“Pon,” a set of punctureless push pins, raised $62,020 in a March Kickstarter campaign. Credit: Omar L. Gallaga / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Have you had great or terrible experiences backing projects on Kickstarter?
In this week's Digital Savant column (in Tuesday's print edition and online at MyStatesman.com), I went back ground my last two and a half years or so of Kickstarter activity and reported on whether the money I put into these projects (about $1,645) yielded me great products and fun or disappointment.
Here’s an excerpt from the column:
The Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan 1994 Museum, February 2015
How much I pledged: $10
What I got: Buttons, photos, brochure, map and party invitation (in New York City) and knowledge that I'm contributing to sports culture.
Worth it? Absolutely. What sounded like a joke at first turned into a very earnest effort from New York City comics and roommates Matt Harkins and Viviana Rosales Olen to create a museum out of their modest hallway. I've gotten hilarious emails and exchanged Tweets with the curators, resulting in a genuine friendship with these funny roommates. All of it has been worth much more than the $10 I paid.
Pon, the Punctureless Push Pin, March 2015
How much I pledged: $10
What I got: 60 steel coil pins that are like thumbtacks but allow you to hang photos or other pieces of paper without puncturing them.
Worth it: These arrived last week, a month later than promised, and while I wonder if $10 on a small tin of push pins is a wise investment, I received 20 more Pons than expected (the pledge was for 40) and they work exactly as I'd hoped. They're actually pretty awesome.
I realize that my experience is atypical. There are plenty of Kickstarters that didn't deliver on promises, especially on the gaming/tech side, but I've been really selective and careful and have largely only backed known quantities (or friends I was supporting and didn't care about a return-on-investment).
Now that I've exposed my past purchase history, I'd love to hear from you. Do you use Kickstarter? What have been your experiences and do you plan to keep backing projects in the future? Let me know in the comments or email me to let me know what you think.
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