Production Meshlicious Redesign - Vertical, 280AIO mainstream case

BRSxIgnition

Master of Cramming
Mar 15, 2020
381
544
Really glad I decided to cut my losses for the meantime and build with all my SFF parts in my old mATX case, but damn, absolute minimum, SSUPD really should release a chart with the following:
  1. New Planned Shipping Date for Batch #1 (US Newegg Preorders)
  2. New Planned Pre-Order Date & Shipping Date for Batch #2
  3. List of Retailers By Country + SKU + Release Date - i.e:
    • "Amazon.ca will have W, X, Y, and Z SKUs starting XX/XX/2021"
    • "Amazon.com will have W, X, Y, and Z SKUs starting XX/XX/2021"
    • "Microcenter will have W and Z SKUs starting XX/XX/2021"
Alternatively... they should really just cut their losses and ship direct - the benefit of positive word-of-mouth and prompt deliveries will greatly outweigh the increased shipping costs; not to mention the negative word-of-mouth, and opportunity cost of not doing it.

Speaking personally:
It will be pain waiting for that damn ship to get back to China, get loaded up, head back to LA, unload the cases, ship those cases to warehouses, then finally ship those cases to customers.
 

wafer

Efficiency Noob
Jan 26, 2021
6
8
Same, just got the 05/04 delay email. This $35 test bench "case" that I bought to hold me over is really paying off!
I should have gotten something similar.
I have my itx parts setup in a regular sized case. None of the cables are really long enough, its like a child wearing a adult sized suit.
 

Valantar

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 20, 2018
2,201
2,225
Really glad I decided to cut my losses for the meantime and build with all my SFF parts in my old mATX case, but damn, absolute minimum, SSUPD really should release a chart with the following:
  1. New Planned Shipping Date for Batch #1 (US Newegg Preorders)
  2. New Planned Pre-Order Date & Shipping Date for Batch #2
  3. List of Retailers By Country + SKU + Release Date - i.e:
    • "Amazon.ca will have W, X, Y, and Z SKUs starting XX/XX/2021"
    • "Amazon.com will have W, X, Y, and Z SKUs starting XX/XX/2021"
    • "Microcenter will have W and Z SKUs starting XX/XX/2021"
Alternatively... they should really just cut their losses and ship direct - the benefit of positive word-of-mouth and prompt deliveries will greatly outweigh the increased shipping costs; not to mention the negative word-of-mouth, and opportunity cost of not doing it.

Speaking personally:
It will be pain waiting for that damn ship to get back to China, get loaded up, head back to LA, unload the cases, ship those cases to warehouses, then finally ship those cases to customers.
While I agree that this would be nice, it's likely not possible. Why?
- The planned shipping date for batch #1 is likely "as fast as possible once the cases get off the damn boat". Which ... well, isn't something SSUPD or Newegg can control.
- From what Waha has posted previously, batch 2 is booked to ship on a vessel that is also suffering delays (the same ship? can't remember), so again, external factors not in their control, and a date might not exist yet
- Due to the two points above, a per-country list is likely not possible.
- It's been stated previously that there are distribution agreements in place that preclude direct shipping (at least until those distributors have received their allotments), and it would be really dumb for SSUPD long-term to screw over all of their distributors even if it means they get their wares out to early adopters a month or two sooner. Suddenly nobody gets their cases unless they're willing to pay for direct shipping from HK or China, which ... yeah, that's not a mass-market friendly approach whatsoever.


I completely agree that waiting for this is an utter pain, but that's how global commerce and non-boutique products work. It's all reliant on gargantuan, slow-moving systems that when they fail, fail in slow ways that are very difficult to fix or bypass.
 

203Null

Trash Compacter
Feb 16, 2021
38
35
i really like this case, but these are what I don't like.

1. Gpu support parts (Two long stick) look like prototype products and seems not safe for heavy graphics cards.
2. Very sharp corners, It cannot be carried in the backpack.
3. No carrying handle on top.
4. Top io panel looks useless because tower type case, i think must be bottom front.
I agree with 1 and some degree of 4. I originally think the io is just annoying because I need to stand up in order to use them (Since everyone put sff on their desk) but the minimalist look did grow on me. I should be able to reach the power button without looking and I plan to add a dock on my desk anyways so IOs won’t bother me.

I don’t really see 2 as an issue. I used to carry ps4 in my backpack and it doesn’t seems bothered me too much. The size of meshlicous means it can’t be easily fit in most backpacks anyways. For portability, I do plan to buy a speclized sff bag for it.

For 3, handle is not common on those extremely compact machines, but maybe it probably can be made yourself since the top mesh is removable.
 

