Quote:
Originally Posted by Monochron
I feel like I have to ask, how much benefit are you going to see in a 3-4 month period by ordering 40 of these? Would it be any additional burden on your team to order maybe 15 or so for the season, and then order an additional 25 next summer?
While I think we are probably not going to see dire shortages, I don't really get the rationale of purchasing so many at a time. If this is something that a lot of financially able teams do, it may actually have a small effect on supply.
|
We are a small team and we don't work the crazy hours some of the top teams do. To keep programmers and practice/iteration going without conflict, we build two practice bots.
Also, we don't have a huge amount of funds compared to some top teams, this is a HUGE expense for us to upgrade speed controllers but we've weighed the benefits versus costs and are happy with the decision.
On average our robots have 9-13 speed controllers, so 40 is a good number.
I'm not at ALL concerned for a shortage. People are overreacting hugely over this. I've yet to see a well reasoned argument based on historical data as to why Vex will be unable to meet demand.
The talon launch argument is not relevant as that was (at the time) a BRAND NEW supplier. They had no way of predicting how many people would want as FRC is both a very risk avoidant community, and one that LOVES new toys.
Comparisons to mechanical product shortage are also not relevant.
When you then combine the company that released the talon with the company that has been the primary supplier for 10+ seasons (who has NEVER ran out during season) you have a recipe for success, and happy customers.
Separate from all this, I'm sure Vex is concerned with maintaining their reputation. They essentially just removed the entire backup plan (Jaguar, Talon, Victor), so all the eggs are in the new basket. I'm sure they're very well aware of the consequences of failing to deliver here. Any resources put towards more production of a guaranteed obsolete product (Jaguar, Talon, Victor) would be silly as well, as that just takes away from production of the new.