After a period of silence that incensed and infuriated, Oculus VR has finally started talking about the shipping issues eager early adopters have preordered and paid, but early adopters of the Oculus Rift VR headset had only the vaguest idea of when to expect their kits.
Oculus VR, on March 28, advised customers that deliveries to Kickstarter backers would begin that day and standard preorders would be fulfilled shipping a few days later and arriving "soon after."
"If you preordered, you'll get an email when your order is being prepped (1-3 weeks prior to shipping) and then another one when your payment method has been charged and your Rift is on its way," Oculus VR said in the post.
That's all Oculus Rift customers had to go on.
It wasn't until the weekend, following the Rift's March 28 launch, that customer heard more from Oculus VR hold music. In an email sent Saturday to customers, Oculus VR pinned the delayed shipping and lack of communication to a component shortage.
"We know you're anxious to receive you Oculus Rift and apologize for not updating your order status sooner," Oculus VR said in the email. "We've been working through an unexpected component shortage, and unfortunately, that issue has impacted the original shipping estimates for some early customers."
Oculus expects to have all order information up to date by April 12, though the company asserts that many Rifts will be arrive in line with the original shipping estimates.
"We're shipping Rifts everyday," the company stated. "Don't hesitate to reach out to the Oculus support team if you have additional questions."
While things may sound like they're getting back into order, Oculus Rift is offering a mea culpa in the form of free shipping on both domestic and international orders. Oculus is covering shipping costs on all orders placed on or before April 1.
First set of Rifts are going out slower than we orig estimated, so we're giving free shipping for all pre-orders, including international.
— Brendan Iribe (@brendaniribe) April 2, 2016