BRSxIgnition

Master of Cramming
Mar 15, 2020
381
544
While I agree that this would be nice, it's likely not possible. Why?
- The planned shipping date for batch #1 is likely "as fast as possible once the cases get off the damn boat". Which ... well, isn't something SSUPD or Newegg can control.
- From what Waha has posted previously, batch 2 is booked to ship on a vessel that is also suffering delays (the same ship? can't remember), so again, external factors not in their control, and a date might not exist yet
- Due to the two points above, a per-country list is likely not possible.
- It's been stated previously that there are distribution agreements in place that preclude direct shipping (at least until those distributors have received their allotments), and it would be really dumb for SSUPD long-term to screw over all of their distributors even if it means they get their wares out to early adopters a month or two sooner. Suddenly nobody gets their cases unless they're willing to pay for direct shipping from HK or China, which ... yeah, that's not a mass-market friendly approach whatsoever.


I completely agree that waiting for this is an utter pain, but that's how global commerce and non-boutique products work. It's all reliant on gargantuan, slow-moving systems that when they fail, fail in slow ways that are very difficult to fix or bypass.

Being realistic:
  1. Yes, it's not something they can control, but they can likely give an updated timeline now that the delay has been communicated by Newegg.
  2. From what I remember, yes, it was booked for the same ship. That said, if they remove their booking I'm sure demand is high enough that the ship would have little problem filling it by the time it makes port in China again. (That said there would admittedly probably be some kind of cancelation charge, assuming it isn't some contract they have no way to get out of in the first place.)
  3. They have to know who they are shipping to - they've already communicated Signapore & EU vendors that are using their case, and Newegg US doesn't sell in Canada, there's Canadian warehouses for it. I refuse to believe that SSUPD is THAT incompetent to market a case for worldwide release and then not know where they are sending it to do that, especially if they've already booked the ship for Batch 2.
  4. Would be nice to get more info on these - I understand that it's too late for Batch #1 to be shipped direct, but I wonder what kind of affect these agreements would have on subsequent batches. For once I rather pay the extra to have it shipped directly to me - I mean, T1 does it. (Not mainstream, but obviously do-able.)
There has to be some way to think outside the box with this - otherwise it's going to be July or later before anyone in Batch 2 gets their cases.
 

BRSxIgnition

Master of Cramming
Mar 15, 2020
381
544
you guys should just chill. grab an NR200 or something cheap as a placeholder for a while LOL
I have my build in my old case while I wait and I'm still getting super frustrated with all this.

I'd feel better about it if they did something more than throw up a cheap-looking, barely detailed timeline with vague dates each time too.

Heck, even Glorious - not my favorite company - has been super transparent with any/all delays on their new GMMK Pro keyboard kits.

If only SSUPD could be even half as transparent with what they're doing about this...

to put in some perspective, this delay is nothing close to what people have been waiting for the Mjolnir
Saying "Hey, at least it's not as bad as the Mjolnir" is not a high bar to clear - and we're not even sure we've cleared it yet.
 
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thelaughingman

SFF Guru
Jul 14, 2018
1,413
1,566
I'd feel better about it if they did something more than throw up a cheap-looking, barely detailed timeline with vague dates each time too.
in a pre-COVID world, ideally yes.

what I'm saying is just give them some benefit of the doubt that either they are trying their best and still failed, or it's literally out of their control. personally I came from the mechanical keyboard world where people, including me, waited years for things for even less than that, sometimes only a promise even. So I guess I just have a whole lot more tolerance towards delays and failed targets / timeline LOL
 
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biopunk

Airflow Optimizer
Sep 24, 2020
248
359
Why are you so surprised, the shipping date was always a rough ETA. It was nigh impossible for SSUPD to give an accurate shipping date when multiple ports on the route are heavily congested. This "delay" is just an updated ETA.
 
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BRSxIgnition

Master of Cramming
Mar 15, 2020
381
544
Why are you so surprised, 20.04 was always a rough ETA. It was nigh impossible for SSUPD to give an accurate shipping date when multiple ports on the route are heavily congested. This "delay" is just an updated ETA.
It's not about being surprised, it's about how this was planned, and how communication continues to be handled. (Or, perhaps put more cleanly, not handled.)

Sure, they may not have seen the delay at the ports coming, but in hindsight I'd have gladly paid $30-50 just to have the case shipped directly to me, a la every other SFF case.
 
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Marvelm

Cable-Tie Ninja
Oct 20, 2017
232
106
Why are you so surprised, the shipping date was always a rough ETA. It was nigh impossible for SSUPD to give an accurate shipping date when multiple ports on the route are heavily congested. This "delay" is just an updated ETA.

