Drop + THX Panda Wireless Headphone Discussions | Drop

Jan 29, 2020

I don't understand why everyone is getting bogged down in this launch. They're making an awesome product and based off of peoples first impressions, it seems like no other company has come close to achieving what Drop has. Just be happy you're supporting a company that's making an effort to innovate like this, be happy you're getting an awesome pair of headphones, and be happy you're getting a discount. Also, people who spend more money are also getting exclusive items in addition to the headphones that the lower tier isn't, so just pretend that the cost is going into that if it makes you happy.

Jan 29, 2020

Jan 29, 2020

s.beckmantl;dr There isn't any reason these headphones shouldn't be offered directly on Drop like every other product pre-order. Even more so when their language is dictating this product may never appear on their own storefront but seemingly, accessories will. That's pretty damn backwards. Honestly, I think you're missing the point. Notice no one is arguing about the headphones themselves and not one person has been saying, don't support of buy these people! No qualms there as they do seem to be a great set of cans. We're all just thrown aback by the method or ordering, perks, etc. It's different and change is always hard and seeing comments, many are not digging this current method. I don't care about extra perks or anything else, personally as they're not really anything special. I'd have preferred different pad options, maybe cable options, a cheap headphone stand, etc. Hell, they could have had a "gamer bundle" that included a modmic and that would have been substantially more intriguing than a keycap or t-shirt. For folks that have supported Massdrop over the years, even during their super humble beginnings in 2012, things have turned into a farcry from what drew us to this community and kept us coming back over the years. It's like your local coffee shop being bought out by corporate overlords and turned into a Starbucks. Let alone, if Drop values the community, then it is in our right to voice our opinions about their experiment. This is the information they want to know even by their own accord. My main and current issue is why in the hell are these just not offered on Drop itself? They obviously have the stock, so why not offer preorders here, like they do with literally everything else, alongside IGG? They're going to offer extra earpads, boom mic, etc. but not the headphones themselves? That is an absolute head scratcher. Even more so when the current language makes it ambiguous if their OWN product won't appear on their OWN storefront. That's what is so asinine. Our choice as consumers is being limited for no good reason. You can look at my profile and see I put my mouth where the money is and have supported Drop a lot over the years. I could have easily purchased most of this gear elsewhere and CHOSE to do it here out of supporting a company that I thought cared about it's community. And I'm sure many others feel those same sentiments as well. Again, I know this drop is gonna kill as it should. These seem like incredibly competent BT cans, but what I don't like is them hyping these cans to hell and back on their own storefront and basing user engagement off of a singular button click and rubs people the wrong way when they just want to actually buy something and be done with it and not have to jump through all these hoops of now dealing with a 3rd party storefront. Sorry for the wall of text but I find it all so annoying when I'd happily drop $400 for these on Drop in support, as I have for all their other collabs. Just like the name change, stop changing shit that ain't broke.

(Edited)

Jan 29, 2020

AverageUser

Jan 29, 2020

jaydunndiddit"My main and current issue is why in the hell are these just not offered on Drop itself? They obviously have the stock, so why not offer preorders here, like they do with literally everything else, alongside IGG?" I am guessing here, but I think they have a deal signed with IGG, that does not allow them to do so. I don't want to defend them, but that seems like the only reasonable explanation, that people may have missed.

Jan 29, 2020

Vote

Jan 29, 2020

AverageUserI would have assumed that to a point if they didn't send out emails, from Drop, to certain folks that pre-ordered before they made it to IGG. That means the infrastructure is in place and lives in their system as each URL was unique for each email address. That's no small task to ensure the URLs aren't shared, they can do their tracking, handle monies and shipping via their systems, etc. All interesting to my marketing brain, but annoying when I just want to be a regular consumer. But I do think you're on the right track. It probably is some weird exclusivity agreement for the sake of this "experiment."

Jan 29, 2020

Vote

AverageUser

Jan 29, 2020

jaydunndidditI ordered it from Drop without any secret links. True, I did got an email that I requested pandas and I can now order them, but then I went to drop.com and I was able to just order them. Not that it confirms my guessing, just wanted to correct this. Maybe the deal allowed exactly this to not let down people that requested, while keeping IGG happy with their exclusivity.

(Edited)

Jan 29, 2020

Vote

Jan 29, 2020

AverageUserThat's what I'm saying. You clicked a URL in an email that activated URL parameters to serve you a landing page that was hidden from the public. In doing so, they can track your activity from said email to the landing and ideally serve you content specific to your session. They further locked it down by configuring a URL parameter attached to your email address or Drop account so this promotion was only available to you. So no, the public page was not available for purchase on Drop to the masses, is my point. And I have no qualms with this either. It's a common marketing automation technique in the commerce space. I do this all the time for my clients and businesses as well that I support, so I get the inherent strategy here from a marketing perspective. I'm just saying that for all of this to take place, the pages, systems, and assets have to have been created on and for Drop.com. Which just confirms they have the ability to enable it for the public any time they inherently choose as all the pieces are in place to do so. It's just a willful decision on their part to ONLY keep these on IGG for pre-order for this campaign experiment or via an exclusive partnership deal as you state. I'm willing to bet it's a combination of both. Just a lot of hoops to jump through for this sort of experiment and A/B test when I take off my marketing hat and just want to purchase this product like a normal consumer.

