I’ve backed projects on Kickstarter multiple times, but never anything major or lavish that I had to really think about. It’s just because I get a little thrill out of contributing assistance to the people behind these projects, brilliant men and women wanting to take their idea from just that, an idea, to a real product offered to consumers around the world. We’ve seen great success come out of Kickstarter, and some of those successes have even been able to spawn successor. There’s a lot of good to Kickstarter, but there’s also a lot of bad to Kickstarter. Deciding to become a backer to large projects with massive campaigns is risky because of the unknown. Backers could end up losing out on their money because, once a a campaign meets its goal, the funds are secured in the creator’s account. Where’s the thrill in that? Backers can build up hope to receive an ambitious, unique product only to be left without any reward along with a weaker bank account.
Always Right Cord is a project which launched on Kickstarter on September 21, 2015. The project debuted with the purpose to create a cable that has reversible USB 2.0 and micro-USB connectors so you could simply connect your devices without worrying about connecting them into ports in any specific way. This may sound familiar because it’s part of the USB Type-C hype, but many people aren’t ready to switch to that technology. Always Right Cord’s creator, a vague profile known as Always Right, set the Kickstarter campaign’s goal at $5,000. Guess what? The goal was met the following day and proceeded to generate almost $32,000 because of 1,123 backers believing in the project.
Backers could have received their Always Right Cord in November, but it’s now February and not a single backer has received one. Delays are acceptable as long as there’s transparency, something the people behind Always Right Cord have failed to provide numerous times.
My experience with Always Right Cord began on October 13 when one of the great public relations agency I’ve worked with at Talk Android reached out about their client launching a Kickstarter campaign. The account executive shared details about Always Right Cord and sent me a unit to check out for myself. After receiving an Always Right Cord, I wrote this post to shed light on it because I believed the product could offer value in a world resisting the impending takeover of USB Type-C.
What I did not believe in was the shunning of the 1,123 backers who want what they paid for.
Late in December, I was contacted on Twitter by one of Always Right Cord’s backers. This backer was searching for answers because the creator had neglected to respond to him or any of the other backers who inquired on its status with the creator. Being vacation was right around the corner, I told the backer I would check things out when I returned the next month. And I did exactly that. The account executive had me connected with someone from Always Right Cord in less than a day.
The response I received on January 6 from the Always Right Cord representative stated that units were produced and sitting in a warehouse in the United States. Left on the to-do list was “setting up” distribution and “internal matters,” and shipping would begin “at the latest” on January 15. The Kickstarter campaign was updated on January 7 which I assume included the details given to me. So I walked away happy because backers got transparency after months.
But of course January 15 came and went without Always Right Cord shipping.
So the backer who sent me the original notice reappeared to tell me nothing has change, forcing me to send the representative an email on February 6. An update was published to the Kickstarter campaign on February 8 but my inbox remained empty.
Since the representative hadn’t responded for days, separate follow-up emails were sent by both me and the account executive. Ten days after the February 6 email, I sent yet another email. It felt shady because I’ve never come across a business that ignores customers and press members.
Finally, on February 17, I received the following:
The reason for delay, according to the representative, is a hiccup involving the distribution service agreement and shipping charges. Because of the hiccup, units could not ship at a cost to be covered by the money generated on Kickstarter; however, things have been solved and backers of Always Right Cord should expect their units to ship sometime in the next week or two.
I’m immensely frustrated and disappointed with the people behind Always Right Cord for two reasons, one of which is obvious. People putting their faith in the project have been lied to, ignored, and mistreated numerous times. Why did I have to step in to get 1,123 backers the answers they deserve? The comments section of the Kickstarter campaign has over 300 comments and a large amount of them are pressing for answers to their questions. I didn’t contribute a single penny to the project; those backers did. It shouldn’t take me, a writer of a mobile news publication, to get transparency. I shouldn’t have a stronger voice than backers who actually spent money for an idea to become a reality. But I became their voice because transparency wasn’t available to them.
Adding fuel to my internal fire was the discovery of a Kickstarter campaign operated by the same group from Always Right Cord. Seeing the Always Right Cord representative’s email address caused me to go beyond the Always Right profile on Kickstarter and search the company name. It turns out UBIK Mobile, who launched the UBIK UNO on Kickstarter in July 2015, is attached to Always Right Cord as well. The current status of the UBIK UNO seems to be it’s in the same development hell as Always Right Right Cord. Backers have either received faulty units or nothing at all.
UBIK Mobile earned $241,925 from 766 backers on Kickstarter with an estimated delivery for September. If you check the project’s comments section on Kickstarter, you’ll see thousands of comments begging for transparency. Those backers contributed hundreds of dollars while the Always Right Cord’s put forth just a fraction of that.
Neither Always Right Cord nor the UBIK UNO have appeared on doorsteps of backers as a quality product months after launching on Kickstarter. UBIK Mobile has failed to do repeatedly is give their loyal backers transparency. This company is proving it cannot keep a promise. If UBIK Mobile couldn’t get the UBIK UNO out in a timely fashion, it’s puzzling to see the same group try to develop another product. Even students sitting in introductory business courses would scratch their heads wondering what caused UBIK Mobile to launch a second Kickstarter campaign without successfully finishing the first. Backers of Always Right Cord had no idea they were getting involved with an unproven company who decides to be silent, suspicious, and then active only when pressed.
The lesson learned by digging into this is that you should ensure a business is communicative and transparent before giving them your money.
Come comment on this article: Always Right Cord backers couldn’t get transparency, so I stepped in
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