GTD Coordinator Quality

[webby2001]

I have ordered many things from the David Allen Company--file folders, ticklers, jotters, etc.--and have always been impressed with the quality of their products.

No longer.

The binder for the new GTD coordinator is cheap, cheap, cheap. Now I am sure there will be an "upgrade path" for a nicer leather binder in the future, but I really would have rather had that option from the start, so I don't have to chuck another crappy binder. Or give us the option to just get the refills in a Filofax format, maybe? One of David's central tenets is the availability of "cool tools" that empower you to get things done, but I won't be carrying this around in public! Anyone else put off by the binder?

[visualartgirl]

I put a little review overall...

http://www.davidco.com/forum/showthr...?t=8953&page=2

[epage46]

Sounds like it's a better deal to go to DIY.com and print your own pages and use the $50 to invest in a "Nice" binder.

[mcogilvie]

I have ordered many things from the David Allen Company--file folders, ticklers, jotters, etc.--and have always been impressed with the quality of their products.

No longer.

The binder for the new GTD coordinator is cheap, cheap, cheap. Now I am sure there will be an "upgrade path" for a nicer leather binder in the future, but I really would have rather had that option from the start, so I don't have to chuck another crappy binder. Or give us the option to just get the refills in a Filofax format, maybe? One of David's central tenets is the availability of "cool tools" that empower you to get things done, but I won't be carrying this around in public! Anyone else put off by the binder?

Although I have not yet seen the product, I think this is a bit unfair. This product is produced by Mead, a large company that produces a range of organizers in plastic and leather. $50 is towards the low end of that range. If the product sells, maybe they will do a nicer binder, but frankly, you can buy better quality binders from sources other than Mead, e.g., Franklin-Covey or Levenger. One of David's "central tenets" is that you can put together a functional paper system for about $15. I think it is great that Davidco is trying to get the simplicity and effectiveness of GTD out to everyone who can use it, consistent with David's stated principles and vision.

[GTDWorks]

My wife's planner arrived today. It's not bad! The strength of the thing is in the system pages and not the planner cover itself. But even the cover is not too bad.

She's keeping it!

[fassold]

Just a thought: maybe all the pushback DavidCo got for the Lamborghini-priced desk set prompted a return to function over productivity p0rn. I've had the Coordinator for about a month now, and I love it. Sure, it's mass market. Mead's not going to get behind an executive-only product, especially in this economy. And if you can afford to buy a gee-whiz high-end binder, you can afford to donate the "crappy" one to a school or nonprofit.

Don't get me wrong -- I salivate over glove-leather folios as much (no, more) than the next guy. The Levenger folks have put their kids through college on my back. But there's something special about the whole Coordinator system that belies the modest skin. I may upgrade the binder, but the contents are state of the art.

Look on the bright side: at least you aren't locked in to a propietary paper size, a la Time Design.

Jim

[crouse]

I agree. I purchased the binder from a local Staples. The binder itself is not of the highest quality. The Staples also had the notetaker wallet. I was really disappointed with the quality of the notetaker wallet. I could never see David carrying one of those.

The real value is in the system contained inside the binder. I have been using Outlook tasks but I find myself enjoying the look and feel of paper lists for the last few weeks. Somehow it seems more real especially when I use a nice pen and write my lists rather than print them. Then I get to cross the next actions off when they are finished. I get much more of a sense of accomplishment from crossing an item off one of my lists as opposed to clicking a task in Outlook to mark it complete.

The coordinator system is well worth the investment.

Michael

[visualartgirl]

I don't think I was being unfair at all, I mean for $50 I could have bought better quality of a refill from you know who.

It was just little things like the contacts only being printed on one page, I mean who does that & I don't have a staples by me so I had to do mail order so I couldn't look at it before I bought. And I wasn't spending more money just to send back.

Don't get me wrong I will definitely use it, I just think for $50 I expected more than a pages of directions and then some lined paper. I would rather have paid $20 for the directions and maybe some templates to down load. Especially for as long as it took to come out.

[mbolick]

Having worked for many years at FranklinCovey I can tell you first had that the value proposition of a binder is function OVER form. Price usually wins out for the majority of customers. While we here in the forums are uniquely predisposed to ultra-high quality tools, we are the exception (we are a minority...but a vocal one).

I agree with the previous post regarding the possibility that this pricing may in some way be in response to the backlash at the extremely expensive desk set DavidCo introduced earlier this year.

I believe that his new offering is much more in line with rolling out the product and principles to a larger audience...and I support this completely.

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michael

[Occupant]

I'm waiting in Thailand for my "Coordinator" - which I ordered from davidco and had sent to my mom's place for shipping over here because I won't be back in the States until mid- to late-February (but that's another story).

I did have some major concern - since confirmed - when I saw the pictures of the planner and noticed 6-hole paper in a 3-ring binder, which led me to wonder if there was miscommunication between the two companies or what?

Right now, I'm using a Staples - or maybe it's an Office Depot - 1" 3-ring binder, and college-ruled paper with clear vinyl divider tabs set up ala GTD, and I'm finding that a persistent problem is pages being ripped out of the rings.

(I understand that a 6-ring binder would be far more stable than a 3-ring binder.)

Still, I'm looking forward to the GTD "guides," and perhaps the college-ruled paper I'm using is too flimsy.