Volta GIGA chargers

[nutzaalex]

Hello,

 

I would like to make a complaint, not sure if this is the best section for it tho...

 

Recently this video came out:

 

 

In it, the sponsor is Volta.

 

I am one of the backers from IndieGoGo on the GIGA charger. The reason I got one was that they seem legit and my own chargers were failing me back in September.

 

Volta's IndieGoGo campaign has been delayed a couple of times, we were supposed to get the chargers in November 2021. However, they have been unwilling to provide a specific timeframe since its inception (I and others wrote to them a couple of times without them getting a reply back to us, this can be checked on the campaign discussion page). They seem more interested in starting new products like the wireless charger instead of finishing the outstanding promised ones!

 

Why are you promoting them if they have yet to deliver & are behind?

 

For those who were thinking of getting one, please wait till they are out to backers or get one from somewhere else, rather than risk waiting for one for a long time. If you are in dire need like I was, just get a Baseus charger from aliexpress, they may only be 100-120w but at least they exist and can be shipped to you when you need them.

 

[pythonmegapixel]

1 minute ago, nutzaalex said:

Why are you promoting them if they have yet to deliver & are behind?

Because they are paid to do so.

 

As simple as that.

[nutzaalex]

14 hours ago, pythonmegapixel said:

Because they are paid to do so.

 

As simple as that.

I was under the impression that LTT does not simply promote things only for money, they also have to be a decent experience for us...

[Mojo-Jojo]

18 minutes ago, nutzaalex said:

I was under the impression that LTT does not simply promote things only for money, they also have to be a decent experience for us...

Yes, Linus has always said that if sponsors do not meet certain requirements, such as actually providing a good service, they can't continue to be sponsors for LTT.

Or at least, I'm paraphrasing, but it's somewhere along those lines.

 

I'd provide some proof/context for your claims, maybe some links to others' similar stories. I'm sure Linus, or whoever is actually in charge of sponsors, will want to at least hear about this so they can make an informed choice.

[nutzaalex]

28 minutes ago, Mojo-Jojo said:

Yes, Linus has always said that if sponsors do not meet certain requirements, such as actually providing a good service, they can't continue to be sponsors for LTT.

Or at least, I'm paraphrasing, but it's somewhere along those lines.

 

I'd provide some proof/context for your claims, maybe some links to others' similar stories. I'm sure Linus, or whoever is actually in charge of sponsors, will want to at least hear about this so they can make an informed choice.

Well, the proof is not hard to find, it's in the video description itself, it's the IndieGoGo page.

 

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/giga-the-ultimate-universal-gan-charger/x/27512488#/

 

If you scroll down you'll notice that they said shipping in Nov, it's still not shipped to anyone as is apparent in their latest update. Aside from that if you check the discussion page and scroll down a bit you'll notice a pattern popping up, people asking for the timeframe/ updates to shipping, etc, most of which were ignored, and the few who got an answer from them: they said they can't provide an eta because of x or y reason...

 

Aside from that when the campaign opened there were no other perks and wireless chargers, they keep adding stuff, which is fine on the surface but it can't be a good thing to do that while you are postponing the original idea without even giving ETAs of what you promised in the first place.

 

EDIT: punctuation stuff

[nutzaalex]

Oh and now it seems that you can also get it even cheaper than when the super early bird discount simply by ordering now, just saw a comment from some people being pissed off by this:

 

"I would also like to know why we got 64% off when I backed this project at the very beginning, yet when you click the link from Richard Nuttall right below this – Linus Special 200W (x1) $79 USD (68% OFF). That is very upsetting! I first heard about this project from a video of his away."

 

Seems like an interesting move.

[tikker]

10 hours ago, nutzaalex said:

Well, the proof is not hard to find

That doesn't really matter. Generally if a claim of misconduct is made then proof has to be provided by the one claiming it and not on a "you can find it" basis. Especially if you want someone to look into something it'll help your case if you can show some evidence.

On 1/10/2022 at 7:25 PM, nutzaalex said:

Volta's IndieGoGo campaign has been delayed a couple of times, we were supposed to get the chargers in November 2021.

Have they released information about how the pandemic impacted them? A lack of communication is never great, but given the past few years I wouldn't really expect anything to be on time. According to their 'Updates' tab shipping is starting this month, for what that's worth. Worth keeping en eye on if people start receiving something soon.

