14 weeks for MK4 to MK4s feels like an insult to the people who put their trust in mk4. Mk4s in stock and Mk4s Kit in Stock.
14 weeks for MK4 to MK4s feels like an insult to the people who put their trust in mk4.
If they have KITS, they have the necessary items to sell the upgrade (see manual from mk4 to mk4s)
They should give priority to buyers who put their trust in Prusa instead of new buyers. Is this the way that Prusa REWARDS MK4 buyers?
I bought Mk4 on the first day of release (old LCD version). It gets me sad to see how they have “in stock” both assembled Mk4s and MK4S in kit, but 14-16 weeks for MK4 owners.
Timeline messages:
- The previous message stated: “shipping starts on 09/09”. (to get pre-orders)
- Now they have put the times per day and week, and in most cases you go to 14-16 weeks.
RE: 14 weeks for MK4 to MK4s feels like an insult to the people who put their trust in mk4. Mk4s in stock and Mk4s Kit in Stock.
Whats the point? Prusa allready started shipping the upgrade kits. Received mine yesterday. Thats even faster then promised.
RE: 14 weeks for MK4 to MK4s feels like an insult to the people who put their trust in mk4. Mk4s in stock and Mk4s Kit in Stock.
That does seem excessive - they are concentrating on getting the new printers out of the door to new customers, although I wouldn't trust the 14-16 week lead time too much. I'm confident it will come down rather quickly as production ramps up and the first wave of MK4s assembled/kits have gone out.......
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Whats the point? Prusa allready started shipping the upgrade kits. Received mine yesterday. Thats even faster then promised.
This is only for day 0 purchase.
Anyways, my main complaint is that there are MK4S KITS, so they can do "MK4s upgrade Kits" with the parts.
What situation would Prusa be in with Mk4 if all of us who bet on it had gone to other companies?
Thank you PRUSA for making my purchase feel so valuable to you.
You care more about NEW hot sales than properly serving the customers who have placed their trust in you.
RE: 14 weeks for MK4 to MK4s feels like an insult to the people who put their trust in mk4. Mk4s in stock and Mk4s Kit in Stock.
Goyetus, I agree with you exactly.
When I ordered the Upgrade, the order page stated "shipping from 09.09.2024". I trusted on that !
Now it turns out that PRUSA cannot deliver on time at all, but in my case only after 11 weeks. However, you have to find that by yourself in the shipping information. PRUSA does not seem to think that proactive notification of the buyer is necessary.
Hey PRUSA, remember us as your loyal customers and force the shipping as soon as possible. 11 weeks of unannounced delivery is unacceptable !
RE: 14 weeks for MK4 to MK4s feels like an insult to the people who put their trust in mk4. Mk4s in stock and Mk4s Kit in Stock.
Not saying I wouldn't like my upgrade sooner but this is pretty much how all companies operates these days. Would love to get the same deals that my internet provider, newspaper, trash hauler, etc etc offers to new customers... not much appreciation for existing customers anywhere.
Formerly known on this forum as @fuchsr -- until all hell broke loose with the forum software...
RE: 14 weeks for MK4 to MK4s feels like an insult to the people who put their trust in mk4. Mk4s in stock and Mk4s Kit in Stock.
Not saying I wouldn't like my upgrade sooner but this is pretty much how all companies operates these days. Would love to get the same deals that my internet provider, newspaper, trash hauler, etc etc offers to new customers... not much appreciation for existing customers anywhere.
PRUSA is not in the same place as the rest of the companies. I don't care if other companies act that way.
If I have chosen PRUSA over Bambulab, it is to get a better technical and personalized service.
Treating MK4 buyers this way is like laughing at people for trusting them.
Hey "we have MK4S kits in stock", but you have to wait 12-14 weeks cause we dont want to make Upgrade Kits that are less value.
Im upset
RE: 14 weeks for MK4 to MK4s feels like an insult to the people who put their trust in mk4. Mk4s in stock and Mk4s Kit in Stock.
Maybe the first assembled printers are the last test to see if the parts and instructions are OK, after which the upgrade kits will be produced
RE: 14 weeks for MK4 to MK4s feels like an insult to the people who put their trust in mk4. Mk4s in stock and Mk4s Kit in Stock.
Whether it said "shipping starts..." or "shipping from...", they both clearly imply the beginning of shipping, not the date that all ordered product will be shipped. The recent presence of an upgrade kit in no way affects the way our printers are already functioning. Mine, for example, is still working beautifully just as it has from day one, so the upgrade kit is far from critical. To assume that any company is going to give preference to those buying a $99 dollar product (existing customer or not) over those buying a $799 product is pretty naive. It seems even more silly when the only negative is that we are left having to "suffer" with a printer that already works great.
