Kickstarter

Kickstarter

 3.6/5 (135 reviews)

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Overall Rating3.6 out of 5
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Page 1 Reviews 0 - 10
Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: May 26, 2023

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 consoles. 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. This site should be seized by the FBI.

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Verified Reviewer
Original review: May 11, 2023

Several times I’ve tried Kickstarter, every time it’s been fraud. Kickstarter when informed of this ignore. They just want the money with zero service. Last item was the conga mower. It showed all the signs of being fraud. Kickstarter informed by hundreds of people. They ignored all warnings. Yes it turned out to be a scam.

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    Verified Reviewer
    Original review: March 3, 2023

    Bought something from Kickstarter and it was actually a scam. Kickstarter didn’t do anything about it. After many complaints they still did nothing about it... So at the end thousands of people got scam… the biggest parts of the scam is that Kickstarter made money on all of us. Such a bad company.

    2 people found this review helpful
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    Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
    Original review: Feb. 6, 2023

    I've backed 8 campaigns in Kickstarter and 3 of them were shady cases - all backers incl. me lost their money. I posted them questions numerous times but nobody cared to answer neither campaign owners nor Kickstarter. Definitely Kickstarter has to monitor the campaign and when something goes wrong should step in and clarify. No, they're just collecting money from campaigns and don't invest efforts to filter scammers. These are scam-cases just within last 6 months: CXBER, UGAST and SYINNO.

    2 people found this review helpful
    Verified Reviewer
    Original review: Jan. 6, 2023

    Used credit card to back this project (China). Kickstarter charged my credit card. The “creator” raised over $900,000. Project was never fulfilled. Contacting person involved is fruitless. Kickstarter basically claims they are absolved any wrongdoing. Refuse to refund my money. Using the cover of their “terms” as an excuse. These people should be investigated and put out of business.

    2 people found this review helpful
    Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
    Original review: Sept. 10, 2022

    Kickstarter is a scam!! I funded a project which turned out to be a giant scam. Kickstarter will not refund the money, they give the money to these scammers without even caring about the project backers. They could easily change their policy and release funds as the project owners prove that they are legit. Kickstarter would rather just take their percentage and run with zero care about the backers who are getting scammed.

    9 people found this review helpful
    Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
    Original review: Aug. 9, 2022

    I funded a project that turned out to be a million dollar scam and Kickstarter won’t do anything or answer for us as users, on the contrary. The project was ERGOPLAX: The 15-in-1 Smart Ergonomic Sit and Stand Desk. Look for the comments on the project here: (**) I tried many times to ask for Kickstarter to do something or declare the project a scam but they never did. Some of the backers got to ask for a chargeback on their credit cards with their bank but Kickstarter disputed the payment saying that “this is the risk of supporting projects on their site.”

    There's no chance of success in a lawsuit. We all gave money to the campaign and ticked the box acknowledging we might not get a reward, so we don't have a contract with anybody. That's why we backers need KickStarter to be more proactive in vetting Creators and monitoring campaigns, and feeding back directly to backers when appropriate, which they don’t do. Please beware if you are going to fund something on Kickstarter, because if it turns out to be a scam, then there’s nothing you’ll be able to do to get your money back.

    8 people found this review helpful
    Verified Reviewer
    Original review: June 1, 2022

    This company doesn’t support the backers and customer because they are greed with money. They mostly support illegal projects and are criminals themselves due to many fraud projects. Hope this company gets sued.

    8 people found this review helpful
    Verified Reviewer
    Original review: May 13, 2022

    Think twice before you get in to bed with Kickstarter. When you back a project via Kickstarter you at NOT a customer to Kickstarter. Kickstarter will never treat you as a customer nor will they help you in any way when you get ripped off. Kickstarter will always have their customers interest first, and you are just Kickstarters product. I have reported these project scammers to Kickstarter so many times and Kickstarter just don´t care. They have already got their money from the project scammers.

    This is my reply from Kickstarter from my last project I ever will back Kickstarter. “When a creator launches a project on Kickstarter, they’re inviting people to form a contract with them. Anyone who backs a project is accepting that creator’s offer, and forming that contract. Kickstarter is not a part of this contract, it is a direct legal agreement between a creator and their backers. More information about this can be found in our Terms of Use.” Never trust a scammer and never trust anyone who just want to make money from you.

    11 people found this review helpful
    Verified Reviewer
    Original review: April 13, 2022

    I had two different accounts with them with two different cards. They charged the wrong card telling me that I couldn't change my payment option, which was a option given time and was changed before the Kickstarter ended because I was given that option to do so, but they still Charge the wrong card. The card that was deleted and changed. I cannot support any Kickstarter and will not recommend them to anyone I know or anyone looking at this review. Save your money and buy it later, don't back through Kickstarter.

    4 people found this review helpful
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    Kickstarter author review by Ashley Eneriz

    Founded in 2009, Kickstarter is based in Brooklyn, New York. It has helped campaign owners raise more than $7.3 billion to fund over 592,000 projects. It's a haven for creative projects across diverse categories such as dance, food, music and games, as well as a variety of subcategories. In 2015, Kickstarter became a benefit corporation, which means it is obligated to consider the impact of its decisions on society and not just shareholders.

    • All or nothing: The "all or nothing" philosophy at Kickstarter encourages donations and minimizes donor risks. Nearly half of Kickstarter projects get funded.

    • Fees: Kickstarter takes 5 percent of each donation if a project meets its goal, with a third-party processor collecting between 3 to 5 percent. Kickstarter does not charge fees when a campaign fails to meet its goal.

    • Name recognition: Backers who want to fund creative projects tend to gravitate to Kickstarter, and campaign owners benefit from that built-in audience. Entrepreneurs, and increasingly some businesses, can also use Kickstarter to fund a wide variety of creative projects.

    • Project visibility: Through curation, Kickstarter chooses to bring attention to those projects that are getting backer and media attention through the use of staff picks and weekly newsletters.

    by Ashley Eneriz Staff Writer

    Ashley Eneriz has been a staff writer with ConsumerAffairs since 2022. She has been a personal finance writer for over a decade specializing in mortgages, loans, credit cards and budgeting. She has worked for top financial institutions, including Discover, The Hartford, ScotiaBank, Chime, Synchrony and more. Her work has been featured on Forbes, MSN, Yahoo, Reader’s Digest and Time.

    Kickstarter Company Information

    Company Name:
    Kickstarter
    Year Founded:
    2009
    Address:
    58 Kent Street
    City:
    Brooklyn
    State/Province:
    NY
    Postal Code:
    11222
    Country:
    United States
    Website:
    www.kickstarter.com