Let’s face it BangGood knew those NW emitters were not released/produced yet and also knew that more than 60% of us would order the NW and they could sit on roughly $20,000 for a few weeks interest free.
Sure some will cancel but probably less than 5% so it is still win/win for them.
This new practice of pre selling items before they are produced/vetted/tested is a bad program but if we willingly go along with the Grift, then that is on us.
Sad but true.
Later,
Keith
I think Banggood is waiting for the NW SST-40 lead time.
They should’ve just made the CW available first, then the NW later.
That makes sense to me,BUT HOW would we know until after the fact??
For me, this is a one and done anyway,My first group buy and First purchase from CHINA in a while!
There were people saying the NW emitter was not listed for sale when the the FT03 was listed for pre-sale.
Most of us probably just hoped that BangGood had a good expectation of release well before production, but that did not pan out.
Or they didn’t care, take your pick.
Hope it’s worth the wait.
This stuff is why I prefer and trust Amazon, when they say they have it in stock they mean it.
Is the Mateminco FT35 (Same as this light) in neutral white actually in stock? I was noticing Valera D’s post above…
Group buys are not for everyone. Brand new lights take time to develop and often run into delays. It’s par for the course, but also stressful. You get a good price, but might take forever. Lol
If the stress gets to be too much, it’s better to wait until after it launches so you can read reviews, etc…
I sat this one out waiting until it ships and people report back. I’m sure there will be coupon codes that are close to the group buy price. I have faith it will be a good light because it’s a proven driver design, etc… I’ll probably get 3. :+1:
It actually depends. Some items are stocked in Amazon warehouses (all Prime stuff is) and some are fulfilled by 3rd party stores which can be from anywhere, even overseas and can take many weeks to get. So you have to know who is fulfilling the order. It usually says it somewhere under the price. 
Attn: freeme.
I’m interested in the GB code if it remains active and benefits you in some way. Otherwise, the public code appears to remain active and I will use that instead. I’ll probably get a NW and I’m aware that these aren’t yet shipping.
I don’t “need” this light so i don’t mind waiting for my neutral whites, at that price it could show up in a few monthes and i’ll still be happy.
Group buys and preorders are not the way to go if you need a light as experience shows, so much can go wrong.
These pre-orders, at least, don't seem to get auto cancelled like the discounted orders do. I had a FT02 and X1R in an order made on Dec 25th using the XMAS special discount code -- no stock and they cancelled the order a couple weeks later. Couple weeks after that - back in stock...
I ordered a CW which has also changed from processing to Backorder
Looks like everything is delayed
After I paid for my item (12-Feb), the item has been shipped on 15-Mar, I don’t know what should I say in this case. (ill). I really don’t know when will I receive my item.
i think its wrong to to pre-order and not be atleast honest about when the lights will actually ship, their own info on the light page didnt seem to be correct at all… 500 lights this and that why arent those sent ?
now it just says Processing time:Expected on March 29, 2019 so i dont expect much to change until sometime in april… 
I agree that accurate information should be provided but I don’t expect much in that regard from Banggood!
I’m fine with waiting given the price I paid. Banggood also sent me an email stating the light would be delayed, they’re sorry and once it finally ships I’ll apparently get some extra BG points for my troubles.
and now we wait… hopefully it ships before the summer solstice. But I won’t hold my breath
I think BLF admins should set stricter rules for future GBs. Starting a group buy without at least showing the full final specs and a working prototype with pictures of the light itself and some beamshots for each LED/tint options, should not be tolerated. Also, the company/manufacturer should be more honest and communicative in regard to availability and shipping dates. 
BLF admin is pretty hands off and apparently considers we are self regulating thinking adults wich is very welcome in a time where every authority tries to encroach on liberties.
+1
I like BLFs hands off self-regulating approach.
BLF be like:
Other places be like:
I’ve been reticent to say anything about the delays and have no intention of devolving the thread as it should be about the FreemeGB deal and not a BG bashing thread, but there’s already been a lot of conversation on the topic and this point seems appropriate:
It’s simple. Take all the pre-orders you want, but don’t bill the customers weeks or months before the product ships!
Refunds may keep things legal, but why take the money before you have products? Sure, it offers you a “float” for revenue generation, but at the expense of customer trust and satisfaction, as we are currently seeing in this thread!
This is not rocket science. You accept all the pre-orders that your supplier can reasonably produce and you take customer payment information just as always, but you only bill the customers once the product has shipped or has at least been officially released and is available. That’s a pre-order!
A boutique seller making stuff in their garage can ask for a partial or full deposit in order to fund development and/or production, but Banggood is certainly not a Kickstarter campaign.
Delays are common with new products and not a huge deal, but if you haven’t taken money from buyers yet, then most will be far more patient!
Agreed.
Flashlight companies are smaller and more like a Kickstarter campaign than most folks realize. Engineering, testing and then building that first batch of a new light might take many months and 10’s of thousands of dollars. A lot of times they need that influx of cash from preorders to keep things flowing smoothly. I suspect the preorder might be one of the reasons companies even agree to do a Group Buy. On one hand it does raise awareness for a new product, but on the other hand, the Group Buy profit margins can be really low. I’m surprised companies even agree to Group Buys, especially when they allow such a large number of lights to be sold at these really low prices. They could definitely make more profit limiting the Group Buy to say 500 units at $28 and then sell the rest for $30 with a coupon code. Selling another 500 for $30 makes another $1000 of profit and frankly, I’m okay with either price. The real profits come when they start selling at $38 to $46.
BTW, I’m talking about flashlight companies in general. Banggood is more a store and doesn’t actually make their own Astrolux lights. They contract that out to a big manufacturer. Some of the Astrolux brand lights are contracted to Mateminco. The FT03 seems to be from them. I don’t know what their financial situation with the manufacturer is. Banggood might have to pay them upfront to get the lights produced or maybe Mateminco waives that upfront cost until later if they are allowed to sell their own version of the light under the Mateminco name. I certainly don’t know the contract details and we may never know because that info is usually kept well guarded.
Anyway, just my ramblings on the situation.