It's going to take awhile to gather all the info we need to create the proposal, so I wanted to loop everyone in to what's happening and why. Feel free to ask questions as you have them. I'll be compiling a list of questions to answer in the Q&A section of the official proposal, so do not expect an immediate answer.
THIS IS NOT THE OFFICIAL PROPOSAL, JUST AN UPDATE.
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**Basic idea of the proposal:**
Group buy has run out of capital and is dead in the water. Tes has not been able to stay on top of the gb or updates, and did not manage cost properly. Most of us still want a board but no longer trust Tes to handle this. Idea is to transfer all the group buy components, materials, etc from Tes to myself (rubbermilitia). After the transfer, Tes is no longer involved in gb cash, nor responsible for updates/orders/communication/etc; rather, Tes remains on only as a product consultant/designer and collects no additional cash in any way. Rubber collects a cash infusion from participants (we're aiming for this to be <100$ per person, but won't have actual details on that until later). Complete the group buy with downgraded components (no alum bottoms, no brass anything, likely to be replaced by acrylic). Anyone who is unable or unwilling to participate in the 'rescue group buy' will likely have to wait for Tes to generate the funds to refund them, with the help of whatever is left over from the rescue gb (cash/components/etc). *I am not inheriting Tes' obligations to participants.*
**Steps to take:**
1. Gather Information to determine our current situation *- we are here*
2. Figure out exactly what components/materials/etc we need to get this gb to done state (with downgraded components)
3. Get quotes from manufacturers near me (rubbermilitia)
4. Figure out how much capital we need to complete gb with downgraded components
5. Write proposal including detailed plan of attack, quotes, MOQs, photos, and Q&A
6. Approach participants with proposal
7. Hand off group buy (Tes>rubber), collect capital infusion from participants
8. Complete group buy with downgraded components
9. Update on a weekly basis
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**What we've gotten done:**
- Contacted manufacturer local to Tes who has all the raw material on hand (I was cc'd on the email, saw response from him firsthand). He refuses to take inventory of material/completed parts/half-finished parts, etc, so we're not sure exactly what he has/what state it is in. He wants an address to ship the material to, and won't consider actually finishing the project. In fact he gave us a deadline of 04/27/2020 to give him an address to ship to. I'm not sure how he has all the material, or why he's out of patience, but I won't be digging into that- the info we're collecting is just to help with the hand-off and **as I've said before, my plan is not to audit the failure of Tes' run of this gb**. We will likely need to ship all of this material directly to me very soon to maintain possession of these materials, and take photos/inventory to determine what remains to be completed.
- Took exact inventory of what Tes has on hand (PCBs, bases, plates, corian bottoms), along with multiple photos and timestamps
- Spoke with my lawyer to determine the proper path to transfer the group buy to me, including components, materials, and obligation to make best effort to complete the group buy. I was able to get the information I need to be confident inheriting this mess. I would essentially only be inheriting the components + materials, with a written intent to make best effort at fulfillment.
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**What we're currently working on:**
- Tes is updating master spreadsheet of everyone who joined the gb, to make sure we are aware of our current active buyers, refunds which went out early in the buy, etc. Need this to be accurate and current so we know which participant is owed what.
- I am working on collecting all/any documentation related to this gb that I can. Again, I'm not going to spend hours piecing together a paper trail to determine exactly where Tes went wrong. My only goal is to finish what he started.
- Tes and I are working on figuring out what we can seed in the 'rescue fund' (cash infusion I mentioned earlier). Goal is to get a chunk of cash from Tes, and some mech keyboard stuff. I can also put forward some cash and some keyboard stuff, like a gherkin, switches, etc. I have no obligation to do this but I also want the rescue gb to succeed. We are discussing the possibility of using these donated items as incentives for higher contribution to the rescue fund. Or possibly just selling them to add the cash to the rescue fund.
- Tes and I are working on getting the materials shipped from the manufacturer directly to me (Tes has no room to store it, and we don't have a new factory yet, nor do we want to jump the gun on choosing a factory just to have somewhere to store materials.)
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**Final thoughts for now**
Please remember this is in early stages, and I would like to hear your thoughts, but I do not want to be spammed with questions about Tes' mistakes. This is a large undertaking and there is still a lot of info to collect, but I am willing to move forward with making this happen if I have majority support from the participants. We will be polling the participants after the actual proposal is released to get an idea of what % of participants are on board. It is likely that if we see <50% support, I will be stepping down from any involvement with the gb, and letting it run whatever course it would have without intervention.
THIS IS NOT THE OFFICIAL POLL, but it would be nice to get an early gauge of how many people are on board for this idea, so if you are FOR or AGAINST it, please feel free to comment or PM me. Since this isn't the official poll, I'm not requesting order #'s with votes yet, so please use the honor system and only respond if you're a participant.
Thank you for your time
PS I have nothing to do with one-offs and do not have answers to any of those questions. Lumina 60 gb is the only thing this rescue gb will address.
PPS Tes is dead broke, in debt, credit is destroyed, and the gb is at an indefinite standstill. You can't throw him in jail over this (regardless of what some people inexplicably think), and the cost to sue the money out of him would be more than the cost of the board..and then even if you win the suit, good luck collecting. On top of that, no attorney is going to touch a class action suit for such a small amount (~35k total collected from participants), and you would need a lot more cash than the rescue gb to even cover attorney fees. Plus pp dispute window expired, and the charge is too far past to have a hope of your bank doing anything (Please let us know if you were *recently* able to get a refund from a claim at your bank, so others can have this as an option, but this doesn't seem likely). Tes is determined to finish this (hence the fact that he is still holding on to all components and materials and working through this proposal with me), but it would take him years to gather the funds to either complete or refund all kits.
I have thought at length about other ways out of this mess for us participants, and discussed multiple times with my small business lawyer. The only way we get these boards is if we take action. My goal here is to deliver *something* to all of us participants who have no other options left, and I'm in a position where Tes is willing to hand over all components and materials and step aside.
It's a rare thing that a group buy fails so miserably, but I have faith that we can pull together as a community to get this done. We're only doing this if it's what you guys want to do.
