Just doesn't seem right. How are we supposed to fleece the dummy sucker investors of their cash now?
They aren't even investors. They donate or pre-order, often just pre-ordering merchandise, not the real thing.
How to do it right? Offer something unique, something even impossible, make it a fashion statement (there always seems to be suckers if you offer something tiny and shiny instead of robust and usable when it comes to electronics), promise the moon, add buzzwords (like Arduino or Python when it comes to electronics - both a sure sign that it is something from idiots for idiots).
Or do what this Amanda Palmer musician/artist/alleged scientology member tried. She raised
1.2 million USD on kickstarter to produce a music album, accompanying video, going on tour and whatnot. And recently went out to ask musicians to effectively play for some beer money and merchandising on their tour.
That's the way you do it. Find idiots, and when you have the money try to find some more idiots. She just recently reversed that decision after some bad publicity, but 10/10 for trying to pull that one off. And if I understand it right, she even did managed to find some musicians who already played for free.
By the way, if you want to know how much of the $1.2 million went to scientology? She says non.