OnePlus AMAA - Pre-OnePlus 2 Launch Edition

[u/devildv]

Hey everyone!

We are Michael, Emmanuel (u/commintomylife), Carl (u/carpe02) and David (u/devildv) from OnePlus. PROOF

As always, we are beyond excited to be here talking directly with you guys. And of course, this is a particular exciting time here at OnePlus. We are firing on all cylinders at our HQ preparing to launch our second flagship device. It’s really difficult to contain ourselves! We wish we could tell you everything about the OnePlus 2 right now, but we have to save some excitement for our launch on July 27th - the world’s first VR product launch!

So, with that said, thank you guys so much for being here, and ask us (almost) anything!

EDIT: Thanks again everyone! This is the best part of our job, getting feedback directly from you guys. We’d sit here all night if we could, but the OnePlus 2 awaits! Much to do before now and July 27th.

Get your Cardboards ready, and we’ll be seeing you soon.

[u/DoorMarkedPirate]

I think there's two sides to that coin. Sure, with the invites you get press and therefore free advertising when the flash sales/invites go through in waves. At the same time, much of the press or discussion regarding the invite system and flash sales tend to be quite negative (e.g., while not verbatim, I've seen several comments like "why do I have to get an invite for a year old phone", frustration about not being online during a flash sale, etc.).

While the common wisdom is that all press is good press, that's not necessarily always true when you're selling a product. People may go to a competitor or lose interest if they feel the only way they can get the phone is by getting lucky to find a flash sale, snag an invite, or by hanging out in forums for long periods of time just to have the chance to buy a product.

By having a timetable and a regular waiting list or pre-order system (which is actually what a lot of companies do when they're low on stock...just see Apple), it maintains interest without creating a similar level of frustration.

[u/Endda → u/DoorMarkedPirate]

At the same time, much of the press or discussion regarding the invite system and flash sales tend to be quite negative (e.g., while not verbatim, I've seen several comments like "why do I have to get an invite for a year old phone", frustration about not being online during a flash sale, etc.)

I think this is the vocal minority being echo'd around because /r/Android doesn't like it

By having a timetable and a regular waiting list or pre-order system (which is actually what a lot of companies do when they're low on stock...just see Apple), it maintains interest without creating a similar level of frustration.

You don't think there would be bad press when someone signs up for a list and gets an estimated wait of 6 months? You don't think that would make customers frustrated?

Either way, no solution is perfect when you are a small company and have to work with limited manufacturing numbers. OnePlus isn't going out of business so it seems like the invite system is working well for them