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October 7th, 2012, 22:27 Posted By: wraggster
Sorry for the lack of news updates lately - those missing 20K EUR were a bit of a shock to me, as I was really awaiting that money to keep production going.
It was a bit demotivating and combined with too much work, I was a bit burnt out... and also had to do a lot of reorganization to make sure everything will continue as planned.
I just couldn't motivate myself to reply to any mails, but hopefully will continue to do so this week, as I'm recovering right now.
Okay, let's get back to the situation and what my thoughts are:
Right now, I've got about 60 more 1GHz units in stock - that's it until the new parts arrive (which should be in about two weeks).
Then the production will continue. We have parts for the next 1000 Pandoras then, that should be enough for a while 
First off, some facts:
- Production is running fine now, even for the 1GHz units. Once we got the parts, we can theoretically produce 250 per week.
- Every order placed at my shop (www.dragonbox.de) will ship out RIGHT AWAY, also the 1GHz units!
Only 1GHz orders from Craigs shop (OpenPandora Ltd., UK) have a backlog right now - and I'll do anything to help to clear this backlog.
So no worries - if you want a 1GHz unit NOW, you can order and get it!
- My shop is not broke, nor have I run out of funds. Nothing to worry here, production will continue as planned.
Okay, now here are some thoughts I had.
The most important thing is that we increase the sales of the Pandora - as these sales fund the remaining preorders and therefore also ensure the future of the Pandora.
There are various ways of increasing the sales...
1. Get new customers!
The Pandora right now is a bit pricey - but there are probably a lot more interested customers out there who have the money and would like to buy it and support the idea of a niche device.
However, right now, every customer has to KNOW about the Pandora in order to buy it. Therefore, without news on websites (like the one at Eurogamer), we won't get new customers.
We need to increase the Google Rankings for more common keywords (like Emulator, Playstation, etc.) so that we also get customers NOT searching specifically for the Pandora.
Luckily, I've got an online marketing expert in my company who knows how to improve these rankings - and we want to do that with new videos.
I'm already working on new videos - and you can help me, if you want...
... providing me videos recorded from TV Out.
... by letting me know which games or emulated games would be great to show.
... by providing me with the most important keywords that we need for the Pandora.
These Videos will surely help get some more interest - and sell more units. More sold units mean a faster clearing of all remaining queues.
2. Get additional funds
I've seen the idea of a donation fund on the other thread - and the idea is great. Right now, we've got 22,000 users who subscribed to the Pandora newsletter. While not all of them are probably still interested in the Pandora, if every single one of them donated only 8 EUR, I could immediately produce and ship out ALL preorders!
Of course, not everyone will donate - but every EUR is helping, so there might be some who'll help us out. Maybe I can even find some bigger supporters - I don't think so, but it sure is worth trying.
If YOU want to support classic preorders, check out this donation website
I WILL let you know over time how many units I was able to sponsor.
And I will use that money to also fund Craigs 1GHz queue as well as both classic preorder queues.
3. Cross-Upgrade your preorder to an instant-delivery 1GHz Pandora!
So you ordered a classic Pandora from Craig, have some more money ready and would gladly pay for an update to a 1GHz unit which will be delivered right away?
That's possible now! All you need to know is your order number and head over to my shop.
As long as there are units in stock, you can upgrade it and get it right away - promised
4. Lower the price
While many of you here agree that the Pandora is worth its price, it's still a bit high for a lot of interested users.
I'd like everyone to be able to afford the Pandora - however, right now we urgently need the money to be able to also fund old preorders, so I can't really lower the price until we have all preorders cleared.
When we've got all preorders delivered, a lower price should be possible - and attract more customers.
So the faster we can get the above things going, the better for EVERYONE in the community!
Okay, and here is my call for help!
While I'm working hard to keep everything going, I am only one person and have my limits.
We're a community - and we probably have a lot of talented members here. So if you'd like to help us out, it would be awesome.
As mentioned above, I could really help with doing more videos.
Some advertising (Banner, Flyer, etc.) would also help. Are there any graphic designers here that could create these?
I will provide you with everything you need.
Maybe some of you know some blogs, magazines, websites we should approach for a Pandora Review?
Could it be that anyone here knows someone who has a lot of money and tends to support small projects like this one? Please let me know - and I'll approach him.
And as you know, I'm way behind with my emails... I will set up a ticket system soon, and there should also be a section where community members could help out answering these questions.
Interested in helping out here? Let me know.
That's it for today - thanks a lot for your huge support - let's keep things going
http://boards.openpandora.org/index....ed-2012-10-01/
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