Thoughts : A little down on Kickstarter :(

[kenthien]

@Tasha. From my experience. I see is that when the Creators are funded way more than the initial pledge, their goal is to get as much money in first. Whether they can deliver on time, produce it on time or plan how shipping is done or not doesn't matters to them. Most important is get more funds first. I bet things will be different when money is only released when item is received.

[TashaTurner]

I don't think most projects would happen if they didn't get money until product shipped or item was relieved. I can see a lot of people not paying in "item received" scenario. I do think there needs to be more monitoring of repeat creators who have had previous projects reported. I also think Kickstarter needs to make it easier to contact them and get back to backers who contact them.

I know some creators care. I've had projects way overfunded which shipped months earlier and/or upgraded product and/or added perks to some/all backers shipments. I've had creators keep backers updated on delays and ship product late but product was as promised or better than promised. In the ~280 projects I've backed at this point in time less than 10 have gone black hole or questionable. One project was not the quality/packaging I was expecting and is not doing something to fix the problem. Less than 10 have had product issues or shipping damage and all have fixed problems to my and most other backers satisfaction. My experience may be different as my backing is eclectic and not confined to a single category and I'm rarely backing large established companies/names (Reading Rainbow aside).

I contacted Kickstarter about 3 different problems in a single complaint because I couldn't figure out who to contact.
1. Asked them to look into a project as more issues were coming to light about mishandling of a previous project and concerns about current one - no feedback so I've no idea if they've done anything - I know I'm not the only one whose reported

2. Comment in-fighting and bullying - who did I contact - I've gotten no feedback & it's clear they've taken no action. I have no way to know if they've looked into the issue.

3. Making suggestions for ways to make Kickstarter better - I asked who/how did I make suggestions - no feedback - it's like my complaint/form went into a black hole - it's possible if I go and read several years worth of blog post I might find a post I can comment on & maybe someone is monitoring the comments but it seems there should be a "send suggestions" button/form

[Nani Blyleven]

I was not aware until now that PayPal was an option; they are my preferred method of payment online.I learned the hard way that Amazon will not do a refund after what, 30 or 45 days? Even though I had American Express as my payment card for them. That learning experience was with the Victorian Adventue playing cards. I only lost $26 on that, but I gained a wealth of information on choosing projects. Later when the ReelKlip project started showing signs of trouble, I immediately canceled with American Express and Amazon. However the ReelKlip inventor was more honest than the Victorian Adventure playing cards inventor, Alex Willis, Who was a true scammer in every sense of the word.

Now when I choose a project, I always read the comments and the updates and check how many projects he himself has backed and created in the past. I also pay attention to see if the person shows himself in the videos or has a Facebook page. Plus, I pay attention to what is written about the project and how many stretch goals they have especially if they are reasonable stretch goals. If they are giving away the farm and doing so without additional cost for postage, such as The Old Apple Hill Brine Pickle project, then I know that I need to be cautious. (they really got in over their head, it was a mess).

This year I gave a lot of my Kickstarter rewards away as Christmas presents. It was also a lot of fun to tell the recipients about the presents' background, and encourage them to go to Kickstarter to get more information.

[kenthien]

I just feel that KickStarter should provide PayPal as another payment option.
At least Paypal new policy on dispute is increased to 180 days. Amazon payment is only 45 days.
As you know, most projects in Kickstarter takes more than 45 days to finish the final product and ship it to us.
Therefore, is there is anything goes wrong. You're alone in the dark.

[AleksOrly]

Hi guys, my name is Aleks.

I have just started a telegram channel about innovations, gadgets and just curious stuff that goes along with it. Only handpicked and really awesome things

You are very welcome to join in!

https://t.me/AmazzingGadgets