[UPDATE 03/14] One of Funded.Todays former customers has come out saying that their project required a $5,000 “Test Fee” followed by 40% of the rewards earned. [And … WSJ Reported last year that the number was 35%.]
[Editorial Note] Here’s the takeaway from the below article, based on their own statistics, it would appear that your Kickstarter has a greater chance of FAILING with Funded.Today.
Now whether they are just VERY unlucky with who they decide to partner with or their promotional help causes their campaigns to exceed the scope at which their project creators have experience with, are a very real possibility. However, between their ADs, and the below article, we will leave you to make your own judgement.
Shout out goes to the ‘always spamming my Facebook feed’, My Top Kickstarter Projects for pointing out the following.
If you’ve never heard of My Top Kickstarter Projects, they act as a Facebook Page for their company Funded.Today. Companies will hire them to build out a marketing campaign for their Kickstarter campaign. Then, they create a sponsored post with some fantastic click-bait. A catchy headline, some cheesy circle or arrow on an image, and once they secure your click, they accept whatever check or % of the final Kickstarters sales were. I.E. When Kickstarters already are working off of an impoverished or shoestring budget, Funded.Today taking a gigantic cut sure doesn’t help.
Here’s a sample Sponsored Post.
If you were to click on the sponsored post, you get thrown to a URL that looks like this, http://283dsa.fnd.to/steadicam. That URL contains a URL redirection script, that adds on their referral code and tracking information.
document.location.replace("https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/tiffencompany\/steadicam-volt-smartphone-stabilizer-shake-free-vi?ref=FundedToday&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=283dsa.fnd.to");
You can see here that their referral code is “FundedToday” or also known as, https://funded.today/.
You can also assume that they are purely an advertising agency, which is why you can assume that any projects that you see as an advertisement through them should be scrutinized heavily.
Lets view some of the projects that My Top Kickstarter Projects and Funded.Today have “helped”, the products are in the order they are listed on their bragging page of their website.
#1. Trunkster
Current Status: 2+ years behind schedule, backers still waiting, no reply from company. Assume they are never shipping.
This project was launched on 11/18/2014, Funded.Today showed up at 12/26/2014, this is currently their #1 case study on their website. View all their backers begging for answers here.
#2. BetterBack
Current Status: Also 2 years behind schedule, backers still waiting. Reports in their comments that their product is a rip-off of another product. But this hasn’t stopped them from launching a second campaign.
This project was created on 03/31/2015, and Funded.Today showed up at 04/21/2015.
#3. Free Wavz
Current Status: Also 2+ years behind schedule, backers still waiting, no reply from company. Assume they are never shipping.
This project launched on 06/23/2104, and Funded.Today showed up on 08/02/2014. View all their hated backers here.
#4. Basics Wallet
Current Status: They shipped to some of their backers in early 2016, almost 1 and a half years later, however as of Feb 2017, they still haven’t fully shipped all of their wallets, and there are reports of poor quality control issues and fraying.
This project was launched on 09/30/2014, and Funded.Today arrived on 10/09/14, it would appear this product (and in our opinion very ugly, was plagued with errors
Based on their very own statistics, your Kickstarter has a greater chance of FAILING if you hire them to take a percentage of your money.
Other projects Funded.Today has “helped”:
(Note they list 357 products in order of total funding, we took the first 31 most funded projects that have passed their estimated original delivery date. Out of the first 31 projects, 23 failed, 9 succeed. Determination of success and failed projects was determined by the comments by the backers on each project.)
Funded.Today Failed Projects:
Period of Happiness – Failing Product and customers have never received.
Garlic Shaker – Simply the Best Way to Peel Garlic – Supposed to ship Jan 2016, it’s currently Feb 2017, and still haven’t shipped. Additionally you can pre-order it for the same price as the early backers paid.
Baubax Travel Jacket – Defective Products Shipped
The Everyday Messenger: A Bag For Cameras & Essential Carry – Not as waterproofed as claimed, broken bags, people never received products
MEATER: The Only Wire-Free Smart Meat Thermometer (IndieGoGo) – Never shipped products, no replies to comments, application won’t install on users devices, No support from company.
