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One of Silicon Valley's most infamous recent startups is shutting down:
Juicero, the company that made its name by creating a proprietary juice-squeezing machine, is shutting down. The announcement comes from Juicero's website. In its post, the company writes that it is suspending the sale of both its juice packets and its Juicero Press device. The last juice packet delivery will occur next week. All customers have up to 90 days to request a refund for their purchase of the Juicero Press, regardless of when they bought it. Fortune reports that employees are being given 60 days notice.
Previously: Juicero Squeezed by Press and Internet
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I don't want a pickle,
I just wanna ride on my motorsickle.
And I don't want to die,
I just want to ride on my motorcy.
Cle.
-- Arlo Guthrie
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday September 01 2017, @11:39PM (10 children)
Since they're unexpectedly claiming they will refund (isn't that a dirty word?) the presses, not too many should end up on the curb.
(Score: 2) by Virindi on Saturday September 02 2017, @12:33AM (9 children)
But do you have to actually send it back to get the refund?
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Saturday September 02 2017, @12:41AM (8 children)
They arguably have all the info they need, since you had to keep buying the stupid one-time bags from them.
But asking people to take action is a great way to reduce the number of refunds paid.
(Score: 2) by Virindi on Saturday September 02 2017, @12:58AM
That's true, especially if you have to pay return shipping on a heavy juicer. But I was doubting that the company's backers would be interested in paying return shipping on refunded juicers.
(Score: 2) by Virindi on Saturday September 02 2017, @01:01AM (6 children)
Oops, forgot to mention that that also goes back to my original point. If you have to send it back for a refund and it is annoying to do so (as you imply they might be counting on) then they are likely to appear in the trash in that case too :)
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Saturday September 02 2017, @01:04AM (5 children)
Given the price, one would hope a few unreturned ones will have a meeting with bandsaws, table saws, chainsaws, baseball bats... I'll keep an eye on Youtube.
(Score: 2) by tonyPick on Saturday September 02 2017, @07:35AM (4 children)
There's a teardown on YT from back in May...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cp-BGQfpHQ [youtube.com]
as he points out, the hardware in this thing is massively, comically, over-engineered: "If you're gonna fail, fail hard, and with style", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cp-BGQfpHQ&t=14m24s [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by lx on Saturday September 02 2017, @01:56PM (3 children)
Don't twist his words.
AvEs verdict was massively overbuilt, so underengineered. (Throwing the most expensive parts at the problem instead of using clever design to do the same or better with less)
(Score: 2) by tonyPick on Saturday September 02 2017, @02:51PM (1 child)
Yeah - I get what he's saying on that, but I think there's a language usage thing going on there.
I'm used to using "overengineered" in the same sense as wikipedia [wikipedia.org] (and the dictionary) which has "more robust or complicated than is necessary for its application" or "unnecessarily complex" - which can be good (if it's safety critical) or bad (if it's a pointless waste of money, like this case).
AvE is taking the view that because this is obviously a mistake it's so massively overbuilt that it's under-engineered and doesn't like using the over-engineered term. Meh. I see why he says that, it's just not how I'm used to seeing the everyday usage of that word.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 02 2017, @04:23PM
Eh, I'm still partial to what my buddy, a civil engineer, uses. Too complex == "over-engineered" as in it is unnecessarily over the required specifications in some regard. Good design == "well-engineered" as in the product is engineered to hit the necessary specifications. Failing design == "under-engineered" as it doesn't meet necessary specifications. In that regard, it isn't the engineering effort that is over, under or just right, but rather the specification that is over, under or just right. This also aligns with colloquial use, making outside communication easier.
(Score: 2) by richtopia on Sunday September 03 2017, @04:38AM
I remember watching that video and disagreeing with the underengineered concept. He pointed out the pcb was very recent, so the device was probably rushed to market. Yes, you could save a lot in manufacturing costs with some smart decisions, but if you need to get something out the door fast with the volume in tens of thousands(? how many did they expect to sell?) CNC machined and error on the side of caution makes sense.