Kickstarter

Name: Kickstarter
Rating: 3.5

Is This Your Business?

3.5

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26 User Reviews

3.5

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26 User Reviews

The Good

The Bad

Bottom Line

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LAST UPDATED: June 3rd, 2024

Founded in 2009, Kickstarter is a crowdfunding site devoted to gathering funds for creative projects. They support projects in many areas including films, games, music, art, design, and technology. Since their launch six years ago, 9.3 million people have pledged over $1.9 billion to fund 91,000 creative projects. Backing a project through Kickstarter is more than just giving money—it’s about supporting that person’s dream to create something they want to see exist in the world.

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The Good

Model type
Fees
Fund type
Maximum allowed raise
Deadlines

Model Type

Kickstarter has a donation/reward model type. Backers (donators) that support a project get an inside look at the creative process, and also get to choose from a variety of unique rewards offered by the project creator. Rewards vary from project to project, but often include a copy of what is being produced (CD, DVD, book, etc.) or an experience unique to the project, like meeting the creator or getting producer credits. Project creators keep 100% ownership of their work, and being a rewards model, Kickstarter cannot be used to offer equity, financial returns, or to solicit loans. A Rewards type means artists or creatives can retain full ownership of their project (or business).

Fees

If your project is successfully funded, KickStarter will apply a 5% fee to the total amount of funds raised and Stripe, their new payments processor, will apply credit card processing fees of 3% + $0.20 per pledge. Pledges under $10 have a discounted 'micropledge' fee of 5% + $0.05 per pledge. Since KickStarter offers an All or Nothing funding model, there is a 0% non-completion fee. This is due to Kickstarter not charging donators anything if you do not complete your campaign. Some crowdfunding companies may charge you a fee for All or Nothing for whatever reason, but Kickstarter's 5% fee is standard in the crowdfunding industry, although it's on the higher end (typical fees are 3-5%). Not having non-complete fees lessens the financial burden for many "starving artists" trying to raise funds. (More of a burden is Stripe's deductions per transaction.)

Fund Type

Kickstarter offers an All-or-Nothing fund type. While that may be discouraging for some potential users, this fund type can actually be beneficial in this sort of situation. For example, say a project reaches $1,000 of its $5,000 goal. An All-or-Nothing fund type ensures that backers won't be expecting you to use $1,000 to provide rewards on a project intended to earn $5,000. It's helpful for backers, too, in that they can be sure their money is helping the creator to make actual progress on their project.

Maximum Allowed Raise

Kickstarter allows project creators to determine what their project's funding goal is. This is beneficial for those who have a large goal that would exceed the maximum funding limit of other crowdfunding sites.

Deadlines

At KickStarter, every project creator sets their project's deadline. This makes raising campaign funds very flexible and conducive to the best interests of the person raising money. Many crowdfunding sites have a 30, 45 or 60- day deadline, which may not be a good fit for the type of campaign that person is raising.

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The Bad

Receiving funds
Administrative work options

Receiving Funds

If the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal, there is a 14-day window for collecting and processing pledges. Once the 14-day window has passed, funds are automatically transferred directly to your bank account. 14 Days is a long time to wait for a direct transfer-especially compared to the 7 Day window typical to most crowdfunding sites. For some, the money transfers in real time. To receive funds through Kickstarter, you sign up for an account on their website. As of January 2015, project creators won't need to set up an Amazon Payments business account anymore to get their funds. Kickstarter is now transferring their system over to Stripe, a third party processor similar to Paypal, which just requires you to enter your bank account details on the Account tab during the project creation phase. For backers, this means a simpler, faster and easier checkout process without being redirected or having to log in to a separate service to donate. For project creators, however, it means more fees and less money received.

