iCarbon Official Group Buy Thread!!

[penny]

Originally Posted by vividracing

I have nothing to do with this GB, but just get your money back if your so sore... I was trying to help you out. Like I said I have a 3D Design Carbon Diffuser sitting here brand new. If you want the iCarbon, I will pull it off my car and put the 3D on mine. I dont care. Forums are designed to help people, not have people bash others. It would be a different story if you asked for your money back and was told tough shit... But I dont think that happened. Chill...

You're correct. Forums are "designed to help people" decide which vendors to buy from. Will I be in another iCarbon group buy? Probably not. Will I buy an inventory iCarbon product? Probably yes. Will I buy an iCarbon product from VividRacing? Hell no!

iCarbon, we love you. Now back to original topic.

Chill...

[Simon_135i]

I wonder what exactly is wrong with the lips and why its taking so long?

[BMW86]

I would really like to know how far into production the lips actually are. My gut tells me months back when iCarbon were saying the lips were just coming out of production etc they were just going into production and feeding us updates which would just buy them another 2 weeks at a time. Because this happened for months it became very frustrating. In reality if the lips are still a month or so away I know we'd just get the occasional update which would buy them more time with each update until they're actually finished. I have a feeling if we knew the truth we'd be If you go through the group buy a lot of dates just weren't adding up.

[ulrichd]

Originally Posted by vividracing

What did you accomplish with that, if you dont want to wait, ask for your money back man... If you want a carbon diffuser, I have a 3D Design one sitting here you can have now.

Maybe you don't understand the frustration is not the wait but being told week after week that we're almost there - since November. I have been a business owner for twelve years and have learned that sometimes telling a client some hard thruth about delivery vs. putting them off again and again is the thing to do. Yes, you might loose a few sales but in the end people will respect you for it.

[1013mm]

Originally Posted by ulrichd

Maybe you don't understand the frustration is not the wait but being told week after week that we're almost there - since November. I have been a business owner for twelve years and have learned that sometimes telling a client some hard thruth about delivery vs. putting them off again and again is the thing to do. Yes, you might loose a few sales but in the end people will respect you for it.

Yep.

[MastaMind]

Originally Posted by ulrichd

Maybe you don't understand the frustration is not the wait but being told week after week that we're almost there - since November. I have been a business owner for twelve years and have learned that sometimes telling a client some hard thruth about delivery vs. putting them off again and again is the thing to do. Yes, you might loose a few sales but in the end people will respect you for it.

Quoted for truth.

Also, I'm pretty sure that Vivid popped in this thread due to the negative impact it's had on their group buy and not because they're running a charity of some sort.

[AchtungF80]

Originally Posted by vividracing

What did you accomplish with that, if you dont want to wait, ask for your money back man... If you want a carbon diffuser, I have a 3D Design one sitting here you can have now.

Sleezy...

What do you honestly have to do with any of this? This is not one of your vendor threads.

I guess you enjoy putting salt on the wounds of those of us still waiting. It wasn't enough you tried to capture the market for those people who saw our pics of the products we already installed and tried to honor a GB, for parts you do not even have in inventory yet.

Seriously, your idea of helping is NOT helping and you're making your business look bad by the comments I've seen.

[SLO]

Originally Posted by ulrichd

Maybe you don't understand the frustration is not the wait but being told week after week that we're almost there - since November. I have been a business owner for twelve years and have learned that sometimes telling a client some hard thruth about delivery vs. putting them off again and again is the thing to do. Yes, you might loose a few sales but in the end people will respect you for it.

+1

[ridin135]

Anyone recieve any more emails

[escobar929]

Originally Posted by penny

You're correct. Forums are "designed to help people" decide which vendors to buy from. Will I be in another iCarbon group buy? Probably not. Will I buy an inventory iCarbon product? Probably yes. Will I buy an iCarbon product from VividRacing? Hell no!

iCarbon, we love you. Now back to original topic.

Chill...

exactly, im not mad at iCarbon, I just want an actual realistic update. due to the horrible timing of vivids GB and due to their attitude, i dont think i would ever do business w/ them, ever

Originally Posted by ulrichd

Maybe you don't understand the frustration is not the wait but being told week after week that we're almost there - since November. I have been a business owner for twelve years and have learned that sometimes telling a client some hard thruth about delivery vs. putting them off again and again is the thing to do. Yes, you might loose a few sales but in the end people will respect you for it.

