Netronix's 13.3 on Indiegogo $699

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by JS_F

Can campaigners remove comments on Kickstarter page, I wonder? I think I can just make $1 contribution and then make some comments there.

Save your money. On Indiegogo, they were able to remove comments, so I imagine that they may also be able to do so on Kickstarter.

However, if you do decide to make a minimal pledge in order to comment, look into the deadline for applying for a refund. Why give them even a dollar if you don't need to?

From what I recall, on Indiegogo, you can apply for a full refund anytime before the end of the campaign. After that, it is up to the discretion of the campaigners. Not sure if Kickstarter is the same.

That said, there is enough information which comes up about them now on a quick internet search that there really is no longer any excuse for not being informed. That's why I keep posting details on what they are doing and what they have done. I almost got taken in by them and I don't want anybody else to fall for Michael's empty promises.

[Philippe D.]

I don't know if they have some form of control over the Indiegogo campaign's comments, but if they do, they have stopped trying.

[Question Mark]

Well, it looks like Michael pulled the plug on the Kickstarter campaign. Wonder if it had anything to do with frustrated backers from the Indiegogo campaign showing up on Kickstarter and leaving comments there to forewarn potential victims:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ortli/comments

So, despite huge demand for this size of ereader, and despite people clamouring for a frontlight and an SD card slot in this size of ereader, both of which the proposed device had, they were unable to attract much interest...

Guess their reputation caught up with them.

[Question Mark]

Back in April, a certain senior staff writer and editor emeritus over on Teleread seemed to be making excuses for Michael's handling of the Good Ereader's Indiegogo campaign, offering possible excuses that Michael himself had not made for the failure to deliver perks to backers while selling those same devices for profit on Good Ereader's website:

I got the sense that the reason he’s offering them to others is that he expects to receive enough in the next shipment to fill the rest of the orders plus the orders for the ones he’s selling.

And I get the sense that he’s planning to shut those vociferous complainers up by providing them with the devices they’re owed in May.

Yes, two years is a pretty long time to wait for fulfillment after you pay your money. But if Michael is to be believed, it seems that at least some of the blame can be laid at the foot of the OEM, which is apparently just shipping him small batches as they get them built. And, as I said, that’s one of the risks you take when you crowdfund something.

I can’t agree with everything Michael does—in fact, I’m still rather annoyed at his habit of covering stories that originate on other sites (like TeleRead) without ever giving the other sites any credit. And those deceptions such as closing the site down are more than a little questionable, too, and fulfilling the orders out of order is a puzzler. But leaving the deceptions aside, he might be doing the best he can...



I just try to give people the benefit of the doubt whenever I can. Maybe they just weren’t able to afford to send them all out at once without selling some of them to earn more revenue to finance the rest. Shipping and overhead costs can be tough to calculate and account for in a Kickstarter, as Palladium discovered to its chagrin.

In any case, hopefully the next month will bring an end to the matter.

https://teleread.org/2018/04/29/good...g-orders-wait/

In May, the same writer again seemed to be making excuses for Michael:

Here’s another object lesson in how hardware crowd funding projects often fail. Say what you will about Michael’s behavior, at least he has actually managed to deliver to most backers—rather than going bankrupt without shipping a thing after taking in literally millions of dollars.

https://teleread.org/2018/04/29/good...g-orders-wait/

When challenged to back up his assertion that Michael "actually managed to deliver to most backers" with some credible evidence, having acknowledged in an earlier post that Michael is not the most credible of people, the senior staff writer and editor emeritus for Teleread suddenly went silent.

That same writer has remained silent even though Michael has since claimed to have sold over 5,000 of the devices:

Good e-Reader has also released two models, a 6.8 and 13.3 e-reader and sold around 5,000 units. This year we intend on developing a second generation 6.8 using better hardware and a new 7.8 variant, both will have Android and come with a stylus to take notes.

https://goodereader.com/blog/electro...eader-business

That very same senior staff writer and editor emeritus for Teleread has remained silent even though Good Ereader has more recently put both its 6.8" device and its 13.3" device on sale on its website... while backers of the now shuttered Indiegogo campaign continue to post comments wondering when they will either receive their promised perks or a refund. It certainly doesn't seem like most of the backers from the Indiegogo campaign received a device.

