This is definitely a positive move for the company and anyone who wants an Alien machine, because it increases the likelihood of large numbers being made.
The question is, should you ask for a refund on any prepayment you have made?
<The following is long and a little bit boring so you may not want to bother reading it>
If the company is properly capitalized now then I suppose that the business model no longer relies on preorders to fund the company before it starts generating revenue from pinball machine sales. If that is the case then there doesn't seem to be a compelling reason for anyone to put their money at risk by fully or partially prepaying, rather than waiting and ordering a machine once it has been made and is sitting in a box - unless the price is going to be lower for pre-payers (to reflect that risk.)
The fact that the new chaps have announced a price hike in the future suggests to me that they may still be relying on prepay money: it provides an incentive for people to leave their money in and not ask for a refund.
Maybe they don't need the prepay money: perhaps it's just that free money is nice to have so that they have to invest less.
Either way, there is no way of telling for sure 100% that the new look Heighway will be able to successfully mass produce machines. That means that if you prepay you are effectively making a gamble: you may lose some or all of your prepayment, but that risk may be worth it if you end up getting a machine at the original lower price rather than the increased price.
Seeing as how no-one knows how likely the new lot are to succeed, and what the price hike will be, there is no way to make a rational decision as to whether to ask for a refund or stick with it - assuming you are prepared to gamble with your money at all.
And just to make it more complicated, if you ask for and get a refund then this may have an effect on the outcome - especially if a large amount of cash is refunded and this affects the ability of the company to produce large numbers of machines....
All I can say is I really wish the new guys the best of luck and I hope that they are able to make a great success of the business and get everyone who wants one a shiny new Alien machine in the near future at a sensible price. I met Roger at Expo and he seemed like a very decent guy.
The question is, should you ask for a refund on any prepayment you have made?
<The following is long and a little bit boring so you may not want to bother reading it>
If the company is properly capitalized now then I suppose that the business model no longer relies on preorders to fund the company before it starts generating revenue from pinball machine sales. If that is the case then there doesn't seem to be a compelling reason for anyone to put their money at risk by fully or partially prepaying, rather than waiting and ordering a machine once it has been made and is sitting in a box - unless the price is going to be lower for pre-payers (to reflect that risk.)
The fact that the new chaps have announced a price hike in the future suggests to me that they may still be relying on prepay money: it provides an incentive for people to leave their money in and not ask for a refund.
Maybe they don't need the prepay money: perhaps it's just that free money is nice to have so that they have to invest less.
Either way, there is no way of telling for sure 100% that the new look Heighway will be able to successfully mass produce machines. That means that if you prepay you are effectively making a gamble: you may lose some or all of your prepayment, but that risk may be worth it if you end up getting a machine at the original lower price rather than the increased price.
Seeing as how no-one knows how likely the new lot are to succeed, and what the price hike will be, there is no way to make a rational decision as to whether to ask for a refund or stick with it - assuming you are prepared to gamble with your money at all.
And just to make it more complicated, if you ask for and get a refund then this may have an effect on the outcome - especially if a large amount of cash is refunded and this affects the ability of the company to produce large numbers of machines....
All I can say is I really wish the new guys the best of luck and I hope that they are able to make a great success of the business and get everyone who wants one a shiny new Alien machine in the near future at a sensible price. I met Roger at Expo and he seemed like a very decent guy.