OT: Peeble Watch Steel and Kickstarter

[Kitaman]

My daughter just called me and with desperation in her voice, told me she wants to buy this watch and it just came out this morning:

So I tell her to go ahead but she says they don't accept debit cards. So to help her I follow her instructions online and go to kickstarter and the site is overwhelmed, making it super tough to sign/log in. After repeated attempts I finally logged in and made a $265 pledge. The watch won't ship until May but it appears within 2 hours everyone is trying to get this watch. Also I did not select the color she wanted or it didn't give me an option.

So Yarders, I'm not that familiar with Kickstarter, what the hell did I just do? Did I buy a watch that doesn't even exist?

btw: she said she will pay me back 'this week', which I am not so sure.

 

[Blueblood79]

All though I know nothing about this watch. I order on Kickstarter all the time and yes you are pre-ordering something that isnt being distributed yet. Some charge you before hand others when it ships. Kickstarter will refund your money in the case the product never comes to market which has happened to me before.

 

[Gringo]

My daughter just called me and with desperation in her voice, told me she wants to buy this watch and it just came out this morning:

So I tell her to go ahead but she says they don't accept debit cards. So to help her I follow her instructions online and go to kickstarter and the site is overwhelmed, making it super tough to sign/log in. After repeated attempts I finally logged in and made a $265 pledge. The watch won't ship until May but it appears within 2 hours everyone is trying to get this watch. Also I did not select the color she wanted or it didn't give me an option.

So Yarders, I'm not that familiar with Kickstarter, what the hell did I just do? Did I buy a watch that doesn't even exist?

btw: she said she will pay me back 'this week', which I am not so sure.

My advice is tell her the watch is ugly, get a refund, and take the 265 she pays you to buy tickets and beer at the AAC tournament. When the watch doesn't come you can tell her she bought you an early fathers day gift instead.

 

[prankster]

Peeble?

Or Pebble?

 

[Kembacity]

if you know, please tell us how or why this watch was able to scam tons of kids out of $250, does it take great pre-photoshopped naked pictures of you?

 

[Leebo]

Strictly speaking, you are never "buying" something on Kickstarter. You are funding a future product.

That doesn't stop people from setting up Kickstarter projects with the aura of a store.

Also, did that Kickstarter project just start? May would be an insane turnaround for Kickstarter. I've funded a few things in the past, mostly video games, and I never expect to get anything quickly.

 

[Kitaman]

Peeble?

Or Pebble?

Which is precisely why I don't like to be rushed, or cajoled or charmed into something, especially from our kids. That's why I asked what the hell did I just do. LOL

 

[Fishy]

With Kickstarter, you're really funding an idea for a project.

I've contributed to several - some work, some fail. You takes your chances.

But Pebble is a real, live company and they're doing this more for marketing than funding - they already have this thing in the manufacturing pipeline and it will be widely available in retail by May. (You can walk into BestBuy right now and buy the previous generation Pebble watch.)

You do not have to worry about this one - it will ship in May.

 

[Chuck]

With Kickstarter, you're really funding an idea for a project.

I've contributed to several - some work, some fail. You takes your chances.

But Pebble is a real, live company and they're doing this more for marketing than funding - they already have this thing in the manufacturing pipeline and it will be widely available in retail by May. (You can walk into BestBuy right now and buy the previous generation Pebble watch.)

You do not have to worry about this one - it will ship in May.

Agreed. This is real and broke all kinds of Kickstarter records. I think they are using Kickstarter for their second generation because of nostalgia with their first release that also blew-up Kickstarter.

You do have one risk to seeing your money. The Pebble looks a bit like a toy compared to some of the other watches that are coming out in a similar price range (not meant to insult your daughter's taste, I love the independent flare of a start-up company). The Apple Watch will be more expensive, but you know how their stuff explodes. So there is a chance your daughter will want a new watch before paying you back in full.

The challenge with wearable tech is that all of the devices suck in one way or another. Their huge, or they have bad battery life, or both. That's going to improve quickly and people are going to want to upgrade frequently at pretty high price points (the gold version of some of these "watches" are crazy expensive).

 

[Kitaman]

So with Kickstarter, if the project (other than Pebble) never launches are you out of the money you put in?

Meaning is this sort of like the market, except this is product oriented?

(Unfortunately now being exposed, I am starting to peek at a lot of the ideas and am having a hard time trying not to click to pledge.)

 

[Leebo]

So with Kickstarter, if the project (other than Pebble) never launches are you out of the money you put in?

Meaning is this sort of like the market, except this is product oriented?

(Unfortunately now being exposed, I am starting to peek at a lot of the ideas and am having a hard time trying not to click to pledge.)

From the Kickstarter FAQ page (https://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/kickstarter+basics?ref=footer)

Who is responsible for completing a project as promised?

Kickstarter does not guarantee projects or investigate a creator's ability to complete their project. On Kickstarter, backers (you!) ultimately decide the validity and worthiness of a project by whether they decide to fund it.

You can browse some of the other questions, too. Basically, there is some amount of risk taken on by the funders. However, it's also strongly suggested to creators that they refund people if they can't finish a project.

Of course, that requires them to actually admit they can't do it, and stay in contact with the community. Which sometimes doesn't happen. I know some projects have just drifted away and disappeared.

You have to be careful.

 

[Chuck]

So with Kickstarter, if the project (other than Pebble) never launches are you out of the money you put in?

Meaning is this sort of like the market, except this is product oriented?

(Unfortunately now being exposed, I am starting to peek at a lot of the ideas and am having a hard time trying not to click to pledge.)

Exactly. It is one of the original/popular crowdfunding portals. Crowdfunding is just a mostly-unregulated market. When you typically fund a venture, you get equity or debt in exchange, but that has to be done through a securities private placement which has limitations on who can invest, may have caps on investments, and requires disclosures and filing. The SEC was tasked to allow crowdfunding for securities (the rule was due a couple years ago now, but who knows when/if it'll happen). Even if it comes out I think it's DOA because of the limitations they put on the proposal.

That is why Kickstarter and its kin facilitate "funding" for a pre and/or discounted sale of the product the "borrower" is trying to build. This way it's not technically a security. A famous one that got a lot of funding was someone looking to make the perfect potato salad. It raised over $55,000.

Crowdfunding has also been popular for movies with a number of small budget films finding funding they never would've found, and a few other bigger names (Veronica Mars by Rob Thomas) that were fanfunded. With those projects you may get a souvenir or private pre-release screening.

I do think there is a future for crowdfunding, but I think there will be a lot of frauds. I think there have probably been a lot, it's just that people don't complain as much about losing $25 (a more typical Kickstarter investment) than thousands in a traditional private placement.

Sorry for the long explanation, I just find this stuff interesting despite not fully keeping up with it.