KickstarterForum.org

[lmatute]

Hello,

My Project will be listed really soon into the Technology/Hardware section, During my pre-lunch I had encounter many people requesting me a way to order multiple of the adapter. Based on Kickstarter guidelines for hardware projects, only single servings of the project's can be offer as a rewards.

I've also noticed that many hardware project encounter the same issue, a few minutes browsing around their comment and you see a lot of requests for multiples rewards, some Project owner had opted for asking people just to double their pledge and that way they can order multiples, however this required additional logistic to keep track of the pledges.

My question is, what do you guys think is the best way to do it? what would be consider best practice?

Single servings

Product Design and Hardware projects can only offer one reward per pledge. Offering multiple quantities can imply that rewards are shrink-wrapped and ready to ship when they’re not. With some projects, we'll make exceptions for what we consider sensible sets — things like salt and pepper shakers, notebooks, building blocks, etc.

ALSO, it seen like Kickstarter really turn the other way on some projects.

Project Lima (formely PLUG), is offering a 2 pack with no issues (they are about to break the 1M mark)

Pledge $149 or more
BACKUP PACK (second batch): You get 2 black Lima devices, to replicate your data in 2 different places. ($10 shipping included)

Project: Blink(1) Mk2 Is even worst, they are offering 2, 3, 5 packs without any issues.

Couple's pack. Connect two people together with light! TWO blink(1) mk2 USB LEDs. Includes two 6ft USB extender cables to put blink(1) mk2 where you want it. Free shipping to USA.

[MichaelTumey]

Maybe it's different with tech/manufactured products, but for the publishing industry, Kickstarter limits you to 10 units. In the Kickstarter I was previously involved with (a publishing project), we offered 10 units at cost at a higher backer level, and it was legit to Kickstarter - there were no problems in doing so. Again, I didn't read the rules for all products or industries.

[lmatute]

Maybe it's different with tech/manufactured products, but for the publishing industry, Kickstarter limits you to 10 units. In the Kickstarter I was previously involved with (a publishing project), we offered 10 units at cost at a higher backer level, and it was legit to Kickstarter - there were no problems in doing so. Again, I didn't read the rules for all products or industries.

Correct, it is a Rule for "Product Design and Hardware projects" only, and it is fairly new, I believe it starter it Sep/Oct Last year.

[inflexionUSA]

Hi Imatute,

Correct, it is a Rule for "Product Design and Hardware projects" only, and it is fairly new, I believe it starter it Sep/Oct Last year.[/quote]

About this time last year Kickstarter became more restrictive concerning multiples. I seem to remember Crabby early in his campaign indicated that he had contacted KS about this very issue. His campaign was in Fashion. As his rewards never did include multiples, I can only assume he decided against adding multiples or was denied by KS. Regardless, his project topped $300,000.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/136 ... ref=search

The reasons why KS instituted this policy may have not be as much of an issue today as they were then. I think if properly created a multiple reward is a benefit not a detraction from the KS experience. You could contact KS specifically about this issue and request a determination citing specific instances where this has been similarly done before. You could also provide proof that potential backers have expressed interest in this. Finally, in your request to KS, you can put the exact description, wording, pricing and details that you would use for this reward tier, so they are making a more tangible decision.

Multiples or not, keep in mind that KS is the beginning not the end. Projects like GoldieBlox did very well on KS and then went on to do even greater business after the project ended.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/160 ... s?ref=live

Good luck,

James

[lmatute]

James,

thank you for your feedback, I fully understand the reason why Kickstarter decided to implement the rule, however it doesn't answer my question on "how to manage those request"?

let's take the project you linked as an Example, and we can quickly see how no having those multiple item rewards and just asking people to double their pledge become a large headache.

From the Crabby project:

Carlos Garcia on May 3
i also have the same problem, sent a message to Ryan before checking the comments here, but changed my pledge from $21 to $57 for three additional wallets but was only charged the $21 for just one wallet (my original pledge)
would still like to get those additional wallets if possible, not sure why that happened because im sure i confirmed the change.

Project Owner's reply:

"Creator Ryan Crabtree on May 3
Some of you thought you increased your pledge to receive additional wallets, but your credit card was only charged enough to cover one wallet. I am working to find the best solution to collect money from you so I can send you more wallets. I do not have a working solution in place at this time, but will get back to you when a solution is available."

[inflexionUSA]

Hi Imatute,

There are only two ways I know for certain how to avoid the problems Ryan Crabtree encountered.

The first is to offer single rewards and let backers know that if they would like additional units they can purchase them from directly from you after your project completes.

