Corporate Responsiblity

[rahlquist]

Does PINE64 Inc. plan to make up for this mess?

How should PINE64 Inc. make up for the fact that they failed to fulfill their commitment to the community that funded this operation?

In my opinion, PINE64 Inc. should do more to foster a positive relationship with the community that funded their entry into the marketplace.

I am just another backer like you. This was my 10th kickstarter or so. I have been lucky that all the ones the reached funding that I put money in, I did get a reward in the end. That said;

Was the pine tardy?
Yup
Could they handle communications better? 
Hell yes
Could they make sure vital updates and information are disseminated better even today?
Yes

But here is the thing. I invested in their dream because to me it sounded worthwhile, and I knew I would eventually possibly get something cool out of it. I also knew that 9% of kickstarters fail completely. So almost a 1 in 10 chance of never seeing anything for my money. I knew that the vast majority of kickstater rewards arrive late. 

In 2012 CNN stated that 84% of the top kickstarters had delivered late. 

So when you invest in a kickstarter in the future keep in mind you have a 1 in 10 chance of never seeing anything and an 80% chance it will be late. Right now this one is delivering, albeit slowly. 

Its agonizing to watch but if this was a perfect idea with a perfect business plan and all the resources to handle selling 53 times as much product as they were trying to sell, they probably would have gotten a loan from someone, ramped up production, and made better profits. 

Thats not what this was though, this was some people with a dream. You helped them to get the funding to try to live that dream. In the end its very likely you will be rewarded for your faith in them that you showed by investing money in them. 

If you demand performance perhaps consider sticking to just purchasing retail. 

They dont owe us anything but gratitude. In the end this is an investment, thats the reason PayPal is stopping refunds on campaigns like this. You took a risk, you learned something. In all likelihood you will get a reward. 

Delays happen, even to retail giants, even to companies with huge amounts of funding, just look a Occulus. Google has delays, MS has delays. It happens. Sh*t happens.