First of all, I want to say that I have been following this thread avidly since I started here at RIU. I am planning to get in the game toward the end of the year, and I will spend my money at HLG. Here's why.
Yes, there's been a couple of trolls pop in and criticize HLG, Robin, Stephen, and the Quantum boards themselves. But you know what I have noticed? Not one of them has actually bought a board. The trolls can slag all they like, but the opinions that matter to me are the people that have dealt with HLG, can personally vouch for the customer service, and the performance of the boards.
In a game like this, the focus absolutely has to be on innovation. There's a saying, "You can patent a toaster, but you can't patent toast." In other words, this concept of mounting LEDS on a larger boards cannot be protected. All it would take is a minor change and someone can completely rip off the idea, so protecting this idea with a patent would be a waste of money.
Instead, HLG seems to be devoted to growing their business through advancing the technology. Trial and error. Different configurations. All of this consumes vast amounts of resources...time, energy, money. Despite being run ragged with these demands, Robin and Stephen take the time to ENGAGE with their clients here on this thread, and from all accounts, are very responsive to emails from their clients. They are present and that counts for a lot with me.
There have been some inventory hiccups. But remember, these are assembled offshore, which is simply a reality in the business world of manufacturing. Sure they could have the boards assembled domestically, but that would probably triple their costs. In order to keep the prices reasonable, they have chosen to place themselves at the tail end of a LONG supply chain. The offset of the cost of manufacture is the timeframe of delivery.
Yes, it would be nice to be able to whip up a batch of 10,000 boards overnight, but remember, this is a startup, and HLG is going through what all startups endure. They are investing their profits into bigger runs, and this takes time. I will be patient, and I suggest that others cultivate this virtue. Yes, it's frustrating to get shut out of a production run, but another should be in soon, and as HLG grows, the delays between runs will shrink, and the size of the inventory will grow.
This isn't a matter of skipping off to Wal-Mart and picking more product off the shelves. The LED's have to be sourced, the boards manufactured, and the product assembled. Then it gets stuffed into a shipping container, and floated over the ocean. The boxes are pulled from the container and delivered by truck. ALL of this takes time. I am sure Robin and Stephen wish they had a Genie whose lamp they could rub and **poof**, a new production run would magically appear on their doorstep. But it ain't so, and will never be so.
Anyway, this is turning into a wall of text. And it's only my second post here...lol.
Robin, Stephen. You already have my respect. Soon you will have my money as well.
ney sayers
just what they will do the the plants we love so much.