How anyone, let alone a journalist, can defend behaviour such as Michael's is really quite incredible.

[Philippe D.]

I admit, I've long given up on the GoodEreader tablet. I'm happy with what I got to replace it (reMarkable and Onyx Boox Max 2). I'd be happier if I had not lost a few hundred euros in the deal, but fortunately, I can live with the loss.

[Question Mark]

In July of 2018, Michael claimed that, between their 13.3" and 6.8" models, Good Ereader had sold around 5000 units.

Good e-Reader has also released two models, a 6.8 and 13.3 e-reader and sold around 5,000 units.

https://goodereader.com/blog/electro...eader-business

Just the other day, he claimed that they had shipped out over 400 units of the 13.3" device to backers of the Indiegogo campaign.

Good e-Reader is proud to launch our first 13.3 inch e-reader. This product received over $400,000 in funding from Indiegogo over the course of the past year and we have shipped out over 400 units to our backers.

https://goodereader.com/blog/electro...s-and-pianists

If one visits their Indiegogo campaign page, one can see that a total of 425 claims were made for the 13.3" device and a total of 96 claims were made for the 6.8" device. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/1...eader#/backers

So, who bought all the other units which Michael claims to have sold?

And, if they had so many devices, why are there still backers posting comments on their shuttered Indiegogo campaign page, where only bona fide backers can post comments, still asking for a device or a refund and making claims of fraud against Good Ereader?

[Philippe D.]

Do you really need more indications that the folks at goodereader.com are dishonest?

For the record: I never received my device (and I stopped expecting it a long time ago). The experience will serve as a lesson to me - fortunately I can survive (financially) the loss.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by Philippe D.

Do you really need more indications that the folks at goodereader.com are dishonest?

For the record: I never received my device (and I stopped expecting it a long time ago). The experience will serve as a lesson to me - fortunately I can survive (financially) the loss.

David Rothman from Teleread has taken an active interest to see what he can do in regard to this sordid affair. Please contact him (see the information quoted below) and if you could please post a comment on the Indiegogo campaign page so that other disgruntled backers could contact David as well. Unfortunately, as I am not a backer, I cannot post there.

David Rothman
March 6, 2019 at 8:53 pm

Ian, can you spread the word that I’d particularly like to hear from Michael’s Canadian backers? I’m not in a position to determine whether he violated Canadian law. But I would like to see what the Canadian consumer protection authorities have to say. People without the promised readers can contact me directly at davidrothman@pobox.com and include summaries of their experiences and documentation and permission to publish their stories if they are not already online. They should use his last name in the subject line. I also would especially like to hear from Michael’s backers – whether in Canada or not – who invested major sums in multiple units. Perhaps in your next comment you can include the URLs most worth paying attention to. I want to make sure I’m not missing out on anything. I can’t promise exactly when the follow-up will appear, since I have commitments, but I would like it to show up within a month if possible. Big thanks.

https://teleread.org/2018/04/29/good...g-orders-wait/

[Question Mark]

Well, if it ain't a case of the kettle calling the pot black...

Michael has recently written a short article alerting people to an ereader scam on Indiegogo.

The Indiegogo Campaign for the Onyx Boox Ultra is a scam

https://goodereader.com/blog/onyx-bo...ltra-is-a-scam

He would know all about ereader scams on Indiegogo having engaged in very unethical behaviour there to get backers to part with large sums of money while providing nothing to many of them in return for their funds and their trust.

His own Indiegogo campaign there was unceremoniously shuttered. Unfortunately, many of his backers don't seem to have been refunded their money.