The second is to contact Kickstarter as I suggested in my earlier reply and get a yes or no decision from them.

It seems to me based on the quotes in your post above that either backers or Crabby may have had a workaround solution for multiple rewards. As you can see it did not work, in all cases. I would suggest contacting Ryan Crabtree directly, as he may have the answer you are looking for.

In the end if the answer to multiple rewards is NO, then your time would best be spent devising a way to encourage backers to purchase directly from you after your project completes.

James

[inflexionUSA]

Hi Leo,

Kickstarter states "With some projects, we'll make exceptions for what we consider sensible sets"

I disagree with your categorization that Kickstarter allowed Lima and Blink(1) to offer multiple quantities without good cause. It is easy to make a case why one person would want or even need multiple units of each of these products. To put this another way, for many one unit while helpful may not sufficiently solve a person's problem at hand, whereas two or more units might. So offering multiple units based on that premise makes perfect sense. This would be a harder case to justify for a second or third Crabby wallet, so perhaps that is the reason KS may not have allowed multiples in that instance.

The good news for you, is like Lima and Blink(1) I think you too can make a similar and strong case, that a single user or small business may require more that one unit in order to justify their investment in your product. If I were you I, for clarity's sake, I would simple say, there are many customers that will require more that one unit in order to justify the investment of both time and money for my product. Therefore it is necessary and makes sense that I offer bundles accordingly.

I would then demonstrate one or two instances to prove your point:

1. Anyone who works from more that one location and does in fact need multiple units.

2. Anyone who may want to simultaneously charge two phones, a phone and iPad ... at once.

As this scenario occurs thousands of times per day, I believe Kickstarter will grant you your request as it is not only "sensible" but necessary.

James

[lmatute]

James,

Thank you for your support, it had been a great help during my pre-launch.

Project is finally live and kicking, I decided to avoid the multiple item rewards (At least for now) and make pre-ordering available from my website once the project is fully funded.

LockedUSB Adapter - USB Charger Firewall & Power Optimizer - http://kck.st/14Wh0WV

[sbriggman]

My question is, what do you guys think is the best way to do it? what would be consider best practice?

I'd say you have three options. 1. Offer multiple adapters at a certain tier and see what Kickstarter says, which may delay your project if they reject it. 2. Encourage people to pledge multiple times at the same tier to receive multiple copies 3. Indicate that when you fulfill rewards you will also include a questionnaire asking which backers would like to receive multiple copies and then contact them individually when you have the ability to produce more items (or offer them for sale on your website).

If it were my campaign, I would combine 2 and 3 just to make sure I reached everyone who was interested in multiple copies.

[nomlinz]

This is quite an old topic, but worth revisiting with recent changes in how some of the crowdfunding platforms are running in 2019.

For one, Indiegogo has made their platform much simpler for entrepreneurs to handle additional product add-ons. This includes adding accessories and/or getting two of the same rewards. They've solved this by modeling their checkout page like a typical eCommerce page. You can go to a campaign page, click on a perk you want, and then you get directed to a page where you can include add-ons to your pre-order. At this stage, you can include add-ons or an additional reward that is the exact same. After you finish adding on items, you get directed to the checkout page for all of the perks in your cart.

Here's an example for a hypothetical e-bike campaign:
- main perk: e-bike
- add-on page: additional battery, smart lock, off-road tires, etc. The backer can add as many add-ons as they would like.
- checkout: all items in the cart from the previous steps are put together in one checkout page

This solves a lot of the issues with multiple add-on options for crowdfunding. A setup like this is especially useful for products with multiple SKUs and add-ons since it makes it more concrete what customers are adding on and it ties in with the backend of your project which SKUs are being added on.

On the other hand, Kickstarter makes it more general. Backers can get one base reward, and add as much money to their base contribution. This campaign is a beautiful example of how this is executed: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peak-design/the-everyday-backpack-tote-and-sling <-- scroll down to rewards and add-ons section.

With a campaign like this where people can add contributions as they want, you have two options as a campaigner for how to deal with these pledges. You can go through the data yourself at the end of the campaign and manually confirm with each backer or you can work with a Pledge Manager like BackerKit. They take in information for all the pledges and rewards you offered during your campaign and create surveys that get automatically sent out to backers and have them eseentially "confirm" what they put money down for. This ties back to a SKU for each of the items you offer so that in the end you'll have a final count of how many of each item your backers got.

There are pros and cons for each platform (read here for comparison: https://crushcrowdfunding.com/the-ultimate-comparison-indiegogo-or-kickstarter/) beyond just how they configure their checkout process. So be sure you pick the right platform for yourself before launching!