$1.7 Million

[mesaxi]

I keep hearing people say "you must not know how kickstarter works" as they thumb their nose at customer complaints, but I fail to see the justification for a company that just took $1.7 Million in pledges to run this horribly. The logistics issues are a complete embarrassment. I submitted my order in December, was told it would arrive in March, was told it shipped 3 weeks ago, still waiting with no tracking updates whatsoever. Then they can't even respond to customer emails for "10 days" and they act like the people getting upset about that are being unreasonable. $1.7 Million, hire some staff and get your shit together. This is a total shambles.

[MarkHaysHarris777]

You clearly do not understand how kickstarter works.

... when you buy into a kickstarter project (like many of us did here) you are NOT buying a product from IBM. You are INVESTING in the future; helping a startup company get off the ground with a new idea.

You also clearly don't have a clue about how the production process works for these boards... it is an extremely expensive endeavor; everything from parts availability to line shortages, to shipping logistics (parts and finished products) and then all the engineering foibles and everything else (its really amazing that these folks have performed as well as they have! Give 'em a brake.

I'm just happy to see the boards going out, units are being sold, and their team is keeping up with things fairly well. Just remember, its a start-up company, not a finished product with years of experience behind them. Frankly anyone should expect that the Raspberry PI Foundation would be miles ahead (they've had a four year head-start ! ) The PineA64 will get there too... and YOU get to be part of that success, just like the rest of us who invested, so smile and be happy.

Geeze, I'm guessing you spend more in beer every month than you have invested here... lighten up already.

[RichT]

Doesn't explain why they're shipping preorders and Store orders to people before Kickstarter pledges have been sent out, explicitly against their previous agreements. Also, there's no obvious reason why some orders are being delayed over others.

It's also annoying as hell when people who already have their Pine64s defend the company by saying "stop complaining, the boards are going out, it's a shipping product". Well my board hasn't gone out. It's not shipping. I paid months ago and I can't get shipping number. Hell, I can't get anyone from Pine to respond to emails and I've been emailing them for the last six weeks, but hey, at least people who didn't fund the company are getting their stuff before me, and if they want to cancel their order, they're allowed to, whereas I'm not because I backed through Kickstarter rather than the online store. Apparently some of us who showed early faith in Pine can just go **** ourselves instead.

[MarkHaysHarris777]

I'm not saying that a certain amount of frustration is not to be expected with startup funding, but you might try being polite. This is a kick-starter project, not a Fortune 500 venture.

I waited for several months to receive my board. You didn't see me on here ranting an raving and carrying on; it doesn't help the situation, and it isn't going to motivate anyone to help you either. Please be respectful and please be patient. Its ok to let them know you've been waiting, just be respectful.

[RichT]

I was patient and polite, right up until I asked in the absence of my Pine if I could have a refund. Apparently asking for my money back gets an immediate denial, repeatedly asking where the thing I've paid for is instead is doesn't merit any response. It's hard to remain sympathetic to a company that treats you like that.

[MarkHaysHarris777]

it may just be me... but the way I view the kick-starter funding thing is that I want to see them succeed. To succeed they need venture capitalists that are willing to take a risk and support a great idea; that's what several of us have done. ... $1.7 million of us...

... the return on investment is a piece of the pie at some point. If you can't afford to be an investor , well, don't invest. If you invest , well, be patient. But it doesn't help the project to ask for a refund (especially if they're already struggling a bit) and it doesn't help to scream at them either; they're people first, technologists and engineers second, and business people last. Sometimes the hardest part of something like this is the business side; they'll get it figured out, and eventually all of this will be behind them, and you'll have your board, and everything will be good.

If you really want to help, keep investing; purchase stuff through the store... tell your friends about the PineA64 and get your community involved in understanding what is going on with these iddy bitty machines (super computers on an index card ! )

[RichT]

None of this explains why people who paid after me, who aren't Kickstarter funders, who Pine publicly stated would not get their products until ours had shipped, are getting their kit before I've even had a shipping number, and why six weeks can go by without anyone from the company responding to multiple requests for more information. I'm not demanding an immediate refund here because nobody is leaping to respond to unreasonable demands within 24 hours. I'm unhappy because the distribution is rubbish, the communication is rubbish, the product is non-existent, and people who have received their boards keep telling me to relax. I've said this before – it's apparently very easy to be magnanimous when you've got what you've paid for.

And you say KEEP INVESTING!? No thanks. As far as I can tell, my initial investment has been for nothing. This may well eventually be behind them, but I certainly won't be. Once bitten, twice shy.

[MarkHaysHarris777]

When your board arrives, are you going to send it back?\

[RichT]

*If*. If my board arrives, then yes, I plan to either send it back or immediately put it on eBay. Really want nothing more to do with this.

[martinayotte]

Maybe donate it to children/students community ...