I chose the option around the "Shipping Schedule."
Honestly, for me a lot of it comes down to cost. A lot of these Kickstarters can be really pricy. I may be interested in something but I always have to ask "Am I willing to pay $50-$100 for a product now... That I may not see for a year or more?" and that is usually enough to scare me away honestly.
When you crowdfund these things you're signing on for a project that is usually unfinished, and you always run the risk of it maybe not living up to the idea that is being pitched to you, either because the creator isn't up to the task of delivering what they promised, or it's possible their vision changes and re-flavors the project in-between the time you back it and the time it makes it to print. Worst case scenario it never delivers at all. Granted this is less of a fear when you're dealing with more reputable companies like Kobold Press who have a history of delivering their products, but stuff happens. There's no promise that they will always live up to that reputation.
I may be a poor individual to answer this question as I am super risk-adverse in this area. I'm a PC gamer that got to see the rise of Early Access video games, and the great successes like Minecraft, and the massive failures like DayZ. I struggle to trust crowd funding.
The only TTRPG project I've ever backed was The Dungeon Coach's book, and I think I really did that in the midst of a manic high. I also think it was largely complete though, and he was really just crowdfunding the printing. The last thing I kickstarted was a MTG Deckbox which I'm very happy with, but took over a year for delivery, and ended up several months late, which put me in an awkward spot as I was moving.
I see a lot of kickstarters and back almost none of them, simply because I'm not certain I can keep up my hype for a year or more. So I have to really look at the offerings and see, what advantage do I have now, that I lose by waiting for it to be something I can just buy when it comes out?
