ME Models has their track on eBay already? NOT COOL.

[cmwcampbell]

I hope I am wrong but it seems ME Models is listing their custom track for sale on eBay before many of their Kickstarter backers have received anything.

As the 17th backer (and 1st commenter on the original thread) I pledged multiple times totaling hundreds of dollars because I strongly supported this endeavor and wanted to vote with my wallet to make it happen. After reading some of the posts in the other thread I am NOT COOL with ME Models listing these tracks for sale to random folks on eBay before ALL the Kickstarter backers have been satisfied. This product very likely would not even exist if not for the faith of this community in large and I am calling out ME Models to make it right. You guys have done great work making this happen. I think I speak for many folks in this forum when I say I have been patient through deadline overruns because I wanted the final product to be a unique, high-quality solution. Don't drop the ball in the home stretch.

Regards,

Chris

[v6TransAM]

Per their updates, they have said they would be putting track up for sale on their site and other venues.

It did sound like these would be batches that were not able to be used to fill orders as in wrong combinations of pieces to fill the order or smaller quantities than what was needed to fill other open orders.

[Lazarus]

Might just be another backer trying to make some cash.

[mike44]

Hi Chris,

We appreciate your point of view. We are shipping everyday. There are 6 of us working on all the plastic orders. We are also working VERY HARD on the metal rails as well. I will share with you why we decided to sell SOME excess rails on Ebay. We did not collect all of the funding on Kickstarter... We had to self fund quite a bit of money. FIVE digits! We are taking the additional funds and are supporting the metal side of the project to accelerate the production AND get it done. Let me be clear - by no means are we trying to "jump" over anyone. If you knew what we have invested personally you would understand that after 4 years, countless hours and a tremendous amount of effort we are doing this for everybody. We have gone by the book and will finish this project the right way. I assure you EVERYONE will receive their reward and will have the ability to purchase additional geometries in the near future. Both in plastic as well as metal. I will answer any questions anyone has.

Regards,

Mike

v6TransAM is correct. When we order parts from our manufacturer we have to order in larger quantities than we need. We have to layout quite a bit of cash to get the parts made. When you are running a micro business, as in any business, it is all about cash flow. Things become VERY difficult when cash flow is reduced because it is tied up in inventory. In order to be efficient we need to reduce the excess inventory to continue the process.

Mike

ME Models

[ericb]

I think I speak for many folks in this forum when I say I have been patient through deadline overruns because I wanted the final product to be a unique, high-quality solution. Don't drop the ball in the home stretch.

I don't feel like ME is dropping the ball at all. They've provided updates throughout the project life cycle and are beginning to ship some orders (VERY COOL). I've read about many funded Kickstarter projects which, unfortunately, have done neither.

Don't allow yourself to get frustrated and your patience will be rewarded.

[1974]

What? An honest answer from one of those so-called crowdfunded microbusinesses?

I'm sorry Mike, that's not how it goes .. you're supposed to give us a good run around for at least six months and then dissapear off with the money to some secret Caribbean island

Yes, as ME Models is slightly smaller than TLG, their manufacturer is most probably not. So _loads_ of parts have to be ordered and more importantly, they have to be sold, hence eBay

While the product is not for me, I wish ME godspeed on their endeavour

Cheers,

Ole (who lost loads of money on another crowdfonding project, arghh!)

[tedbeard]

Came home form work yesterday and found my two bags of R56 plastic curves on my kitchen table. They are lovely and make a circle so large it overhangs the table!

[southerntrainfan]

As an original backer WHO JUST RECEIVED MY PRODUCT TODAY (1/9)… I have to say… WOOOOWWWWWW!!!!!!

I received my 2 bags each, of every loop size, for 8 bags total. They look incredible, feel incredible…and run even better! I definitely am happy to be rewarded for my patience. And for only waiting several months, compared to several years for me models, I can only imagine how good it must feel for them…BRAVO & CONGRATS!!!!!!

As for the original post questioning extra sales before the KS backers…..… I don't know what that guy is talking about !!?!?!?!!!! … they provided updates throughout the KickSt process on their site and the KS site…posted on brick forum discussions, and have always answered questions directly to the consumer. And as a proud backer and supporter of their project, I plan to go out and buy some of the extra pieces they are listing… as other posts said, it helps them move excess and I get more parts to play with and expand my layout … NOW I'D SAY THAT'S A WIN-WIN FOR ALL!!!! :thumbup: :thumbup:

Edited January 9, 2015 by southerntrainfan

[fred67]

I only backed metal... now I may go help ME's "cash flow" to get some plastic... still need to display my sets, after all.

[cmwcampbell]

Hey, enough with the rational reasonable responses, I'm trying to have an impatient nerd rant over here!

In all seriousness though, I am willing to give ME the benefit of the doubt given that the context of Mike's response and that the early reviews have been quite positive. Respectfully I will stand firm on the optics issue. In my business if I had back orders to Series A investors and I would not feel comfortable selling product to third parties before those initial orders were filled. The first investors are generally first in line to be paid back. This is a standard business practice, and it's what drove the initial post.

