Tom your points are thoughtful and well-presented and in the best of all possible worlds it would be an ideal solution. However, the problem is, such an 'angel' will be hard to find. And reality does exist. I am on another run here on the RPF where the same thing has happened. The 'value' was a piece of equipment. The run organizer could not use that piece of equipment to provide the product and there were many delays. Now another person stepped in and received the piece of equipment that the participants funded and we are still no further along. We don't know who is responsible for what. I am currently out almost the same amount of money as all the participants are here. If the Angel and Brandon do a private transaction, there is nothing to prevent everyone on the run from getting anything whatsoever. Brandon sell the parts to the Angel. The Angel finds it easier to complete the blasters and list them on Ebay, Etsy, or another prop or sci-fi form, or Facebook rather than dealing with anyone on the RPF at all. The Angel is no longer an angel we find as he realizes and he points out the fact that he owes NOTHING to the current run participants. Why would he 'give a free' blaster to a participant who has paid full price for a blaster (fully paid Brandon) or sell one at a discount to a participant that has made his deposit. Any one of a number of excuses can be made for this to happen.It would not be the first time that a run has been taken over by someone else. It happened before on the RPF. It's just a matter of clear agreements. In the end, the "third party" only has an agreement with Brandon, and not with Brandon's customers. It still is up to Brandon to settle things with his customers, but at least he would have money for it. It's then up to the third party to start his own run, with his own customers (possibly ex-customers or Brandon and others).
We do not have any guarantee now either. Who is to say that at this moment anything will come from this run (blasters or refunds)?
No, this person doesn't own anyone anything. There is no "angel" here, only a prop maker who can take over some parts and make some profit for himeself. Like I said, this third party doesn't own a thing to Brandon's customers. He does not take over these! He only pays a certain price for the parts that are ready, and can start his own run withj this. People that sign into that run, that hare his customers. But Brandon still has to settle things with his (hopefully with the money he gets for his parts).
As I said, I don't suggest that a third party also takes over Brandon's customers, let this be very clear! Indeed Brandon needs to settle with his customers, but if selling off all parts he has now, to a third party gives him the funds to refund everybody, than this might be a good opportunity.
And what's in it for this third party? Well:
1. He has a list of people that are definitely interested in a blaster, so he can contact them all to see if they want to sign op for his run.
2. He has the opportunity to already buy certain parts that are more or less ready, maybe for a good price.
3. He can set his own price so he might make some profit. He is in no way bound to the price Brandon has set. If he thinks that price is not profitable, he can raise it. As said, he has no obligation to any of Brandon's customers, as it is a completely new run.
3. If he brings this run to a good end, he can gain quite the reputation on the RPF (if this person doesn't already have a great reputation).
If every run participant receives a parcel containing the full set of parts for a blaster and a written promissory note for a partial refund, then everybody gets something NOW. The angel can then offer a finishing service at their own discretion and pricing etc. Yes, it involves an extra shipping event, but in the grand scheme of things it keeps everything a bit cleaner in my opinion.
Like I said I am only contributing because I was in this run and I sense that Brandon is an honest guy who has the talent to do this, just circumstances went awry for him, and this is just my idea to try and get some momentum and closure for everyone. Most of the hardest work has been done in the production.