Sure. Very real risk. And no doubt it’s happened many times. But it happens in real life too, it’s not a problem unique to crowdfunding. Ponzi schemes and pyramid selling were a thing way before internet crowdfunding was invented.
Don’t bet what you can’t afford to lose. Make sure you evaluate to the best of your ability the risks of the project and the caliber people involved. If you don’t feel you can make those judgements accurately enough for the project your considering and the amount of money involved, keep your money in your pocket. Don’t back it.
But again, I think the phrase “steal a lot of money”, the same as the phrase “making a purchase on Indegogo” reveals a mindset that doesn’t reflect what crowd funding actually is. The reality is you pledge/give them some money, and they promise to try and make the thing you want. No guarantees. Some of the things I see on those sites are obviously impossible. Some, like the espresso machine I backed, turn out to have underpriced the thing by an order of magnitude because the people involved didn’t even know what they didn’t know about making several thousand consumer appliances.
I always consider the money I send to Kickstarter (et al.) as a gift or donation. If the people I gave that money with go and spend it on hookers and blow, that was always a possibility I understood when I sent the money. I _hope_ I’m a good enough judge of projects and the caliber of their people that I never send too much money to a project thats outright fraud (or totally oblivious incompetence). But if I get that wrong, that is my own problem. I won’t hide my failing there behind words like “purchase” or “stealing”, because that’s in my opinion, demonstration that I’d been fooling myself what I was getting into when I sent the money.
Like I said earlier. “Purchase” things from retailers. Throw money at crowdfunding for things you wish you could buy but can’t, and hope that money actually turns I to the thing you want eventually. But don’t throw any more money than you can afford to lose. Because you might lose it.
Comments
Sure. Very real risk. And no doubt it’s happened many times. But it happens in real life too, it’s not a problem unique to crowdfunding. Ponzi schemes and pyramid selling were a thing way before internet crowdfunding was invented.
Don’t bet what you can’t afford to lose. Make sure you evaluate to the best of your ability the risks of the project and the caliber people involved. If you don’t feel you can make those judgements accurately enough for the project your considering and the amount of money involved, keep your money in your pocket. Don’t back it.
But again, I think the phrase “steal a lot of money”, the same as the phrase “making a purchase on Indegogo” reveals a mindset that doesn’t reflect what crowd funding actually is. The reality is you pledge/give them some money, and they promise to try and make the thing you want. No guarantees. Some of the things I see on those sites are obviously impossible. Some, like the espresso machine I backed, turn out to have underpriced the thing by an order of magnitude because the people involved didn’t even know what they didn’t know about making several thousand consumer appliances.
I always consider the money I send to Kickstarter (et al.) as a gift or donation. If the people I gave that money with go and spend it on hookers and blow, that was always a possibility I understood when I sent the money. I _hope_ I’m a good enough judge of projects and the caliber of their people that I never send too much money to a project thats outright fraud (or totally oblivious incompetence). But if I get that wrong, that is my own problem. I won’t hide my failing there behind words like “purchase” or “stealing”, because that’s in my opinion, demonstration that I’d been fooling myself what I was getting into when I sent the money.
Like I said earlier. “Purchase” things from retailers. Throw money at crowdfunding for things you wish you could buy but can’t, and hope that money actually turns I to the thing you want eventually. But don’t throw any more money than you can afford to lose. Because you might lose it.