Kickstarter fascinates me. Kickstarter advertises itself as “a funding platform for creative projects.”
A month ago I pledged $115 to Pebble, a company that needed funding to begin making smartwatches. My $115 helped the process move forward and gets me a watch in September. Pebble is a pretty cool story, because they were looking for $100,000 and raised over $10 million!
Pebble gave me confidence to back another project. This one was a bluetooth transmitter to wirelessly move photos from my DSLR to my laptop. I pledged $35 last week.
This evening I got an email from Kickstarter:
Hi there,
This is a message from Kickstarter Support. We’re writing to inform you that CloudPic Mobile has been suspended by Kickstarter. Your $35.00 pledge has been automatically canceled and you will not be charged. No further action is necessary.
For more on project suspension, please see our FAQ: http://www.kickstarter.com/help?ref=email
Thanks,
Kickstarter
Yeah, that’s not good!
Kickstarter is mum so far, but comments on CloudPic Mobile’s page hint at false statements and possibly out-and-out fraud.
It really is the Wild West when you try and fund in this manner. I haven’t been burned, but I do have a bad taste in my mouth. Others will suffer because of this project.
There are two sides to every story. Kickstarter has a history of suspending projects for reasons that later turned out to be unfounded. They are a bit too quick to pull the trigger before doing the proper research to follow up on complaints they receive.
Oops, hit the “submit” button by mistake. Here’s what I’m talking about: http://www.dailydot.com/business/kickstarter-cyberstalker-victim-rachel-marone/