I logged into Kickstarter earlier today and noticed a notification that WASN'T about a Kickstarter Survey that I was supposed to fill out. No, this notification lead to an article that would have been at home in the NY Times or BBC News.
Supply Chain Disruptions Are Affecting Kickstarter Projects–Here's What to Know
It’s a good bet you've already heard at least a little about the supply chain issues that are making it hard to access certain kinds of products and materials, and causing delays in manufacturing and shipping all around the world. Created by a confluence of factors including pandemic-related changes to consumer demand, worker shortages, and the ripple effects of COVID on a globally interconnected economy, the "Great Supply Chain Disruption" has become an emblem of the increasing unpredictability of the modern world.
Read the article linked above. It's a good read. But why did Kickstarter put together such a post?
Because supply issues are going to hit Kickstarter hard, and I suspect they are trying to get ahead of potential chargebacks from customers.
It's not just chargebacks.
Late Kickstarters aren't going to be "a thing". Late Kickstarters will be "The Thing" for the immediate future, and it's going to cut into their business model.
Creators may hold off launching new projects until delivery services stabilize. Backers may decide not to back, but to wait until certain projects hit the retail market, if they ever do.
Unfortunately, as reliable as kickstarter has been for me (about 85%), any less reliability will absolutely push me to purchase products off of the shelf. IF it doesn't make it to the shelf? Well, it just doesn't.
ReplyDeleteAgain, why I do everything in the US. Guess what, I'm months EARLY on all my products, but sadly that doesn't seem to translate into more traffic. Ah well, at least I try :)
ReplyDeleteFortunately pdf rewards aren't impacted.
ReplyDeleteI gave up on crowdfunding years ago. No interest in playing investor for game manufacturers.
ReplyDelete