The Lumina Rescue is a group buy exclusively for original participants of the Lumina 60 group buy, which failed for various reasons. The GB will be subsidized using components which are already made, and in my possession (PCBs, plates, bases & bottoms). The components will be manufactured by new manus found by myself, with help from the rescue team.
The design has not changed, so most of what is in the original IC still applies, and all new or modified components are compatible with original design.
At this point I need information on participation & interest to nail down MOQs & pricing.
These two options (rescue gb OR pcb for shipping cost) are the only two avenues I will be providing for fulfillment of the original GB. Beyond that, please see FAQ below for other steps you can take yourself.
Please see below section labeled "Public GB (Lumina 60 RP)". The public IC will be posted after the rescue IC is complete, with options and quantity of spots dictated by the reception of the rescue IC. Please stay tuned for a public IC, which will likely be posted in a separate post.
The public GB will be slightly higher cost than the rescue GB, but will still be well within the range for a solid budget board.
We have received a LOT of quotes at a few different quantity levels to gauge pricing, from many different manufacturers. Rather than dump them all here, I will provide averages at low and high MOQ.
- White corian: $20 (MOQ 200) - $40 (MOQ 50) *Likely lower at MOQ 50 than 40$/unit (see other MOQ50 quotes are around 27-28$). I think this was the sales person spitballing in early talks. Asking for an update.
- Elderberry substitute Corian (Azure) - waiting to hear back, but likely in-line with the others
Note: We are NOT making brass available, because the cost to manufacture + ship is just too high for a rescue gb trying to keep costs low. In addition, from the prototype, we have found that brass is WAY too heavy, given that the entire triangular base is a huge chunk of brass, as opposed to being an aluminum base with a smaller brass weight screwed into it, like most keyboard designs.
White not pictured, as it is a simple white color, see the image at top of this post.
First I will address the items I promised to address in the 'official proposal':
Distributing existing components (Priority of options)The GB price will be subsidized via the existing components. We have 119 pcbs, 73 plates, 18 bases, and 29 bottoms.
See full inventory here.There is the challenge of determining who gets first choice of existing components (eg Deep Black Quartz bottoms, Elderberry bottoms, colored acrylic plates, etc.)
This shouldn't matter too much, as we're planning on having substitute colors for each of these options..however, we may not be able to sub all original options (due to MOQs), and even so, the choice still exists between OG Corian and subbed off-brand.
The choice will go to the highest paying members of the original group buy, who also join the rescue.
For example: after the IC is posted, I will sort the list of people interested by the amount they spent in the original gb. I will then reach out to them in order, offering the options of original parts that are up for grabs. I will do so in order until all unique original parts are spoken for.
To be clear, original GB participants will of course have precedence over the public gb when it comes to original components.Pics and timestamps of all completed componentsPlease click here to see everything I received from Tes, with timestamps of when I received them.
Click here to see updated inventory after counting what I receivedPics and timestamps of the materialAs per previous updates, the 'raw material' is likely gone from the manu, and we will certainly not be receiving it. The manu owner likely sold it a while ago to make up for the cost of storing it on his floor for so long without hearing from Tes.
I did manage to contact the manu owner more than once via phone and email, and he even quoted freight shipping and stated he would ship to my address 'next week', but the shipment never came, and eventually he started ignoring all efforts at communication. I have confirmed that the original manu is a legitimate US-based manu; but the situation between the manu and Tes is complicated and involves a lot of mistakes on both sides.
Please see here for all the communication I have had with the manu. There were also a few phone calls but they were not recorded for obvious reasons.
I stated in earlier posts that I would be looking into sending a demand letter to the manu; however, that would be a complete waste of money, given that its an obvious empty threat, considering that Tes made plenty of mistakes himself (partial payments, long periods of radio silence, forcing manu to store materials on his floor indefinitely, etc), which would mean the manu isn't likely to be threatened by a letter, or even a lawsuit.
Luckily, we do not need the material, as off-brand corian is cheap, and the rescue kit is heavily subsidized by existing components.
Public GB (Lumina 60 RP)"Lumina 60 Rescue-Public" - GB open to the general public, in order to fill out spots in the rescue gb that are left available after original participants join.
