RBT shipping thread

@RastaBuddhaTao

Were here now man. Deal with it. Stop trying to push me/anyone with any criticism (about your mode of communication) out the door.

Vape on everyone else.

RastaBuddhaTao said:

my need to ensure good vaporizers are shipped so I don't out of business because of warranty issues trumps anyone's VAS lol

Click to expand...

amen. July pre-order checking in here. Not my first pre-order, and of course I have other options to tide me over. Obviously I want mine as soon as it's ready, but not at the expense of quality. It's going to have very stiff competition as soon as it pulls into my station. So my attitude is go ahead and take the time you need to build perfect Zions. I do have high hopes for this device. congrats @RastaBuddhaTao for living the dream, and respect for approaching this project with the attitude of a craftsman. I believe that your refusal to compromise on quality will translate into business success

Zion on!

@seaofgreens and @darkrom I too feel similar. I don't think it will make a difference unfortunately. Part of me is disappointed with myself for not jumping in line sooner (was on the fence for almost 2 months) and then part of me is disappointed with the production hype talk that was discussed in this thread previously and not met.

My big concern now is that with commercializing the Zion @RastaBuddhaTao , can you make sure not to forget about us little guys who have been believing in you. I still am with you although the wait for perfection ("ensure good vaporizers") line is overdone and means nothing to me if I can buy perfection at same price I can preorder. I got a great price discount and that is the only way I can currently justify my wait.

One thing I am not clear on from your update. Will you be holding up any preorders or will you be shipping as you can make them all the way up to the time you start full production? I'm an August pre-order so does this mean I am head in sand until the summer or do I have any reason to have better hopes? If so please at least be kind enough to let me know now.

I am looking forward to completing some refund request this weekend. The Zion cult just isn't for everyone I guess? A Positive vibe Is hard to maintain... So if ya can't, please get a refund. Again, my apologies that my efforts are not enough for you.

To everyone else, did you read how much ass kicking I did in the last two weeks? All of the pre-orders scheduled to ship did, all component designs where finalized and suppliers have been released to start production (Thanks @thekarmawhore ), I signed too manufactures two produce the Zion and single battery one being in Canada... Did anyone read the glowing reviews pouring in? Hmmm, guess it is just me... Yeh, I'm pretty bummed two

That's a little salty.

I'm not really liking this new attitude of "I don't need customers anymore" like suddenly you are THE MAN and went from a humble dude who felt like one of us. I know that has little bearing on the quality of the device, but its a huge turnoff to me personally. I'm one of those refund requests. I don't think its fair to say a positive vibe is hard to maintain. A lot of us did it for a few months more than we were lead to believe.

Also, maybe this should be pulled from the website if its just plain not true? Canada is cool and all but "made in USA" is something different from made in Canada.

The Zion is a simple design that is constructed of ultra pure materials and is proudly Made in the USA.

I really hope to see the attitude return that had me buy in the first place, a HUMBLE dude. The last batch of posts are basically "I don't need you bro I don't care" to anyone with any kind of concern. I definitely wouldn't have supported that in the beginning. I'm sure my opinion will be lumped in the pile of opinions that don't matter, but its very discouraging. My refund has as much to do with the new attitude as it does the ever increasing delays and that is sad. I'd have been able to be more patient if it felt like we mattered to you at all man.

Wow our dollars that bad that you can outsource from us.

*don't see why this is moved here. -_-

mod note: Because it is part of the flow of this discussion. Please be aware of the rule about discussing moderator decisions. This should have been a PM.

RastaBuddhaTao said:

perfecting things now at a slow and responsible pace will allow us to really roll out production of flawless units free of concern soon.

Click to expand...

This commitment is why I didn't pre-order a Grasshopper.


EDIT: I don't mean to suggest The Grasshopper isn't a great vape or that it's designers aren't committed. Only that it was released to soon and many people had problems with them initially.

Everything happens just the way it should. I believe that this is the harmony and balance of the world.

I was so excited to read @Ed's TnT is onboard to work on a zion stem!! My first move was going to be have Ed make a dope ass stem for my zion whenever it does arrive. I'm hoping my financial situation is good so u can order other things I have waiting on the bench at the same time.

Thanks to all the new Zion owners for leaving such great feedback and only making this vaporizer even more anticipated!! Thanks @RastaBuddhaTao for sharing that email and continued updates on the roll out of Zions.

I ordered in September so the ride keeps on going!!

Peace & much love everyone!!

darkrom said:

I'm not really liking this new attitude of "I don't need customers anymore" like suddenly you are THE MAN and went from a humble dude who felt like one of us. I know that has little bearing on the quality of the device, but its a huge turnoff to me personally. I'm one of those refund requests. I don't think its fair to say a positive vibe is hard to maintain. A lot of us did it for a few months more than we were lead to believe.

Also, maybe this should be pulled from the website if its just plain not true? Canada is cool and all but "made in USA" is something different from made in Canada.

