Over the past three years, I’ve spent a good deal of money on Kickstarter projects — mostly (but not exclusively) board games. I’ve grown pretty accustomed to getting updates about delays in delivering the rewards. For me, as a blogger and reviewer, I’m constantly receiving something in the mail anyway, so these delays generally don’t bother me quite as much. Hey, maybe by the time that board game finally arrives, I’ll be caught up enough to sit down and play it. (Note: this is not likely.)
Of course, delivering late shouldn’t be the standard for Kickstarter. People should be able to figure out how long it will take them to deliver a product before they even create a Kickstarter listing. CNN had two articles in December that I found pretty enlightening about Kickstarter delays, and if you’re considering running a crowd-funding campaign, please give these a read. 9 Reasons Kickstarter Projects Ship Late and Why 84% of Kickstarter’s Top Projects Shipped Late. Some things are unavoidable: Apple’s switch to the Lightning adapter for its iDevices threw a wrench into many projects based on the 30-pin connector, prompting one project creator to issue the largest-ever Kickstarter refund. There have been several projects where key people involved have died, gotten sick, left the project, had babies — okay, that last one shouldn’t be so unexpected — and that can cause delays.
Read More at Wired
