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What a good idea kickstarter was. It still amazes me to this day to see projects like this get so much funding so quickly. Very jealous of these uber-successful

What a good idea kickstarter was. It still amazes me to this day to see projects like this get so much funding so quickly. Very jealous of these uber-successful kickstarter campaigns that seem to be popping up everywhere (though of course, HN has a little bit of a success-bias). Glad to see even more competition for the cheapest-3d-printer title, we all benefit in the end. Also, I bet HP is going to start snapping up these companies to give itself a better start on it's late entry into the 3D printer market

bertil 13y ago
If I may: it is great to raise money for great projects, but that might not be the best example… Kickstart was started for actual project, that is, things that were half-done, but still had challenges: these guys seem to consider their main remaining issue is to be choosing the color of the thing… This evolution towards pre-order is a concern, mainly because pre-order was possible before Kickstarter; the platform and centralisation of projects is noce, but the real reason companies like Kickstarter have so much mature projects come at them is because of the legal void that the site contracts allows them to side-step if they don't deliver. It might be seen as a progress. I’d rather look at the numbers and wonder how individual contributors see it, especially past one who are not active anymore. On the other side, don’t be jealous: a lot of companies are on Kickstarter's lists, but not mentioned here, or anywhere and don't raise anything. There is a reason why Kickstarter sums up money raised, not the success rate. Truth is: success rate probably should be this low, I would argue lower -- but it’s not the high-flying life all around. One personal bias: I see home-based 3D printing as over-hyped. I won't print Espresso cups, tiny pixelated busts, and my consumption of shower-hooks and door handles is barely one in a decade and I prefer sturdier things than plastic melted with steam, especially to sustain a occasionally hot shower. That bias however is very typical of Kickstarter's successes that tend to verge on the hyped towards customers: Leap Motion was another good example of a great idea, amazing on paper that failed to do the heavy work of figuring out if, how and when it would be practical.

bertil 13y ago

If I may: it is great to raise money for great projects, but that might not be the best example… Kickstart was started for actual project, that is, things that were half-done, but still had challenges: these guys seem to consider their main remaining issue is to be choosing the color of the thing… This evolution towards pre-order is a concern, mainly because pre-order was possible before Kickstarter; the platform and centralisation of projects is noce, but the real reason companies like Kickstarter have so much mature projects come at them is because of the legal void that the site contracts allows them to side-step if they don't deliver. It might be seen as a progress. I’d rather look at the numbers and wonder how individual contributors see it, especially past one who are not active anymore. On the other side, don’t be jealous: a lot of companies are on Kickstarter's lists, but not mentioned here, or anywhere and don't raise anything. There is a reason why Kickstarter sums up money raised, not the success rate. Truth is: success rate probably should be this low, I would argue lower -- but it’s not the high-flying life all around. One personal bias: I see home-based 3D printing as over-hyped. I won't print Espresso cups, tiny pixelated busts, and my consumption of shower-hooks and door handles is barely one in a decade and I prefer sturdier things than plastic melted with steam, especially to sustain a occasionally hot shower. That bias however is very typical of Kickstarter's successes that tend to verge on the hyped towards customers: Leap Motion was another good example of a great idea, amazing on paper that failed to do the heavy work of figuring out if, how and when it would be practical.