Random KickStarter Thoughts

I've had KickStarter on my brain as of late. Of course part of the reason for that is a certain TV show getting a movie started on there. But there's also the issue of some outstanding "rewards" that I'm having problems with. And I've noticed that I haven't contributed to a campaign in a really long time. There are some simple reasons for this like no "must need to donate to" projects seem to have come up for me lately. There are a few that I think "that doesn't look too bad" but nothing really stood out. I'm also currently "in between" jobs so it's not like I have money to spend.

But having said that, there are other issues. I've had pretty good luck in the projects I've contributed to following through with the project and rewards but there have been a few outliers and they're really bugging me. Some are keeping in touch and trying their best (even if their best isn't that great) to explain what issues have come up and what they're doing to fix them. Others have been downright horrible. They don't respond to me personally but post generic "the rewards have been shipped and you should be getting yours soon" type messages for everyone who's complaining, sometimes they've been posting these messages for many months. Clearly, taking the time to respond to each person would take time I suppose but the fact that they are having that many issues is telling. Some don't even reply with anything that positive. And spending time trying to track down what's happened to my reward, nagging people who have now moved on to other projects and getting no response? Not a great feeling. I don't like to be burned, I take it very personally, so a couple bad experiences really spoils it for me.

The other issue is the companies coming in after the fact. I know there may be weird circumstances that come up but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I'm putting money down to fund a project (and not just for the reward) only to have them announce right after the project is funded that some company is stepping in to take over the project. It feels like instead of companies putting up their money to make something happening they're now happily standing by while everyone else does only to scoop in when there's money to be made. Now I'm no expert on these matters, there's probably a lot more to it than what I see, but it does rub me the wrong way. And it's not the business model I want to see.

So despite the initial good feelings I had about KickStarter, it has soured a bit for me. I'm not looking to throw it out altogether, but I am going to be much more hesitant about what I put my money into.