going on, be capable of replying in English (not normal in Germany) and we don't have too much spare money, thanks to CircuitCo...