Re: [tlug] A Crowdfunding Crash

[Joe Larabell <fred62@example.com>]

The analogy seems right but I don't think it's perfect. When I order a book from Amazon, it's usually under the assumption that the book exists (or will soon), independent of my decision to purchase a copy. When I pre-order a product from a Kickstarter project, it's under the assumption that the product is in some state of pre-production and that they plan to use my money to finish the project. In the unlikely event that the project funds and then falls flat on its face for any reason short of gross incompetence on the part of the project owner(s), I'd be disappointed but probably not angry. After all, I knew going in that the product didn't exist yet and that there was a non-zero possibility it might never exist. I may not get equity in the project itself but I'm certainly assuming more of the risk than I would be if I were ordering a book from Amazon.

On Thu, Aug 1, 2013 at 4:34 PM, Josh Glover <jmglov@example.com> wrote:

On 1 August 2013 07:03, David Blomberg <dblomber@example.com> wrote:

>     The part I find amazing is people going ape over losing 100$ for
> this.   I lost thousands to BS 401Ks and the failure rates of
> kickstarters is not that far off from normal businesses.

A good point that the article makes is that funders are not investing
(as they get no equity), but rather pre-ordering a product and paying
up front. Imagine how angry you'd be if Amazon billed you at the time
of purchase of a book, which then never shipped, and then did not
refund your purchase.

Cheers,
Josh

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