Prusa is the only company out there offering upgrade paths through each of their i3 iterations, and we're going to respond by complaining that they aren't doing it quickly enough? This forum is loaded with customers who are still happily using Mk3 variants, so I would hope those of us with the already much improved mk4 can rein in our impatience a bit while we wait for the next bump in polish.
-J
RE: 14 weeks for MK4 to MK4s feels like an insult to the people who put their trust in mk4. Mk4s in stock and Mk4s Kit in Stock.
Just imagine: "Today we are happy to announce a new Printer, the MK4S! You can't buy it today because we are first shipping tinkerboxes. But when every MK4 is upgraded, you can also buy a full MK4S. Or just buy the MK4 and the S-Upgrade separately"
This would be the way you would handle it? I don't want to wait for upgrades too, but I personally would not sell a single upgrade as long as I need the parts for a full kit. As long as you don't have enough parts for both, you have to give preference to one side. I would not expect this from ANY company.
I am sure, Prusa would love to sell the upgrade kits as soon as possible.
Printing PLA and PETG at the same time? See the Guide for MultiMaterialSupports ----- Ejecting Buffer cassettes is not satisfying? May the Fork be with you!
RE: 14 weeks for MK4 to MK4s feels like an insult to the people who put their trust in mk4. Mk4s in stock and Mk4s Kit in Stock.
Maybe the first assembled printers are the last test to see if the parts and instructions are OK, after which the upgrade kits will be produced
So that means we new MK4S buyers are beta testers??? 😨
Just kidding, there is not such a big difference between the MK4 and MK4S to feel like a beta tester at all. I even accidentally opened the MK4 assembly instructions when building the MK4S and guess what - I haven't noticed for a whil since they are in big parts identical.
From a company perspective (if it was my company): If I had all the other parts on stock to ship complete printers or kits I'd get them out of the door as soon as possible to reduce stock. And only when any component is getting short I'd sell the kits.
Only one part of the many (mine feels like 500 components, not finished assembling yet) needs to be missing to not be able to ship the complete units. That would for me be the point in time to start shipping the upgrades.
This is simply for cash flow and and stock reduction.
I know the feeling when I order something that I want it as soon as possible. So I understand you, @goyetus. My order was stuck for like two weeks, because of other components that were all on stock when I ordered them and actually no-one really helped until I found out myself and removed these items from the order. I even thought I would cancel that order completely and buy a P1S which is fully assembled and core XY and includes enclosure and is around 300 EUR cheaper than the KM4S kit without enclosure but then I relaxed and remembered why I purchased a Prusa and no Bambu.
Any for your case, to be fair... MK4/MK4S upgrade will likely not completely change your world and that might be another reason why upgrades are lower priority at Prusa.
RE: 14 weeks for MK4 to MK4s feels like an insult to the people who put their trust in mk4. Mk4s in stock and Mk4s Kit in Stock.
Even if it is for storage reasons as you indicate, I still see 14 weeks as immoral for customers who relied on PRUSA MK4 instead of going to other brands.
It's not being impatient , it's feeling that the situation isn't fair.
The painful thing is to see Mk4S in stock and MK4S Kit in stock while the original buyers, must wait the small amount of 14 weeks. (near 4 Months)
It is a minor upgrade from MK4 to MK4s, but the company's inclination to mistreat its existing customers is something that currently does not speak well of Prusa.
RE: 14 weeks for MK4 to MK4s feels like an insult to the people who put their trust in mk4. Mk4s in stock and Mk4s Kit in Stock.
Prusa isn't compelled to produce upgrade paths. A strong argument can be made that they could do more aggressive development of their products if they abandoned the burden of keeping those upgrade paths open. Explain to me how the alternative high end consumer market 3d printing companies are mistreating their customers less by not offering upgrade paths?
I understand that you feel impatient, but I highly suspect that the long lead time on the kits is far more closely tied to the incredibly high demand from very happy customers, rather than some sneaky withholding of kits from customers. The whole complaint about the original Mk4 delays was a reflection of demand from a well respected company. I bet Prusa management know's their core customer base far better than many of their customers. I suspect that if you and every other resentfully impatient existing customer went to the alternative options, Prusa would still be successful because their philosophy is in such stark contrast with the others, and their core customers are comfortable with some delivery delays and the lack of some trendy features in order to both support and benefit from that philosophy. For how I use mine, there is no doubt that it provides more utility than the alternatives because I value dimensional consistency, serviceability, and don't need an enclosure.
-J
RE: 14 weeks for MK4 to MK4s feels like an insult to the people who put their trust in mk4. Mk4s in stock and Mk4s Kit in Stock.
If you were in such a hurry, why didn't you order on 8/12? I did, lots of others did, and their upgrades are already shipping. Don't be mad at Prusa for providing you the ability to actually upgrade your printer. Be mad at yourself, because you wanted to wait to order -- and then expect Prusa to prioritize your order. Lots of the people ordering pre-built MK4S printers are also existing customers, so I am sure you will be pleased to know their orders are being prioritized.