[onefastman]

Maybe he would trade someone for a 3d diffuser? From what I have seen previously to now vivid has been helpful and customer oriented but I disagree with the new GB. I disagree because they are doing it before the 1st run is delivered or has a set date. I am not sure if icarbon approved this or not but from my discussions with them I doubt it. I think an update that is strait forward would allow some people to lick their wounds in peace and stop the aggression. However the bottom line is that they are making/made a great product at a very very attractive price and I will be buying from them when ever their next product comes out.

[M2BMW]

Originally Posted by onefastman

Maybe he would trade someone for a 3d diffuser? From what I have seen previously to now vivid has been helpful and customer oriented but I disagree with the new GB. I disagree because they are doing it before the 1st run is delivered or has a set date. I am not sure if icarbon approved this or not but from my discussions with them I doubt it. I think an update that is strait forward would allow some people to lick their wounds in peace and stop the aggression. However the bottom line is that they are making/made a great product at a very very attractive price and I will be buying from them when ever their next product comes out.

It looks like ICarbon passed the interest for another group buy to vivid.

Posted on 01/24
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showp...postcount=1040

Vivid GB posted on 1/26:
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=344867

[onefastman]

Well I do not agree with that but hopefully this means they are getting close on the lips?

[iCARBON DESIGN]

Good afternoon ladies and gents!

First off, let me apologize for the lack of forum visibility and forum updates on our part.

With that said however, you guys do need to understand that although we love the forum, we love our customers, and it is a part of our business, we simply cannot spend as much time as we’d like updating and keeping up with things on the forum, specifically as we grow and so does demand for our products.

We haven’t disappeared on anyone, and we have updated almost everyone with pending orders on a personal per-order basis, which honestly, is what really counts. What good does a generic forum update about everyone’s pieces do, when it might only apply to a few of you? Anyone who has emailed or called in has gotten an update usually in a matter of minutes, if not definitely by the end of the day. So again, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or whatever it might be, just shoot us an email with your order number and we would be glad to update you; there’s no need to go crazy and start getting worried on the forums. It’s very difficult to keep track of who needs an update on what based on forum posts, usernames, etc.

We’ve emailed practically everyone with specific order status updates, and if you have not received one, we ask you please check your junk-mail folder perhaps, or just shoot us an email real quick and we’ll get you squared away ASAP.

We’re working, doing new things, and trying our 150% best to get everyone on GB 1 squared away and taken care of, so being on the forum at all times to keep track of everything gets difficult. We do however apologize for the lack of presence, and invite you to an open discussion that we’ll be holding. More on that below!

Ok so now to the good stuff. A lot of people are concerned with GB1 customers getting finished and taken care of when there is a GB2 posted and all of this. Let’s clear that up first.

We have had countless delays, learned from them, and unfortunately when setting up a brand new company that brings brand new products to market that are designed from scratch by us, it really does happen. We couldn’t simply just produce 100 units of all of our pieces to then have no one like them. We had to go the GB route in order to gauge interest and adjust production, and the interest was overwhelming; we’ve been playing catch-up since. To add insult to injury, we’ve had EXTREME delays in production due to weather, QC issues, molds having to be repaired, and several other external factors, Again, more on that below.

GB #2 is set for a mid-March ship timeframe because with the new production strategies we’ve set in place, we will be able to complete GB #1 and crank out GB #2 only a few weeks after that. Also, please remember that anyone purchasing pieces after the GB #1 customers is paying a much higher premium for the same pieces, so your wait and patience have not been overlooked

There is no need for concern when it comes to “will iCarbon meet GB deadlines from now on, will there be such a delay, are they taking care of new orders before ours” – NONE of that should even be in question guys, there’s no need for worries. GB # 1 customers are our priority to get 100% done, and then, with our new production capabilities, we’ll be able to knock out the much smaller GB #2 in an extremely quick and efficient manner.

What has contributed to delays, particularly on the front lips? Ok, for starters there was the overwhelming amount of demand for our pieces. We were running at full production, and during Quality Control we noticed that some pieces were coming out different than our prototypes. (This was made public, as you guys probably remembered) We addressed the issue, which required making a new mold, and that takes some time. Shortly after a new mold was completed, we made a couple of test pieces to make sure, and everything was good to go. Then, our production facility faces EXTREMELY unusual cold weathers that were simply mind-blistering cold and unusual for the usual climate. We were not ready for the delay that would cause. Things were taking way, way more time than normal to cure, some pieces would take forever to harden; it was a mess. To add insult to injury, our main production facility director had previously scheduled vacation time last year (and we thought we’d would have been more than done by then) so we granted time off way earlier late last year, and we couldn’t go back on our word; he had made travel arrangements accordingly. This didn’t affect things in extreme manners, but since we had to run production from here, it made it more difficult not having our usually contact at production. Are these excuses? Absolutely not, we take 150% responsibility for these delays, but much of them were simply out of our control, pure bad luck, or mistakes we need to learn from. We just want everything to be clear.

