
After raising $13M on Kickstarter in 2014, Coolest Cooler is shutting down - bgrynol
https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/9/21003445/coolest-cooler-update-business-tariffs-kickstarter
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jmccorm
I managed to swing one of those as an “Amazon Warehouse Deal” for $75,
shipped. Honestly, it was nothing short of a steal at that price. The Coolest
Cooler had just so many clever features and accessories, but it was anything
but clever when it came to manufacturing costs with all the custom moldings,
accessories, bulk. and weight.

Somewhere was a website which attempted to break those costs down. No question
that the engineering team put functionality and features first and cost
second. The company needed to sell in volume to survive, but the final cost
was just too high for that to happen. They seemed to have been slowly clawing
their way back, but _I do believe them_ when they say that new tariffs were
the final straw which killed the dream.

I am truly sorry for backers. They were sold on the promise of so many clever
features never before jam-packed into in a single cooler. (The only thing I
would have added were larger rear wheels.) But it just wasn’t the right
product brought to life by the right company and at the right cost. Some
backers were strung along _for years_ and really got screwed.

Still, you better believe that I consider myself lucky. I’m going to keep this
monster for the rest of my life. Now if I only could have gotten my “World’s
Thinnest Watch” from 2013 that raised over $1M on Kickstarter and failed to
deliver _anything_. I know how it feels, and it sucks. Kickstarter isn’t a
store, but I swear that some projects do their damndest to blur that line, you
know?

~~~
merkul204
what is the thinnest watch you are speaking off? Is it nove.com? they claim to
have the thinnest watch

~~~
jmccorm
CST-01: The World’s Thinnest Watch (0.8mm thick)
[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1655017763/cst-01-the-w...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1655017763/cst-01-the-
worlds-thinnest-watch)

I believe they ran into problems with their manufacturing partner, and also
with some of their batteries bulging. They had very good intentions, but I
believe the project became too big for this enthusiastic but novice team to
handle. Also: Lots of failed components pre-assembly.

Too bad, really. A flexible e-ink watch embedded into a metal wrist band
should have been achievable and quite a fantastic product!

------
bgrynol
Only 2/3 of orders shipped and many customers left without having their order
fulfilled

