Artiphon Avis 265

Ende Dezember 2019 auf kickstarter den Artiphone Orba mitfinanziert - die Risiken die Kickstarter birgt sind mir bewusst.

Das ursprüngliche Ziel April 2020 wurde immer wieder verschoben, kann man aber durch die weltweite Corona Situation noch verstehen.

Was man aber nicht verstehen kann ist, dass das Teil Ende Oktober 2020 in den regulären Einzelhandel kommt und die Kickstarter Zahler der ersten Stunde NOCH IMMER NICHTS bekommen haben.

Erst Ende November 2020 wurde eine Tracking Nummer übermittelt, die aber bis Stand jetzt (08.01.2021) NOCH IMMER NICHT ausgeliefert wurde.

In short, at first a very disorganised business, until I realised its actually a dishonest one.

Orba, their first product I believe, was fueled by Kickstarter. I was one of its backers and made a pledge for the product in 12 January 2020 while the payment was processed much later in July 31st. So far this delay was mostly my fault as i didnt see the emails asking for a shipping address (emails getting filtered out as not important + me forgetting it). July 31st is when I provided the details and the order could finally move forward.

Nevertheless, right now it is January 7th 2021. And I did not receive the product yet. Yes, its been one year since the initial pledge and 5 months since it could have been delivered. And meanwhile you can buy the product from regular retail shops apparently. Can you imagine the feeling?

I tried entering in contact with them, but I essentially was getting no responses. Visiting their forum and the kickstarter forum is when I discovered this is a widespread issue, with many backers complaining they never got the product. It was only when I started commenting on every single marketing post they have on facebook that they entered in contact with me. They were very apologetic in it and mentioned how they had logistic issues and lost track of my order. They confirmed my order would be shipped ASAP. This was December 16th, and they estimated it could take 1 or 2 weeks to receive it.

So far so good and I was happy again. I understand those issues can happen and things can fall through the cracks.

Well, then comes another deception. We are on week 3 going to week 4 and I still have not received it nor got a shipment code. When I asked what is going on, now the answer was much colder and vague, mentioning how they are trying to fix the problem for all backers, but now I have no estimate of when I will receive it. Supposedly there will be a backer update “by the end of this week” about it on kickstarter (so tomorrow I believe). I am not hopeful there will be anything there besides another excuse how they are trying to fix the issue but no solid estimates. I honestly believe I will still be waiting indefinitely.

Now my suspicions, which I cannot prove but just guess thats the probable reality. I understand I can be wrong and I would like to be proven otherwise

I highly suspect that they used the money coming from backers to bootstrap production and, instead of sending those units to the backers that paid for it, they instead sold the units to retail shops. This would be efffectivelly selling the same unit to 2 different parties, which I am pretty sure is classified as fraud. Because regulations did not catch up well to crowd funding projects yet, this kind of stuff flies apparently.

Lets see how my case goes. I plan to amend this review if my situation changes, for better or for worst. Hopefully the company will answer something meaningful here, but my trust level is so low right now that I am not sure it will make a meaningful difference. What will make a difference though is receiving the product that I paid for.

I am honestly trying to be fair on my review here and I dont feel great writing it. I am not a fan of bashing companies and I find abhorrent who does that for sport. Unfortunately though, apart from my suspicions, what I wrote above are facts of how my experience has been going and I want that to change.

Hope this was useful for you to understand which kind of business you may be dealing with

I was a day-1 backer of Orba on Kickstarter and I am still waiting on it to be delivered, more than 5 months after Artiphon started shipping. They had shipped most Orbas by the end of October but broke Kickstarter rules by diverting hundreds of backer units to retail stores. Then they blatantly lied to backers on Kickstarter claiming delays were caused by logistics or that the warehouse or fulfillment partner made some mistake. Next they issued tracking numbers to many backers in late November, but they expired 1 month later. Many other backers have not received tracking information yet Artiphon refuse to address these concerns on Kickstarter.

