4 ms·

I ordered one, with no experience although like the story and heard about the original. One very frustrating concern - the warranty. This is $255+ for a device

I ordered one, with no experience although like the story and heard about the original. One very frustrating concern - the warranty. This is $255+ for a device that is only good for 3 million seconds. Would it be possible to arrange replacement at cost after 2 years?

erohead 2y ago
I have no reason to think that it will not work well for 2 years, but I am not prepared to guarantee that in a warranty. That would be taking on too much risk as a small company.
- pizzafeelsright 2y ago
  Your explanation is reason enough to cancel. I have experienced enough hardware fails the day after the warranty to avoid purchasing anything that I do not consider disposable. I still have my Vector watch which suffered the same fate as Pebble. I am curious about the risk of a "at cost" replacement. I have avoided buying a FitBit to replace my existing FitBit because their warranty is also limited to "one year" which is basically Wearable as a Service.
  - robocat 2y ago
    > curious about the risk of a "at cost" replacement You can't tell consumers the raw manufacturing cost because people act weird when they are told it: they usually assume the "markup" is profits. They assume that they're getting ripped off because most people don't understand development costs or overheads and they always argue that any profit is too much. This problem can't be fixed. Apart from the risk of scammers buying a watch to sell, saying it is broken, getting a replacement at cost and the scammer steals the markup/profit. You can maybe think of ways to make it work, but they are likely to have excessive support costs or other hidden costs for the manufacturer or consumer.
    - ahel 2y ago
      Hey, I completely agree and I also suffer from this same bias: it's ruining me from enjoying stuff that I would like to buy but in the end I just give up because it feels that any profit is a scam. What kind of resource can I study for me to understand and accept other people making profits?
      - GlacierFox 2y ago
        What do you mean? Excessive profit or _any_ profit? Haha. You'd prefer it people made things and just broke even?
        ahel 2y ago
        I think I would like to be able to answer the following two questions: 1. what percentage of this object price is net profit? 2. is that percentage a "fair" proportion? but atm, I don't have a "scientific" way to respond to those questions so I usually go with my gut, or do whatever other people in my circle do (which is not ideal and I'd like to change)
        unregistereddev 2y ago
        When you set pricing for a product, profit is a goal. You don't know how many devices will be returned, whether the device or its marketing will attract lawsuits, or whether you'll be able to sell all the devices at asking price. You only know the actual profit margins much later, after you have sold the devices and seen them last through their warranty period. If you'd like to minimize excess profit, take note of which products seem overpriced compared to their peers. Traditionally, anything Apple makes is a prime example. For a non-tech example, look at disposable alkaline batteries. Rayovac has been owned by Energizer since 2018 and their batteries have become increasingly comparable over time, yet Rayovac batteries are much less expensive than comparable Energizer batteries. The difference? Mostly marketing and profit margin, at this point.
        hombre_fatal 2y ago
        Maybe reframing it can help you. You want the people to make money who produce the things/content you want to use and consume. It serves you as well as them.
  - flakeoil 2y ago
    This is a DIY watch for enthusiasts. It gives you a head start versus building one yourself. And you can for sure use it as-is and with pre-made apps. But don't expect it to be a mass market consumer product. Look elsewhere. The website clearly highlights this too.
  - fennecfoxy 2y ago
    This project isn't Apple or Google, lmao. I think a 2 year warranty is already a boon for what is essentially a KS project.

erohead 2y ago

I have no reason to think that it will not work well for 2 years, but I am not prepared to guarantee that in a warranty. That would be taking on too much risk as a small company.

pizzafeelsright 2y ago
Your explanation is reason enough to cancel. I have experienced enough hardware fails the day after the warranty to avoid purchasing anything that I do not consider disposable. I still have my Vector watch which suffered the same fate as Pebble. I am curious about the risk of a "at cost" replacement. I have avoided buying a FitBit to replace my existing FitBit because their warranty is also limited to "one year" which is basically Wearable as a Service.
- robocat 2y ago
  > curious about the risk of a "at cost" replacement You can't tell consumers the raw manufacturing cost because people act weird when they are told it: they usually assume the "markup" is profits. They assume that they're getting ripped off because most people don't understand development costs or overheads and they always argue that any profit is too much. This problem can't be fixed. Apart from the risk of scammers buying a watch to sell, saying it is broken, getting a replacement at cost and the scammer steals the markup/profit. You can maybe think of ways to make it work, but they are likely to have excessive support costs or other hidden costs for the manufacturer or consumer.
  - ahel 2y ago
    Hey, I completely agree and I also suffer from this same bias: it's ruining me from enjoying stuff that I would like to buy but in the end I just give up because it feels that any profit is a scam. What kind of resource can I study for me to understand and accept other people making profits?
    - GlacierFox 2y ago
      What do you mean? Excessive profit or _any_ profit? Haha. You'd prefer it people made things and just broke even?
      - ahel 2y ago
        I think I would like to be able to answer the following two questions: 1. what percentage of this object price is net profit? 2. is that percentage a "fair" proportion? but atm, I don't have a "scientific" way to respond to those questions so I usually go with my gut, or do whatever other people in my circle do (which is not ideal and I'd like to change)
        unregistereddev 2y ago
        When you set pricing for a product, profit is a goal. You don't know how many devices will be returned, whether the device or its marketing will attract lawsuits, or whether you'll be able to sell all the devices at asking price. You only know the actual profit margins much later, after you have sold the devices and seen them last through their warranty period. If you'd like to minimize excess profit, take note of which products seem overpriced compared to their peers. Traditionally, anything Apple makes is a prime example. For a non-tech example, look at disposable alkaline batteries. Rayovac has been owned by Energizer since 2018 and their batteries have become increasingly comparable over time, yet Rayovac batteries are much less expensive than comparable Energizer batteries. The difference? Mostly marketing and profit margin, at this point.
        hombre_fatal 2y ago
        Maybe reframing it can help you. You want the people to make money who produce the things/content you want to use and consume. It serves you as well as them.
- flakeoil 2y ago
  This is a DIY watch for enthusiasts. It gives you a head start versus building one yourself. And you can for sure use it as-is and with pre-made apps. But don't expect it to be a mass market consumer product. Look elsewhere. The website clearly highlights this too.
- fennecfoxy 2y ago
  This project isn't Apple or Google, lmao. I think a 2 year warranty is already a boon for what is essentially a KS project.