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WakeMate (YC S09) Shipping Delayed

druwynings.com

51–58 of 58 posts

Re: WakeMate (YC S09) Shipping Delayed

#51

Perhaps they should have announced the monthly fees before the delay. I'm more than a little disappointed to find out that I'm not getting it on time, and that I might unexpectedly have to pay a monthly fee once it does ship.

Any piece of hardware that has a contrived monthly fee attached to it should be avoided.

Satellite TV? Tivo? Hell most internet connections are this. A bit of an over-generalization.

Re: WakeMate (YC S09) Shipping Delayed

#53
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They've answered this concern on Twitter: "all the planned features are still free! we've developed some new awesome premium features that we're planning on charging for." http://twitter.com/wakemate/status/8102380070

This is pissing me off more and more. How do I know that these "premium" features are not the actual features that I want? They may just give me the bare minimum, and since I already invested $50, they now try to squeeze more money out of me by withholding the good stuff. Tell me this stuff before you make me pre-order. Let me be aware what I am getting into. I thought that the hardware is what you pay for, and the w…

Exactly. Also, for many people, it's not the $5 or $50, it's that they were really looking forward to using the product because they wake up tired every morning. That to me is the issue, the trivial amount of money customers paid up front is not.

Re: WakeMate (YC S09) Shipping Delayed

#54
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The negative tone in this thread is incredibly out of character of Hacker News. What happened to civility? If you have a problem with the way they handled these delays, I can understand. Getting delayed -sucks- and getting a crappy response sucks worse. It reminds me of dealing with airlines - they already have my money and can't manage to give me a straight answer. But please consider giving these guys a break. Hard…

You know why I'm harsh now? Because this is just a small community. They are dealing with a mass-market product - if they discover the things that piss off customers now, they will know better how to do things in the future. Yes, hardware is hard, but if you coddle a business then it will grow in expectancy that things will just fall in their lap. They made a serious mistake - it annoys me, and I'm telling them. If t…

Whoever came up with this email should employ the George Costanza tactic - take your instincts, and do (write) the opposite.

Re: WakeMate (YC S09) Shipping Delayed

#55

Just been chatting with the WakeMate guys via the new instant message feature on their website - they've pledged to give these "premium" features to all preorder customers for free for life to make up for their crappy email today. http://www.twitpic.com/zfv9q

Yeah, talked with them and told me the same. Shipping will be starting like at th end of february, BUT free LIFETIME premium!

Even if premium was 5$/month, you could save over 700$ in 5 years, not to tell in a lifetime.

Re: WakeMate (YC S09) Shipping Delayed

#56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any piece of hardware that has a contrived monthly fee attached to it should be avoided.

Satellite TV? Tivo? Hell most internet connections are this. A bit of an over-generalization.

No, not really. Those are not contrived, they simply wouldn't function without the online component.

But this devices would works as good, or even better if it did not need outside connectivity.

It's just a way to turn a device into a service.

Re: WakeMate (YC S09) Shipping Delayed

#57
I never even received a status delay email from WakeMate. I had to learn about it on TechCrunch.

As a matter of fact, in checking my email archive, I've had NO communication from WakeMate. The only thing I have is my Paypal receipt for my deposit. And I see that now they have switched to Google Checkout for payment processing.

As an early adopter, have I slipped through a crack?

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