Calyos offering refunds

[aggie113]

Originally posted this in Sept to News but couldn't meet the Source requirement since it was only posted to Kickstarter.  Linus asked for any info regarding this on the WAN show tonight so here goes again:

 

Project Update - September 2023

Posted by Calyos™ Sep 19, 2023

For backers only

Dear Backers, Since Computex, together with Streacom, we have been constantly evaluating how to address the most contentious subject surrounding this project, the issue of backers who, understandably, no longer want to participate. Whilst we have managed to turn around the project with a product that far exceeds its original promise, it is at a significantly higher price point not to mention very late. With the benefit of hindsight, the current pricing would have been a more realistic target for a low-volume premium product featuring new technology, but despite it still offering exceptional value in terms of what it delivers, it is difficult to expect our original backers to remain committed under such circumstances. Based on this shift in project scope, all the feedback we have been receiving and our resolve to find the best solution for everyone, we will give every backer the option to leave the project and receive a FULL refund. Some might argue this should have been the option from day one but there have been many factors at play and without many business compromises, especially from Streacom, this was simply not a viable option for us until now. Refund, Voucher and SG10 Copper Edition The SG10 that will be made available to the community is a limited edition COPPER version as shown at Computex earlier this year. ONLY 500 of these will ever be made, all future SG10 cases produced will use the standard aluminium condenser, making the copper version highly exclusive and sought after. The cost of this limited edition copper SG10 will be 1200EUR  and the value of your original pledge will be applied as a discount from this price in the form of a voucher that is redeemable when placing an order for it directly from Streacom. Our process for refunding backers who do not want the SG10 copper edition will be to make their allocated unit available for purchase to the general public. The proceeds from these sales will then be used to refund backers. We will ensure that every backer who requested the refund gets it and whilst the mechanism is formally tied to units being sold (for regulatory and accounting requirements), the refund will be honoured regardless of your allocated unit being sold. A survey will be sent to choose between the SG10 copper or a refund. Any backer who does not respond will be considered as a refund request so it is critical for those who want to purchase the SG10 copper edition to respond. Summary for backers who choose to purchase the SG10 copper edition: You will need to confirm your intent to purchase the SG10 copper edition One of the 500 limited edition copper SG10 cases will be allocated to you You will receive a voucher to the value of your Kickstarter backer amount up to 579 EUR* The voucher will allow you to place an order on the Streacom website with the discount applied The voucher is only valid for the limited edition copper SG10 and must be redeemed within 2 months of issue If not redeemed, the voucher will expire, the SG10 will be sold and the voucher value returned to the backer The vouchers are not transferable and can only be used by the backer it is allocated to The voucher includes free shipping of the SG10 to you Summary for backers who want the refund: You will need to confirm your intent to receive the refund Your allocated SG10 copper edition will be made available for purchase to the general public Funds generated from the sales of the SG10 copper edition will be used to refund you The refund amount will be determined according to your Kickstarter reward value (*) up to 579 EUR and paid via PayPal or bank transfer The refunds will be processed once SG10 units have begun shipping to customers (*) Kickstarter backer amount: SUPER EARLY BIRD: 479 EUR EARLY BIRD: 549 EUR NEW BIRD & OTHERS: 579 EUR For the backers that had a Kickstarter backing amount higher than 579 EUR please contact me directly as there are only a few of you and special measures will be taken We hope this allows us to finally move beyond the unfortunate issues that have tainted this project. We would like to focus on what has been achieved and how best to improve the product experience for those who remain supportive of the project. As always, we are still open to any additional feedback, comments and questions regarding this. Summary from the Previous Survey Whilst some of these points are now redundant based on our decision to offer refunds, I wanted to share them with you anyway for reference. Thanks again for your participation in the previous survey, this has been very useful and directly informs our decision-making. Rather than the full detailed compilation of all comments, I have summarised the key highlights to spare you reading 15 pages of information. As a reminder, there were 3 questions: 1. Based on the product description and the voucher, what is your buying intention? 2. What is your feedback on the Voucher proposed? Do you have any questions? 