Some Clarifications On Pre-Orders

[aq21]

Guess I'm still wondering why the GBAX affiliation wasn't considered, or if it was, why it wasn't a viable option? Heck it took them (GBAX) 22 days to get my GP2X F200 to me when that was launched and they charged my credit card on the day of order !!! (ie a definite PRE-order!)

It is wrong to say the GBAX affiliation wasn't considered. The credit card payments did go to GBAX, not Open Pandora.

The situtation is clear: Craig does not want credit card payments. Claiming he can't accept them (while accepting them in his other hat) is a lie.
What a complete load of bollocks. The ordering pages were hosted on the GBAX server, but the actual processing was done by a different bank under a different account. This rather obvious option was investigated right at the beginning. When HSBC went daffy, we asked the CC merchant that handles GBAX if we could use that instead. When the situation was explained, they said no. An increase in volume of that magnitude would cause the account to be locked for investigation, and we would have had to refund the orders again.

No matter how much you want there to be some sort of absurd conspiracy, there isn't one.


I say again: the company name on my credit card statement is "GP32 distribution Ltd". The confirmation mail I got from protx says:

"If you have any questions regarding your order, delivery details or items purchased, please contact GP32 Distribution Ltd directly via details on their website GP32 Distribution Ltd [www.gp2x.co.uk]."

 

[Chip]

I say again: the company name on my credit card statement is "GP32 distribution Ltd". The confirmation mail I got from protx says:

"If you have any questions regarding your order, delivery details or items purchased, please contact GP32 Distribution Ltd directly via details on their website GP32 Distribution Ltd [www.gp2x.co.uk]."
The order page was set up in a hurry. That part obviously didn't get changed.

Your desperate attempt to find conspiracy where there is none misses one very glaring point: If we could take CC orders, we could sell more Pandoras. This CC issue is causing us no end of hassle, and we know it's a pain in the ass for our customers as well. If we could do something as simple as use GBAX to take orders, obviously we'd do that. It would be easy for us and easy for you and we'd sell more units. We havn't done so because we can't.

 

[Eniko]

Man, Chip, you're so cruel. Coming in here with your vaunted logic and reasoning. How are some of the people here supposed to plug their fingers in their ears and stomp their feet while crying out "but I wanna order by creditcard I wanna I wanna IwannaIwannaIwanna!"?

I'd just like to point out something too... even if Craig wanted to use GBAX for the credit card orders, and GBAX and OPltd weren't two completely seperate accounts, do you honestly think that nobody would twig onto this? Like, maybe when instead of a steady trickle of money there's a sudden huge influx of money, that triggers the "please investigate this account" flag in the bank's system? Because obviously banks would just be that stupid and that easy to fool! Who the hell are you people kidding?

And it's his prerogative to keep his businesses separate since it's just good business practice. According to ED their homes and livelyhoods are already on the line and you want the guy to take even more risk so you can have your cushy credit card payment? Yeah that's reasonable.

Call me a fangirl, I don't care, but you people are acting completely childish, selfish and unreasonable.

 

[mali]

What really worries me, aside from giving halfhearted details only if the pressure is high enough, is the fact that capable devs just jump off, because of this long winded CC mess. The Community is crumbling. That's something some people don't seem to realise.

Edit:
Sometimes you have to react. Letting the timeframe for a charge back slip away without informing Amex users about the situation for example was totally anti community. The re-fund wasn't the problem. Making decisions is the problem. Talking plain facts, when facts become available. Standing like a man and navigating this damn ship.

 

[Phawx]

What really worries me, aside from giving halfhearted details only if the pressure is high enough, is the fact that capable devs just jump off, because of this long winded CC mess. The Community is crumbling. That's something some people don't seem to realise.

Edit:
Sometimes you have to react. Letting the timeframe for a charge back slip away without informing Amex users about the situation for example was totally anti community. The re-fund wasn't the problem. Making decisions is the problem. Talking plain facts, when facts become available. Standing like a man and navigating this damn ship.

