Have DJI pulled a fast one?

[Mako79]

Mid November sucks but it isn't the end of the world if they don't delay it any longer.
I ordered a Lily Camera in May of 2015...still don't have it. Once the Mavic was announced I bailed out.
Hopefully we are only talking about a few weeks and everyone will forget about it when its at your door step.

It will be fine. Just feel sorry for the person who just bought a P4 and decided to sell it pay for the mavic. This same person also had trip planned late October and now has no drone. This same person also had his revised Note 7 recalled for a second time. Bad luck Brian =(.

 

[Nick Ti]

The official email from DJI "We will give you an update but we will not tell you anything... " What the heck!!! I hope tons of people start demanding refunds, I know I will by end of the week...

 

[TritonV]

My take is they are aware of the situation. They knew it from the beginning due to previous experience. Unfortunately they got us. I am as anxious as you are. I am pascient and waiting until I receive it.
Best to you all!!

 

[Rilot]

This is one of the reasons why I don't pre-order DJI products any more. Until I can walk in to a shop and walk out with one (or click and have it in my hands the next day) I won't buy.

 

[Techcop50]

Yes, the waiting sucks. But if you look at history, you should have expected this delay was possible, even likely. I'm sure the response to Mavic was greater than anyone (even DJI) anticipated. Look at how quickly it has driven down the Phantom prices...
If you don't like waiting, you can always cancel your order.

 

[HeliFreak]

My opinion, Of course DJI released the Mavic to steal thunder from the Karma. Perhaps less than completely ready for production, or perhaps production delays were discovered after launch. Either way I don't blame them one bit for jumping the Mavic intro. Think if you have been working on something for a while that is awesome, and a competitor comes along and releases an inferior product. Before people buy a Karma, DJI wants to show them what a great alternative is coming down the pipeline.

Either way, we have heard of the Karma drone, and it being delayed for 6+ months. GoPro may hit their (delayed) Oct 23rd release, but it's still not out yet. As for the Mavic, we heard about it only a month ago, and I would rather dji (especially with their customer service) sort out any issues and build up all the stock they can, before we start seeing our orders fulfilled. I'm fine waiting a few weeks longer for such a capable product.

 

[Zandian]

It will be fine. Just feel sorry for the person who just bought a P4 and decided to sell it pay for the mavic. This same person also had trip planned late October and now has no drone. This same person also had his revised Note 7 recalled for a second time. Bad luck Brian =(.

Are you talking about me? Because if you're not I might have a long lost brother out there...

I bought a P4 in June, sold it the day after I pre-ordered the Mavic, had two trips planned in late October where I wanted to get some shots of my family, including my 14 month old. I traded in my iPhone 6 for a Note 7 because I was getting tired of the problems I was having with my iPhone 6, went through one recall, then the optical stabilizer on the replacement Note 7 went bad, replaced that, then a week later it was recalled. Then had to wait two weeks for an iPhone 7 because they were still back ordered...

 

[cheebs]

Welp, I've got the feeling I'm taking the P3P to Costa Rica for Thanksgiving and leaving it at my place (already have a Solo there but the flight time really limits my missions). Glad I didn't sell it when I got the P4, which I'm definitely not selling!

 

[F6Rider]

I received the same email as everyone else of course, and was disappointed that there wasn't more information other that a vague statement that production was in full swing and we will be shipping soon. That is a standard stall move from the PR department. Having dealt with DJI on the last three launches I am not a bit surprised one bit, and anyone else who is familiar with their over promise and under deliver mentality should not be either. When I pre-ordered I fully expected a longer than promised wait, the only thing that bugs me is taking my money with false promises, but they did the same when I pre-ordered the P3 so no surprise there either. We get it when we get it, no sense getting our knickers in a bunch over something we have no control over.

 

[Anthony Viscomi]

Mid November sucks but it isn't the end of the world if they don't delay it any longer.
I ordered a Lily Camera in May of 2015...still don't have it. Once the Mavic was announced I bailed out.
Hopefully we are only talking about a few weeks and everyone will forget about it when its at your door step.

The Lily Camera pre-order was a "backdoor" way of Crowdfunding. I think that they are under investigation for that tactic.

 

[Mako79]

Are you talking about me? Because if you're not I might have a long lost brother out there...

I bought a P4 in June, sold it the day after I pre-ordered the Mavic, had two trips planned in late October where I wanted to get some shots of my family, including my 14 month old. I traded in my iPhone 6 for a Note 7 because I was getting tired of the problems I was having with my iPhone 6, went through one recall, then the optical stabilizer on the replacement Note 7 went bad, replaced that, then a week later it was recalled. Then had to wait two weeks for an iPhone 7 because they were still back ordered...

It was a stab in the dark. Considering this is a DJI forum, there would be a high chance of a P4 and Note 7 users.. I feel for you though. If want some decent footage for your holiday, dig up a used P3Pro. They are cheap and does exactly what the P4 does except for obstacle avoidance and active tracking. Keep it as a backup drone for a rainy day.

 

[Rick A]

Too much conspiracy theory on these boards. Did DJI time the announcement in conjunction with the GoPro announcement, of course they did. That is just good business.
They have a superior product, GoPro's 6 month plus delay gave DJI more time to refine the Mavic Pro. Was it a surprise to DJI that GoPro was building a drone, of course not. The relationship between GoPro and DJI fell apart long ago and DJI had all the time in the world to design a better drone. Did they rush the announcement because of Karma? Doubtful, but DJI made an error creating a business problem that many companies wish they had. DJI developed a superior product and marketed it accordingly. The problem is that DJI quite simply underestimated what the initial demand for the such a great product would be and it has overwhelmed production. I can wait a few extra weeks, after all a few weeks ago, none of us even knew such a product existed....