10 hours ago, nutzaalex said:

Oh and now it seems that you can also get it even cheaper than when the super early bird discount simply by ordering now, just saw a comment from some people being pissed off by this:

 

"I would also like to know why we got 64% off when I backed this project at the very beginning, yet when you click the link from Richard Nuttall right below this – Linus Special 200W (x1) $79 USD (68% OFF). That is very upsetting! I first heard about this project from a video of his away."

 

Seems like an interesting move.

Hate to break it to them, but that's just life. It is exactly the same as buying a TV now and seeing it for 30% off 3 months from now. Appreciate that you got 64% off.

[nutzaalex]

1 hour ago, tikker said:

That doesn't really matter. Generally if a claim of misconduct is made then proof has to be provided by the one claiming it and not on a "you can find it" basis. Especially if you want someone to look into something it'll help your case if you can show some evidence.

Have they released information about how the pandemic impacted them? A lack of communication is never great, but given the past few years I wouldn't really expect anything to be on time. According to their 'Updates' tab shipping is starting this month, for what that's worth. Worth keeping en eye on if people start receiving something soon.

Hate to break it to them, but that's just life. It is exactly the same as buying a TV now and seeing it for 30% off 3 months from now. Appreciate that you got 64% off.

While I could start SS every 2nd or 3rd comment on the discussion page, I'm not gonna waste my time doing that because it's not like anyone can do anything about it, the amount of exposure this issue gets is low, so either people don't care or no1 is as stupid as me to have bought in...

 

In any case, if you want proof, go https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/giga-the-ultimate-universal-gan-charger/x/27512488#/discussion and just scroll down and read since November;

 

They have released 0 info on how the pandemic impacted them, on the contrary, they always said that everything is smooth, that they got certifications, and all that. They said that the money was blocked for a couple of days, so far that's the only "reason" I found, other than that its small excuses like the molds need to be redone because the plastics have a mark from them, but never providing a timeframe and adding a delay for example...

 

The TV argument is true, but it's not comparable to this case IMO. This is not an existing product, they get to see the demand from the early backers and they get to have the capital to start their idea, they should be grateful to the backers hence the reason why the price is usually as low as it can be without much profit in that stage, also it may come with flaws the backers are also your early testers.

 

I can't wrap my head around missing a deadline and instead of having a timeframe and updating it as delays appear, 2 months pass without a single timeframe mentioned. Posting updates on an IndieGoGo campaign for a product (a new type of charger) with other products like a wireless charger and a battery charger, both of which could be products in their own right and have their own campaigns, it's like they just want to milk it. I am willing to bet January will pass and they will play the "China celebrates new year" card.

 

I feel like I keep on ranting and I'm gonna stop doing that. I raised a red flag, do with it what you will.

[RickWalz]

I agree with the OG author. I trusted Volta because they were on Linus Tech as a sponsor. I have come to trust the Linus team. But the Volta campaign is bad. Every excuse, and still nothing in my hand. They only make updates when the community complains. There was no reason for this to be on Indiegogo, they are not a startup. They used this to collect pre-orders for a product.

I know, my fault, buyer beware, Indiegogo & Kickstarter are not stores, etc. But I took a shortcut and trusted that if Linux Tech had them as a sponsor, then they could be trusted.

 

I have lost all faith in Volta, and my trust in other sponsored products on Linus Tech has diminished.

 

Not the end of the world, but sponsors are now less likely to get a purchase from me, without research on my part. Research takes time, and I may decide the product is not worth the time. 

[Virus__]

Volta have really dropped the ball. I backed them back in the day with the OG cables & tips, and they're local to me (their head office was only 30 mins away back then) so I felt good supporting small local business. Since then i've heard they're nothing but a pain to deal with.

 

Also Volta have been a long time sponsor of LMG/LTT, their partnership date back to when they were still in the house. I think that's where I first learnt about them funnily enough. Disappointing to hear that there's no timeframe & they're being shit at communication. But that's normal, as a mate bought some new cables & tips from them & they haven't been shipped yet & they haven't communicated with her about & she heard back from support something like 2 weeks after she emailed them.. So yeah..