Reordering Update

[bsamm97]

Merry Christmass All,

Well I'm putting my money where my mouth is

I've used this site; http://www.tranzfers.com/
to transfer the money.

I will edit this post when I get updates on progress.

Owen.



I looked on the web and checked BBB for www.tranzfers.com

nothing I could find to indicate a scam website. Shows that the website is owned by OzForex Pty Ltd. out of Australia. Couldn't find anything bad about them either. BBB had no listing for either OzForex Pty Ltd or www.tranzfers.com. Is there a company similar to BBB in Australia?

 

[Flack]

You didn't lose anything on the conversion rate. You may have lost something to charges. As long as you re-order you pay pretty much exactly the same as you was refunded. Bank transfer rates may be bad though (as they are for me too).

On 10/1 I paid $352.78 (USD) for the Pandora pre-order.
On 12/6 I was refunded $287.36 (USD).

Right now, I am in the hole $65. IF I re-order and IF the market doesn't change between now and then, then I will not be losing money. I guess that depends on IF the Pandora team begins taking credit card payments again.

That's a lot of "ifs."

 

[Tor]

You didn't lose anything on the conversion rate. You may have lost something to charges. As long as you re-order you pay pretty much exactly the same as you was refunded. Bank transfer rates may be bad though (as they are for me too).

On 10/1 I paid $352.78 (USD) for the Pandora pre-order.
On 12/6 I was refunded $287.36 (USD).
[...]

So what? On 10/1 the price in GBP was $352.78, on 12/6 the price in GBP was $287.36, that is, you only have to pay $287.36 for the same GBP. (These numbers don't take into account any extra charges you may have paid to the CC company).

You may still lose something (or win something) if the currency rates fluctuates again, but the big one seems to have been just after the original ordering was finished.

 

[benjiro]

Well, I went to the bank to do the bank transfer... my bank (City National) wanted $50! I'm sorry but that's outrageous. I guess I'm just going to have to wait for the CC reorder page. Unless someone's got a better idea.

I'm with you. I lost $70 on my refund due to the conversion rate bullshit and I'm not willing to piss away another $50 on a device that has been delayed for months and, frankly, doesn't have a real good record with money handling at this point. As awesome as the Pandora looks, I must admit that I am starting to get cold feet.


Well, i took a look at the conversions to see if there was any "loss":

Ordered at: 233.98 pounds. Payed in Euro's: 296.03 euro's
Recieved Money back: 233.98 pounds. Recieved in Euro's: 277.85 euro's
Payed in Euro's: 277.85 euro's

Loss? Nothing... Why? If you look at it like that, its a 0 euro operation. Ofcourse, if we look at it with: "what if i ordered today", yes, then it will have been 20 euro's cheaper... No offense, but if you pay in any foreign currency, you will always run into that problem.

Also, this is no taking in account if there is going to be a hidden bank transfer cost...

The funny part being, that the Pandora project now gets +- 260 pounds, instead off the 233.98 pounds originally payed.

Now, if you preordered, and you canceled your order, then you got a major loss because off the euro <-> pounds difference.

 

[Tor]

My bank has improved how bank transfers are handled, and it's cheaper too than it used to be just a little while ago. So, I looked into that, thinking I should transfer instead of waiting for the CC.

No can do. The bank requires the receiver's address, which wasn't listed in the email (it only listed the bank's address, which they don't care about anyway as there was a bic/swift code included in the email).

Back to waiting for the CC.

 

[TaG]

See my post. Contains all the details including the address.

 

[Prophet]

I have my refund, but how do I go about reordering now?

I emailed them back after getting the refund, but no reply yet. I assume the holiday has delayed replies.

Is there something more I need to do, other than wait for them to answer my email?

P.S. Like others here I'm "out" $70 or so due to the currency rate fluctuations. Supposedly it will even out after reordering tho. But yeah, I do understand how some ppl are getting discouraged. The bank/refund fiasco combined with no finished prototype even after Xmas is a downer.

 

[j.pickens]

I have my refund, but how do I go about reordering now?

I emailed them back after getting the refund, but no reply yet. I assume the holiday has delayed replies.

Is there something more I need to do, other than wait for them to answer my email?

P.S. Like others here I'm "out" $70 or so due to the currency rate fluctuations. Supposedly it will even out after reordering tho. But yeah, I do understand how some ppl are getting discouraged. The bank/refund fiasco combined with no finished prototype even after Xmas is a downer.

Print out the post linked to the comment immediately above yours.
Walk, Drive, Take Subway, etc. to your bank.
Hand them the printout, let them fill out the forms.
Pay for the wire transfer, sign your name, return home.

I did it, took 5 min. at the bank.
The funds cleared the next business day.

I got a nice confirmation from Jaquelyn that my reorder was good to go.

 

[owenshadbolt]

I know its kinda off topic... But is there any thing I can do to help?

I am a technician and a hacker. I have been messing around with handhelds for some time and have experience with the Familiar project as well as with OpenZaurus and Angstrom, amongst others.

Having workable english skills and a technical background I could write documentation, test things and write bash scripts.

I use a mac (intel) and also own a Zaurus C1000.

Also I'd be happy to make a small monetary donation, if applicable?

Hope everyone has a great new year and will see you in the next


Thanks to all the team You guys ROCK!

