If I could purchase it via eBay or Amazon, I’d be able to track it amongst my other orders, and pay via the methods established via those markets:
eBay allows me to pay with PayPal, which means that I have a useful middleman for when a transaction fails. It also provides a centralised hub and format for payment receipts.
Additionally, although I don’t suffer from this, PayPal supports more countries than most websites embedded payment processors do:
I don’t know whether this is due to SWIFT exclusion.
Amazon’s return policies, when an order is damaged in shipping, are wonderful. This matters a lot when deciding to purchase a £1K+ product.
I was able to purchase my Fairphone via Amazon. Why not a Framework?
@Second_Coming, I don’t mind paying a little more for the aforementioned, especially the ability to return damaged orders that Amazon provides, and not having to worry about which merchants have my debit details (as eBay’s PayPal integration provides). It’s standard to pay for things which are useful to you.
I would also imagine that managing the reseller relationship and logistics would add operational overhead to Framework…which for a small company would, at this stage, distract it from its core mission.
Though, if we’re speculating, I can also see it significantly increasing the visibility of the product. Being at the top of the product listings on Amazon, for instance, is free advertisement. I know of a few people who only use that storefront for purchasing technology, merely because they don’t want to have to deal with the hassle of registering elsewhere.
If they want a product bad enough, nothing will stop them.
Also, with the current purchase model, it puts Framework in a position to troubleshoot…and deter / minimize / mitigate returns. The inertial is intentional, I think. (Wrap this in marketing lingo: We’ll work with you to address issues you experience.)
@Second_Coming, that’s the point: I’m sure that they’re operating with respectable margins due to their generally content and engaged userbase, but I’m surprised that there’s no desire in this regard to expand it. Especially considering that I’ve seen them advertise recently (although I’m definitely in their target demographic!).
Selling through someplace like Amazon would (likely) result in a lot of people being unhappy on arrival if they sold the DIY edition:
People upset there was no OS
People upset that they would have to partially assemble the laptop.
People upset because they didn’t fully read the description and didn’t realize they had to also buy RAM/SSD.
People upset because they didn’t notice they had to order modules.
It would significantly increase the price of both versions (DIY and pre-built) to sell through a third party as that seller needs their “cut”.
Finally, Amazon (in particular) has a very public reputation for creating unnecessary trash/e-waste in order to cut their own overhead. Where they are trying to work with recycled materials and minimize environmental harm where it’s feasible, I don’t think FW staff would appreciate unwanted or problem laptops being thrown into landfills.
Other marketplaces might have equally unsavory practices. Keeping control over their product improves the user experience for everyone (except anyone who won’t give them CC info to order).