Andre Yoskowitz
19 Sep 2014 0:57
OnePlus, the Chinese startup behind the cheap and incredibly powerful OnePlus One device, is finally making the device available without the stupid invite-only system that kept thousands and thousands of customers on the sidelines.
The company will offer "flash sales," of the device, with limited quantities being sold on first come, first serve basis. Anyone who orders after the limited quantity are sold, will have their order turned into a pre-order for next time. OnePlus will tell you when it expects to ship your device before you hit "Buy" in the checkout.
Says the company:
During a limited time window, you will be able to place an order for the OnePlus One. If we have the items in stock, we'll ship immediately. If we don't, it will automatically become a pre-order. No matter what, we'll always tell you our best approximation for when it will ship before you submit the payment authorization (we'll reserve the payment and charge you when we ship).
There's a time limit, but no limit on the amount of orders that can be made. If we get a lot of pre-orders, we'll simply show you a longer shipping estimation date. Any time after the pre-order time window closes, you'll be able to forfeit your place in line, cancel the order, and release the payment reserve if you don't wish to wait any longer. If you receive an invite while waiting for a pre-order to ship, you can apply it to skip the pre-order queue and have your order shipped immediately.
To avoid panic, you'll be able to set things like address and accessories up well in advance (we're talking days here!), so at that final moment, all you have to do is press a button. We're looking to launch this in late October, and we'll have final instructions up a week before the pre-orders start.