another_jim wrote:Jake and I have machines on order; and I reached out twice to see if we could get one early for review. So far, no answer. We may not be part of the marketing strategy.

Hmm. Oh well. Very glad to hear that you'll be an owner! I think I'm going to have a pretty fun learning curve coming from a big boiler commercial style lever.

A fellow here in Canada is selling his advance order for the Odyssey Argos lever machine. He wants "more than cost", which in my view is nutty (harks back to the days when the NZs were coming out, and were over hyped). Cost is currently $850 US, but the machine has yet to be released or reviewed. He is selling because he bought another currently available lever machine.

Would you spend your hard earned cash to buy out
his position? If so, what would you pay?

My initial reaction was:
" The jury is still hugely out on this. Reviewers have not yet received the machine or opined. Consumers - real people that are part of real forums (as distinct from social media influencers whose judgments one must take with a grain of salt) - have not rendered their hands on opinions. There are no guarantees that they will achieve their production targets (in quantity or quality or time) or what the ultimate quality and functionality of the machines will be. This could be a thunking dud or a great success. No one knows. I'd rather pay more for a proven product than take a huge risk on an unknown. Unless your price was really really right.

Am I being prudent or too conservative? What would you offer? I do not have unlimited financial means and need to spend carefully and wisely.

You can cancel the Argos pre-order, so this person is just trying to cash in with their place in line. Who knows if Argos would even allow a transfer of the pre-sale. There was plenty of demand for the pre-sales, so it's not like Argos is in a tough spot should they cancel. Most manufacturers don't like to see their products selling above retail when the extra money is going to a middle man.

JHCCoffee wrote:A fellow here in Canada is selling his advance order for the Odyssey Argos lever machine. He wants "more than cost", which in my view is nutty (harks back to the days when the NZs were coming out, and were over hyped). Cost is currently $850 US, but the machine has yet to be released or reviewed. He is selling because he bought another currently available lever machine.

Would you spend your hard earned cash to buy out
his position? If so, what would you pay?

My initial reaction was:
" The jury is still hugely out on this. Reviewers have not yet received the machine or opined. Consumers - real people that are part of real forums (as distinct from social media influencers whose judgments one must take with a grain of salt) - have not rendered their hands on opinions. There are no guarantees that they will achieve their production targets (in quantity or quality or time) or what the ultimate quality and functionality of the machines will be. This could be a thunking dud or a great success. No one knows. I'd rather pay more for a proven product than take a huge risk on an unknown. Unless your price was really really right.

Am I being prudent or too conservative? What would you offer? I do not have unlimited financial means and need to spend carefully and wisely.

It's not that. It's that scalpers should never be rewarded (it happened the same with the PS5). You can just wait, as I'm doing myself (but I'm leaning toward the Vectis)

Will there be a price increase once it's released to production orders?

If it gets rave reviews and demand becomes higher than supply is there any doubt price will increase? And similarly, if it turns out to have serious design issues and people start canceling their orders it will start getting discounts. My hunch is that the former is more likely, but it could be wishful thinking on my part. I really like this project and am rooting for it to succeed.

yakster wrote:Will there be a price increase once it's released to production orders?

As with most pre-market investment ...there is the usual discount price for early support individuals.
I don't see why there shouldn't be an increase in price for the Argos.
Remember, also: there has been some inflation since the initial offering and some of the parts of the Argos weren't priced as thoroughly from the start.

I know Ross originally planned not to have a price increase after launch but it's hard to predict quite that far into the future. Hopefully that will all be clear enough soon.

If the Argos delivers on its promise, especially with regards to temperature stability, I would happily upgrade from my Flair 58, even if the price tag is a little higher than what it is today. I paid more for an Elektra Micro Casa a Leva, and going from that machine to the Flair was a definite upgrade in consistency and control. The Argos with its PID and multiple sensors is supposed to be better than the Flair, and with the built in boiler it should certainly be easier to use.