The Zion is a simple design that is constructed of ultra pure materials and is proudly Made in the USA.

I really hope to see the attitude return that had me buy in the first place, a HUMBLE dude. The last batch of posts are basically "I don't need you bro I don't care" to anyone with any kind of concern. I definitely wouldn't have supported that in the beginning. I'm sure my opinion will be lumped in the pile of opinions that don't matter, but its very discouraging. My refund has as much to do with the new attitude as it does the ever increasing delays and that is sad. I'd have been able to be more patient if it felt like we mattered to you at all man.

Click to expand...

The Zion is put together by hand in @RastaBuddhaTao's basement. It is not manufactured in Canada or anywhere else. The deal is to produce them in the Canada at some point in the future.

I think you misinterpret RBT's position. He's explained (and so did I) that the issue is the time drain imposed by dealing with impatient customers. It is much simpler (and better for patient customers) to give them a refund. Anyone who doesn't get a refund can expect to have their complaints ignored. This policy might not please some but at least you know where things stand.

Just heard this quote.

Pain is only painful as the resilience of your optimism lets it be.

I think we just gotta be more optimists.

Waiting sucks no matter what.

another update, another round of discontent, thought we'd be riding the wave of optimism with these glowing new user reports, but counterpoints are always helpful?

As far as I'm concerned, nothing has changed from pre October except that its now all shifted 3 months later (shipping began in January instead of October, well technically just before).

RBT's attitude has not wavered if youve kept up with this thread, what has changed was the sheer commitment to perfection which leaves us with a better unit out the gate (something many would choose over what I'm just calling "manners" for now, and I think many would choose the three month wait for that?)

Again it's either you believe or you don't, October was always only going to see 5-15 units ship just like January is now, its a shame some felt they were mislead into believing their late pre orders would ship in October, bc expectations can breed disappointment easily in this industry especially. I understand it, I do, I've played that game myself with the Grasshopper for a year now, many months for the initial Indica launch and now more again for their relaunch... It saddens me to see other longtime FCers bail bc I know they'll forget about all this nonsense once they do have them some day... I do apologize if I pushed anyone where they werent ultimately comfortable by raising expectations in my own excitement

There still seems to be a large misconception of what is happening behind the scenes, even though it seems extremely clear to me based on just what's posted here even, putting aside the private insider info the beta team has seen... It is a simple powerful vaporizer made with off the shelf parts, pretty much all US sourced, put together in someones basement... There are processes in place to upscale that, and the creator is experienced enough in other areas to know how to do that, and it being done simultaneously as early units are built...

This plan was always clearly laid out here since the early days, I suggest anyone having mixed feelings re read the main thread personally, I think that would give you everything you need to know, what pushed me to get in bed with Zion and was the best vapor decision I ever made... Hey at nearly 200 pages long now maybe by the time you're done you'll remember why you had pre ordered and then it will almost be time for yours to ship!

Misconceptions are bound to happen when communication is limited to the secret club. IMO communication should have remained open. Maybe then so many of us would have had more realistic expectations. I spoke of getting mine on Halloween, and again on Christmas. I didn't hear any corrections at that time...

I have kind of done a 180. I liked RBT calling the fc family. Being here. Having a presence and saying things like "couldn't do this without my backers" to suddenly an I don't need you attitude where he himself says he's EXCITED to process refunds. Not my kind of policy personally. Maybe when these are in stock some day I'll rebuy. I still love the hardware, but absolutely hating the new demeanor.

darkrom said:

Misconceptions are bound to happen when communication is limited to the secret club. IMO communication should have remained open. Maybe then so many of us would have had more realistic expectations. I spoke of getting mine on Halloween, and again on Christmas. I didn't hear any corrections at that time...

I have kind of done a 180. I liked RBT calling the fc family. Being here. Having a presence and saying things like "couldn't do this without my backers" to suddenly an I don't need you attitude where he himself says he's EXCITED to process refunds. Not my kind of policy personally. Maybe when these are in stock some day I'll rebuy. I still love the hardware, but absolutely hating the new demeanor.

Click to expand...

Yeah man, again sorry if i was part of the problem for you bc we talked about it.

I do think you will still love it and need to own one some day, FF2 and all others be damned, but yeah seems it will be more comfortable for you when things are a bit more established.

In all fairness though, you can't really blame anyone but yourself for the Halloween and Christmas expectations, given your order date I wouldn't have thought that realistic and we did see what was going on a bit to know it was an extended open ended delay coupled with a slow roll out initially... I shouldawouldacoulda said something to you about it sooner perhaps, but se la vi. Hopefully everything works out for you

RastaBuddhaTao said:

Did anyone read the glowing reviews pouring in? Hmmm, guess it is just me... Yeh, I'm pretty bummed two

Click to expand...

Sorry bud, I'm not gonna hump your leg like every other dog. I just say how I feel.