 

[Advexure]

Too much conspiracy theory on these boards. Did DJI time the announcement in conjunction with the GoPro announcement, of course they did. That is just good business.
They have a superior product, GoPro's 6 month plus delay gave DJI more time to refine the Mavic Pro. Was it a surprise to DJI that GoPro was building a drone, of course not. The relationship between GoPro and DJI fell apart long ago and DJI had all the time in the world to design a better drone. Did they rush the announcement because of Karma? Doubtful, but DJI made an error creating a business problem that many companies wish they had. DJI developed a superior product and marketed it accordingly. The problem is that DJI quite simply underestimated what the initial demand for the such a great product would be and it has overwhelmed production. I can wait a few extra weeks, after all a few weeks ago, none of us even knew such a product existed....

@Rick A, you couldn't have said it any better. The bottom line is DJI is still a maturing company in an extremely fast paced industry that has experienced tremendous growth in just a couple of years. DJI is far from perfect and their research and development is far ahead of their production capacities which is obviously shown to be a very large problem for them. This is not the first time they've had delays with new releases, we've been right alongside them for almost every release. Although they have definitely improved in their overall release processes from a logistical point of view, the demand for their products has heavily surpassed the rate at which these improvements are being implemented.

The long and short of it is, whatever the exact delay may be, DJI is ensuring that they dot all of their I's and cross of their T's to ensure that customers and dealers receive a top tier, high quality drone. An extra week or two isn't going to kill any of us. We would much rather see the time taken on the front end rather than end up with a product that has been rushed through production. DJI knows the risk of they face if they in fact would rush something through production without the necessary QA. Props to them for standing up to the fact and the wrath that ensues when making the decision to delay things. I'm sure this was a not an easy business decision to make by any means. Patience will pay off.

 

[Broker]

DJI is ensuring that they dot all of their I's and cross of their T's to ensure that customers and dealers receive a top tier, high quality drone. An extra week or two isn't going to kill any of us. We would much rather see the time taken on the front end rather than end up with a product that has been rushed through production.

I've been through many extended pre-orders over the years for smartphones and the like and one thing that's remained the same is the same people who get upset and threaten to cancel are the people who are the first to complain about any potential issues a rushed product may end up with. You just can't win with them. It's great for DJI to have such overwhelming demand for their products but I sure don't envy their frontline CS reps right at this moment.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Dear Customers,

We said at our Mavic Pro launch event that we would begin shipping in
mid-October. We’ve just passed that, and if you’re wondering where your
Mavic Pro is, we’d like to offer an update.

Blah, Blah, Blah...

We thank you for your enthusiasm and patience and for being a DJI customer.

Best,
Adam Najberg
Global Director of Communication
DJI

So, basically, the update is that we have no further information!
October 15th came and went, and we still aren't shipping, and we still have no idea when we will start shipping yet!

 

[Dirty Bird]

If DJI expected to sell 10,000 units & got swamped with orders for 1 million, they still should have had the 10,000 units they originally anticipated selling. DJI has shipped ZERO units. The "overwhelming demand" excuse doesn't explain why DJI hasn't shipped a single Mavic.

The problem is that DJI quite simply underestimated what the initial demand for the such a great product would be and it has overwhelmed production. I can wait a few extra weeks, after all a few weeks ago, none of us even knew such a product existed....

 

[CactusJackSlade]

With the Karma launched, DJI had to divert sales from GoPro and to do this they brought the Mavic launch forward and bare-faced lied about the mid-October launch date. They have launched an unready & unavailable product and appear to have made up the "most destructive to GoPro" shipping date not just to get plenty of pre-orders, but more importantly to them, to bury the Karma.

I'm a new customer to DJI and this has left a very bitter taste, it's a poor business practice in my opinion and whilst I'm looking forward to having a Mavic, I'm unhappy putting money into the coffers of such a company.

Under promise and over deliver is key (and an ironic pun!). DJI are getting the backs up of tens of thousands of customers if we're all still waiting in a month.

A few things of interest I'd like to mention: The original Phantom 2's with the DJI gimbals were designed to use GoPro's. That HELPED GoPro... and what did GoPro do? They quietly changed the rear plug in port on the newer GoPro's and then claimed "proprietary port plug" on the rear port gimbal plug DJI was using. This rear port was awesome, it charged the camera, video and audio out and plugged into the back of the camera when you inserted it into the gimbal.

After the GoPro/DJI tussle, we ended up with a gimbal that you had to plug in the camera using a flimsy ribbon side port. That plug that sucked big time and broke at the most inopportune moment. Additionally it destroyed the audio out.

Now we know why GoPro did that, because they were interested in the drone market.

SO... GoPro put a wrench into what could have been a long (or at least longer) lasting business relationship. I do not feel bad at all that DJI most probably on purpose slammed the GoPro Karma (I was at Interbike for the official unveiling of the Karma).... then 4 days later the news release of the Mavic...

Also, the Karma has been delayed many, many times... they are way behind the curve. A unique product yes, but behind....

 

[Bibs]

DJI is still a maturing company

With a turnover of $1bn!!

 

[Ed Windham]

Guys orders are now shipping for the Mavic. There are still some issues with the Combo orders. We are sorting this out. Some are getting shipping notifications without all the parts. If you get that please be patient.

 

[4wd]

I get the impression a few are trickling out mostly to the US
Everyone should forget about until sometime in November.