Administrative Work Options

In place of providing administrative work options, Kickstarter offers a more "DIY" approach-something they call a "Creator's Handbook" to new project starters. It walks them through the administrative work tasks-everything from planning their shipping to communicating with project backers. The handbook is free and easily available on their website. Other administrative topics the handbook covers:

Getting Started
Building Rewards
Funding
Promotion
Fulfilling rewards promises

Kickstarter's Creative Handbook also offers a list of what they call "fulfillment partners"-a list of third party businesses that specialize in things like mass mailing, warehousing, packaging and other 'back end' tasks. If managing all the logistics of your project starts to feel a little overwhelming, or you wind up with more backers than you were prepared for, this list of possible resources may solve your problem and alleviate a lot of stress. Plus it may make for a more successful campaign and avoid any legal issues, such as a project backer not receiving their reward as promised. The only issue with this is that it creates more work for the project creator. Some crowdfunding sites have administrative options "in-house" which makes it easier to manage than dealing with several parties.

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The Bottom Line

Kickstarter is a great platform for creative individuals who are anxious to bring their dreams to life without giving up any equity in their product without outrageous fees. Still, as an All-or-Nothing fund type, slow fund disbursement, no in-house administrative options and mediocre success rate cause potential users any uncertainty, then they should consider using a different site to have their crowdfunding needs met.

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User Reviews

Star Rating

3.5

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26 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

46%

4 grade

19%

3 grade

2 grade

1 grade

31%

Sentiment Criteria

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Hank Ricardo

I had a prototype for an invention back in 2022 and used Kickstarter to raise some funds. People actually invested in my prototype and Raised enough funds to make it right. I gave them 3x their investment back when my product blew up and now I'm doing well.

5 months ago

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Luke Swierczynski Troy, MI

I think I have a problem with how often I back projects on this site. There's just something about being the first to own something innovative and take a sense of pride knowing you helped up start a new business. Be careful on some projects as there were a few times in the past where some projects took the money and never came to market. Doesn't happen as often any more because I think they changed their process for approving them.

3 years ago

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Jasmin Mena

Last year I backed one of my favorite artists and there were no complaints whatsoever. Got frequent updates and eventually got the product I so excitedly anticipated. I'm happy to see my favorite people get the support they deserve.

1 year ago

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Jakob barre Norcross, GA

Kickstarter is a great way to get funds for your new and upcoming business and I love all the ideas that people have and all the ways that people will use her creativity to make new products the only thing is I really don’t like that none of these products actually make it onto the market very seldom do they ever actually make enough funds from this kick starter to make it on to a professional business standpoint.

4 years ago

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Pete Centerville, UT

One of my favorite things to do is browse Kickstarter to see some of the cool products that they have. I've backed 2 or 3 different projects here and everything has always gone smoothly. It's awesome to know you're helping someone with the business dreams and getting a cool product that I enjoy.

7 years ago

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Jodie Larson Pleasant Grove, UT

I have a friend who used Kickstarter to launch a new product line. It was amazing to watch people across the world support his idea and provide the funds to put those ideas into production! It would not have been possible without Kickstarter! It is fun to browse Kickstarter to see what unique ideas are out there and to be able to support projects that interest me!

6 years ago

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Amber C Frey San Diego, CA

I've backed a number of things through Kickstarter. I love that people are able to have their ideas come to life if enough people are willing to support it. There's been a lot of cool ideas, inventions, events that have happened through Kickstarter and I hope they keep it going.

5 years ago

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Jo Lars Pleasant Grove, UT

People are so creative! It is fun to find unique products on the Kickstarter page and be able to help the creator launch the business and have early access to the product! I have a friend that got his start this way. If it was not for Kickstarter, his idea would have never come to fruition!

6 years ago

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Anne Kimball Salt Lake City, UT

Me and a good friend of mine launched a Kickstarter campaign to try and raise $15,000 to create a product and we raised the amount in one week! They make it so easy to publicize and to donate to, and now we are off and running! We are so grateful for this service.

6 years ago

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Alex Shurts Port Saint Lucie, FL

I backed a project from Watermelon games called Paprium which was supposed to be a fund raise for Watermelon games to port Paprium to the consales. I ordered 3 collectors editions and a specialized joystick. Fast forward a year later past the deadline which was at December 2022 I still never received it. I tried disputing the charge, but Kickstarter "validated" it while pretending they are a "legitimate" business. Worse is that a tweet was made on December 25th which I never noticed at the time, but a backer on Facebook saved it prior to the tweet being deleted. It showed that the developers were admitting to their backers that the project was a scam(I have evidence of this). This site should be seized by the FBI.

