The Grasshopper Shipping Poll

When do you think the first Grasshoppers (in BOXES!) will ship?


  • Total voters
    251
Btw they cant say anything or even mention anything for shipping over the 2 months mark or paypal will block them. MEANS YOU LL NOT HAVE A VAPE TO WAIT FOR.
I really hadn't thought about the fact that they can't say anything. Makes sense. Still incredibly frustrating and somewhat deceitful though.

I just logged onto the GH site to see if my projected shipping date had become more realistic. It hasn't, they're still trying for May and I only placed my order last month. Don't think Hopper Labs is through trying to blow smoke up our, well, you know. Still, that August estimation for new orders is a good first step even if it still seems optimistic. Christmas. Yep, if it's not here by Christmas; well, I'll just have to wait some more...:lol:
Mine still says May too and I ordered at the end of March. I kinda wish mine had updated to a later date just so I don't even give myself half a chance to dream that by some miracle I might be seeing it next month.

I don't know why this damn thing excites me so much, but with any new GL development, I'm just refreshing FC and r/gh for an hour.
 
spacebuckette,

YaFreekin Right

Well-Known Member
Btw they cant say anything or even mention anything for shipping over the 2 months mark or paypal will block them. MEANS YOU LL NOT HAVE A VAPE TO WAIT FOR.
(blame paypal for that, they are not even allowed to say sorry about the delay)

I really hadn't thought about the fact that they can't say anything. Makes sense. Still incredibly frustrating and somewhat deceitful though.

This is unfounded speculation & basically proven incorrect by the new est. ship dates set as August 2016.
 

radiant34

Well-Known Member
personally i think that the european vape shops(vapefiend etc) are the reason for the added "accurate" delay that we will be seeing soon. they're paying much higher dividends than the regular consumer, and i doubt ghlabs has the moral compass to actually deliver to the consumer on time. but who knows.
 
radiant34,

bdmspam

New Member
Oct 15 preorder here. Just bailed for a refund. Good news is they are still refunding, bad news is I assume I'm not alone. My bet is they are seeing an uptick of folks moving on, requesting refunds, and reporting them to PayPal. I have no doubt they are really trying, but I am certain they full well know based on current production and future best case the dates are still in flux. If refunds snowball....... Great to see the new order dates being pushed, even if they can't hit them. It's a move in the right direction.

I'll be back to buy one in a year (my guess for them to catch up) if they ever get it together.
 

Pablo13

Well-Known Member
Just checked my order and the ship date has been moved back by a month aswell so its not just new orders that have been adjusted.
 

Omphaloskeptic

Well-Known Member
Just checked my order and the ship date has been moved back by a month aswell so its not just new orders that have been adjusted.

When was the last time you checked? ESD's were updated about 4-5 days ago-- yours was probably changed then. Looks like everything before mid-March 2015 was changed to April, all others to May. I suggest keeping an eye on it for further changes. My Aug. 2015 is still showing May for now.
 
Omphaloskeptic,
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vapviking

Old & In the Way
My ship date (O3Aug '15 preorder) was adjusted to May as well; Happy (somehow?) to see this has not changed -- yet.
But, yeah the date for new orders has been adjusted to August.
 
vapviking,

radiant34

Well-Known Member
My ship date (O3Aug '15 preorder) was adjusted to May as well; Happy (somehow?) to see this has not changed -- yet.
But, yeah the date for new orders has been adjusted to August.
i dont think that change came into place yet. my order had already been change but this was with the march update.
 
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OldCreepy

Member
I'm about to start work and found this, idk if it will lift you up or make you roll your eyes. It's off the Reddit GH post forum.






Hey Everyone,

I wanted to stop in at r/grasshoppervapetoday and thank you for all the support you have given us. It has been invaluable to read the feedback, encouragement and even the disappointment of customers. We, as a company, have tried to leave this forum as a place where the community can give their honest and open opinions free from the influence of Hopper Labs. We read what is written here and make adjustments to our plans based on your feedback. So thank you for that.

I think it’s important for me to address some of the concern around the accuracy of ship dates and the large amount of speculation revolving around them.

We are doing our best to get you your units as fast as possible. We’ve had a number of unforeseen issues that slowed production. We are already picking up speed again, with new design improvements in place. I know it has been hard having your estimated date moved back numerous times and we are working to avoid that in the future. Each device is handmade, taking over an hour to assemble and although we have a very refined system, there are still slow downs.

Many companies mass produce their products overseas with cheap labor and plastic designs. This has led to consumers expecting this from every company and while we have had many opportunities to take that road, we’ve chosen to do things the right way. This certainly is slower, but in the end we produce quality products that are designed to last forever. This remains our core philosophy as a company. There seems to be the perception that we are a large corporation, with unlimited resources, taking advantage of it’s customers. In fact we are incredibly small and efficient, which is why we can offer an industry leading product at a price that beats those powerhouse companies.

Although, our track record shows we can be late on delivery, it also shows we do deliver and the product is worth the wait. We've been overly optimistic about delivery in the past and are working to find the right balance of increasing manufacturing speed and delivery estimation. When you are a small company working with over 50 different manufactures, all of which must deliver to on schedule in order to build the product, there are a lot of variables. We've had a rough time getting everything to go smoothly, and hence, have missed many delivery dates.

In the past we've have put forward delivery estimates that reflected smooth operation as the hiccups are impossible to predict. Most of those hiccups are smoothed over, but we are now working to add additional time into the estimations to allow for future unpredicted delays. We understand how truly frustrating having the date change can be. This week we will add more time to everyone's estimation in an effort to build in time for these unforeseen slowdowns. I can assure you that the things that make Hopper Labs great will continue and we will diligently work to eliminate all of the faults.

