Hi,
german customer here and hopefully soon a first time FX user. Yes, I am on a waiting list since 6 months and I am still waiting. And no, I did not check the updates daily as some seem to do.
I do not understand why asking for a release date is a problem and my wallet is not big enough to keep it open any time. When a company announces a product it is more than expectable to have customers ask for a release date. You should be happy they are interested in your new product - even more so when you had to postpone the release several times. I am sure Fractal Design is. While waiting I do not use my hard earned money to buy stuff from the competition as I trust in the announcement. We´re talking announcements of several weeks, maybe a few months, as most customers would rarely wait any longer.
I am not “entitled” to anything nor can I expect sales figures which no non-stock company would release for apparent reasons -but this is not the point. The point is trust. I trust they will bring the FX8 to market “soon” as announced and won´t look around somewhere else as I would without that announcement. My patience has been tested quite a bit in this case, but I am still hanging on to it. Is it a question of “fairness”? – no: “keeping my trust in them” by being more clear about the expected release date. I believe, they could have made it clearer for their customers and most would understand. It is difficult - not only for a small company - to deal with manufacturing abroad. But patience is something that disappears with time and mine will be gone by the end of July. I need new and improved gear and there are – well - alternatives to what I wanted. So, the second best thing that can happen to Fractal (the best being customer without questions ;-)) is a customer who asks for a release date from time to time instead of looking for the competition – and there is always competition. Anyway, my two cents and YMMV.