Owen.

PS Getting really excited now... Great pics of the bottom case!

 

[Vorporeal]

That stuff might be useful at some point after the device is released; the only thing they need from us (the community) now is support and patience.

 

[Tor]

Tag, thanks for the link with the OpenPandora address -- I'll see if I can get back to the bank transfer after the holidays.

 

[dadioflex]

You didn't lose anything on the conversion rate. You may have lost something to charges. As long as you re-order you pay pretty much exactly the same as you was refunded. Bank transfer rates may be bad though (as they are for me too).

WHY would you re-order?

Keep it clean.

Promises kept, promises broken all taken into account.

Why would you re-order?

I'm sure the guys who pre-ordered and got their Pandoras in December are really happy but what about the rest of us who aren't so lucky as to have an actual product in hand. When will we be able to buy one in a store?

 

[mali]

I've sent my money by bank transfer 3 days after purchase. I purchased on the day I joined the boards. Do I regret it? Not the slightest.

 

[kloplop321]

When will we be able to buy one in a store?

You and stores, the internet is the new way. Commercial industries that make cheep products like sony and nintendo with self-degrading plastic that lasts until the warranty ends are what are in our Walmarts and Game Stops. Don't support the big businesses, they are the nations when it comes to economics, and we don't need to support them.

 

[Yigguth]

I'm sure the guys who pre-ordered and got their Pandoras in December are really happy but what about the rest of us who aren't so lucky as to have an actual product in hand. When will we be able to buy one in a store?

Nobody got their Pandora in December. No it will never be in stores.

 

[rokdcasbah]

Here's an explanation for all of the armchair bankers

If I paid around $330 for something and got $280 back, I did in fact lose $50. Here's why:

• The fact that the net loss in GBP is zero does not affect me, since I do not normally buy things in GBP
• The dollar, AFAIK, is supposed to weaken again, which means that by the time the CC issues are straightened out, I may have to pay the $330 again.
• If I want to buy something else with the money, I have to make sure it's less than $280
• The dollar got stronger against the GBP. That does not mean everything in the US magically got cheaper.
• If I don't want to wait, I will have to spend the extra $50 on a bank transfer anyway.
• Once again, I do not normally buy things in GBP. The fact that things even out in a currency that I don't use does not affect me.

Does this make sense to everyone? I am not trying to be snotty, but it's frustrating to see some people tell those who lost a little on the exchange that they didn't lose anything. It's like saying you didn't lose money on the lottery because you had a chance of winning. I had money, now I have less. Seems simple enough.

Of course, I really don't care, it's a small amount, and it hasn't put me off reordering the Pandora. I want one as much as ever. But it's 2 AM and I feel like being an internet tough guy.

I am very happy to hear Chip say there is a backup plan. I may do a bank transfer after all, though.

 

[lobski]

Here's an explanation for all of the armchair bankers

If I paid around $330 for something and got $280 back, I did in fact lose $50. Here's why:

• The fact that the net loss in GBP is zero does not affect me, since I do not normally buy things in GBP
• The dollar, AFAIK, is supposed to weaken again, which means that by the time the CC issues are straightened out, I may have to pay the $330 again.
• If I want to buy something else with the money, I have to make sure it's less than $280
• The dollar got stronger against the GBP. That does not mean everything in the US magically got cheaper.
• If I don't want to wait, I will have to spend the extra $50 on a bank transfer anyway.
• Once again, I do not normally buy things in GBP. The fact that things even out in a currency that I don't use does not affect me.

Does this make sense to everyone? I am not trying to be snotty, but it's frustrating to see some people tell those who lost a little on the exchange that they didn't lose anything. It's like saying you didn't lose money on the lottery because you had a chance of winning. I had money, now I have less. Seems simple enough.

Of course, I really don't care, it's a small amount, and it hasn't put me off reordering the Pandora. I want one as much as ever. But it's 2 AM and I feel like being an internet tough guy.

I am very happy to hear Chip say there is a backup plan. I may do a bank transfer after all, though.

I did too, and technically the Team is responsible for it, but then again, we only have to pay close to what we got refunded.

 

[joseluisjazz]

I've sent my money by bank transfer 3 days after purchase. I purchased on the day I joined the boards. Do I regret it? Not the slightest.

Joined the forums 5 days after I paid by CC. Then re-ordered by bank transfer which costed me 11€ more. And I don't regret it either, nor a bit. I find forming part of this... community and this adventure very enjoyable.

 

[salasq]

[*]The fact that the net loss in GBP is zero does not affect me, since I do not normally buy things in GBP

Unimportant, as this particular transaction definitely transpired in GBP.

Not dissing you personally, just the propensity to rationalize wholly subjective positions.

 

[WizardStan]

The dollar, AFAIK, is supposed to weaken again, which means that by the time the CC issues are straightened out, I may have to pay the $330 again.

I seem to recall someone mentioning that you'll be expected to reorder the exact amount you were refunded. So 330 USD was 200 GBP before, that gets refunded back as 280 USD, it doesn't matter what happens to the conversion rate: you pay 280 again when reorder time comes again. Regrettably I can't find the exact post I read it in; I had about a month and a half of posts to catch up on and forgot to mark the good ones. Perhaps someone else remembers it and can clarify. I could be totally off my rocker and confused as well.