It's the fact that they were so decided on not selling their case on their website and using third party sellers, such a shame.
 

kami_sama

Trash Compacter
Dec 15, 2019
49
19
Shipping in a covid (and post-covid) world is a really difficult.
I agree with the communication thing, but shipping delays must be expected out of every single thing you buy until it reaches your country/state.
It's the fact that they were so decided on not selling their case on their website and using third party sellers, such a shame.
They are using Lian Li's own distribution partners. I don't mind then doing that, after all makes a lot of the steps of putting things in customer's hands a lot easier.
 
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BRSxIgnition

Master of Cramming
Mar 15, 2020
381
544
Shipping in a covid (and post-covid) world is a really difficult.
I agree with the communication thing, but shipping delays must be expected out of every single thing you buy until it reaches your country/state.

Still would have been less of an issue if it was shipped direct. I'm seeing people ordering their T1's direct from China and getting them within a week.

I get it - they want a mainstream case - but maybe tackle that after the pandemic and ship what you can, quickly, now. i.e: Spread good word & reviews with the initial batches, and release it to the world when ready to ride the wave.

As it is, they had a bunch of hype and good word and now it's all gone spoiled because of the delays in trying to launch things full scale right now.
 
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Valantar

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 20, 2018
2,201
2,225
Still would have been less of an issue if it was shipped direct. I'm seeing people ordering their T1's direct from China and getting them within a week.

I get it - they want a mainstream case - but maybe tackle that after the pandemic and ship what you can, quickly, now. i.e: Spread good word & reviews with the initial batches, and release it to the world when ready to ride the wave.

As it is, they had a bunch of hype and good word and now it's all gone spoiled because of the delays in trying to launch things full scale right now.
It's extremely difficult to build up momentum and public interest years after the fact - youtube and similar sources doesn't discriminate between expensive boutique cases and cheap mass-market ones after all, so there's a significant risk of people seeing it initially, writing it off as expensive or too difficult to get, and then dismissing a broader launch as "didn't I see this last year? Whatever" and moving on without ever actually picking up on availability. Don't discount the PR value of something being new (or the negative value of something not being new) either.
 

BRSxIgnition

Master of Cramming
Mar 15, 2020
381
544
It's extremely difficult to build up momentum and public interest years after the fact - youtube and similar sources doesn't discriminate between expensive boutique cases and cheap mass-market ones after all, so there's a significant risk of people seeing it initially, writing it off as expensive or too difficult to get, and then dismissing a broader launch as "didn't I see this last year? Whatever" and moving on without ever actually picking up on availability. Don't discount the PR value of something being new (or the negative value of something not being new) either.
It's a double-edged blade and can be viewed both ways, to boot.

The way I see it:
  1. You can ship it directly in smaller batches, and get it out more quickly, populating the net with - in this case - positive reviews for the case.
    • Down the line, when you make it available easily at places like Amazon and Newegg, people recognize it as something good, and now it's readily available for anyone interested - even better if you help it along with a media boost promoting this.
  2. You can do what SSUPD has done here, send it to a few reviewers directly, then try to get it mainstream retailers like Amazon/Newegg ASAP to follow up.
I'd argue that option #1 is the safer option in the middle of a pandemic, especially for a traditionally more niche form factor. People are more used to that for SFF cases already so it's not a big change to start. Then when it's made more available it feels special to the more mainstream audience.

By going with #2, they've soured the first impression of the case by only getting a few positive reviews out about it, and only ever being able to really fulfill any others only month and months later. Anyone more mainstream seeing it now will associate it with good reviews a month ago, followed by minimal communication and multiple delays, and only have the 4-5 reviews available right now to change their minds.

Sure, if they'd been able to satisfy the hype right away after the OT review, that would have been the best of both worlds, but because they weren't - and likely would never have been able to - I think they should have gone with option #1.

In my opinion.
 

robojim

Airflow Optimizer
Jun 18, 2020
254
222
I think direct selling would have likely had the same pitfalls as what happened to the FormD T1 last year.

Anyway I also think a lot of these decisions were made in the latter half of 2020 and it was hard to foresee all these same shipping issues piling up.

I don't have the insight into the business decisions but when you sign certain contracts, breaching them can be very costly in more than just monetary ways. SSUPD probably also has plans for many cases beyond Meshlicious and would be better not to sour relationships with Newegg if mass market is the target too. I can imagine that the third batch should find its way to places like Micro Center and Amazon and other places Lian Li is sold.

That said, I think they need to do a better job of providing updates/visibility even if they can't set an accurate date. I don't even trust the May 4 date because it's another meme date like 4/20.
 
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