
Above is the conversation I had with the designer just now.
What happened is that Baiyang, one of the largest mkb Taobao shop runners, basically acquired the rights to TriC in China (as in, only he can sell it), through a deal with the designer. I made a separate deal prior to that with the designer as well, but Baiyang and I are unaffiliated.
TriC's production history is as follows, AFAIK:
Initial batch - a GB w/ a little over 10 were made, and I purchased mine from it. Organized and fulfilled by the designer.
Second batch - a GB run through Baiyang. Fulfilled by Baiyang.
Third batch - this GB run by me. Only just now shipped from factory, and en route to the designer. Will be fulfilled by the designer.
Fourth batch - ordered by Baiyang but not as a GB. He ordered some of each (except orange, which is said to be discontinued as the color was too difficult to anodize properly) to sell on his storefront. This is probably what you got, Cotay.
The reason given to me by the designer (and HolyOOPs who handled the production and anodizing) for the delay is that the batch that was ordered by me was mostly scrapped due to quality issues. This does not explain how Baiyang got his well before my own.
There's definitive word now. It won't be long before you all get what you paid for. I'm sorry it took so long.
A PM on here or reddit is still the best way to reach me. Slack is faster, but conversation gets wiped after 10k total messages which makes it hard to keep track of things.