Free Battery? What Free Battery?

[UAVenthusiast]

I was just wondering if anybody who ordered in a Solo directly from 3DR has received their free battery (assuming, of course that you have received the Solo)? My Solo was received on June 23rd as a drop shipment from the Chinese factory and did not include the "free" battery. It has been a good ten days since I sent my first inquiry to 3DR "Help" and have only received a "we are really busy" automated response. I just sent the third email to see if I can get some idea as to when to expect my free battery. I also do have the gimbal on order so I should qualify for the offer. I was just curious if anybody else has had a similar issue.

Yes, preordered 4/30 from 3DR and have both gimbal for week or so (awesome!) and just received the free battery today from UPS via PCH in China!

 

[Eric Sheehan]

I was told the "battery be coming very soon", you will receive an email with tracking number and yes very soon, soon as possible". I did get the two batteries I paid for, that was ordered may 15.

 

[Nevada Rocks]

Well, I have to admit that 3DR came through and shipped my free battery as well. It just came in via UPS directly from China. Thank you 3DR! Since I received my gimbal nearly two weeks ago, the Solo has been flying multiple sorties on a daily basis. Now that the average time on a full battery is about 12 minutes, the third battery will be very handy for those extended flights. I'm glad to hear that a number of other Solo pilots are also receiving their free batteries. This is truly a good sign that 3DR is starting to get their inventories stabilized which will bode well for the whole Solo program.

 

[MadMike]

Not sure why some are getting the battery and some aren't, but I can tell you that I did receive my free battery the same delivery day as the gimbal. I had also ordered an extra battery on 07/11 and received it today 9/8. I agree with most, that the method of who gets what and when is very random. I ordered the gimbal much later than others (June 4th) and received it in the first wave of shipments...go figure!

 

[UAVenthusiast]

I was told the "battery be coming very soon", you will receive an email with tracking number and yes very soon, soon as possible". I did get the two batteries I paid for, that was ordered may 15.

Mine is the FREE battery promised!

I didn't know what I was getting. Looking at my 3DR account, the order wasn't posted. Just had a UPS alert that there was a package coming. When I checked it was PCH (3DR mfg) in china. Then a post from 3DR arrived shortly after that an order was on it's way.

Growing pains, but will hand it to 3DR. They're getting the orders out.

In my 35+ years of watching start ups get product out, it's pretty much the norm with this time frame. I honestly thought they did it faster than I thought. .....but not giving excuses on missed time frames quoted...just saying it's commonly seen with companies more established and far bigger than 3DR. Sure others will rightfully disagree, just IMHO.

 

[tesmithp]

I placed my order with 3DR on 5/8/15. Received gimbal last week and free battery came in yesterday.

Being that my Solo is just a toy for me, I had no problem waiting for the gimbal for as long as it took them to get it right. That said, I understand the frustration and feel like the gimbal should not have been initially marked as a package deal

Every time I've emailed them for help or to ask a question, I've gotten a response within 2-3 days. I can imagine the difficulty of predicting a product launch like this and I'm sure that it has been a learning experience for the entire company. I'm sure they'll do better next time.