Preorder questions? We can help! (email June 1)

[kvermeer]

NEED HELP? WE GOT YOU.​

Mark your calendar! Slate preordering starts June 24. If you have any questions about the preorder process (or anything Slate), our FAQ page is a great place to start. And if you don’t find what you’re looking for, Just reach out to a Slate Agent. They're always happy to help. Go to FAQs​

Kind of a nothingburger of an email. I just need help understanding why the 24th is still 23 days away!

 

[bahales]

Here's an interesting detail I found in the FAQ.

 

[Letas]

Here's an interesting detail I found in the FAQ.

That is very nice! I do anticipate that window is written in pencil, as more or less reservations convert to preorders

 

[Nito]

Yeah i still don't get this pre-order / reservation deal. My reservation gets me a priority spot but if enough preorders come in then i assume they aren't going to hold blank spots for potential reservation holders. Really weird to me that they made this change and gave zero info other than another "wait and see".

 

[JustChris]

I think this is the beauty of the BLANK Slate. They're just gonna make them all the same. They can be reassigned and distributed at the most advantageous time/method.

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

There seems to be a whole lot of BLANK in their announcements...

 

[thespacecowboy]

Yeah i still don't get this pre-order / reservation deal. My reservation gets me a priority spot but if enough preorders come in then i assume they aren't going to hold blank spots for potential reservation holders. Really weird to me that they made this change and gave zero info other than another "wait and see".

from what I’ve been able to tell from talking to a slate agent, your reservation gets you a sooner pre-order delivery window. You then have the full 30 days to lock in your delivery date. From what they told me, pre-ordering day 1 vs 30 won’t impact your delivery window, assuming you have a reservation. After 30 days, your window is at the end of the line.

 

[GrizzlysGhost]

I would react positively to a PM stating "Slate is sorry to inform you that we have moved your delivery date up in order to fill unclaimed windows earlier than yours. Please acknowledge your agreement to claim your Slate in November instead of December."

 

[Adam W]

Yeah i still don't get this pre-order / reservation deal. My reservation gets me a priority spot but if enough preorders come in then i assume they aren't going to hold blank spots for potential reservation holders. Really weird to me that they made this change and gave zero info other than another "wait and see".

Slate has never defined the size of their "delivery window." It might be a two week block, it might be a whole three month quarter. I'm assuming that after the 30 day hold closes, if there are any available slots in the first "window" left, they will offer them to people in the second window that might want an earlier slot.

 

[sodamo]

Not every reservation will convert to a purchase. I think this is a very good way to address. Those ready to convert do according to reservation, if not they still have a place in line. The $250 applies to to purchase. Someone worried about losing that $250 likely isn’t fully committed and expects to cancel.

 

[AKrietzer]

The number of Slates going to the same area will most likely effect the day you will get one. One thousand going to Dallas will have priority to three going to Little Town, IN, no matter who reserved first.

 

[Nito]

Not every reservation will convert to a purchase. I think this is a very good way to address. Those ready to convert do according to reservation, if not they still have a place in line. The $250 applies to to purchase. Someone worried about losing that $250 likely isn’t fully committed and expects to cancel.

I 100% agree that $250 shouldn't be a dealbreaker on something worth a minimum of 20k. To me what's shocking is how early on this deadline has been set. Very few people have seen one of these in person and I don't believe anyone has driven one. I think they'd get a much higher conversion rate if people had a better idea of what they are even signing up for.

 

[sodamo]

Slate has to start somewhere. $50 only bought 1 person #1 in line, the rest of us just get to deal with how Slate chooses to handle us. Not gonna please everybody, too bad. I seriously doubt one can go to any dealership, any brand and someone will find a reason to whine. Grow up people.

rant by crockity old fart over - for now. Enjoy life, don’t waste your life on poor me BS.

 

[kvermeer]

Someone worried about losing that $250 likely isn’t fully committed and expects to cancel.

Conversely, brains are funny things and the sunk cost fallacy is strong.

Putting up a refundable $50 is easy, spending $250 is small enough for a lot of people to risk even sight unseen, but come December when it's time to either throw away the $300 you're already in for or sign on the dotted line for another ~$25k, a lot of people will be persuaded by the fact that they already have that reservation in.

 

[GaRailroader]

My take on the situation. The $50 reservation fee does nothing for Slate financially. Those go in to an escrow and sit there ready to be refunded or moved to an order. If someone adds the $250 then the $250+$50 is now a $300 deposit and Slate is able to use that money. These deposits will likely be used to buy materials to build Slates.(the money gets spent that is why it can’t be refunded). If 160k reservations get converted to orders then that is $48 million that Slate gets to prime the production pump. I don’t think they are doing anything scammy just trying like heck to get to production in record time.