Pixboom would of course be at liberty to provide you with these reseller details or at least the main regional suppliers they have appointed and have now serviced. As indicated I’m aware of several global resellers and rental houses that have received units and even now 'second batches" without backing the campaign. I was on the waiting list for about a week with several resellers before being offered a camera yesterday that could be shipped immediately.
I am choosing not to name the resellers or outlets for obvious reasons as doing so would provide them with free advertising and promotion—something they do not deserve at the expense of us original backers patiently still waiting for cameras. Many of us have been waiting ten months since pledging our hard-earned money to Pixboom essentially interest free, what a gift and look how they are reciprocating ! With the ever shifting Pixboom delayed timeline, a large number of loyal backers are set to wait a full year until October before seeing their cameras. Pixboom telling us they have 'slowed production slightly to listen to us " backers is highly questionable, but at the same time are prioritising quick cash sales to commercial resellers over fulfilling orders for the community that made their project possible is surely in my book unethical, but you make your own decision on this.
Because Pixboom is clearly prioritising retail channels over its original supporters, this matter should no longer just be discussed on forums, but formally discussed with the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), or relevant Chinese trade authorities to protect international consumer and backer rights.
Pixboom we look forward to hearing your reply here ? If you have nothing to hide then please do not remove another post of mine, after all what is this community discussion forum for ? Least it not be forgotten that we are all excited and interested in your camera.
I’ve been dealing with Pixboom for eleven months and as yet Pixboom’s track record shows that for the most part it has not been ''willing to work things out ’ and there are many many examples of this which I tried to share and discuss with our community, but you chose to hide and conveniently delete.. Fortunately, several folk read my post before our Orwellian big brother stepped in, here is one of many similar replies - ‘’I agree, 100%. This whole situation is unacceptable and just like you, I paid via wire transfer so I don’t have an actual backers number.This has been very painful and i’m beyond frustrated!!
All I see here is a lot of unproven conjecture. You name no names, you provide zero proof that these unnamed resellers did not order their cameras during the campaign window, and show no evidence the delays for quality control improvements are for some other nefarious purpose. Until you provide actual, documentable proof of any of your assertions, I can only consider your accusations as being completely unreliable.
Part of backing a Kickstarter and getting the big discounts is because of potential inconveniences, such as things getting delayed. That’s pretty normal for a Kickstarter. Yes, it’s frustrating to have to keep waiting for something you had hoped to have 6 months ago, but that’s the nature of crowdfunding. If it’s not a situation you’re willing to accept (which it’s perfectly valid if you don’t want to), perhaps waiting for full retail releases rather than backing crowdfunded campaigns is a better option for you moving forward.
This is all becoming very suspicious and one has to wonder if there is any justification for such a delay. The cameras simply haven’t been sent for a long time. The second wave of cameras is really late.
Not sure I need to share any details for the reasons I have just mentioned. The fact is Pixboom have told us backers they have ‘slowed production slightly to listen’ and so once again are pushing delivery back for many frustrated backers. This adds up given that they are now supplying their global resellers at the same time, after all its further instant revenue for them. Pixboom have given me their reasons why they are currently supplying global resellers at the same time, saying they were also backers, but again you can make your own mind up what the truth is here. I’m afraid it’s responses like your’s which allow Pixboom to get away with things and to continue messing backers around and get away with it.
One of the bigger resellers I contacted a month or so back did not know about the Spark, but then contact me recently saying they had stock, be it it just a few left.
Sure, some rental folk are backers and to a lesser degree resellers as well. Would the Kickstarter price be better than resellers getting it wholesale, just asking ..?
Just some more thoughts here. Out of the initial 450 backers that registered and got their queue number before payment was needed, many would have not made payment and the final commitment. I happened to know of several folk myself. We were not all moved up the line, but kept our same backing number which I gather is often standard with Kickstarter. However, there would have been potentially many empty slots available so Pixboom likely did not eliminate those production slots. Instead, they could have bundled those unallocated units and sold them directly to retail distributors when cameras became available to generate immediate cash flow. Again you make your own minds up on the fairness here, with resellers having potentially jumped the queue once they found out about the product, be it at the various trade shows Pixboom attended this year. Pixbooms’s priorities at to when they supply their resellers or backers would be theirs of course and only they know the answers here.
