tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2050036035374044240.post7395053710869221273..comments2023-07-14T05:44:09.239-07:00Comments on Kickstarter Conversations: When one suffers do all suffer? James Yeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16637699486755915238noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2050036035374044240.post-26834202389011537852013-03-29T12:57:08.215-07:002013-03-29T12:57:08.215-07:00Oooh very good points and fits quite well with you...Oooh very good points and fits quite well with your "Buyer Beware" title! That should be a whole different video/post... *Adds to List* Thanks! <br />James Yeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16637699486755915238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2050036035374044240.post-44162260939857234322013-03-29T09:57:26.027-07:002013-03-29T09:57:26.027-07:00Good points all, but its backers--not project crea...Good points all, but its backers--not project creators--who should take away the biggest lessons from this fiasco.<br /><br />Mr. Nystul's mishandling of this whole affair went well beyond "I made some bad business decisions." He flat out abused KS and the signs that something was wrong were there almost from the very beginning.<br /><br />1. Be extremely suspicious of anyone running multiple Kickstarters simultaneously. A well-established publisher with a solid track record *might* be able to pull this off (simply running a KS takes a considerable amount of time and effort).<br /><br />2. Be ESPECIALLY suspicious of anyone who openly talks about launching a new KS project to raise funds to help complete an earlier project.<br /><br />3. Be EXTREMELY suspicious of anyone who talks openly of intermingling funds raised through KS with personal and/or general business finances. Each of Nystul's backers was funding a *particular project,* not a company, not a convention, not some other project.<br /><br />4. Pay careful attention to product status and deadlines before you pledge. If the project pitch swears the product is "nearly finished" but the creator isn't willing to share more than skimpy "playtest document" with backers, that should raise a red flag. A project that promises to deliver a finished book just a month or two after the KS ends should raise a red flag (unless art and editorial were complete before the KS began and the creator is willing to prove it by sharing a PDF with early backers, etc).<br /><br />5. Any KS that commits to too many pieces of swag too quickly--t-shirts, mugs, plush toys, miniature figures, et al--should raise a red flag. This is particularly true if the creator is not part of an established company that has fulfilled these types of items in the past.BuyerBewarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00141730654610638765noreply@blogger.com