I am expecting the IC for participants of the original group buy to get around 30-40 responses, but we have enough components on hand to subsidize the cost of around 70 boards. And as you know, the higher the MOQ, the more savings for everyone. Also I don't want to throw away extra components which are useless without a kit.
For these reasons, I'm considering opening a second IC to the public, allowing anyone to join to fill the remaining spots, so there's no waste + a better MOQ. The options for the public IC would be based on what we're low on in the rescue IC, to help get things made (eg if the rescue IC gets only 3 users wanting CF plates, but plenty wanting POM, we could open just CF option to the public to help round the numbers)
These are initial thoughts in this direction, and subject to change. The cost for all participants would still be low as possible, and any priority of options would obviously go to original participants.
I have received feedback from some members of the original GB, and there's a consensus that this is agreeable as long as the public GB is more expensive, in order to help bring the rescue price even lower. There would not be an insane markup for the public, but likely +30-50% cost, which isn't much at these low price points (and is still much cheaper than the original gb).List of donation itemsThe list of intended items to be donated from Tes to the rescue gb is included in the transfer agreement below.
A list of donation items actually received in the shipment from Tes can be seen in the timestamps imgur album above, in the "pics and timestamps of all completed components" section.
These donation items will be sold to add to the rescue fund seed, to help lower the cost of participation. They will be sold between the IC and GB phase, and therefore will be reflected in the GB pricing.
There are also extra Waldo PCBs which were ordered by Tes for future one-offs/etc, which will be sold to contribute to rescue fund.
Amount of cash 'seeded' in the rescue fund- Tes has seeded 100$ (this was while ago, in an attempt to informally 'garnish his wages' for the gb. Only ended up getting 2 payments of 50$.)
- I covered the cost of shipping the components + donation items to myself, 237.99$
see receipt here - When donation items & extra PCBs are sold, the rescue seed will grow as well
Public release of lumina design files-
Original design files released by Tes (some things missing)-
Updated + completed design files by lukelex. (Used to make his prototype)Details on how cash will be collected to avoid another paypal lock situationTes made a lot of mistakes which are easy to avoid. I am still working out the details, but I will be collecting cash via PP business or shopify; possibly with individual invoicing in order to more tightly control participation. The service I collect payment through will be connected to a business bank account established with an EIN number received from the IRS specifically for my LLC; therefore there's no mixing of personal and gb funds, there's no risk of using a personal account for high-volume invoicing, and PP/Shopify is more likely to see the activity as legitimate, and therefore less likely to freeze funds. I will also be calling PP/shopify ahead of time in order to warn them of the cash influx, and make sure they know what to expect.
I am still deciding between PP and shopify; as I have a long-standing PP account with good history which would likely make collection a breeze; but shopify is used more often by GB runners these days, and seems easier to use for large sums such as this.
Regardless of which platform, generally, GB runners do not have issues when taking these precautions, and I have spoken to a handful of successful GB runners to create my cash collection plan.
GB transfer/ Tes involvement?Please see the
Lumina GB Transfer Agreement. This was written up with the help of a business lawyer local to me, whom I had on general counsel at the time. I prefer to do things above board, and this document establishes a clear transfer from Tes to my LLC, including the obligation to make best effort at gb fulfillment.
Therefore, Tes is not involved in any way, shape, or form in this rescue gb.Tes list of one-off commitmentsSome users agreed to having their usernames included in a public post of Tes' outstanding commitments. Others would rather remain anonymous, or I have not heard from them yet- these users are censored.
Please see Tes' updated one-off commitments here. Tes is not involved in the Rescue GB, but I promised I would include this in the proposal.
Handling Tes one-offsTwo one-offs have been fulfilled through myself, and a third is waiting on shipping funds from the buyer for international shipment. I do not want to divulge the one-off owners, but the one-offs I fulfilled have included:
- Waldo PCB, yok red pandas & devil 60 plate
- Baguette keyboard
- (Pending) Baguette rose gold keyboard
If I have anything on hand that is owed to someone, I have made an attempt to fulfill it for them. As I mentioned before, the various one-offs that Tes accepted commissions for are not my responsibility, and I will not be going beyond offering to ship whatever I have. However, one-off folks will be offered a rescue gb slot.