Quite possibly the best comment on this forum yet is you threatening to get the Ministry of Commerce involved. If you do, please record the conversation and post it here.
Will do so, these are the bodies that our Chinese legal folk have approached, well to date two of them. Pixboom have this week changed their tune from May and offered us a full refund which was predictable damage control wise and given the position they are finding themselves in .. To be clear its too late for an interest free refund so we have rejected this.
CCPIT (China Council for the Promotion of International Trade): This is China’s most powerful foreign trade body. They operate a dedicated CCPIT Legal Services division that handles international trade disputes and mediation to protect China’s commercial image. [1]
CCCME (China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products): This is the specific, highly influential state-backed association for electronics manufacturers. If this startup is registered as an electronics exporter, filing a complaint with the CCCME Official Portal can severely impact their export standing and industry network. [1]
The LMSB (Local Market Supervision Bureau): reporting the company for “Commercial Misrepresentation and Bad Faith Cooperating” (商业欺诈) forces a black mark on their official corporate registration file, which ruins their credit scoring inside China.
“Not sure I need to share any details for the reasons I have just mentioned.”
It seems more likely due to your inventing them, since the details you imply do not appear to exist.
Being frustrated by manufacturing and logistics delays is understandable since Pixboom is taking longer to fulfill the backer pledges than planned, but it’s not like this is a 3D printed widget. The cameras are shipping, backers are receiving them, and Pixboom is trying to maximize its quality control.
These are all things that startups have to deal with, and cameras are not exactly trivial to design and build. And the build quality of the Spark is very good, easily on a par with my Black Magic cameras, though very different operationally and the software is far less mature than Black Magic’s, as one would expect for a startup camera manufacturer.
Still, it’s turning out to be an excellent camera as Pixboom works through the inevitable teething pains of being a startup.
I would suggest you do your own research as far as the camera now being available globally at resellers. Many of which had nothing to do with being backers or even knew about the camera until recently. The comments and info I have shared have nothing to do with the camera technically or comparing it to other cameras. I do agree the camera has the potential of being a game changer once the inevitable teething issues are sorted, this is not my issue and with having used the camera..
I have to admit that this situation is very suspicious. But I want that camera and I will be patient for a while. I hope that my deadline that was given to me will be met this time, because my patience is running out.
Everyone needs to chill out, yes it’s almost been a year and a lot of us still haven’t got the camera we ordered through kickstarter. Even if some of these retailers got their hands on a unit without being an actual backer is not the end of the world and either way we have no proof to claim that they weren’t or were backers. It’s obvious that the Pixboom team is not happy about all the reported issues and they would rather be happy to send everyone’s cameras but to see that they’re trying their best to make sure we get our hands on a less faulty camera is their priority. It’s not like they took the money and shut down the project. They sent at least 250 units and they told us by the end of the month they’ll start shipping again. Again we all jumped in blindfolded into this project so threatening the Pixboom team with ridiculous accusations is completely useless at this point. But that’s my opinion.
You are absolutely right. I expect some extra gift from the Pixboom team as a goodwill gesture for waiting too long. Let them add some extra gift for us. Let’s say an extra memory card for only 500 dollars. It would be nice. Or something like that:slightly_smiling_face:
Your claim that the retailers that have Sparks were not backers is highly suspect, since Pixboom was so open about what it was doing for close to a year before launching the Kickstarter campaign.
Not a claim, it’s fact. Pixboom have themselves indicated that 'many 'of the resellers are backers, but not all of them. As a reseller why would you want to be backer and offer Pixboom an interest free loan for a year if you can get the cameras wholesale almost immediately compared to us ..
Or something like that:slightly_smiling_face: