DWMagus wrote:Well, it's no secret that those of us who are long-time Kickstarter fans/backers/users usually go on about how pledging to Kickstarter is not a guarantee for a product and/or service.
But it looks like that may
no longer be the case. Personally, I understand the reason why people are upset, but that's just part of the risk you take when you put money on nothing more than a promise.
You seem to be missing the point.
The creator of the project in question (Altius Management)
is legally obligated to deliver certain rewards to supporters. The primary art assets were displayed during the fundraiser. And the creator, in turn, pledged to manufacture and ship various rewards. Altius did not even bother to issue the standard "Risks and Challenges" disclaimer.
The deck files are set to be delivered to the United States Playing Card Company upon completion of the project. During the manufacture and printing of the decks, Milan will create the custom artwork for those who have chosen those particular incentives. We have structured this project to encounter few, if any obstacles, and provide the participants with an amazing, one-time-only product / work of art.
We will rush to create, manufacture, and ship rewards as soon as possible, but most of the dates issues are not depending on us. If everything goes well and UPSCC print decks by agreed timelines, you can expect your decks in December, before Christmas and other holidays.
For backers outside the US, please read the rewards carefully to know what your shipping costs will be, and don't forget to apply additional costs to your order, for proper shipping.
I understand that the actual persons (or person) behind the project reside(s) in Vojvodina, Serbia. Altius Management is (soon to be was) simply a PR firm that enabled the fundraiser to be launched in the United States for a fee. They likely did not expect to be caught in a lawsuit as result of managing a Kickstarter campaign. I am certainly not in a position to know the extent of Altius Management's culpability in the failure of the project. Regardless, I do believe that this lawsuit will actually benefit Kickstarter in the long run. The need for an example, perhaps one could euphemistically call it a cautionary tale, has become rather pronounced. Project creators need to be aware that launching a fundraiser does, in fact, come with obligations.
As a footnote, a bit of digging reveals that Altius has now pulled all content from their web site, with the next stop for the company likely to be bankruptcy protection.
I know not what life is, nor death.
Year in year out-all but a dream.
Both Heaven and Hell are left behind;
I stand in the moonlit dawn,
Free from clouds of attachment.