Sadness but life must go on.

[jimlefevre]

Receiving the email yesterday saying that OpenPandora UK had gone into liquidation was sad but inevitable.

I just wanted to say that, having backed the project and spending my money back in October 2009 and never having received my Pandora, there is an obvious sadness to the news. I've not been a member of the forums to trawl through the forums daily although I've certainly occasionally dropped by to see where my order was or what was the state of the infrastructure and seeing no point in joining the masses to pour my vitriol out over the boards i would like this chance to at least have my voice heard.

I am framing this experience in terms of being akin to having backed a kickstarter campaign (admittedly to a far larger amount of money than I have ever done so in the past) but that the campaign has failed. I would like to think that my support at the early stages has allowed others to enjoy the experience even though it has been a bit galling to hear such joy at other people receiving their units and as such a bittersweet experience. I am even proud to have sent over some cakes to the Pandora UK team at one point to cheer them up during (one of the many) the low points in production.

I managed to see a unit recently as a colleague found the funds to upgrade to a premium order (and more importantly have the time and enthusiasm to follow up his order) so it's not a total loss (and equally he had to send his back as it initially had too many faults to properly use). It looked great.

I personally don't have the time or money to be able to chase up my lost money and, as mentioned I can only hope those of you who have had a better experience can spend a few seconds of thought for me and all those like me that have provided support at the early stages without any rewards. I know you have done so in the past so well done for all of the continuing positive reactions on the forums.

I understand the pitfalls that Evil Dragon, Craig, Jaqueline and co have experienced and I fully appreciate that none of them would have wanted this to turn out as it has done.

In the meantime, I wish everyone well with the units they did receive. I still believe it was (and IS) a truly worthwhile project and am happy and proud to have been a part of helping out with it.

Jim Le Fevre,

an idealist like you all, all be it one with burnt fingers.

 

[FaeMinx]

There is still hope for you. Contact ED directly and talk to him.

 

[jimlefevre]

FaeMinx,

yes, thanks for that, I understand that I could still chase my unit and in fact have had the occasional email over the last year offering me a variety of choices, upgrading my order with extra monies etc... but I think that that last email about OpenPandora UK's liquidation has made my mind up.

It is very much a choice of mine and is not to say that I have been left without a choice, so I do appreciate that ED had made a lot of effort trying to rectify the situation.

And just to reiterate, the choice I am making is to leave my funds in wherever it has gone and not seek to try and get them back which I hope will be construed as my continuing support of the project. It seems to me that the last this project needs at this still delicate state is that pressure (which is very much open to others to pursue and I hope I don't come across as damning them) but I don't want to let go of any more money and continue this already rather long process.

I guess that ultimately I wanted a moment to express, on these boards, my situation and wish all well in the future!

Jim

(and as I say kudos to all on the forums for the community support for both ED and the project too. I'll still drop by from time to time so I expect to see wonderful and amazing things being done with OP)

 

[A2000]

Hi Jim,


thank you for your support. It's sad to hear you gave up waiting. I wish you luck to get your Pandy with the help from the donation fund!

 

[Jumpman]

Thanks Jim,

We all supported this and other projects around here to help the community, team and ourselves, and it sucks that after so much time and effort, you still haven't gotten a unit. Ed is really a stand up guy, who has done a TON of work to keep this project alive and moving forward.

Sadly, not all of the original team members have been as stand up and up front as Ed, but so is life I suppose. I'm currently out funds for the ICP2 project, so I know how you feel. I'm also not letting this or past pitfalls sour me on future Kickstarter or similar campaigns. I still see the value in what such programs offer, and I think I would give to a P2 project tomorrow if the game plan is sound and proper.

Well, I'm currently planning to upgrade my original Pandora, as it's finally having LCD issues, so hopefully my upgrade will continue to help others by bringing in funds, and extra units that can be refurbished and sold. 

For as many issues I've had with past Pandora's, and for all the issues this community has had on the whole, it really is a "One-Of-Kind" device, that still stands alone 5 years after it was launched. So no matter how much we have all suffered and sacrificed(sounds like we've all been to war doesn't it?), it was still worth it in my opinion, but that doesn't diminish your problems and issues one bit. 

Best of luck to you in the future, and hopefully you'll see a Pandora at some point down the road. I think that is something that everyone in this community can get behind and agree with. All the best!

Chris

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Jim,

Just PMed you.

Shenmue

 

[Fzero]

Life must indeed go on Jim, I hope you are one of the next in line for the donation funded Pandoras, sounds like you backed it fairly early on and a decent bloke - what with the cakes and all

 

[levi]

Personally, I see the liquidation of OpenPandora Ltd as a good thing, as it makes it clear that no more refunds or CC units are coming from that direction. They weren't anyway, except via apparently dodgy underhand deals for ready cash, but this makes it clear that ED (as OpenPandora GMBH/dragonbox.de) is the only retailer for Pandoras.


The only problem I see is that the original plan for the survey was that people opting for a CC unit for free or a refund would be catered for by OpenPandora Ltd, and clearly that's not going to happen now for sure. As far as I know, the donation fund only pays for Ghz units to people who elected to contribute something towards the production cost, and people who opted for what they ordered at the price they paid are out of luck. Still, it's better that that's now the official position, rather than anyone hoping for OpenPandora Ltd to fulfil its part of the deal and being disappointed.


I'd like for it to be made clear what the situation is for those who opted for a CC unit, or ignored the email. I'm assuming this shuts the door on anyone who opted for a refund and didn't get one yet, sadly. I don't think anyone can say people who opted for a CC unit will ever get anything, unless the rules of the donation fund are changed.

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Thanks Jim for donating back

 

[Bosbeetle]

All this type of news is so sad, especially since I got my pandora from craigix in 2010 and since than Ive got 2 more from him (volume wheel issue and a purple tint of death issue) So sad it went downhill from their because in 2010 it was still nice to do business with craigix.

 

[hedwards]

Personally, I see the liquidation of OpenPandora Ltd as a good thing, as it makes it clear that no more refunds or CC units are coming from that direction. They weren't anyway, except via apparently dodgy underhand deals for ready cash, but this makes it clear that ED (as OpenPandora GMBH/dragonbox.de) is the only retailer for Pandoras.

The only problem I see is that the original plan for the survey was that people opting for a CC unit for free or a refund would be catered for by OpenPandora Ltd, and clearly that's not going to happen now for sure. As far as I know, the donation fund only pays for Ghz units to people who elected to contribute something towards the production cost, and people who opted for what they ordered at the price they paid are out of luck. Still, it's better that that's now the official position, rather than anyone hoping for OpenPandora Ltd to fulfil its part of the deal and being disappointed.

I'd like for it to be made clear what the situation is for those who opted for a CC unit, or ignored the email. I'm assuming this shuts the door on anyone who opted for a refund and didn't get one yet, sadly. I don't think anyone can say people who opted for a CC unit will ever get anything, unless the rules of the donation fund are changed.

AFAIK, it depends a great deal on how many people donate to clear the queue. People who haven't paid anything more are at the end of the line from the people who paid to speed themselves up. So, they may or may not get a unit. Which sucks, but anybody that could afford to upgrade is better off doing so.