I just expected it sooner is all.

Expecting someone who is prepared to refund an unhappy customer to wring his hands and tip his hat is pissing into the wind IMO.
There's only so many times that I would want to repeat 'I'm sorry, here, take a refund' before I got all THIS...IS...SPARTA! instead.

Pre-orders, crowd funding etc doesn't seem to have widely agreed upon 'rules' for manufacturers or speculators, and that provides a gap where discontent can get a toe-hold.
It's a shame, but this type of funding does get us unique stuff that might not otherwise exist.
It really depends on our personal levels of patience though.
Some are going to be unhappy, no avoiding that short of launching unannounced with all units ready to ship, but Cupertino doesn't do vapes yet.

When I get impatient due to unexpected traffic ahead, I find it's best to consider that I'm fucking lucky to have the spare cash for a speculative purchase of a luxury item (apologies to medical patients) which I really can live without (my INH05 is still trotting faithfully along, even though I'm sure it'll fall way behind when my USB or Grasshopper finally arrive).
At least none of us has to combust until Zion arrives!

cwheezy said:

Sorry bud, I'm not gonna hump your leg like every other dog. I just say how I feel.

I just expected it sooner is all.

Click to expand...

This is almost comical. But it just missed it's mark. This dog has dropped about $1400 on vaporizers that can't hold the Zion's doggy bag full of her shit clippings.
RBT extend that leg cause I feel a humping coming on.

Copacetic said:

Some are going to be unhappy, no avoiding that short of launching unannounced with all units ready to ship, but Cupertino doesn't do vapes yet.

Click to expand...

Just throwing out there that this is how storz and bickel and firefly did their portable launches. Boom here it is buy it. And funny enough firefly engineer or someone had previously worked for apple.

So I am willing to be patient up until a point, but for me its only partially about that anyway. Hearing a few more months casually might be no big deal for a luxury item, but I'm a legitimate patient. That's why I'm using my mighty, the battery life. I would prefer to use my firefly, but I NEED more bowls than it can provide, most days. And with the ff2 coming out I'm being patient to grab that vs new batteries for my old firefly.

Waiting sucks. For some people it sucks a lot more than just not having a new toy. For some people its a big deal health wise. Its sad because I think the Zion is a good fit for a medical device for me, but I don't want to support the behavior I've seen lately. It just doesn't feel compassionate. I value customer support very strongly and I can't get over a company being dismissive of its customers, especially those who essentially gave an interest free loan to make the business venture possible.

Waiting can indeed suck (sounds like it is for you), but how hard can it suck when you're doing it in the company of one of the most highly though of vapes currently available (your Mighty)?

Waiting has it's upside too...
The anticipation of bettering even the Mighty, for instance

Copacetic said:

At least none of us has to combust until Zion arrives!

Click to expand...

Haven't read the main thread yet, so a little confused, but anyway, agreed! I got a Vapman soon after deciding on the Zion, and I'm so glad I did! Combustion sucks, and while I'm excited about the Zion, I'm glad I didn't wait until getting it before fucking off combustion for good.

VM is awesome too, so there's that. I'm looking forward to experiencing the difference between them both some time. I'm guessing it'll be a few months off from what I can gather, but that's what I told my MIL recently anyway. Just didn't want her to cancel the order thinking it would never arrive. LOL She's cool though.

HD Springer said:

This is almost comical. But it just missed it's mark. This dog has dropped about $1400 on vaporizers that can't hold the Zion's doggy bag full of her shit clippings.
RBT extend that leg cause I feel a humping coming on.

Click to expand...

It was supposed to be a little comical. Definitely not to be mean spirited, I think a lots gets misinterpreted through text.

That being said I'm still a loyal dog. I just bark once and a while.

So, I'll assume shipping info wasn't sent out for preorders?

Madcap79 said:

So, I'll assume shipping info wasn't sent out for preorders?

Click to expand...

You mean order numbers? Not really, its kinda just date range stuff for now, like may-june orders finish shipping early next week, then on to July orders for 2-4 weeks. Pause before moving on to August and beyond to finish all units possible with current stock of parts (200). I think aside from that you are just notified for address confirmation a week before shipping, given the chance to add accessories etc

Shit Snacks said:

You mean order numbers? Not really, its kinda just date range stuff for now, like may-june orders finish shipping early next week, then on to July orders for 2-4 weeks. Pause before moving on to August and then full scale to finish all units possible with current stock of parts (200). I think outside from that you are just notified for confirmation a week before shipping, given the chance to add accessories

Click to expand...

No I mean tracking, sorry. Also, I thought he said all preorders were shipped?

Madcap79 said:

No I mean tracking, sorry. Also, I thought he said all preorders were shipped?

Click to expand...

? Certainly not, all haven't even been built yet. Some early pre orders, 3-5 have received units, I think several more are set to ship after the weekend. When did you order? If you're in that batch tracking should be sent early next week