3. Do you have any feedback on the SG10 product you would like to share? Summarised responses: As before, there is a broad split between those who are on board with buying the SG10 and others who would prefer a refund. We truly appreciate those who understand and appreciate all the difficulties we faced, the efforts we made to resolve this, and continue to support us in the true spirit of a community that Kickstarter is based on but also fully understand why backers no longer want to be part of this project. Generally speaking, the voucher idea is well understood by the community. However, a good portion of the backers would prefer us to arrange some sort of refund rather than a voucher with a % for the commercial success. While some people really like the idea of the plan to share the commercial success, the majority of the community is still requesting an option for a refund (or, if that is not possible the possibility to sell the voucher on). Regarding the SG10 product, the majority of the respondents are looking forward to a larger list of GPUs. There are 2 scenarios here: firstly, some backers need their old cards to be supported; while others would need the new/next generation to be supported. Another point is the “support” regarding the GPUs i.e. to understand the support of GPUs and especially the estimated cost for a new bracket after a few years. There is a good amount of people who would like to get the copper version that was seen at Computex. Lastly, your feedback was clear that there is a feeling of distrust around Calyos and that there is a strong preference to make the new product available for purchase through Streacom directly. Approach for GPU card support It's important to appreciate that GPU cooling is very different from CPU cooling. In addition to the actual die, GPUs have several other components that require cooling via a cold plate such as VRAM. To complicate matters further, there is no standard socket or layout for these, so every card requires a custom cold plate to be compatible. We have designed coldplates that work across several cards and to some extent, this does increase compatibility, but is still very limited in scope. We currently have a limited list of cards that we have tested and know we can support (*), and those will be the 'confirmed' supported cards. Our plan is that beyond that initial list, we will add support by designing and manufacturing additional cold plates based on the feedback from people who commit to purchase. When placing an order for the SG10, customers will indicate the card they plan to use. If this card is not on the ‘confirmed’ list we will add it to the list of ‘requested’ support cards. Once a threshold of 10 customers with the same card requested is reached, we will design and manufacture a cold plate to add support for this card. For backers, we will reduce this threshold to 5 requests for the same card to do our best to support anyone who is not planning to buy a new card for their build. Obviously, we cannot support every card on the market, the more popular a card is, the more likely it will reach the threshold for us to add support but it is simply impossible for us to guarantee support for every card. Backers and customers with old or uncommon cards should consider the possibility that they will need to purchase a card that is on the list of ‘confirmed’ cards to ensure compatibility. (*) The SG10 ‘confirmed’ list of CPU and GPUs cards. CPU socket supported: Intel: LGA 115X,LGA 1200, LGA 1700, LGA 2011 SQUARE/NARROW, LGA 2066 SQUARE/NARROW, LGA 18XX AMD: AM3, AM3+, AM4, AM5 GPU card supported: ASUS RTX 4080 Gigabyte RTX 3080 MSI RTX 4090 ZOTAC RTX 3070 SAPPHIRE RX 7900 SAPPHIRE RX 6800 Update on Manufacturing Lead-time critical components have begun to be processed but one of the biggest challenges is due to manufacturing happening in different locations, starting in Asia for many parts and sub-assemblies, then being finalised in Belgium. All these need to be coordinated between the Streacom manufacturing supply chain and ours with a joint effort for final assembly in Belgium with the integration of Calyos loop heat pipe technology and finally packaging. These added steps and complexity plus the sea shipping times between Asia and Belgium for all the consolidated component shipments will result in an extended lead time especially with this being the first production run. It is difficult to give a precise shipping date at this point but considering all these factors and current lead times brings us realistically to the end of Q4-2023 to early Q1-2024. We will continue to give more accurate estimates as we get more information and closer to final assembly. Summary & Next Steps As we continue to work towards the product release, here are the main points to remember from today’s update: The SG10 being manufactured for backers is a limited edition copper version Only 500 of these will be made and all unwanted units will retail for 1200EUR Backers will get a discount according to the value of their pledge Backers who do not want this product will get a full refund Supported GPUs will be added based on customer feedback when ordering Product shipment estimated to happen in late Q4-2023 to Q1-2024 As a next step, Streacom will prepare more product information, marketing material and prepare for the sales of the SG10 including additional details for the limited edition copper version. In parallel, we will organise a survey for you to decide if you choose the voucher option or the refund mechanism. We will also communicate the practicalities of this refund mechanism. Again, a big thank you to Streacom who is making a lot of this possible through their support, creativity and positive mindset! As usual, I will keep you informed on the progress through regular communication; and of course, do not hesitate to contact me directly by email if needed. Kind Regards, Antoine

[aggie113]

Part one here: 

Project Update - November 2023 - Survey

Calyos™Creator

November 29, 2023

Dear Backers,

I am excited to share that the time has now come for you to make a choice between purchasing the SG10 copper edition or opting to receive a refund. In order for you to make the best choice, Streacom have shared a document detailing the full SG10 product information. We will also share a link to the survey so that you can indicate your final choice!