I am in the Amex ship, so while it was *said* "All Amex users will be covered" I still can't help but feel OP Ltd doesn't have the money to cover all Amex users.

So I pretty much wrote off my $345 USD as a loss, until OP Ltd pulls through. Being an Amex user does feel like a kick in the nuts.

Can anyone from OP Ltd. please explain where this magic money is coming from to produce and ship Pandora's to Amex users, if you needed the money up front to cover the cost of manufacturing the Pandora's to begin with?

If we know that 2800 (at least) of the orders initially placed were CC, how many of them were Amex? let's say 20%.

That's 560. 560 x 200GBP = $156,419.20 USD
If Amex was 10% of total CC = 78,209.60 USD
5% = 39,104.80 USD

This is a lot of money to be covering. I would like an explanation as to how OP LTD. plans to cover this, but I don't really think that will happen.

I still want to buy one though and I will send a Bank transfer. If I get two Pandora's that won't be bad. But I would still like one.

 

[calzone]

their homes and livelyhoods are already on the line and you want the guy to take even more risk so you can have your cushy credit card payment? Yeah that's reasonable.

but they have formed LIMITED companies which means the financial liability stops with the company and they have no personal liability and their personal savings, income or homes CANNOT be touched as far as the companies are concerned. If either company goes bust then they do not have to pay back a penny! They simply walk away.

Obviously they may have their own money invested in the project itself and may have personal loans or mortgages, but that can be returned to them at any point by way of their directors loans, and it would be sensible for them to repay their personal investment as soon as the company has subsequent funds, ie when they get the bank transfers paid into OpenPandora Ltd. What they do with all that is up to them and their accountant, but unless they all remortgaged to fund the project then no, their homes shouldn't be at risk.

You make it sound like we should be eternally grateful and that they are risking everything just to get us our Pandoras? No! They haven't invested their time and money in purely altruistic terms, it's a business for heavens sake!!. Pandora could be an extremely profitable machine that can sell tens or hundreds of thousands in the years to come making them very wealthy indeed! Fair play to that.

Yes they do indeed deserve this success, as they have come so far, but they do need to improve their communication streams and talk to the community more otherwise it might just not get off the ground at all.

Oh and yes, I'll not be risking £200 of MY cash until I have some protection from losing it, as if there was a problem with OpenPandora Ltd (and no-one can definitely say there will not be) there's no way I would get MY cash back if it were to go tits up! So, yes, 'cushy' credit card option for me.

 

[rmm2131]

Wow, I leave for a bit and come back to find more nuts here than in a can of Planters Mixed. Second heart attack? I sympathise only if genetic deformity not fat ass exercise-less lifestyle.

Everyone can wish and whine all they want, but CC ordering ain't happening. The team is doing the best in these worst of times. Surprised the sneaky Pandora team hasn't been accused yet of being invading aliens from Cylon here to seduce our wallets from us! Final five indeed.

People, it's been pinned on what options work now and how to do them. Really, if you can power on a life sucking computer, you can preorder by Tranzfers, regular bank transfer, bank money order by mail, or a sprite pidgeon with a note attached to its leg sent to the UK.

Enough,
you gits.

 

[Phawx]

How is gits pronounced and what is the connotation?

 

[puppydee]

God are we still on this what if they go bankrupt stuff?? There not! next! Reminds me of the boring transfers thread all over again

 

[TaG]

@calzone I understand why you do not want to risk £200. I understand a number of your concerns, but please... give it a rest, you've made your point, declared yourself out. Stop filling these boards up.



OpenPandora are not going to win any prizes for how this has gone down. But the choice is now ours: plonk £200/$330 down via one of the chosen methods, or back out. This isn't a fanboi rant - I'm currently undecided - it's the facts as we have them. Me? I'll wait, see how it develops in the coing days/weeks and make my choice. It's not helping to make a decision that some of the community seems to have gone to shit. Maybe that will calm down, people will drop out and bugger off and those that are left will have a whale of a time. Here's hoping.