1 year ago

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Tom H

I made a pledge on a project some time ago, and while I was waiting for it to be completed I realised I was no longer receiving update emails. When I tried to login, my login email address was no longer recognised by the Kickstarter website. As such I can no longer receive the product that I backed. I have raised this issue with kickstarter support, who requested (and received) all of the information about the pledge (date pledged, amazon transaction number, all my details etc) they then told me they can't help, and are no longer replying to my emails. Kickstarter will effectively steal your pledge money and then refuse to reply to you, even if you have proof of your email address used to pledge and the transaction where you pledged. Whether this is through incompetence or maliciousness I'm not sure, but I will never use Kickstarter again, for fear that this will happen again.

4 years ago

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I, like many others that have posted here, have never received a product I backed. I paid in September 2016, and was told repeatedly that the shipping was backlogged, and to keep watching for updates as to when I could expect my product to be shipped. First, I was told I would receive it in January, then it was delayed until March. I even received confirmation that it was shipped to me in March! I have reached out multiple times to check the status, with no luck. There is no phone number to call, and no one responds to emails. This company is ridiculous, and even more disgusting is to see that they proudly post how much money us backers have given them. For what? NEVER, NEVER, EVER HAVE ANY CONTACT WITH KICKSTARTER, unless you have money you want to donate to nothing.

7 years ago

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J Adams Charlotte, NC

I have bought multiple items threw Kickstarter and have had zero issues. It is enjoyable to scan through the website at all the great things people are creating.

1 year ago

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Joseph Tempe, AZ

I have used Kickstarted campaign 2 times to raise money for a new idea, both times were are great overall experience. Very simple and easy to use

1 year ago

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Shante Reeder Ogden, UT

I love this company! I have found so many awesome things through this, and I love that it helps new businesses and ideas come to life!

4 years ago

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burning light Beverly Hills, CA

We took a lot of time and energy creating our campaign draft. The draft was declined without specific reasons and we were given a generic, form email of 'reasons'. In response to their request for more information, we pointed out another campaign that had been approved that was very similar to ours. We received no feedback other than 'still declined'. Waste of energy and not worth the effort.

5 years ago

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Kathie Bowman Lakeside, CA

Great for looking at the cool ideas out there. Much more focused toward artsy/tech, not as much for general business funding. Indiegogo is another great option. but all in all its a great site

5 years ago

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Lyssa Eagle Mountain, UT

Had an awesome experience when we raised lineup for our small biz trough Kickstarter. Great platform to work ok

4 years ago

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Stan Ashley

Kickstarter is not recommendable, if you want to be sure to receive the funded Product. If you agree to lose your funded money, than it is the perfect place for you to spend and lose some spare money. But if you want to have a Serious Product, you should wait until the Product is available through normal Retail Shops.

5 years ago

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Chase H Provo, UT

Great for looking at the cool ideas out there. Much more focused toward artsy/tech, not as much for general business funding. Indiegogo is another great option.

6 years ago

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Sonja

They don't vet or follow the projects on there. So you could make something up and get funding for it. They also have no email or phone number. You cannot reach a real person. This is always a giant red flag!

7 years ago

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Kristin G Pleasant Grove, UT

We used Kickstarter to help raise funds for my daughter’s club volleyball fees. It was a simple easy way to get help from family and friends.

6 years ago

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john Joshua Tree, CA

Kickstarter sucks I've had too many bad experiences with start up programs for Kickstarter. KS doesn't protect you if the program you back fails to deliver.

3 years ago

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Douglas Larson Pleasant Grove, UT

They helped launch a product I worked on to the tune of $100,000!

6 years ago

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Dean Soencer

If pledges are not honoured on their site. You have lost your money and they won’t help you in anyway whatsoever.

4 years ago

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Erin Rhoton Pleasant Grove, UT

I ordered a product on Kickstarter and it funded but never came.

6 years ago