Jan 29, 2020

Vote

Jan 29, 2020

jaydunndidditI don't think I'm missing the point. All I'm saying is who the hell cares. People feed off of this kind of drama and making mountains out of molehills. They put them on igg because they're trying to make them go viral, so what, who cares. They don't know the details about when they'll go live on drop after the igg campaign, so what who cares. It all just doesn't matter is my point.

Jan 29, 2020

Jan 29, 2020

s.beckmanObviously, they care if they're running an experiment and ask for community feedback on these things. We're providing feedback, positive and negative. Hence why they still have polls and check the activity of a request button. You don't care, and that's fine. Move on. I'm providing my opinion to them as a consumer to their storefront. No one is creating drama nor telling others not to buy them. We've just been vocal about them offering this product on Drop, a storefront we trust and care about. Otherwise, without feedback and engagement, this all makes for a poor experiment.

(Edited)

Jan 29, 2020

Joe405

353

Jan 30, 2020

jaydunndidditI would've bought a twin pack had the perk been offered. Mic, cable, earpad etc options like you've mentioned all would've made much more sense than what's offered. @s.beckman In other crowdfunding projects where shipping is staggered over a period, guess what the earliest bird gets the best price and the best date. That's why it's called a reward. In this case, those being rewarded simply clicked a button, which doesn't really mean anything.

Jan 30, 2020

Jan 30, 2020

Joe405I disagree. If you clicked the button it means that you were actually interested in the project, so they're both rewarding people who showed interest, and also gave them feedback in the early stages (raising their hand, telling them you would buy a pair). Makes perfect sense to me.

Jan 30, 2020

Jan 30, 2020

s.beckmanThis just doesn't make any sense. You have any clue how many emails Drop has sent me about products I general when I have NEVER clicked a button? Even multiples. Basically, I have a high CTR when it comes to email so it only makes sense to engage with users how they WANT to be engaged. I mean, it is about the community after all, right? I can't tell you how many times Drop has sent an email just stating, "Hey, this product will be out XYZ date and time. Come to the site and pre-order!" Which I have done countless times like a good sheep consumer. It's been this way for over the 3 years I've been shopping here. So it comes as a shock that despite all engagement we've shown in the past now means shit because we didn't click a button and would rather shop on the storefront OF OUR CHOICE, instead of crowdfunding and providing a "donation" for a product in-the-works on a 3rd party website. As I've said countless times before, I get the experiment they're running, and I personally don't care for it. They could bring this product to Drop and I'd pay full price and be content just as I have for every other drop I've participated in. You don't care, great. You do you. As per what they want, were providing feedback and honestly considering how most are around these parts, it's all been quite civil and focused. No one is bashing Drop or the product or anything else for that matter, just voicing what we like in hopes they listen.

Jan 30, 2020

Vote

Jan 30, 2020

jaydunndidditWe're talking about two different things. I was referencing the people who 'requested' the item on drop's website. Those people got invited to the listening event and got early access a week before the igg drop, so the lowest price and the fastest shipping. I was saying I think that's a good reward for people saying they're interested in the concept and prototyping stages. As for igg - Drop asking people to pay for a product before production is what they've always done, it's not igg specific; I waited like 6 months for my 789. They're just experimenting with a new platform to see if they can reach a broader audience than exclusively the community here, but they've said themselves that they're still backing and supporting the product as if it was any other product they've produced and sold on the main site.

(Edited)

Jan 30, 2020

Jan 30, 2020

s.beckmanThe listening event was open to those that didn't click a button. I got a request via email, in Drop, and other channels. They even talked about it on Reddit and Head-Fi mentioning reserving a ticket. And again, it's not about Drop taking monies for a pre-order, the language on IGG literally states in bog bold fucking text, "This is not shopping. You are making a DONATION." That is quite different than anything Drop has done and for some of us, off-putting as all hell, especially for those that have been burned before on other crowd funding projects. Mind you, I have nothing but faith and love for Drop, I just disagree with not offering pre-orders on their store while still serving pre-orders on IGG. That is really my only gripe via all of this. We know they took pre-orders via email, so the assets and pages are there. Offer it on Drop for whatever price with whatever perks for the people like me. Hell, charge me full price. I really don't care about that or getting it a couple of months quicker. For those that do, they can easily go to IGG for these specific perks . It just makes no sense as a consumer as to why they choose not to do both to maximize orders beyond doing this experiment. That solves both the exclusive issue and allows them to reach this new, broader audience much like them selling on Amazon as well.

Jan 30, 2020