tompoland One of my duds was a portable espresso machine, not too many dollars down the gurgler (AU$200?) and I had seen a working prototype but they got hit with covid and slowly died. ….
The other dud was an out and out rip off. Again not a massive amount of coin (probably another $200) but it still hurt more than the first one.
Yeah, that’s kinda why I don’t fancy risking Kickstarter type projects. It’s not losing the money in the event the project goes under, as such. It’s the annoyance, especially if conned. That, would wind me right the bleep up. So if it’s more than a “shrug, whatever” sort of sum, I’d rather just wait and pay more at the retail stage …. like with the Niche. I was tempted at Kickstarter stage but I guess in the end, I care more about not winding myself up than I do about supporting risky projects. And if I am going to support risky projects (and do, from time to time) it’ll be as a risky investment with expectation of a financial return, not a discount on a product.
Not that I’m criticising those that do back Kickstarters. Not in the slightest. Seriously, not in any way. I can see a satisfaction from doing it when it goes right. it’s a mindset thing, and just not for me. I do often track interesting ones though, just to see how they go. As with your experience, it’s a mixed bag, and for very different reasons.