Kickstarter launches in the UK with hundreds of new projects ready for funding(thenextweb.com)
thenextweb.com
Kickstarter launches in the UK with hundreds of new projects ready for funding
http://thenextweb.com/uk/2012/10/31/kickstarter-launches-in-the-uk-with-hundreds-of-new-projects-ready-for-funding/
2 comments
>> "what's in it for me"
You get more for your pledge than you would just purchasing the product. e.g. the product is offered cheaper to pledgers or comes in a limited edition. Kickstarter will only continue to work if project creators offer something extra to pledgers. A lot of people seem to be using it as a pre-order service to help fund development. They need to offer more, realising that people are taking a risk by funding them.
You get more for your pledge than you would just purchasing the product. e.g. the product is offered cheaper to pledgers or comes in a limited edition. Kickstarter will only continue to work if project creators offer something extra to pledgers. A lot of people seem to be using it as a pre-order service to help fund development. They need to offer more, realising that people are taking a risk by funding them.
> You get more for your pledge than you would just purchasing the product.
I agree- a pledge is not a purchase. But you need to do the mental math for the project. e.g. I would get 20% more. But I think the project is only 80% likely to ship. And the project founder is cool so I'd give them a few bucks anyway.
I agree- a pledge is not a purchase. But you need to do the mental math for the project. e.g. I would get 20% more. But I think the project is only 80% likely to ship. And the project founder is cool so I'd give them a few bucks anyway.
> A pledge is not a purchase.
They should make this their motto. The Kickstarter model is fine, they just need to better communicate just what that model is to their users.
They should make this their motto. The Kickstarter model is fine, they just need to better communicate just what that model is to their users.
I don't know why you've been downvoted - this is a completely reasonable comment and something I agree with. I've backed a few projects on Kickstarter which have both been successful and provided the given "rewards" but I agree that it's a very one sided risk/reward profile stacked in favour of the project and not the backers.
I'm wondering if there's a niche here for some sort of micro-float service which gets people to invest in a company as micro-investors, with a small percentage of the business up for grabs. I have no idea if there is already such a thing or how the legal stuff would work though.
It's also probably a bit less exciting than pledges and gifts.
It's also probably a bit less exciting than pledges and gifts.
I've got two rather fluffy justification to myself that I use. The first is rather simply that I want to support someone doing something that's cool, but of such a nature that it is not financial viable in a free market setting. Straight up patronage basically.
The second is that in addition to the whole pre-order thing I'm using my money to send a message to the market at large. Basically its my way of saying I want these sort of products/companies to exist. Even if this group of people fail to deliver, hopefully other will see that there is a market there and someone else will pick up where this particular group failed.
The second is that in addition to the whole pre-order thing I'm using my money to send a message to the market at large. Basically its my way of saying I want these sort of products/companies to exist. Even if this group of people fail to deliver, hopefully other will see that there is a market there and someone else will pick up where this particular group failed.
I don't disagree with those, but on the altruistic/patronage side I know of enough social ventures with transformative social schemes attached that I prefer to support, rather than just another business.
Now if they were selling shares (as well, instead?) I might be more interested.
Now if they were selling shares (as well, instead?) I might be more interested.
so who is the mystery "third party payment provider"?
I wish I knew. I was hoping that this signaled Amazon was opening payment processing in £'s.
The only reason I don't use S3 is because, as a very small time user, I don't want my foreign transaction fees to be larger than the S3 fees.
However, brilliant news for people who weren't able to circumvent the system. Still surprised (and happy) it came to the UK before Canada.
The only reason I don't use S3 is because, as a very small time user, I don't want my foreign transaction fees to be larger than the S3 fees.
However, brilliant news for people who weren't able to circumvent the system. Still surprised (and happy) it came to the UK before Canada.
How bad are foreign transaction fees in the UK? For me in the US, it's just 1% flat rate (which I get back in cash back anyway).
After sleuthing I located the provider: http://www.cybersource.com/ which people here will know as authorize.net!
I'm hoping they are the first test of Stripe in the UK..... Maybe....
I will admit I checked to see if they were using stripe.js but they're not.
I will admit I checked to see if they were using stripe.js but they're not.
They're not a shop, as the things are not ready yet (and may never be), and you're not really investing because you don't get any ownership of the company (however small). So selfishly I've started to wonder what's in it for me. It benefits me if I just wait to see if the thing comes to market, then I can buy it without the possibility of it never surfacing.
As it is I feel a bit torn about the idea of acting as a crowdsourced bank for a business but not getting the returns of an actual investor. I can see why it's appealing for the business though.