Ok, this rant is my second attempt - the first one got posted, then delted by myself on the mobile phone by accident as I wanted to correct a typo, and the phone's browser sort of auto selected "delete" when I tapped into the subject field to edit this.
I have actually waited - paitently like most here - for the promised preorder on the new synik line up to open for ordering.
Of course there's a time-zone difference and when the Synik Pre-Order finally appeared to be online I was of course in the middle of work with a customer and a really busy schedule ahead.
(yeah, tom bihn, I have to work, to afford your bags)...
Now I know the pre-order time frame was limited from the very start to around a week (13th to 20th if memory serves me well) and it was indeed statet that it might end sooner if sales numbers are high.
I've been running my own business for more than 20 years and that brings along a certain understanding for marketing and sales tactics... I understand fully, that making a product look "scarce" - hard to get - limited can be a great tool markting wise to drive sales quickly... and frankly, there's nothing "wrong" with that - to some extend.
But the thing is this: the preorder, which I was eager to pull the trigger on because I had a specific trip in mind for which the new synik would have been a perfect companion, barely lasted a day, in fact it didn't last even a day, it didn't last 18 hours from the looks of it.
whilst I'm happy for the folks at tom bihn, that sales are probably going well - this leaves a rather sour taste in my pre-order wallet.
Also I believe that any busniess as long standing as tom bihn, actually has a pretty decent sort of accurate estimate when sthey launch a new product of what's going to happen. And I for one simply don't buy the "sold out in less than a day" for a pre-order thing.
The beatuy behind PRE-Ordering before production starts would surely be the fact that a company can "test the waters" safely... sort of like some - even established - companies turn to kickstarter & co to get funding and support for a new product.
I even get that there is bound to be a limit - a production baseline that if too many are pre-ordered the estimated time of delivery will be very difficult to meet also probably wanting to stock up at the same time on the new product, keep current production items going etc...
But really, less than 24hrs?
And now there's this teasing message that could have been phrased by a number crunching book keeper for some famous italian mob family - that perhaps - yes, perhaps - there's some more to be open for preordering on a specific thursday, single day.
here's the gist though, currently my desire for supporting a preorder run has reached the temperature equivalent of a hard cold winter day in northern siberia.
Pre-Order: meaning, paying well in advance of a product delivery, including full shipping which is a staggering 45-65 depending on where in europe I want it delivered to.... - that is around 15% or more of the product's value btw... makes me look at the 4kg aliexpress package on my desk that got delivered this morning with machined parts for a project, shipped for free from the other side of the globe in 15 days...) .
again, 18 or less hours of actual preordering time frame, instead of around a week? I would have fully understood if say saturday came and by the evening it would have been "sold out"
(again, how exactly it can be "sold out" is tricky, I'm sure it would not be that difficult to adjust production, especially when you see the product sells like hot cake).
Now on thursday, like many, I have a pretty full schedule at work... there's two clients to meet, there's production to be done, there's even a shopping run for speciality parts that are sort of slow to be shipped otherwise.... and frankly, by the time I would be willing to sit down in front of the computer, check if tom bihn has more preorder items, flap out the credit card and spend around 350$ for goods to be deliverd in late october, I guess the extremely scarce quantity of packs available, perhaps not even in my desired colour scheme, will again be sold out.
I'm sorry but I have to say this, that type of sales strategy is a turn off.
it's not like I'm hoping to buy a cloned-living-one-of-a-kind-miniature T-Rex... or a talking unicorn that's good a preparing my favourite sushi... all I've had hoped to achieve over this mornings delicious coffee was to use my free morning (yeah, I work weekends and today is my day off) to happily support a company with a preorder.... which frankly I had not anticipation of being stopped dead in its track only 18 hours after it's launch.
At this point I'm sort of on the edge about the entire thing and any related purchase - simply because I dislike the methodical approach to creation of a hype of sorts with all the bag reviews out there and things, and a sort of promised pre-order of around a week, then killed in under 20 hours with another "hopeful 1 day" in the loop...
frankly it screams marketing tactics - and not the kind of marketing tactics I can find funny.
again, running my own business these are the decisions each individual company can make on their own - and keep the reasons unpublished or publish a long story or whatever works for them. I also get that smaller businesses aren't high volume producers planning in the thousands or more production pieces... and there's a natural scarcity around the resulting items thus.
But common tom bihn: less than 24hrs is stretching that tactic thin, really thin.
And last but truly not least:
your website has malfunctions.
The lovely option to "sign up" to be notified once the preorder becomes available: guess what - it doesn't work.
I've tried it on two different computers and one "flagship" (read: android 9 and latest updates) smartphone... I can type in my address but tapping or clicking on the "sign up" button does, well, nothing. On the positive side, I didn't get any spam (read: i've checked my spam folder and nope) either. But no notice email as well.
yes, this is a rant - you don't need to like it, or support it.... it's opinionated
PS: I now go back to talk to the talking unicorn, which didn't get replaced by the sushi making variety, because, well the preorder was sold out.