[stevejabs]

My elevation dock is finally shipping. I'll have it just in time to use it for a day, maybe, before I get my iPhone 5 on Friday. I had to send a nastygram email just to elicit a response from them about why my order was taking so long. All-in-all I'm pretty upset about it.

I love the Kickstarter model. I think it's an awesome way for the average Joe to fulfill his dreams of bringing something to the market. I don't think too many people are expecting to become millionaires on there. They just want to see their dream come true and the product they designed on screen sit on people's desks. That's what I love about it.

I have heard two arguments that I think need squashed quickly.

The first is the "You're not a customer... you're a backer" argument. It suggests that because I've contributed money to a project that I'm not due anything. I'm not due a response from the Project Starter, I'm not due sufficient updates on progress or delays and most of all I'm not allowed to complain about the project.

My Elevation Dock is 5 months delayed. I'm pissed about that. I understand that stuff happens. But when you release something that was supposed to be enjoyed for months before a new product comes out (iPhone 5) and makes it obsolete, you deserve to give everyone an apology. Or at the very least, a heavily discounted or free adapter. Something.

I understand that scaling isn't easy and that leads me into my second argument. The whole, "Scaling from 75,000 to 1,000,000 isn't easy." No kidding. Nor is going from running 1 mile a day to 26.2. BUT he could have seen these issues on the horizon. He could have capped his project to a reasonable amount. He didn't. The Pebble guys did. They realized they were hitting the threshold of not being able to make everyone happy in the timeframe they said they could. So they capped their project and sold out. Elevation Lab should have done the same. And BTW, the developer watches are already shipping to those backers for Pebble.

Perhaps I'm jaded by the Elevation experience. But I've backed other campaigns that have been very honest and open about their progress.