Most one-offs owed to people are dead in the water due to the original manufacturer going dark, unfortunately.
Detailed plan of attack-
Get quotes for various MOQ levels to assist with determining pricing [DONE]
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Get quotes from multiple manufacturers so we have backup manus & price/options comparison [DONE]
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Write 'proposal' (this IC) addressing common concerns & establishing plan [DONE]
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Release all non-public gb info (design files, one-off backlog, manu communication, etc) [DONE]
- Collect IC data for rescue gb to identify MOQs & pricing. Also collect list of participants to want to get a PCB & move on.
- Write Public IC
- Collect IC data for public gb, with quantity of spots & options modified to assist rescue gb
- If there is not enough interest to fill spots (at least 70), consider different component options/colors, use feedback from community to repeat IC
- Proceed as soon as we can fill all spots
- At this point, begin selling donation items & extra PCBs to fund rescue seed
- Nail down payment collection method. Either PP business or shopify basic. Call payment processor & set expectations.
- Determine final price point & options for rescue & public GB, given the amount in rescue seed, MOQs, interest, etc
- Make some fun renders for the new options to include in the GB
- Figure out timeline/estimated shipping date to include in GB post. Write GB post.
- Post GB link as google form for rescue participants. Leave open for a week
- Verify that each rescue participant is indeed a member of original Lumina GB
- After rescue gb window is closed, Post GB link for public participants, with spots/options modified given the outcome of rescue gb form. Leave open for a week.
- confirm shipping address for each participant & determine shipping cost based on their location & selection (alum kits will be higher shipping cost)
- Invoice each member of rescue GB & public GB, include shipping cost with invoice so we only have to collect pmt once. Start collecting payments
- Order prototypes of parts from any new manus (for one of the corian manus, we already have a prototype via @lukelex)
- Confirm prototype components fit together, build a full board to confirm functionality & tolerances are good to go
- Redo design/prototypes as needed. Hopefully not necessary.
- Place full orders for all manufactured parts & components
- Await shipping of all parts
- Also during this window, stay in contact with factories, post updates to GH & discord
- Receive all parts
- Insert all threaded inserts into corian
- Polish corian if needed
- Run QC on all components & PCBs going out
- Begin picking & packing domestic boards
- Begin packing components for int'l boards
- Ship int'l package to EU proxy (and non-EU int'l boards individually)
- Ship domestic boards in batches
- As soon as rescue & public GB are complete and fulfilled, begin invoicing members who just want to get a PCB & move on.
- Ship PCBs
Q&A to address common concerns- I'm a one-off buyer, do I have a gb slot? - Yes. You can fill out the rescue IC.
- I'm a one-off buyer, but I don't want to join the lumina rescue gb. What do I get? - I unfortunately have nothing else to offer. We need people to engage with the rescue effort in order to fulfill anything.
- I'm an original participant, but don't want to join the rescue gb. What do I get? - Fill out the second form, and I will ship you a Waldo PCB for the cost of shipping to you. You can still join the rescue gb later if you wish, but you'll end up paying more in shipping overall, obviously. Also I cannot gurantee your spot if you do not fill out the rescue IC.
- I'm an original participant, but don't want to join the rescue gb, nor will I pay for shipping my pcb. What can I do? - File a dispute with your bank for the transaction, feel free to join our discord and check out the #disputes channel
- How is it fair to open this gb to the public, using existing components that original participants paid for? - Nothing happens for anyone without a cash infusion. I am utilizing every avenue I can think of to subsidize and lower the cost of the rescue. This is fair in my mind, especially considering that public spots will lower the cost for rescue spots.
- Why is the rescue gb target price 100$ or less, not including shipping? I hoped it would be lower? - We could have made it a LOT lower, but that would require all acrylic (no alum bases), all white corian (no cool colors), and acrylic/alum plates (no POM or CF). The tradeoff is worth it to have good enough options to actually attract enough participants to run a successful gb.
- Who is 'Tes'? - Tesletron (GreenwaldDesigns), the original runner of the Lumina 60 gb. He is no longer involved in the project.
