Thoughts : A little down on Kickstarter :(

[Live4TheOne]

I love supporting projects in Kickstarter but currently I am a bit down on supporting large ($150k+) Kickstarter software projects.

I am one of many backers trying to get refunds from Elite: Dangerous where they are treating their backers very badly.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/14 ... nav_search

I also got burnt with Clang
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/26 ... nav_search

It is amazing that the best backer satisfaction has come from the smaller projects such as
TinkKeep
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ph ... nav_search
Knock-knock
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/15 ... nock-knock

So just a warning my advice I would never back more than the minimal on any large software project because their current track record in Kickstarter is looking not so good.

[TashaTurner]

I assume a few projects I back will fail. I do expect feedback/updates to let me know why a project isn't going to ship on time or at all. Sometimes the money is spent on development but the product still isn't ready. Sometimes health or manufacturing or government/certification problems crop up. Sometimes projects over-commit and underestimate cost/time/resources needed.

Sometimes someone takes our money and runs - those are upsetting and give a bad name to everyone.

I tend to look at each project and their history separately. I do prefer small, well thought out projects to really large ones for a number of reasons.

I have been cutting back on how much I'm spending on individual projects as I'm backing more projects I just don't have as much money.

[Mepper]

When it comes to software, it seems that the wildly successful projects are often the ones most likely to have problems. If there were a lot of added stretch goals then the likelihood of problems seems even higher. As a software developer myself, I know all about the schedule optimism common early in the design process. Because of my past kickstarter experiences I will no longer back software projects unless they can show that they've done a lot of work already. On the other hand, almost all the projects I've backed have either delivered or been quite good in communicating their status. A few delivered before their due date and one is 2 years overdue but still gives status updates and I expect they will eventually deliver. The few that went quiet for 6 months after the campaign ended are the ones I worry about failing the most.

[Live4TheOne]

Update.
Did get a $30 out of my $37 refund (waiting for it to arrive) but best news of all got a full refund from Clang - Paypal fees.

One Kickstarter I want to give to give shout out to is.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wi ... /rubicon-0

Here a kid who didn't want to work in MacDonald in his college break , did a good Kick starter for a arcade type game.

Check out his finished program on
http://www.starshiprubicon.com/

These are the type of project that make me happy supporting on Kickstarter.

[kenthien]

Hi Guys,

I'm kind of new to the Kickstarter.

I hope to seek some advise from you all who are more experienced.

I'm sorry if my questions is unrelated to this topic.

Recently I pledged for a handmade bag. The bag was big. I've messaged the creator if it's possible to make it smaller. They say yes. Before the pledge, their response was fast.

The campaign was just merely funded. They have sent a survey to choose the bag size. I've messaged them regarding about making my bag smaller. They have not response to me at all.

Any advise of what I can do?

Thank you guys. And sorry for posting unrelated questions here.

Warmest Regard,
Ken Thien

[Live4TheOne]

If it has been a while without a reply and you paid by PayPal you can raise a disputed with them.
Same with a credit card.
Also note you can contact the creator of the project in both the comments of the project and their contact us under the project creator.

[kenthien]

@Live4TheOne

Thanks for your reply. I'm paying with Credit Card through Amazon Payment.

I think I'm changing to Paypal since they've increased the dispute duration.

I've ordered a belt and haven't delivered till now. Says it's lost in post and resend. I asked them a tracking number. They've ignored me.

I think can't dispute with Amazon because more than 45 days.

Any of you guys experienced such thing and care to share your experience? Like what action you took?

Thanks a lot. And I would also like to wish everyone a Happy Merry Christmas and a coming New Year.

[TashaTurner]

Live4TheOne Good to see you are getting your money back by some method.

Kenthien don't have any advice but I may find myself in need of it myself if BelayCords goes the way some are suggesting so I look forward to any useful advice fellow club members have.

[kenthien]

@ Tasha

Hope we can find some methods to prevent this. It's frustrating that be backers we sincerely backing them and they are treating us like this later.

Before the campaign. Everything is possible. After the campaign, it's another story. I'm not saying all the Creators are like that. Just some of the those bad eggs in the basket.

[TashaTurner]

Looking back through my history up until BelayCords (comments suggest it won't happen) I've only had one project fail to deliver and go black until recently. Over the last 6 months I have a few projects that have gone black and missed dates. All are 1st time Kickstarters and people who never backed a project.

I'm now getting in the habit of sending advice just before projects end to "Kickstarter newbies" about the importance of staying in touch and sharing examples of a couple projects that have done great jobs & BelayCords who have been reported & people are working on getting their money back (per comments) so even if they do eventually ship I'll never back another project by them.

More people need to take advantage of resources available on how to run a successful campaign and remember to double or triple shipping delivery dates and overestimate your cost needs because Murphys Law. Plan stretch goals ahead of time so they are already covered in your ship dates. Shipping early rarely causes people to complain.