Even if it is for storage reasons as you indicate, I still see 14 weeks as immoral for customers who relied on PRUSA MK4 instead of going to other brands.
It's not being impatient , it's feeling that the situation isn't fair.The painful thing is to see Mk4S in stock and MK4S Kit in stock while the original buyers, must wait the small amount of 14 weeks. (near 4 Months)
It is a minor upgrade from MK4 to MK4s, but the company's inclination to mistreat its existing customers is something that currently does not speak well of Prusa.
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This is a fundamental business strategy.
A potential new customer looking to buy a printer may choose a competitor’s product if faced with a wait time of several weeks.
In contrast, customers upgrading to the MK4S are “captive” clients who are more likely to accept the wait and proceed with the purchase.
Is this approach fair? It’s both yes and no. To my knowledge, Prusa is the only company that offers an upgrade path. Furthermore, the competition is far more aggressive now compared to a few years ago, when the MK3S was the only affordable, high-quality option. Today, the BambuLab X1C offers similar or even better features in the same price range.
I ordered already two upgrade kits with accelerometer and GPIO for my two MK4. The wait is frustrating but I have to accept this anyway.
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It is deceptive and horrible business practice to promote an upgrade kit with the expectation customers will get that product shipped on a specific date. Only to be notified on that date that it is actually a 14 week lead time. Had I known that back when I ordered, I would have waited to order.
The really sad thing is this isn't the first time Prusa has done this. Nor the first time I've fallen for it. Happened with my Mk3, MMU2, Mk4, MMU3, and now Mk4s upgrade.
RE: 14 weeks for MK4 to MK4s feels like an insult to the people who put their trust in mk4. Mk4s in stock and Mk4s Kit in Stock.
Even more....for all people saying Prusa is the only one to make a "upgrade path" for their machines:
- Bambulab P1P to P1s is 100€ , with all printer covers, fans, and more stuff valued in more than 220€.
- The pack was in stock from the same day they started to sell the P1S if my memory is not bad.
Anyways, 14 weeks with the Mk4s Kits in stock , for sending a few printed parts and a 5020 fan, it´s not normal.
I have 3 Mk3s+ and 1 mk4 . Two BBs A1 . Two Ender 3. Two Bear based in mk3s+.
Im not fan of bbs , Prusa, Creality , Voron or any other. Im only fan of good practice with clients and good tech.
RE: 14 weeks for MK4 to MK4s feels like an insult to the people who put their trust in mk4. Mk4s in stock and Mk4s Kit in Stock.
Is there anything keeping you guys from cancelling your orders and placing them later when the anxiety clearly caused by a time gap between ordering and receiving has been reduced?
As I stated above, we're not talking about critical updates here, but additional polish. Oddly, I suspect this is simply a psychological struggle based on expectations. If Prusa had kept it a secret for the next 6 months while stocking up on parts, you would be receiving it later than you will now, and everyone would have to wait together. Maybe that would have been more comfortable for you. "Better for everyone to have to wait rather than having the knowledge that some folks will have something for a while before I do." 🙄
Ultimately, when you make a purchasing choice based on principle or company philosophy (as I did), there is usually going to be some sacrifice. I understand that costs will be higher and production cycles will be slower if I don't buy from a country where labor conditions likely aren't as good and workers aren't compensated as well. These are variables that went into my decision upfront, and I simply remind myself of them when I start feeling impatient. Nobody is forcing anyone to buy from Prusa if their product release decisions cause emotional pain. There are other options.
-J
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As others have said, if you had ordered when the MK4->MK4S upgrade kits were announced on 2023-08-12, you would be getting your upgrade kit about now. I didn't get around to pulling the trigger until 2023-08-20 and according to the shipping schedule (as of today) I shouldn't expect my kit to start shipping until at least Nov 4 (might be longer since I ordered the upgrade kit, the accelerometer board, the GPIO board, and a few other things all which may have a temporary out of stock when the rest of my order is ready to be pulled from stock). Prusa products are so popular that the surge of orders at the announcement (before actual release) temporarily overloads their production capabilities.
The winners were the people who ordered their MK4 and automagically got their order upgraded to MK4S at the announcement date.
See my (limited) designs on:
Printables - https://www.printables.com/@Sembazuru
Thingiverse - https://www.thingiverse.com/Sembazuru/designs
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It's cool that Bambu offer's an upgrade kit for the P -> S. I don't know if I'll call it true equivalency until they have shown to offer a continued upgrade path through additional versions. It would be cool if they offer an upgrade from X1C to X2C or whatever comes next, but I'd be surprised if they do. Also, from what I understand the user experience of doing deep repair on their printers isn't as approachable as with Prusa's i3 design.
-J