 

[darkblu]

I fully realize that people enjoy the exclusivity involved with having something no one else has. It's obvious. Anyone who say's "FINE GO AWAY" can now enjoy an even more elite club. Fewer people - more elite. However, remember, fewer sales = fewer pandoras = less relevancy = less development of software for the Pandora. I hope a lot of you are really good coders.

DC, i really doubt that anybody is sincerely wishing you, or anybody else of the people stuck with credit cards as their sole option, to be left out of the first-batch install base.

but for the past week (i think it's been one already) we've seen so much drivel and inanities by people insisting on a credit card option for themselves (whether they'd have any alternative or not being an entirely different matter), that many of us BT customers are now already in the 'fine, don't let the door hit you' mode.

otherwise, you may have noticed that several BT customers actually investigated and suggested cc-friendly methods for the sake of the community (albeite, mine was 'cash advance' -based which you would not like).

 

[calzone]

@calzone I understand why you do not want to risk £200. I understand a number of your concerns, but please... give it a rest, you've made your point, declared yourself out. Stop filling these boards up.

No probs. I'll come back in June with my credit card in hand.
Enjoy the next four months of delays.

 

[Phawx]

Well, I am anticipating April shipping, but hoping for March.

 

[Creature XL]

The situtation is clear: Craig does not want credit card payments. Claiming he can't accept them (while accepting them in his other hat) is a lie.

So Craig accepted a couple of thousand credit card pre orders and then refunded the majority just for something to do?

Someone ban aq21 before he hurts his brain!


++

 

[gaterooze]

How is gits pronounced and what is the connotation?

With a hard 'G', rhymes with bits.

Means, oh, jerk or such, but usually more jokingly.

 

[Prometheus]

How is gits pronounced and what is the connotation?

With a hard 'G', rhymes with bits.

Means, oh, jerk or such, but usually more jokingly.

To add to that, at least in the UK it can also be used in the context of "grumpy old" in a way similar to the word "geezer", and even as a term of endearment ("Hey, you old git! Good to see ya!"). (For the sake of those not familiar with the word, the context is usually gathered by tone or inflection, when speaking aloud, or by the general placement and usage of it when written - though it's always a bit trickier when it's written because as far as I'm aware it only seems to be used in about three or four, maybe five, countries, and many people don't know it. :lol: And I'm sure there must be a few differing localised usages of it, as well.)

 

[---_Won_---]

Rimmer you git!

 

[devhace]

I duno I agree to an extent with calzone, a lot of this stuff is simply unacceptable. I got my money in this for the long run, I'm not backing out, but damn. I understand things go wrong sometimes, but this is simply insane. I think instead of child like glee if and when I finally get my Pandora, I'll just think "its about damn time".

 

[Ryzure]

I duno I agree to an extent with calzone, a lot of this stuff is simply unacceptable. I got my money in this for the long run, I'm not backing out, but damn. I understand things go wrong sometimes, but this is simply insane. I think instead of child like glee if and when I finally get my Pandora, I'll just think "its about damn time".

I've become a bit disenchanted with the project too lately, until I was explaining the situation to my friend, and mentioned the specs of the Pandora to him. It hit me (again) just how awesome the Pandora is and will be. Now I'm giddy about it again. Haha :rolleyes:

BTW Craig&Co. have had shit luck from the very beginning, but they're still at it.

 

[yaKC]

@calzone I understand why you do not want to risk £200. I understand a number of your concerns, but please... give it a rest, you've made your point, declared yourself out. Stop filling these boards up.

No probs. I'll come back in June with my credit card in hand.
Enjoy the next four months of delays.


Oh please let it be so, if you promise, we'll all chip in $5 and help pay for your andora1: just please please let it be so