MEATER: The First Truly Wireless Smart Meat Thermometer (KickStarter) – They helped them with both of their campaigns, and surprise, both were failures.
The ADV3NTURE Hoodie – People still waiting for their products, behind schedule.
PUGZ-World’s smallest wireless earbuds charged through phone – Yeah … these are never shipping.
Ravean – The World’s First Heated Down Jacket w/ 6X Mobile Charging – Yeah, jackets are falling apart, missing cables, claims to be boosted from “Seven Figure Crowdfunding Courses” def failure.
Barracuda: Collapsible Luggage + Tray + GPS + USB Charger – Oh we’ve written about these guys, here, here, and here. FAILURE. And still offering pre-orders? They’ve been pre-ordering for years now.
BetterBack – Fail, see above.
LVL – The First Wearable Hydration Monitor – Never shipped 6+ months late.
Solo Stove Bonfire | The World’s Most Unique Fire Pit – Never shipped 6+ months late.
FaceCradle Travel Pillow – Upgrade to Sleeping Class! – Guess what? Never shipped 6+ months late.
FireFlies – Truly Wire-Free Earbuds! – I’ll let this comment sum it all up, “When can we expect the replacements to begin shipping again?”
8-in-1 EVOLUTION BRA: The World’s Most Advanced Bra – Oh this one is great, non fitting, they offered “Skype fitting sessions”, non shipping, list goes on and on.
Redefining Italian Luxury Watch – Filippo Loreti – People appears to be on their 3rd replacement already, glass falls out, etc …
Space Case 1 – The World’s Most Advanced Smart Suitcase – They’ve been trying to ship since 2015.
Hub+ for USB-C: Get your MacBook ports back. – Another 2015 project, looks like they are attempting to refund? But also failed delivering to their customers and selling on Amazon?
BioLite BaseLantern – Smartgrid Goes Off-Grid – Supposed to ship in October 2016, they missed that, some people are reported reciving their products, however they are plagued with problems, and making buyers pay for returning a faulty product.
iBand+: EEG headband that helps you Sleep and Dream! – 6 months late with shipping, can’t wait to see this never ship.
UsBidi- The World’s Most Intelligent Charger Ever! – Technology projects rarely ship it seems, same with this one.
Lifepack: Solar Powered & Anti-Theft Backpack – Broken parts of the backpack, missed ship date, people still asking about their bags. Looks like they went with the cheapest items for most of their features.
Funded.Today Successes Projects:
dio Naked Reversible USB cables for Lightning and Micro – Looks like they managed to ship a good portion before leaving the cable business for good. They are now running a company called truSheet. However their comments are loaded with people who are on their second and third cable, their defect rates are at least 8% though we suspect higher now.
GOBAG – A Carry-On Bag For Any Adventure – Success! It looks like they shipped over a 6 month period but Oct 2015 – May 2016 isn’t horrible in the kickstarter world.
Purple Pillow – This will be another blog article in itself, but yes, a success.
The NOMATIC Travel Bag – So far appears to be a success. Though users are reporting things missing from their package that were promised.
The Field Skillet: Lighter, Smoother Cast Iron – Mixed opinions on this one, it appears people have been broken up into multiple order ‘runs’, and people are getting them, however there are some concerns as to what it’s actually coated with.
Xpand Lacing System: Shoelaces Redesigned – Looks like a success actually, people got their laces.
Roost Laptop Stand | Free yourself from laptop neck pain – Actually looks like a success, see simple kickstarters can be a success, just nothing more complicated than a couple pieces of plastic.
KP Duffle – The Ultimate Travel Bag – Seems to have had a delay on shipping, but very few comments and most have been positive, so success!
Trakline “Express Belt” | KORE Essentials – Looks to be a success.
Whether they are just VERY unlucky with who they decide to partner with, or the their marketing help causes their campaigns to exceed the scope at which their project creators have experience with are a very real possibility. However this article, we feel, says it all.
The question that remains however is why they chose to highlight and brag about their failing campaigns first, maybe honesty, really is the best policy.
