

Kickstarter launches in the UK with hundreds of new projects ready for funding - codyguy
http://thenextweb.com/uk/2012/10/31/kickstarter-launches-in-the-uk-with-hundreds-of-new-projects-ready-for-funding/

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Nursie
I'm kinda-sorta starting to go off the kickstarter model.

They're not a shop, as the things are not ready yet (and may never be), and
you're not really investing because you don't get any ownership of the company
(however small). So selfishly I've started to wonder what's in it for me. It
benefits me if I just wait to see if the thing comes to market, then I can buy
it without the possibility of it never surfacing.

As it is I feel a bit torn about the idea of acting as a crowdsourced bank for
a business but not getting the returns of an actual investor. I can see why
it's appealing for the business though.

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k-mcgrady
>> "what's in it for me"

You get more for your pledge than you would just purchasing the product. e.g.
the product is offered cheaper to pledgers or comes in a limited edition.
Kickstarter will only continue to work if project creators offer something
extra to pledgers. A lot of people seem to be using it as a pre-order service
to help fund development. They need to offer more, realising that people are
taking a risk by funding them.

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SideburnsOfDoom
> You get more for your pledge than you would just purchasing the product.

I agree- a pledge is not a purchase. But you need to do the mental math for
the project. e.g. I would get 20% more. But I think the project is only 80%
likely to ship. And the project founder is cool so I'd give them a few bucks
anyway.

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Osmium
> A pledge is not a purchase.

They should make this their motto. The Kickstarter model is fine, they just
need to better communicate just what that model is to their users.

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groktor
so who is the mystery "third party payment provider"?

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thisone
I wish I knew. I was hoping that this signaled Amazon was opening payment
processing in £'s.

The only reason I don't use S3 is because, as a very small time user, I don't
want my foreign transaction fees to be larger than the S3 fees.

However, brilliant news for people who weren't able to circumvent the system.
Still surprised (and happy) it came to the UK before Canada.

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xxpor
How bad are foreign transaction fees in the UK? For me in the US, it's just 1%
flat rate (which I get back in cash back anyway).

