In the beginning, Kickstarter provided funding and backed many successful projects. However, people’s recent experiences were scary and deceitful as many of the projects turned out to be scams. Hence, the question is Kickstarter legit. There are mixed reviews from the backers.
Things you need to know about Kickstarter
What is Kickstarter?
Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform to raise popularity for creative projects and raise money to get them up and running. Kickstarter is an American public-benefit corporation and accepts projects from around the globe. The platform became popular as it provided a safe space for fresh creative minds to show the world about their projects. It consists of creators and backers- creators who introduce projects and backers who fund those projects.
Services provided by Kickstarter
The leading service provided by Kickstarter is that it allows starting a campaign for a creative project to raise funds using the platform. It accepts a wide range of projects, including art, comic and illustration, design and tech, film, food and craft, games, music, and publishing. They also provide services from manufacturing to delivery.
How Kickstarter works?
- A page is set up for creators to present their projects in-depth to familiarize potential backers with their work.
- Creators are asked to set a funding goal and a deadline to meet the criteria.
- They can redeem or get specific awards for the backers after pledging to donate a fixed amount.
- Kickstarter claims that more the amount donated by a person will result in him receiving more rewards.
Kickstarter policy
According to Kickstarter policies, the creators’ projects are approved based on Kickstarter Project Guidelines. They follow the All or Nothing Rule. If a creator cannot meet the funding goal by the deadline, they do not receive any funding. This is tricky for creators who invest their time and energy and get nothing in the end if they miss the deadline. Backers receive rewards after the completion of the funding process. They have an estimated delivery date specified for backers to receive their rewards. Read Kickstarter’s take on Trust and Accountability.
What percentage does Kickstarter take?
It is an intriguing question to know what is in for Kickstarter as a platform. Do they make money out of it, or do they give every penny received to the creators?
- They do make money. Kickstarter takes 5% of the total funding amount.
- They also have a processing fee for every pledge made by the backers. This includes a processing fee of 3%+$0.20 per pledge. The processing fee for pledge under $10 is 5% + $0.05 per pledge.
Controversies faced by Kickstarter
The most recent controversy faced by Kickstarter ended with the resignation of its vice president and head of community Luke Crane on 26th March, 2021. The controversy was about the game collection The Perfect RPG which was launched and thereafter, immediately cancelled over the non disclosure of potential contributors leading to backing out of other contributors.
Is Kickstarter legit, and is it worth it?
- An important question left to address is Kickstarter legit and worth donating on. Kickstarter is very popular as it addresses the needs of creative minds, but it has degraded in the recent years as many of the projects have proved to be a scam.
- Though it has some legit projects, it has been used for scamming people, and Kickstarter not taking any action against them has caused a loss of faith on the platform itself.
- Even the legit projects with great ideas, have overtime failed to deliver any results. There is no system of checks once the money is received by the creator of a project and no way to hold them accountable even of they fail to deliver on their promises.
- It has received 89% ‘bad’ reviews on trust pilot, a true indicator of how people feel about the platform.
As of today, Kickstarter is not a legit and worthy platform as it used to be.
Watch this great video which sums up the rise and fall of Kickstarter.
So, think twice before investing your hard earned money. Also check the legitimacy of GoFundMe?
