Availability and Status of blink(1) product in Far East

[counit]

Hi there,

I am writing to find out about the availability and current status of your blink(1) product in China and Far East. I have checked various retail locations including Seeedstudio but it seems the mk2 version is showing as out of stock. I've also tried checking on Amazon in the United States and encountered a similar situation where the product is unavailable.

Can you please provide some information on the following issues:

1. Where may the blink(1) be purchased in China?
2. Is the blink(1) mk2 out of stock indefinitely or will there be more units available in the future?
3. Is blink(1) discontinued? If so, what is the latest or last version that was made?
4. Has there been any new iteration following the blink(1) mk3?

I've discovered your product via IFTTT and am excited about the possibilities it presents for my projects. Looking forward to your response.

Thanks!

[todbot]

Hi!

1. We ship internationally direct from our warehouse: https://buy.thingm.com/blink1 We don't have local a local distributor currently but we may have Seeed carry them again in the future.
2. The blink1mk2 has been discontinued. The blink1mk3 is its successor and is better in numerous ways. Some of the differences are described here: https://blink1.thingm.com/blink1-variations/
3. The blink(1) has not been discontinued. We have thousands in stock and ship units constantly.
4. There has not been an update after the blink(1) mk3. We have prototypes for a USB-C version and a desktop version, but the majority of our market would not find either of these useful so we've not pursued it.
   Let me know if you have any more questions!

[counit]

Thank you for the comprehensive reply. I appreciate the detailed outlook provided about the Blink(1) series and its availability. I am glad to learn that blink(1) mk3 has succeeded the mk2 edition and ready to be shipped.

Having that said, I have a couple more points I'd like to bring up:

First, about the international shipping cost from your direct store, I'm afraid it's a bit steep for certain regions, especially for those of us here in the Far East and China, it costs almost 40 USD per one. While I understand you have no local distributors at the moment, it'd be extremely beneficial to your customers here if you manage to partner with local resellers in the near future.

Secondly, I've noted that you do have a decent stock of the Blink(1) mk3. This being the case, I was wondering if there are any incentives or discounts for bulk purchases? For instance, if a customer purchases more than one unit, could there be a possibility for a certain discount?

Lastly, regarding the mentioned USB Type-C version prototype, despite its apparent minority demand, I believe it nonetheless has a particular niche and significant potential. Given the pervasive adoption of USB-C in modern devices, it would help a lot if the product came with a simple Type-C to Type-A adapter like in this (you may find in Shenzhen):

Again, I'm thrilled about the opportunities these devices present. I hope my points will be taken into consideration for shaping future decisions. Looking forward to hearing from you.