Don't trust Artiphon
Been more than a year since I trust and backed them with the project and so far nothing received. The logistics are a disaster, the items are already available in stores and cheaper than when we backed them. I wouldn't trust them with any other campaign, Kickstarter or any other platform. Misleading information, not reliable and still waiting for the product so I can not say it's a scam yet.
They provided a tracking number but it's not working and look like it's happening to a lot of backers too.
Be careful with this company.
Backer #1782

Been a year since I backed them on Kickstarter and they don't reply on email they don't send tracking numbers and I see that the product is available to purchase outside it is really pissing off how bad their service is no matter how good the product seems

Kickstarter product the orba is a fun device, got delayed a lot for backers so there's a lot of frustration among them but I do believe all these delays are mainly due to the pandemic.

The orba itself is a fun little instrument, both a standalone and as midi controller. Bare in mind that both software and firmware are still in development so improvements will still come.

untrustworthy, excuse making company that will go out of their way not to talk to you personally. Pathetic platitudes and false promises for almost 2 years now.

Artiphon have cheated their backers for the Orba Kickstarter. “Shipping logistics” aside, all they do is provide excuses about why they have not fulfilled their commitment to their backers. They have prioritised supplying retail outlets before the people who made this project possible. I backed in 2019 and am still waiting. Artiphon is a scam and I hope they fail as a business.

This company is a Fraud, nothing less. They promisse you delivery, they even give a non working tracking number, and after that they simply ignore your emails.

Dont EVER make the mistake to buy or back anything on kickstarter from this company. You have been warned!

This company rather ships their products to new customers rather than shipping to the backers that made their product possible in the first place.

We backers waited over 1 year for the orba and for more than 1 month now non backers have been receiving their orba's immediately while the orba's for the backers hadn't even been shipped out yet.

They blamed corona for all the delays meanwhile non backers were receiving their orba's at a lower price or with a free case elsewhere. So their excuses were bull.

Ethics suck in this company. I won't invest in their projects again.

First and foremost, I know we live in a situation noone could have predicted. There are challenges for everyone including Kickstarter campaigns and companies running them. Manufacturing, logistics and a lot more.

That being said..this does not explain the situation with Artiphon. Theit Orba Kickstarter campaign is just a disaseter. Most of the updates were covering how you try to manage logistics work and try to collect data from backers to arrange everything. That is a lie. As usual, there was a survey, they collected all the information after the campaign had ended and the fact that they were unable to come up with a solid logistics plan is not the backers fault. I think people got a lot more upset when in updates they were still stating arranging logistics and at the same time..retail stores had already Orbas in stock or coming in a week or two. Funny part was that it was not availability in US but in Europe, where a lot of backers did not even get a hint of information when they would get it.

There was also a case of import fees (Switzerland and India if I remember correctly) that were just requested to be covered by their customers, supposedly asked and agreed by backers (that actually say they were not).

There is also the case that Artiphon collected payment for shipping twice, explaining that it's because you are shipping some of the goals (totes and t-shirts) separately. None of the campaigns I backed did that. If the stretch goals or any extra goals are shipped separately it was always covered by the campaign. It is not me as a backer choice that it's shipped separately. Also the company is purposefully avoiding addressing questions about shipping Orbas, not mentioning totes and t-shirts. I think people got even more angry (if it's even possible) that they are casually available and active on social media, running Black Friday deals (buy Orba and get a free case that us backers have to purchase) just like there is nothing wrong with that. Sorry but there is. You can do whatever you want AFTER you fulfilled your responsibilities to your backers. Now it's even worse when they posted ads to purchase Orba and get it before Christmas. And as reviews here say, this was also a lie.

I am really disappointed. This is not first Artiphon campaign, you should know better! But apparently some backers of Instrument 1 commented it was the same case with that project. So the pandemic is not to blame but you and the way they run the campaign.

Ah, the Orba.

Do I dare order this amazing looking musical instrument for a loved one for Christmas? That was my question.

I was assured by the Customer Service Rep at Artiphon that all supply and shipping issues had been resolved, that most of them had been associated with the Kickstarter phase of the Orba.

The Rep told me that orders would ship in approximately 2 weeks, with an additional week for shipping. Three weeks, then. Was I brave enough to chance it? With her reassurances, yes!

When the Orba became available at an online music store two weeks in, I almost caved, but again she reassured me they could see when orders were shipping, there were no worries. And, guess what?! She was absolutely correct! My Orba gift was, in fact, early! It arrived 3 days prior to tracking information predicted.

