No Man's Sky Explorer Edition Update (copied from email)

Hi there!

We felt like this would be a good time to have a heart-to-heart.

iam8bit has been around for 11 years. We're a small company that has grown organically, with a focus on creating quality, unique, original merchandise for games, movies and TV shows we absolutely love.

We're not a mega-corporation. We are, in fact, just shy of 20 people strong, which is important because it means EVERYTHING we make has a personal touch. We are a family, through and through.

Despite being a small company, our evolution has always been AMBITIOUS. We don't follow any retail trends​ because our sights are always on INNOVATING. That allows us to continually surprise you with exciting and unique products.

One of those products is the No Man's Sky "Explorer's Edition".

It's exciting and unique because almost EVERY OTHER Collector's Edition on the market today features some sort of statue. But those statues are made of cheap "resin," which is inexpensive to manufacture in LARGE quantities. Typically, hundreds of thousands of those things are made, making for a pretty ordinary and un-collectible piece.

For No Man's Sky, we wanted to do something DIFFERENT. We strived to create something UNIQUE by making the ship out of METAL. Yes, METAL. Like those tin toys from yesteryear, but much more substantial.

What's special about a METAL spaceship? Well, EVERYTHING!

Casting in metal is a MUCH more difficult and expensive manufacturing process, so making something out of metal automatically ups the quality quotient. A metal mold provides more detail than is typically possible with resin. Long story short, the fact that the "Explorer's Edition" is made of quality and natural METAL means that what you're getting is superior to almost any Collector's Edition on market. It also survives the test of time.

By ordering directly from iam8bit's website, you cut out the middle man. Consider the life cycle of the product if you had bought this at a retail mega-chain: It would go from a manufacturer to a wholesaler to a distributor to a retailer, and EVERY SINGLE one of those companies needs to make money. As a result, anything you buy in a store costs mere dollars to make. The iam8bit difference is that we invest in quality products, and we do that by cutting out the middlemen. If you were to buy the "Explorer's Edition" in a big chain store, it would cost you upwards of $400-500. No exaggeration.

We've received inquiries from EVERY MAJOR RETAIL outlet throughout the years, asking if they can carry iam8bit collectibles. Every single time, they've said that a requirement of the contract was to reduce our manufacturing costs by upwards of 80%.

To us, that means being forced to make crap by cutting corners ... and we're NOT in the business of making crap.

Since we're being honest, we'll also admit that our ambitions got the best of us with the "Explorer's Edition". We wanted to make such a superior collectible that we underestimated just how long it would take. Because we're sticklers for quality, we provide an endless stream of notes, which ultimately sets production back.

Last month, we approved a final prototype and production is well underway.​

Because this is a Limited Edition product, it means that your pre-order secures you one of the ships. Your name is already assigned to an "Explorer's Edition" and we put your money to honest work, paying a team of artisans to create one of those beautiful metal ships just for you.

The "Explorer's Edition" is being finished as you read this email. We have been told by the plant managing the process that we can expect them, at the very latest, by mid-November. HOWEVER, they have also told us that it could be much sooner. The caveat being - these are hand-assembled, hand-painted and hand-packed, so it's hard to give an exact timeline.

When you ask for a refund, it has repercussions. It doesn't mean we can simply stop production on your ship. ​A​s a small company, we have to eat that cost. To be clear - we are not millionaire one-percenters laughing all the way to the bank. Truly, these "Explorer's Editions" make us very little profit, and any profit that does result goes straight into paying the salaries of our loyal employees who depend on us to keep iam8bit going.

As a small company, and as a family, we ask for your patience. We understand that you may be upset, but the reality is - we're a small company that is trying to do something really, really rad. And we know, in our hearts, that you'll be absolutely satisfied with the end result. Please, stick with us. You won't be disappointed.

As a small token of our appreciation, we'd like to offer you a 25% discount on ANY FUTURE ORDER in our store. If you have anything on hold with your "Explorer's Edition", we are happy to split your order and send what merchandise we have in stock RIGHT NOW, at no additional charge to ship. [code for discount, I'm not posting mine,]

Now, if you choose to believe in us, we have another secret we weren't planning to spill until the "Explorer's Edition" shipped. We are holding a PHOTO CONTEST. The winner will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Los Angeles for two, including airfare, hotel, meals - the whole shebang. We'll put you up in swank digs, give you a tour of iam8bit HQ, treat you to some lovely dinners, and load you up on so much iam8bit swag, you'll need an extra room to fit it all. More details coming soon!!

What we're getting at is -

iam8bit is a company full of good, kind souls. We truly value your loyalty and support, as without you, we simply wouldn't be able to make cool things.

If after reading this email, you still think we're dirtbags - contact us. But we sincerely hope we've changed your mind.

xo,

iam8bit

TLDR They should ship in Mid-November and they're sorry.