What are we doing to reduce lead times and other issues that have contributed to such delays? Well for starters we’re in the process of making many more molds per piece to allow for much faster turnaround and production volume. This alone will help decrease production time significantly. Things are already warming up, but for next winter, we plan to move our production to a facility that is better insulated against the elements, or just bring production closer to our corporate offices here in FL where we have palm trees and 80 degree weather all year! Except for this year, where it got into the 20’s in Orlando! We also plan to double the iCarbon staff by year’s end 2010. All of these things were unanticipated delays that we had to go through as a small company getting into a big field, and unfortunately some of you guys had to get dragged along for the ride. We do apologize, but at the end of the day, you guys really are getting some KICK ASS carbon fiber parts with some of the best quality around, at a really special price. We literally put our hearts and souls into every single piece that is turned out. Myself and the other owner actually help wrap EVERY SINGLE piece that leaves with an iCarbon name, we inspect it, and add Pinnacle Souveran Carnuba Wax to each piece by hand. Why? Because we really, truly, do love our product, our brand, our customers, our company and we think iCarbon is more about an experience and about building close relationships with our customers than some body part. We’re not some corporate goons that are in it for the money, we want to see our company grow and build brand loyalty, and unfortunately our delays in production are the only thing kind of holding us back from delivering amazing pieces on time. We wish NOTHING more than to be able to be perfect in our customer’s eyes, and because we’ve been delayed so long, we feel like we’ve failed many of you. For that, we truly do apologize and hope to blow you guys away when our new pieces come out and everything is in stock before you even order

We’ve gotten to know many of you on a personal basis, had our share of laughs (Paul and the scooter hahahahahahahhahahaha!!!!), our share of angry customers, and everything in between. We’re glad to have such KICK-ASS customers that have stuck with us the whole way; you guys deserve every ounce of work and energy, every work night until 4am, and everything we’ve put into this thing.

ANYONE and EVERYONE who has ordered a diffuser, mirror caps, or spoiler will be getting a tracking number between today and Sunday. A lot of lip orders will also receive tracking between today and Sunday, and anyone who doesn’t, will be emailed a personalized order status email pertaining to their order.

The last thing on the agenda for today is our open discussion. Forums are somewhere you can talk and ask questions, find information, etc, but what better way to get to know iCarbon, what we do, what we have in store, ask any questions you have, and what better way for us to get to know you guys and what you want to see in the future than to have an open, LIVE chat?!

We want to set up an open discussion chat-room session at some point next week, so we can all sit and talk about well, whatever you guys want to talk about. This will happen *tentatively* next Wednesday around 10:00pm EST (to give the west coast a chance to get home). We’ll confirm and post details this weekend. We’d love see everyone there!

We truthfully and honestly thank you guys for being so great and we are doing and will do EVERYTHING in our power to help build this brand into a household name and a customer experience that is unrivaled elsewhere – all while STILL bringing you guys fair prices.

We’ll also be attending some major BMW shows around the US, so make sure to come out and see us if we’re in your neighborhood!

More to follow! (on iCarbon time, so it might be 10-15 weeks before there’s an update….... just kidding )

- Mario

[1013mm]

[AchtungF80]

Originally Posted by iCARBON DESIGN

Good afternoon ladies and gents!

First off, let me apologize for the lack of forum visibility and forum updates on our part.


- Mario

Good post. Please keep this up!

[BroDoze]

Well done and bravo - this detailed update is long overdue, but a much appreciated one. I think that is what people wanted was an honest update.

The delays and unforseen events are part of life - they are not what damage a company's rep, it's the lack of communication that might.

I think I'll be jumping on the 2nd GB for a lip now.

[infinitekidM2C]

I'll be happy when i see a tracking no.

[onefastman]

[randomquickness]

Thanks for the update Mario! I can't wait!

[ulrichd]

"A lot of lip orders will also receive tracking between today and Sunday, and anyone who doesn’t, will be emailed a personalized order status email pertaining to their order."

Alright let's make this happen and thanks for the update.

[penny]

Originally Posted by onefastman

1+