Definitely, that's why I think it sets a shady precedence; what else might some off camera person be giving him? A whip connected to a V-Tower?
I think Pre-Oder vs. Crowdsourcing is just a change in semantics. Both are paying for the delayed delivery of a product that has largely been untested by anyone outside the manufacturer. It's a great way to differentiate a donation between a payment, though (good luck w/ chargeback of donations). Also a great way to make people feel okay about beta-testing. What difference do you see here?
The difference is that one is a promise of product delivery, the other is no promise of product delivery. There should be less risk involved with pre-orders than crowdsourcing, mainly because a pre-order
should have beta units already.
Stealthvape did have videos... Similar looking videos, although, you are correct that these weren't released until after the ship date. Doesn't change much that it was after alleged-ship IMO. They provided the same measure of proof you feel confident about here, although, with admittedly less content.
No, it very well does matter when they posted demos. They were asking for a pre-order on virtually no proof of concept. Just pics of a design and marketing. Here, GH is at least trying to show the a working unit while they're asking for money. If you were to pre-order a product, the product should be ready to go. Wouldn't it make sense to show usage videos if you had a beta unit ready to be mass produced? The complete lack of usage videos during the pre-ordering period should raise very good questions: Is this bullocks? Where's the usage video? How can you ask for money when you can't even show one video of your unit in action?
Sure, you can Google these guys to find out about their lives in college, a bike lock and UAV they've developed. Will googling them help you receive the device if they don't end up sending it? Will it help the device work better if it doesn't perform as described? Will it help a credit card dispute over what can be construed as a campaign donation?
Unfortunately, no refunds after the campaign is over (you can withdraw your donation before the campaign ends through Indiegogo, though). But, having their true identity tied to this campaign means that they are willing to risk their credentials and rep trying to get this product out there. With real names, there will be consequences if this fails horribly. IDK to what extent, but things like rep and credentials would be questioned as they go through their careers. No blame resting on a phantom "Alex." The results of this are their's to own. That's not very shady IMO.
Consequently, the comparison of two products that have not yet been tested in the real world by multiple third parties, remains valid and will continue to remain valid until GH is in the hands of someone other than the manufacturer.
Sure. But aside from third party reviews, can't you see how Stealthvape was incredibly sketchy? No names, no videos, no in-depth talk about heating elements or parts used. Stealthvape literally had nothing to offer in terms of proof until they mass manufactured faulty pre-order units. GH is showing us
some proof that's not just a picture of a product with a caption reading "So easy to vape when you have a Grasshopper!"
Edit: Has anyone actually vaped salvia? Seems like it would extremely intense, especially for the higher concentrations.