SG10 Product information

Please follow the link below to a 20 pages PDF document that includes details about the specification, product renderings, assembly and the purchasing process for both backers and the general public. This is the same information that will be published on Streacom’s website in the very near future. Streacom will also publish a FAQ on their website too.

Here the link to the PDF: *link removed* File attached

Exclusive Copper Edition

The SG10 that will be made available to the Kickstarter community is a limited-edition copper version as shown at Computex earlier this year. I should stress that only 500 of these will ever be made, all future SG10 cases produced will use the standard aluminium condenser, making the copper version highly exclusive. As communicated earlier, the cost of this limited-edition copper SG10 will be 1200EUR and the value of your original pledge (*) will be applied as a discount from this price in the form of a voucher that is redeemable when placing an order for it directly from Streacom.

(*) Kickstarter backer amount:

• SUPER EARLY BIRD: 479 EUR
• EARLY BIRD: 549 EUR
• NEW BIRD & OTHERS: 579 EUR
• For the backers that had a Kickstarter backing amount higher than 579 EUR please contact me directly

Refund

Our process for refunding backers who do not want the SG10 copper edition will be to make their allocated unit, and therefore voucher available for purchase. Members of the public who wish to purchase the product, must first purchase a ‘Kickstarter Pledge Voucher’ from Calyos as the proceeds from this will be used to refund backers. Full details are described in Streacom’s document. Calyos has also created a web shop from which the vouchers can be purchased, but for backers who wish to purchase a case, your voucher will be emailed to you directly, therefore backers will not need to interact with Calyos’ web shop. The refunds will be processed once SG10 units have begun shipping to customers in spring 2024. Do note that the refund will be a full refund including both the pledge and the shipping costs (this was a frequently asked question from the previous communication).

Survey for you to fill-in

Here the link to the survey to choose between the SG10 copper edition or a refund: *link removed*

It will take 2 minutes to fill in. You can fill either your backer ID or UID (both or only one). The survey will remain open for backers to respond with no immediate time restriction and only once you have completed the survey will your voucher be emailed or made available for purchase on the web shop. In a few weeks Calyos will begin to chase backers who have not responded and eventually there will come a point in time where we will assume anybody who has not responded wishes to receive a refund and the final ‘Kickstarter Pledge Vouchers’ will be sold.

Important notes for the ones selecting the voucher:

• You will receive a voucher up to the value of your Kickstarter backer amount up to 579 EUR.
• The voucher will allow you to place an order on the Streacom website and the discount will be applied.
• The voucher is only valid for the limited-edition copper SG10 and must be redeemed within 2 months of issue.
• The vouchers are not transferable and can only be used by the backer it is allocated to.
• The voucher includes free shipping of the SG10 to you.

Next Steps

As a next step, Streacom will organize the official SG10 product launch through their website and continue with Calyos to prepare for the manufacturing of the units.

As usual, I will keep you informed on the progress through regular communication; and of course, do not hesitate to contact me directly by email if needed.

Kind Regards,

Antoine

 

6567594562243ff045a5f034_sg10-intro-231126.pdf

[aggie113]

Personally pretty set on getting rebate.  I've been rocking a PCMR pc-011 case for two years now and happy with sound levels from my AIO setup.  Only reason I would consider getting this would be to flip it, but no promise of that working out

[LogicalDrm]

On 11/29/2023 at 7:19 PM, aggie113 said:

Personally pretty set on getting rebate.  I've been rocking a PCMR pc-011 case for two years now and happy with sound levels from my AIO setup.  Only reason I would consider getting this would be to flip it, but no promise of that working out

Your threads have been merged. Since newer is update to this, and the original isn't that old (just 3 weeks), there's no reason to post another thread for it.