Like everyone else who backed it, I am rooting for ME's success with this project and very much looking forward to receiving the track as well.

[andythenorth]

I would not feel comfortable selling product to third parties before those initial orders were filled.

Out of interest, are they selling the same items you are waiting for?

[fred67]

I think that's the crux of the matter... the parts, or sets of parts, are not ones people who backed the kickstarter are waiting for.

While you wouldn't sell inventory you're obligated to send to the initial investors, you also wouldn't sit on inventory that you couldn't use to fulfill the orders to the primary investors. I'd be willing to be that, if they are actually selling some of the things you ordered, they are not selling everything you ordered, and that they've held back from their store the track they do have for you while waiting for the rest of it from the suppliers.

[peterab]

I backed the ME models kickstarter campaign partially because I wanted the track but also because I saw it as a good resource for the rest of the community. For it to make a real difference it needs to be sustainable rather than a one off production run. Hopefully in the future we will then see more products such as different point geometries.

Making a kickstarter pledge is more akin to investment than purchase in my mind, and with investment comes risk. I'm happy to see online sales if it helps make sure all the kickstarter funders receive what they want, and ME models makes enough profit to fund more products.

[mike44]

Hi guys,

I would like to clarify a few more things. We are selling excess inventory - only. Based upon what we have on hand and what we need to ship. As Eric mentioned in the other post, we are shipping based on what we receive from our supplier. Kickstarter does not give you a clean list to work off of. It does not matter when or how much you pledged. What matters is what you ordered. Metal only, Plastic only OR a combination of both. We are shipping all plastic first, and what ever makes sense next. Metal will follow. Our original plan was to cover all backers first. But when you have a substantial collection short-fall and one side of the project moving faster than the other, you need to work smart enough and need to have a "what ever it takes" attitude to accomplish the goal.

We have been in combat mode for 8 months

Again, thank you to everyone who committed to the project, as Chris mentioned at the start of this conversation we are coming down the home-stretch.

Believe you me, Eric and I want to finish this just as much as you guys want the "rails" in your hands.

If there are any more questions, please ask!

Regards,

Mike

ME Models

[ericb]

Thank you, too, Mike and Eric.

[zephyr1934]

What matters is what you ordered. Metal only, Plastic only OR a combination of both. We are shipping all plastic first, and what ever makes sense next. Metal will follow. Our original plan was to cover all backers first. But when you have a substantial collection short-fall and one side of the project moving faster than the other, you need to work smart enough and need to have a "what ever it takes" attitude to accomplish the goal.

Hi Mike,

as per earlier in the campaign and most recently in October, Eric had promised that because the metal track was delayed, those who ordered both metal and plastic would have the two items ship separately (see here). Your recent note suggests that that point has changed once more and that you are giving preference to orders of all plastic. Since ME Models has said that the two would ship separately for those that ordered both, I would assume the plastic portion of my order would be in with the "all plastic" no?

Otherwise, as I said back in October, if ME can't ship the two separately, is there a way to cancel the metal track from my order and be refunded just the $17? Or at the very least, issue a coupon good for a free metal sample pack in a future order? Then ship the plastic track from my order as soon as it is ready to go? I do not want to wait for the metal track to be ready.

BTW, I ordered gray sleepers and have yet to see a tracking number from you, so I am completely in the dark as per the status of my order.

Thanks much, and in spite of my grumbling, at least from the pictures I do think you have a wonderful product here.

[legoman666]

What I think is odd is that according to the stock levels on the ME Models website, I can fulfill my original pledge with plenty to spare, yet I have not received shipping notification or any product yet.

[zephyr1934]

Oh wow, I got a very courteous PM back from Mike within an hour after posting my anxious and perhaps not as courteous as it should be post. It sounds like my plastic rails should ship on the next business day. For anyone else anxious like me (or simply curious about their status, or postage [i think they said European postage was wrong on their site]), definitely try the private message first. Apologies for my haste.

I certainly appreciate having these options that Lego simply will not provide and I also appreciate that ME models probably has way too many orders from everyone else anxious to get their hands on these tracks.

[Eric J. Olson]

I'll try and explain this the best I can...

BackerKit does "the work" for us. It groups orders into like categories based upon what a person has pledged through KickStarter as well as any additional product purchased in the BackerKit add-ons. So, if 20 people ordered 2 bags of standard and 2 bags of double in the same color, those individuals will be in the same group.

What I have been doing is looking at our inventory, finding a group that can meet that inventory requirement, and then shipping that group. Whatever I have leftover, I will try to find an individual from the list that I can fill that order.

The inventory lists on our site aren't a good gauge...to be perfectly honest, aside from the model kits, the inventory there isn't accurate as the mold presses are running all day long.

Also, please keep in mind, as Mike explained earlier, we were unable to collect a substantial portion of the funds...this translates into a need to keep funds coming in to keep the injectors going and the boxes going out. Frankly, retail sales of our product are actually getting the products out FASTER to our backers.