Now the Orba itself. It was a gift, so I’ve been waiting for an honest review from the recipient or his wife. The fact that he is “sneaking off to play with it,” speaks volumes! It’s a hit! He adores it. It will be exciting to see what he can do with the Orba!

I’m glad to have supported the small business itself, rather than buying from a huge company, especially this year when small companies are a bit more in danger of closing. And the Rep was pleasant every time I contacted Artiphon, which was at least twice a week for three weeks.

It’s a success story! Thank you, Artiphon, for making my son in law’s (and thus, my) Christmas so very happy!

It's getting close to a whole year since I made my pledge and still no Orba for me !!
Although I can understand the difficulties and challenges of this chaotic year, nothing can justify you supplying Orba to retailers before completing shipping to all your backers !!!
And to add insult to injury, back in November you offered free accessories as gifts to entice new retail customers ... while you have early backers that are still waiting for their Orbas.
You've managed to blunder this campaign and disappoint many of your backers.
This was my very first KS pledge and it leaves me with a very bad taste.
To be honest, I was waiting patiently, believing all the excuses in the updates. But now that I realize that I could've already bought and received an Orba from an online retailer, for a price almost the same as my pledge ... and with a free travel case included ... it makes me quite angry.
Myself and many others here in Israel - especially this year that we've spent so much time at home - received a massive amount of orders from many suppliers and from all over the world, with minor delays and no real problems ... just saying!
So .. you have a thumbs down vote from me.
Backer #8984

I ordered an Artiphon on November 29,2020.

They said “as long as you order before December 7, 2020 youll get it before Christmas.”

Cool.

Well, on December 15, 2020 nothing. No email for shipping. Nothing.

I email them. No response. I try for three days. No response. Finally on the 18th i get an email saying “we will look into it. Oh yeah, we dont ship to PO boxes, we need to update your address.”

Now this was listed nowhere on their site. It was listed nowhere when they took my money.

I was never contacted nor made aware about the address being a problem until then nor did I See any issue with it going to a PO box when I checked out for this, which was November 29...I totally get the post office issue and Fedex being maxed ou but now, it basically means “you’re probably not going to See this til January.”

Which sort of defeats the purpose.

Also, I am sure orders taken after mine went out with success yet mine seems to be jumped over.

Had I not contacted them, I am starting to wonder if anyone would have thought “we should talk to this guy.”

I understand mistakes are made etc, but I sent three emails to see if anything further could be done.

No response.

This generally just sucks and they could have at least offered me a refund, rather than just ignoring me.

This thing is a ton of fun, amazingly capable and flexible, and well-built for the price. Enjoying it a lot!

Fantastic idea, and great execution

Although shipping was slow it was within the time frame they said it would be so no false info there. Product is so much fun. Got a lot to learn to get the most out of it, but fun fun fun. Had questions for customer support and I will say this is the best customer support I have experienced. Very quick reply and most willing to go the extra mile with my issue. Will be a repeat customer for sure!

I'm more dissapointed with Artiphon than I've been with any company in quite a long while. I ordered one after reading a review but was stunned when I finally got an email that said, maybe four weeks before possible seeing my device. That caused me to dig deeper and read about the many people who have ordered and not received their Orba's or who have tried to get a hold of someone and failed or any of the other customer-related questions and concerns. I've emailed numerous times to try and reach someone and nothing. I thought I'd finally had a moment of success on Twitter with a seemingly nice person named Jacob but now nothing. My newest email was a request to cancel but at this point I've given up on the company.

First impression of the Orba? Charming. Turning the Orba on and playing the first few beats brought a smile to my face.

Doing the more complex stuff, though, that's a different story. But that has less to do with the Orba than with my lack of time, and the number of years it's been since I've played a musical instrument. I took a look at an online tutorial, though, and found it very helpful. Got me started playing with the looping feature. Just need the time now ... sigh.

I got my Orba through Artiphon's Kickstarter. It was a transparent, exciting process from concept to delivery. I had the chance to contact Artiphon's support team for some questions/technicals about the Orba, and I found the team timely and helpful in their response. Would certainly support more innovative products from Artiphon in the future!