We are looking for help and we offer some interessting rewards.
So who will reach the first place ???
(Post from MEGA65 at Facebook:)
As you can read in previous posts, we have decided against Kickstarter.
We believe that YOU, the community, our friends and followers are more than enough to help us keep the project running and even finish it as intended.
This is one of the last and biggest steps towards the production of the MEGA65 desktop machines: We need money to buy the steel moulds, the tools to produce MEGA65 cases at a reasonable price.
This is why we have launched the "case moulds donation game". We are asking for donations via the little golden coin in the donations game at http://mega65.org until we can afford to buy those steel moulds.
Meanwhile we will make the MEGA65 better and squash lots of bugs. Thank you all in advance for walking this bumpy road together with us ❤️
Since several questions arose throughout this Thread, i've collected the most common ones over here in this FAQ:
Q: Why don't you use Kickstarter or similar platform to collect the money ?
A: 1. Kickstarter wants a 10% fee from the donated money, so this would mean, that we would need to collect even more money.
2. A Kickstarter campaign will put pressure onto the team, we would need to give physical rewards, etc. and this is something we neither have the manpower for, nor the time. we want to focus totally on the project.
3. We would need to set a price for the MEGA65. if we would be a profit orientated company, we could do this, we would just give the MEGA65 a price, where we would be certain, that it will cover the costs and the rest would be pure profit for us.
But we are a german, non-profit, registered association and as such, we are not allowed (and we don't want) to make profit.
We are doing this for the community.
Q: Why don't you take preorders?
A: Here i would like to point you to point 3. of the above answer. we would need to set a price and even worse. depending on, how many preorders we would receive, we would need to divide the price of the injection moulds between the people who preorder.
This would be absolutely unfair ! The people who preorder would pay alot more, than a person that would order a Year later, after the injection moulds have been paid for.
Example: if 100 people would preorder we would need to set a price of 660€ each ON TOP of the normal hardware price, just to get the injection moulds paid for.
So to conclude: for us, it is a difference, if people voluntarely donate money, because they are able to afford it or if we would have to force the price of the injection moulds onto the people who preorder.
And last but not least: to take preorders, like we already mentioned, we would need to set a price, but we are not allowed to make profit, so we just can't set a price, because we don't know how many people would preorder. You see, it's a "chicken/egg, what came first" thing....
Q: Since you are a registered communtiy association, couldn't you apply for financial aid by the goverment?
A: unfortunately not. An official financial support kann only be applied for, if the money goes directly towards the community service.
As an example, once we have the injection moulds, and we are able to build the MEGA65, then we could apply for financial support, to buy, let's say 10 MEGA65s for our registered association, with the explanation, that we need those for our work with the children.
So you see the difference? getting the injection moulds, does not go directly towards a community service. Even if we would than (once we can build the MEGA65) apply for such an financial support, it still wouldn't be assured, that it would be granted.
Q: Don't you think, it's brazenly to ask for so much money ?
A: Compared to what we've already put into the project, regarding money and time, it is just a medium sized puzzle piece. Everything we do is "guerilla" and there is no comparable project: Money is necessary from time to time, but it is not the motivation nor driver of this project. In other words: money cannot buy the expertise needed to finish the MEGA65.
Q: What do you do, if you don't reach the goal of the required 66000€ for the injection moulds ?
A: 1. We don't have a time limit, so in principle we can collect as long as it's needed.
2. We are absolutely positive, that we will reach the goal. By the time of writing these FAQs, we have already collected +10K
3. But if it would stop, for whatever reason and we wouldn't get any more money at all anymore, we would use the collected money, to find a cheaper solution and we would probably than create cheaper cases. Even if we don't like that idea.
We have the feeling, that the people, same as us, want to have a high quality product and the money we have already collected is a proof for that and that's why we are certain, that we will be able to collect the money for the moulds !
Q: If i donate money now, will this be taken into account, when i buy the MEGA65 at a later time ?
A: No. the money you donate, is what it is, a donation. you help us to create the MEGA65 and we are absolutely gratefull for your financial support. Your donation is ONE WAY to support this project (you are obviousely interested in, otherwise you wouldn't read this Post). There are other ways too, to support this project. We need programmers, artists, writers, etc.
We need every kind of support we can get, because we do this project in our spare time and without personal financial interests. So if you feel, you can help us, contact us please !
We do it for you and with your donation and support we will be able to finish it in the way we intend to.
Q: So what do i get, if i donate money, nothing at all ?
A: First of all, you have our deepest gratitude and you should have the good feeling, that you supported a community project ! But of course, there are some smaller benefits, or call it rewards for those that support us financial. here i would like to link to the official page to read for the already set rewards.
After that, we already have several plans on, how to show our gratitude. One example would be : All donators will be served with highest priority, once the MEGA65 is ready to order. So whoever believed in our project, by supporting it financially, will be the people that can hold the MEGA65 in their hands first.
And as a positive side effect, they will receive the MEGA65s with low seriell numbers too.
(Of course, only if they'll place their order during a certain period, right after the MEGA65 has been officially released) (This excludes of course, rank 1 - 5).
We have some more nice ideas, but those will be announced at a later time, while the donation game is still running, let's say, as a small gift for those who support us financially.
Q: We've seen those nice MEGA65 preseries pictures with cases, why can't we have those ?
A: Those cases were done with Vacuum forming, an expensive way of creating cases.
Those Moulds last only for ~20 cases, then they're done (The amount of preseries MEGA65 we have).
This process is very expensive, each of these cases costs several hundreds of Euros and this way of making cases is only used for prototyping, since you need to manually refile and adjust the cases. so every single case would need to be manually redone. So to make an easy answer: To expensive, to time consuming, to much rework needed.
Q: How about 3D printed cases then? wouldn't this be a solution ?
A: Unfortunately not.
1. Most common 3D Printers are not able to print the MEGA65 case in one piece.
2. To manufacture hundreds of cases with a 3D Printer would take forever.
3. The quality is not the best, so this would involve again (even more then in the question above) alot of manual labor, it's just to much time to invest for each case.
We've already tried it. we have one 3D printed case. it just doesn't reach the quality we want to achieve.
