Why 84% of Kickstarter's top projects shipped late

[Nike]

An interesting article from Money about the top 50 kickstarter projects to date. A big thumbs up to Marc for keeping all of the backers in the loop to help avoid some of the problems others have experienced.

http://money.cnn.com/2012/12/18/technology/innovation/kickstarter-ship-delay/index.html

 

[saundby]

Aaaand...they never actually say why 84% are late. But the title implies a reason.

Development is tough, it's fraught with problems. Early answers found in prototypes may not scale to production, unanticipated demand may create unforeseen sourcing problems that economies of scale won't answer, etc. I've seen everything that the major Kickstarter projects are suffering happen in regular product development.

Anyone remember the Sol 20 computer? It was the computer to have, till Processor Technology got a reputation for shipping long, long after the orderer's check had been cashed. They might still have survived, though. They pulled things together, then blew the deal to become ComputerLand's flagship system. Some guys from a "toy" computer company called "Apple" landed that deal.

I'm in on Ogre Designer's Edition. I'd call it late, but not "Where the ^%$# is it!?"
SJG has been up front on schedule ever since the project went hog-wild. I was disappointed to not have it this fall, but it'll be here about the same time as my Reaper Minis Vampire pack.

Product development doesn't have a schedule, really. Just an unsubstantiated hope based on the experience of the designers/fabricators, etc. And a sudden growth in scale will blow the best-laid plans out of the water. I've seen companies do everything from shipping at a trickle from the prototyping line while building a real production line to building using low-volume methods and warehousing until enough stock to satisfy immediate demand is ready.

I've also seen companies take pre-order money, establish a completely different product line (sometimes under a new corporation), default on the shipments and offer a pittance refund or a "product from stock" credit if anything.

I've seen pre-orders get withheld until after retail stores got their full stock many times. People who bought it off the shelf got theirs weeks before anyone with a pre-order.

All in the "real world", outside Kickstarter.

Personally, I think Kickstarter is great (and IndieGoGo, etc.) Only one product I've backed is on time (so far), but that's the breaks. I don't expect to get stiffed on anything, but on riskier projects I definitely keep my backing to what I can afford to lose.

 

[LiamKerrington]

Interesting article. And it nails what I think of it. I haven't pledged anything so far - neither on kickstarter, indiegogo, or any other crowd-funding platform. Therefore I cannot speak on behalf of those people, (mis)understanding projects as kind of an online-store. But I had my share in discussing issues on different forums.

It is true: Kickstarter is not an online store. But to some degree people consider it to be something like this because of what the people behind each project actually "offer" you. If there are pledges and perks that mention something along the line "you get this and you get that and also this and that and by the way in addition even this and that", this raises expectations.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying that this is an excuse or something for haters, or simply disappointed backers if they get out of control and start yelling things like scam or whatnot. But this might be one of probably many explanations why people behave the way they do.

Anyway: I haven't backed anything (yet); and I will acknowledge it to be a test for my virtue of patience. And I like the idea behind crowd-funding systems a lot.

All the best!
Liam

 

[Hemdian]

I noticed that myself when the T5 kickstarter began. There were a number of people who complained that the rewards of getting the T5 book and/or PDF were set at the wrong levels ... based on the retail price of comparable products. (Geez! Missing the point, guys. :nonono It made me wonder if the actual item to be produced by a kickstarter shouldn’t be offered as a reward.

I’ve contributed to a few kickstarters now. In the case of T5, it was an opportunity to give something back to a community that has given me decades of fun and enjoyment, far more than I’ve paid in purchasing retail products alone. And it’s helping to keep the game alive and fresh. The rewards offered are bonus.