Hello,
Just wanted to post an update for those following this project! Over the past few months I've leaned closer towards the idea of having reputable vendors run this project rather than a self-run groupbuy for the following reasons:
1. More peace of mind for buyers
2. Can handle higher quantities, and get lower prices
3. Saves time
While the ideal scenario would be to run this prior to my other project, finding a vendor willing to run this project for the US was a little bit more difficult than anticipated. The primary issue I find is regarding risk and being able to price the board according to demand, making sure that said amount of boards would even sell. In the end, it seems that the most likely scenario is for Cloudline to run first, build some reputation, then have Moment run as a follow up. This board is still on the timeline though - it is by no means being abandoned or scrapped.
TL;DR.. currently holding for vendors on Moment for higher unit counts, ideally lower prices - downside is we must wait.
Some supporters have pitched the idea of running it in a smaller self-run group buy (basically, the original plan) while waiting for vendors to open up for a public vendor-run group buy. I'm not opposed to this idea, but things to be noted are that prices will without a doubt be more expensive in a small buy (which is kind of a bummer when group buy prices later on will be cheaper). To compensate, it figures that the small buy would have to be 'special' in some way - something I am still brainstorming with.
In the meantime, here are some miscellaneous photos of the current prototype: