(01-30-2022, 06:34 PM)jesseix Wrote: (01-30-2022, 04:21 PM)mrdoug Wrote: He said in the last AMA video he did that you could return / swap out plates. However, you couldn't swap out the plate you bought with the razor for a new plate. You would have to swap out the whole razor. I believe it's just an inventory thing. In the end, it'd be the same difference: you're going to get the new plate (Just with a new copy of the same handle and top cap).
Hmm, I’m no retailer but that seems like an interesting strategy/policy. I wonder if the purpose of swapping out the whole razor for the customer is to have an inventory of “returns” to then sell as whole razors, rather than selling individual returned plates.
I assume there has been more than a lot of thought put into it, so I won’t judge.
I love questions like these! You guys are thinking in the right direction.
This is possibly a side benefit, but the real reason behind this is inventory management and making things more efficient for our employees. Previously, I could get by on special requests or swaps because our inventory was simple and I was the one handling everything. Now we have quite a bit going on and those little requests become quite a problem. So swapping just a base plate is more difficult since the razor itself is a specific SKU and the base plates are another. As Blackland grows, we have to become increasingly systematized which leads to policies like this one.
The launch
This pre-order launch has absolutely blown us away. We tripled my estimate for the launch weekend and I couldn't be more grateful to you all for your support of the Era. Quite a lot of people have put an incredible amount of effort into this project over the last two years and, while we still have a long way to go, this is an inspiring start and it feels good. I owe a huge thanks to the community and I hope that the Era meets your expectations.
I'd like to address a couple of the questions that keep popping up here. Clearly some are with ill-intent, but as always I'll try to answer them at face value.
Why pre-orders? Why are you taking our money up front?
We covered this in our recent newsletter, but the primary reason is that we want to extend our fulfillment window to ensure that we can handle the volume from an operations perspective and that our systems for fulfilling the Era in particular are robust. It's a fairly complicated product to fulfill due to the number of possible configurations and while we've done a fair number of practice drills and test runs, it's never anything like the real deal.
Product launch/restock fulfillment for our machined razors is already difficult because we have to fulfill about 10-15 times as many orders as we do on a typical day. So we have employees who are already working full time who then have to pump out ten times the volume. It's tough. We can't just multiply our workforce on a given day. With the Era, the problem is tougher since we have to fulfill about 40-60x a normal day's orders. Then factoring in the additional complexity of the product, it's easy to see that it's not going to be a simple fulfillment/shipping process.
Production is paid for, we have most of the Era parts at HQ, and the rest of the parts are arriving in the coming days. We'll begin work to pack orders and get prepared this week. Rather than pretend that we can ship your order immediately and then take a couple weeks to actually get them all out the door, we're just telling you up front that it's going to take us a few weeks to get them out the door.
Why no blade gap/exposure specs?
I respect that most (all?) of the members here will disagree with me on this and I'm okay with that. We don't publish blade specs because I don't think they are useful to the average shaver. I think they are intimidating and confusing to all but the savviest and most experienced shavers, like the members of DFS. Again, I understand the rationale behind requesting these specs and I respect that lacking these specs is a turnoff to some or all of you. But we haven't published a blade gap in more than three years and it doesn't seem to have a substantive negative impact nor has it hindered sales growth. This is a hypothesis that I'm aware of being alone on and one that I'm also aware is a no-go to many users. So it's a risk because it likely turns away some sales, but I believe it's the right path and it's one of those moments in business where you don't have all the information and you make the decision you believe to be correct.
The Era took too long and now we still have to wait until March?
No. The Era is on track to ship in February.
Why isn't the Era more aggressive?
The Era is a product priced and designed for broad appeal. We want to hit the 90% of shavers who don't need Blackbird-level efficiency. For the remaining 10% who do need Blackbird-level efficiency, we have the Blackbird!
I think those are the primary questions here. For those who don't like pre-orders, I respect that. This is a short pre-order window and you'll have a chance to order and have the Era shipped within a day or two later in February. When we get there, you'll benefit from the pre-order window for giving us the space to dial in the processes that will make your ordering experience that much better.
Whether you pre-ordered or not, whether you're a Blackland fan or not, whether you think I'm an idiot or not, just know this: I'm committed to providing the best products and service that my team and I possibly can. We can disagree on whether Blackland is actually successful at that, but everything we do is driven by a deep commitment to our customers and to our core values. I'm looking forward to getting the Era into your hands in February. <3
