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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jer" data-source="post: 8628871" data-attributes="member: 19857">This is why it's super crucial to read the entire campaign page, and not just the top level.  For example, the "Risks and Challenges" section at the bottom of the page and the "estimated delivery date".Some projects have very good "Risks and Challenges" sections where they will talk about things that might happen to delay delivery.  You can also find out if the product is already done or if you're funding development of the project.  If a project doesn't include these things, and the creator doesn't have a track record of delivery, then you need to take that into account. For example, I probably wouldn't have backed the particular project you're talking about because the "Risks and Challenges" section doesn't indicate that the folks involved thought thoroughly about the things that could go wrong, it's the first Kickstarter that they'd done, and it doesn't appear that they had even a draft PDF ready to share when the kickstarter ended.  I've broken that rule at times and have mostly gotten lucky, but I try to follow it.Conversely to see a good Kickstarter campaign look at any Onyx Path or Steve Jackson Games or Free League campaign.  They'll tell you flat out where they are in the process - usually at the final draft stage for Onyx Path and Free League and often "ready to ship to a printer we just need the money to pay them for it" for SJG. They have established track records, they put reasonable timelines on their delivery dates, and they have a record of hitting their commitments.Kickstarter is basically sitting in a few places in the ecosystem for creators - for some creators it's replacing the preorder system that they might have.  Those are low risk campaigns to back because as long as the campaign hits they'll ship the product because you don't get to the preorder stage without having a product nearly ready to ship.  For others it's replacing the "we need a loan to get this product out the door" part of a business - instead of putting a bunch of stuff on their credit cards or asking the bank for a loan, they get preorders from customers to pay for production.  Companies in that second bucket need a lot more due dilligence before you back their project because you are in essence floating them a loan to complete it by paying for it in advance.  And like anyone you loan money to, you should carefully consider whether they're going to be able to pay it back or not and how much you care about them being able to pay it back at all before you make that loan.</blockquote>

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