Thanks for taking the time to participate in the growing community and give a young company valuable feedback.

TL;DR - We are a small company working extremely hard to get you the Grasshopper quickly. The dates have been wrong in the past and we are working to fix that. Thanks for all the feedback!
 

CarolKing

Singer of songs and a vapor connoisseur
They could say "sold out" or not available until they get closer to the end of their back log. The not available might discourage customers, sold out would be better. That makes folks want it all the more. Who likes eating at an empty restaurant?

Like I said before, they need your pre-order money that keeps coming in. It just adds to the back log IMO.

Over an hour to make with maybe 8 people working on them? I have no clue how many employees working on them, just a guess on my part. That would be 64 units per day.
 

Tommy10

Well-Known Member
Seems to me at this point that they are simply just taking the piss!
Continuing to take money for an item with an estimated shipping date they must know is not correct Is fraudulent in my mind. Glad to see they have changed the estimated shipping dates, fancy giving consumers the facts and allowing them to make up their own mind on how to spend their money based on honest estimates. What sort of new age business practice is this!?
 
Last edited:

vapviking

Old & In the Way
i dont think that change came into place yet. my order had already been change but this was with the march update.
Yes, the March update (that came in April) moved my date to May from March. I do believe another change is coming, that realistic one Trevor just referred to.
I thought that the change to August for newly placed orders was a very recent change. Hey! Whatever! What else would we talk about if not confusion and delay. Reminds me of the Troublesome Trucks from Thomas the Tank Engine!

@CarolKing , re the hour assembly time. I can only hope that some of that hour (despite the Made in USA) is spent by someone outside the plant, i.e., they may be counting the time for the sub-assembly of back end in China as, say 9 minutes or something. Without some X factor like this, those 64 units a day is a pretty anemic production rate and I would question if they'll ever catch up with orders!

I don't fault HL for choosing the path they're on, rather I applaud. It's an adventure into a different business model, there are going to be mis-steps and stumbles. But it's undeniable at this point that they're on to something pretty good!
 
vapviking,

Vaperist

Well-Known Member
When was the last time you checked? ESD's were updated about 4-5 days ago-- yours was probably changed then. Looks like everything before mid-March 2015 was changed to April, all others to May. I suggest keeping an eye on it for further changes. My Aug. 2015 is still showing May for now.
my Nov. 9, 2015 order also shows May.
 
Vaperist,
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sammac

Well-Known Member
My Jan 12, 2016 order is also still May. The frustrating part for me is if they would have given accurate ship times I would have paid the extra $ and bought one from Vapefiend. Glad I have my Mighty while I wait.
 
sammac,
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OMEiAM

Well-Known Member
April Shipping Update

"Hey Everyone,

We have an April shipping update to provide some numbers on where we are and how long it will take to get your unit. Shipping dates have been caught in a cycle of being regularly pushed back due to a series of unforeseen events. In the past this has delayed production far beyond what we planned for. It is our fault for not building in more time to the estimations and this is a direct effort to correct that.

Due to the track record of unpredictability from our own manufacturers and slow downs for necessary design improvements, we will be implementing a revised way of creating shipping estimations. In the past we have estimated delivery on production capacity and not added additional time for potential problems. Revised estimations will have a significant buffer, with the goal of providing a more accurate picture of when your unit will be delivered.

There are currently ~5200 delayed orders. Hopper Labs today has the assembly capacity of 550 units per/week. This is increasing with the addition of new machines and assembly techs, but we will not include those speed increases in our new estimations. If things were to move smoothly, the backlog of orders would be clear in just 9.5 weeks. Instead we will be spreading the estimated delivery dates over the next 16 weeks. The estimated delivery date on your specific order will be updated through the website in the next few days.

In a further effort to keep potential delays to an absolute minimum, you will no longer be able to add any additional units to your existing order. We originally viewed this as a perk to having patiently waited, but we understand how this is unfair to others in line. If you want to order additional units you will need to place a new order and wait at the end of the line. You can still add accessories at anytime and they will be shipped with your order.

Please note there are a number of people who placed large orders during and just after the end of our crowdfunding campaign. We are fulfilling these orders as they arrive in the shipping queue, like any other order.

Hopper Labs is doing well and growing to meet the demands of customers. The quality of the products we create is very important to us and the Grasshopper reflects this. Below is a short video shot a long time ago but never shared.

Thanks again for the support, we will have those Grasshoppers to you soon!

The Grasshopper Team"
 

minnemike

Well-Known Member
This part is especially interesting:

There are currently ~5200 delayed orders. Hopper Labs today has the assembly capacity of 550 units per/week. This is increasing with the addition of new machines and assembly techs, but we will not include those speed increases in our new estimations. If things were to move smoothly, the backlog of orders would be clear in just 9.5 weeks.
I assume we can deduce more accurate shipping timeframes once the updated estimates show this time around?
 

tr33sPlease

Well-Known Member
Best update since shipping started...though I wonder if that is 5200 hoppers or 5200 orders with multiple hoppers. Also, I am glad they aren't allowing last minute additions anymore.

Edit: based on the 9.5 wk estimate, it sounds like 5200 units, I hope so...
 
tr33sPlease,

CarolKing

Singer of songs and a vapor connoisseur
Good news about not being able to add additional orders on your current order. It wasn't fair to allow that. That really has slowed the process I would imagine. Folks could buy additional units and sell them.

They explained more in this update. It's good to see the honest dialog.
 
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