"Done with KS (another "no more" rant)" Topic

I have backed a dozen plus projects on kickstart however between those projects where the shipping costs rise and those that fails, the KS adventure becomes a lot more expensive that purchasing the game once it is produced.

On the other hand, games cannot be produced if they are not initially funded.

I estimate that with all the projects that fail and the money that vanishes I am paying 30% more overall.

So yes, no real incentive to pay for games anymore on KS. I am done… (until next time)

I haven't seen one yet that either confused the heck out of me or that I couldn't live without.

I've had 10 positive experiences where I got great value for money. I'll definitely support Kickstarter again.

15 or so good
1 bad – lost a bundle – fellow took the money and never delivered the minis, and I missed the deadline for the class-action suit.

I only back when the creator has a good history of delivery. I also think my judgment on how sound a project is has improved immensely.

I think the thing about kickstarter is to keep it small.

I've done three, for small ranges of miniatures that would probably never seen the light of day otherwise, all where delivered on time no issues. All three where for a small number of minis and I keep my contributions to 25 quid or under in case it went up.

The Kickstarters that seem to cause problems are the ones for big games and ranges which spiral out of control with loads of add ons and stretch goals until the originator of the kickstarter can't fulfil their promises.

I've done only one & had a good experience.

For small projects, I've kept the funding less than $70. USD I've lost $100 USD on KS. That's still far less than the retail duds I've bought, and a small fraction of the total money I've spent on KS (don't want to know how much :P

But, yes, rising shipping prices has kept me from pledging some times. And I don't really need more generic fantasy figures, or another Ameritrash dice-chucker. The FLGS has a gaming flea market every few months and I pick up most of my bargains there. For boardgames, if you're fine with the basegame, the OLGS will be a better price.

I'm with Winston. I haven't seen any that I can't live without.

Gentlefolk:

I supported a few (4?) KS's. I helped run one, recently. The majority of the KS offerings are for luxory items. I helped run a KS for Dice Towers -- not necessary for gaming, but very nice to have at the table, for various reasons. Were they inexpensive? Hardly! The lowest offering was $50 USD + shipping, solid Oak Tower and Tray.

We had no history, no reputation, on the Internet, or KickStarter. For that reason, we built all of our domestic wood products ahead of the KS, to assuage buyer's fears. We did not sell all of our products, but we knew we could offer them later, on a web catalog, as well as retail outlets, so no issues there. Our exotic wood products we waited to build, so we did not have a lot of money tied up in inventory, which might take longer to sell, due to their higher prices.

We aimed for, and marketed to, the higher end. We offer custom hardwood gaming tables, for RPG'ers, and miniatures gamers. Are they inexpensive?… LOL!!! NO, they are not! They are high-end, luxory items, custom built to the customer's specifications. The KS helped us establish a web presence, and a reputation of delivering higher end products, on time.

Most of the KS sellers are aiming for a niche market, within a niche market. If you are not within their niche within a niche, no problem.

I would, however, recommend you look at the 3D terrain KS's history of Dwarven Forge, for example, to see what the potential for the gamer niche market is. His 3D terrain KS's have all bested $1 USDM, each. I am not in DF's niche within a niche, but I admire his success. Take a look at the successes of Reaper Miniatures Company, with their Bones KS's. The gamer market is HUGE. People are clamoring for a piece of the action, some offering good products and services, some not. It's a fun time to be a gamer, though! Cheers!

I have supported many…. my favorite are the modest ones they tend to deliver on time. I do like the bigger ones…. but find the 1.5 year wait saps my initial interest.

A middle sized KS I'm thrilled about was the black earth 15mm sci-fi ks. I think they ran it well…. and gave a realistic set of expectations.

I was bummed about Mercs….backed it whole heartedly and went for the whole shebang. it took so long to deliver as a result …. I have little interest to play it….even though it is well done.

I have done 110 kickstarters and for the most part I am happy. Having a bit of trouble with 2 more recent ones from big name companies in the hobby world.. and one guy from Team frog studios s who has stolen thousand from backers and that was supposed to be delivered in 2013 so I doubt we will ever get anything.