[1] https://old.reddit.com/r/Purism/comments/qsaap3/purism_is_a_...
[2] https://old.reddit.com/r/Purism/comments/htqz2q/purism_wont_...
I hope the company catches up while they continue to make the Linux computing world better. Being aware of their faults is important, but trying to drag them through the mud does a disservice to everyone.
They're having a hard time with the funds now, so they probably have to delay refunds in order not to go bankrupt. Recently they got some inestments, so it should get better: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27949435.
That right there is a red flag. Sometimes companies don't make it. I've never heard of a story where a company put themselves above their duty to their customers in a way such as that which didn't lead to massive problems down the road.
I sincerely hope your interpretation is incorrect.
But then you need $X before you can make even the first sale. One way to do that is by taking pre-orders. Then you have money for the R&D before you have a product to ship.
The problem comes if the product is late to market and then the people with pre-orders are unhappy. To give them a refund you have to have sold N products -- not including the one they're canceling -- or else you don't have the money because you already spent it on R&D.
As long as you eventually sell N products, you can eventually give the refund, but you might not be able to do it yet. And, of course, if you never sell N products, you're in trouble.
I just think that once you've accepted money for a good or service and haven't delivered that good or service, and the person wants their money back, you should be giving that money back to the degree you're capable. That it's inconvenient and may actually lead to the dissolution of your company or result in people not getting all their money back isn't really relevant. Make a case to the people and see if they are willing to accept it or alternatives (such as waiting a bit for more of their return), but don't make decisions on their behalf when your duty to return their money is clear.
The phone was crowdfunded in September/October 2017, so it's 4 years.
Linux is only free if your time is worthless
One note: according to the email they sent to crowdfunders in September, they've changed their policy back to what it was originally and will now issue refunds.
> If you would like us to go ahead with refund, we can now allocate your parts to another order and refund your Librem 5 product in accordance with the policy.
Also moved twice in last 4 years and Purism accidentally sent it out to old address. When I noticed that and asked for help - they stopped the package and re-sent me a new one to the new address.
Very happy with the device. Very happy with service and support. Freedom is well worth waiting for.
This either seems like a lie or they are having issues managing a proper queue.