Hey guys -
Sorry for not getting to this earlier as we just saw it. We've got a lot of talk going on here, as well as some misinformation spread that I'd like to clear up.
We've hit every snag in the book, that's not secret. We've had to push back shipping multiple times, and that doesn't make anyone happy. Even though batch 1 is shipping, we still have a bit of negative energy floating around that we are doing our best to change.
To address a couple of things that I've seen pop up here...
"ian(returnity) is a 49% owner of smogdistro" - This is not the case, which I believe he had posted on the now defunct Smog Distribution Subreddit.
If we could financially afford to front every person affected a unit, we would do it in a heart beat. The best we can do is offer $100 off to all affected Smog customers, which is below our manufactured cost.
It is not our place to recommend how to go about getting your money back from Smog Distribution, because it's bad business practice.
I will give you this link to share someone else's experience, though.
For those trying to find a connection, or "put together a case" - there is no connection, there is no case to put together. It was an unfortunate situation that we are left picking of the pieces of, and we are doing the best we can. When a vendor disappears and there's no where to go to, we are the next logical company to take it out on.
"I'd just call my bank or credit card now, today, if I were you all." - I am not sure why you would do this when you could request a refund from us and have it back the next day. Are you referring to Smog or CMT orders?
"CMT is never going to deliver and walk away with alot of people's money" - This is simply not going to happen, and aside from delays, we haven't given anyone a reason to believe this will happen. As the owner, I have personally invested $XX,XXX into CMT without taking a dime as a return. I don't expect this to be a high-profit business.
A lot of people are viewing this as a circumstance where we are generating a massive amount of money. We aren't. I am able to pay my employees, my overhead and produce units.
If we were radio silent, I could understand the anxiety. As of right now, if you want skin in the game, you can pre-order a Whiteout. If you want to get out, you can request a refund.
"When I saw they're registered in Delaware I immediately shook my head." - See this:
https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/incorporating-in-delaware-advantages-and-disadvantages
"they have to go from china to the USA. get assembled packed and shipped." - This isn't the case, all Whiteouts are assembled and configured at the factory.
"If they survive past this first batch, and release the arduino, I may get one to screw around with." - We are knee-deep in the design, but trying to take care of what is on the plate first and foremost, and that is the Whiteout SX and Whiteout DNA.
"So after all the fuckery, they're handing out promo product before the folks that pre-paid get theirs?" - I dropped off two units to early pre-order customers, one of which fell victim to the Smog Distribution scenario.
-----
All of this hysteria is due to the fact that we operated on pre-orders. Now, every step we take is (rightly) scrutinized (what other company has community arguments about the process of customs clearance?) In hindsight, I wouldn't have opted to do a pre-order. We grew fast and tried to accomodate for that growth. I would have much rather made a smaller batch of units out-of-pocket. This is a lesson learned and exactly what we are going to do in the future. Hindsight is always 20/20.
I have a friend who owns a backpack line that launched on Kickstarter. It took a year to get to market with setbacks, but they put out a good product and had minimal outlash from their customers. I think we were all expecting this kind of treatment, but that definitely shouldn't have gone assumed. In an industry that is moving at a blazing-fast speed, however, our model clearly doesn't work - and neither do delays.
We're a growing company, we've hit snags along the way, and we have tried to deal with it the best we can. We are not crooks, we are not cheats; we are just a handful of guys working to get cool devices out to the masses in the face of a lot of opposition.
I will monitor this thread as often as possible, so feel free to ask any questions and I will answer publicly.
~J
