I want first-to-market advantage but don't want to compromise on quality.
Never launch before your value prop is clear. If your product is new and innovative you must pair it with affordability. If you have that even a buggy incomplete value prop will be preordered and otherwise welcomed. If your value prop is unclear you won't be able to efficiently edit and then re introduce much less price appropriately.
Futuristic/new services often get priced out of the customers minds because it seems expensive or not really that useful. You avoid this by following my suggestion.
#unthink
You should always have access to close early adopters. I define them as people you are always in contact with : phone, facebook messenger, social media and even better, regular physical meetups. They can provide you with valuable feedback about quality and tell you if it's too early to launch your product, based on the samples you send them.
With the constraints you've stated, I'd suggest doing a kickstarter/indiegogo. That way you can be first to sales at least and you can validate your value proposition and positioning. Being first to sales means you've captured some people. If they only have budget to buy one product and your product takes up that whole budget, then you've locked out competitors from getting that customer.
Feel free to schedule a call with me. I used to work at the McKenna Group, the company where the book Crossing The Chasm was written (before Geoffrey Moore went off to create his own consulting firm)
