There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
But I did get the email saying "on the way at the end of the week" so I must be in the first batch--right? Right. I think.
Me too, and I admit to being nervous about it given this Perpetua situation; I skipped the Ochs collab knife because even if it shipped on time, I just couldn't stomach putting 300 of my knife dollars to bed for...what's the estimated ship date, like February? So call it six months, assuming no delays. $150-200 I could handle, but $300 will get me the forthcoming new Sinkevich designed ZT (love the marbled carbon scales!) w/ $ left over for celebratory scotch; three bills could snag a hard-to-find Microtech from PVK; it could buy a new Pro-Tech Magic 2; it's enough to finish paying off my Kubasek custom (also with, uh, marbled carbon scales; I'm a sucker for them, apparently) or be a down payment on the next custom. Way too many awesome knife things I could do with $300 in knife money to stomach it taking a six month siesta.
As for the Thresher, however, we can perhaps be a bit hopeful about the production: I communicated w/ Mr. Gavac on MD and outside it a tiny bit, and he said he ordered a couple versions for himself just like any other customer in order to get a customer's perspective. He also told me he was, and will continue to be, in regular contact with...who is the OEM, We? Or Reate? Cant remember; doesn't matter. Mr. Gavac said he will remain in contact with them throughout production to assist with questions and generally make sure things seem to be progressing satisfactorily. He said that if a knife is going out to buyers with his logo on it he wants to be as sure as he can reasonably be that piece # 438 of the run is as well done as the prototypes, and that the ordering/delivery process runs smoothly.
All those words are worth just exactly what you paid for them, and even were he genuinely motivated, its debatable how much influence Mr. Gavac or any designer could have over production once it's reached that stage. But conversely, you have to figure MD and the OEM will be trying hard to ensure he feels good about the partnership and wants to continue with it. That thought was enough it justification for me to join the drop after I'd resolved to only order products ready to ship, first run inducements be dammed. That's my solution going forward with MD: just don't be first. I think they have really excellent collaborations, and I love that big league custom knife makers allow their designs to be made in a version accessible to people who can't or won't spend several hundred or several thousand $s on a knife. But I worry about the lag between $ and delivery. So the solution is just to make sure to not sign up for initial drops on new products. Yes there's a longer wait, but at least you'll have nothing lost if the whole project goes belly-up. [CoughcoughSpydercosprintrunscoughcoughcough]
+1 for this, a discount on future orders doesn't cut it when the manufacturer's telling us there should be no further delays. What's going on!?
Millit's pretty adamant they've shipped everything and Massdrop is saying otherwise so SOMETHING is (again) wrong and we're not being given the full picture. Massdrop deserves ZERO benefit of the doubt given everything that's happened up to this point, we've been patient enough.
As for this drop, like I said, there's not much I can do but wait for the knives I bought to come in. I actually purchased 4, one for me and 3 others as presents. Presents for events that have long passed. Good thing is (if you can call it that) it has been so long, they probably don't remember the IOU and it will be a surprise all over again.
This whole mess has definitely left a sour taste in my mouth. I really hope the WE Knives Gavko drop goes smoothly since I purchased 2, one for me and another as a Christmas gift for a fellow lefty.
So within those parameters, my hypothetical scenario; it's as generous to MD as I can be while still being plausible: perhaps at this particular moment they dont have the resources to process the incoming shipment, perform the QC, and repackage the merch to be mailed to the customers? Maybe theyve had employee turn-over recently and positions havent been filled; maybe they have one or more additional products arriving at the same time, perhaps also badly delayed, that need the same treatment. And since this one was expected and budgeted for at the end of June/beginning of July, amd the other incoming shipments weren't initially expected right now, theyre scheduling/budgeting is screwed to hell; they're are having to make choices about where to focus available manpower. They're afraid to say to customers, "we have your knives but we cant get to them just yet" will send ppl into a fury, so they decide to split the difference, process half, and pin the delay for the second half on Millit. Probably wont take too terribly long to get them out anyway, so though initially angry, those customers should be pleasantly surprised in the end.
That's the best I can come up with. If that's anything like close to reality, then they forgot a cpl important things: #1, if you're going to lie, figure out first who is on a position to bust you and either get them on board with lying, divert them with a separate lie, or cow them into silence. But make sure some dumb ass with an Instagram account doesnt inadvertently blow your subterfuge right to hell (and seriously, how did MD not consider Millit's response? Ppl been saying, "Millit told me this" or "Millit posted that on Instagram" for weeks now). #2, w/ thanks to "Glengarry-Glen Ross", still a great and terrifying movie despite recent..."revelations", ugh...Make sure the lie helps. If you're going to lie, make sure it helps the situation and doesn't hurt it. Even if it hadnt been exposed, I think most ppl would rather have heard, "we have the knives but we are a bit short-handed so we'll get the first orders on the way ASAP and get to the second half as quick as humanly possible."
Not ideal, but esp if they could have provided an estimated date when the second half would ship, I think it would have been better than "something happened with Millit. We dont know what. We received a distress signal late last night and we've had no communication since. We are putting together a crack team of MBAs, equipped with the latest in smartphone and briefcase technology to drop in, find any survivors and the knives, and get the hell out. We just...dont know what they'll find...when they get...to...Idaho...Millit was working with some very experimental laser tech. We told them they were crazy, pushing the etching envelope too far, but they said they could handle it, said they were on the verge of something BIG..."
Link here: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-schwarz-perpetua/talk/2190983