Please let me attempt a few quick clarifications regarding the transparency of the communication:

The update of the cost estimate is part of the preparations for the next project phase, where the project will incur larger external expenses, such as component purchases.

We don't mean to "hide" this. It's in fact linked from the FAQ, and the latest changes to the FAQ are not even a day old. So please treat them gently, for the ink is still wet :-)

We want to announce the whole ensemble of closely connected things (shop, how payments are calculated taking into account existing loans, and the new cost calculation) together, to avoid mistakes and confusion.

We're currently testing the shop and preparing the corresponding announcement and usage instructions. We hope to have the grand opening in a few days.

Also, we would like to ask you to wait with payments until the shop is open. Part of why this is so much work is that we have a jolly mess of payments from different sources and with different characteristics. We have now consolidated that data, and, going forward, want to use the shop as the only channel for orders and payments.

Thanks a lot for your support and your patience !

- Werner (on behalf of the Neo900 team)