Beware the Grift: The Grift is Real
Within minutes of launching our first Kickstarter campaign, we had a backer pledge an additional $100 over the price of the one and only level. It was entirely possible that this could have been a legitimate "yay, philanthropy" moment, but it was followed up by a comment asking us to contact him directly by email. I suspected that the grift was on. Never let them take you to a second location, and all of that.
I did reply that we’re happy to answer questions there on the page, out in the open, in case another backer might have the same question. Naturally, there was no response from him on the venue.
Okay, we're new at this, why not? Let's respond. Thanks for your pledge. We'll be happy to answer your questions in email.
The following is cut-and-paste directly from the email chain. I'd give you screenshots, but it would be a lot harder to read, and while I'm not opposed to naming and shaming, I don't want to run afoul of Kickstarter policies.
HIM
Hope you're doing good? Yeah I wanted to know more about the project production timeline, is there any sample available I can check and the delivery process?
[A little weird, you'd think someone who put in $100 would have read the page where all of that information already exists.]
US
As the campaign states, the book is done and the digital files will be sent the day after the campaign ends. An excerpt has already been posted to Updates, and additional excerpts will be added over the next few days.
HIM
That's great
However, what’s your current plan for getting more people to discover the campaign? I think there are so many out there who would connect with your idea if they only knew about it. Personally, when I back something, I love feeling like I’m joining a movement that has the potential to make an impact, not just supporting a campaign page and sharing with friends.
Though it's not really my concern but I'm asking because I shared your campaign to our backers forum immediately after I backed it but nobody seems to react to it, is there anything wrong? I know the idea is really good, do people not know about it outside Kickstarter?
I would love to hear your thoughts and how you see this project growing from here. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts
[The grift is clearly on. Very generic, no mention of what the campaign is about, no specifics.]
US
So, are you trying to sell me marketing and SEO services?
HIM
Yes, since I noticed your campaign has a very low traction and it also have some errors as well
But if you are not interested it's fine
US
Define low traction. We funded in an hour. Even without your generous pledge, we'd be $10 from funded with 6 days to go. The project has already done what it set out to do. Thanks for your interest and support, but this was a low-stakes campaign undertaken with the advice of several experienced Kickstarter creators. We're not looking to hire additional consultants at this time.
Dear Reader, I wanted to out him, and post something under his original comment on the site, but we don’t want to run afoul of Kickstarter’s policies. We're new to the platform, so I couldn't find anywhere to report this guy.
When I went back a few hours later to check campaign progress, I knew that his pledge was going to have mysteriously disappeared. And it had. But that wasn't all.
I don't know if people can delete comments or not, but this doesn't look like he's the one who did it.
