Ossic bails on $3.2 million Kickstarter and Indiegogo '3D headset' project [u]
A maker of unreleased 3D-sensing headphones, Ossic, is shutting down and leaving thousands of Kickstarter and Indiegogo backers in the lurch.
The company had managed 22,000 preorders costing between $199 and $299, but announced on its website that it has been unable to find enough funding and is simply out of cash, even with millions in separate seed funding and a team working for free during the last six months.
The company sold 250 "developer" units costing $999 each, but their advanced features are unlikely to be of much use without first- and third-party support.
Ossic promised headphones that would automatically sense the dimensions of a person's ear, generating a custom sound profile. They were also intended to track head positioning, which could've had applications in augmented and virtual reality experiences.
In all the company's crowdfunding efforts raised $2.7 million through Kickstarter with $3.2 million in total accounted for through Indiegogo, according to Business Insider.
Losing money is a real risk of such platforms. While backers can potentially get products before anyone else, and other perks as well, many crowdfunding efforts fail and refunds aren't guaranteed. Nevertheless a Facebook group has organized around Ossic's demise, threatening a class action lawsuit.
Update: Updated to reflect the total amount of the campaign, which is $3.2 million.
The company had managed 22,000 preorders costing between $199 and $299, but announced on its website that it has been unable to find enough funding and is simply out of cash, even with millions in separate seed funding and a team working for free during the last six months.
The company sold 250 "developer" units costing $999 each, but their advanced features are unlikely to be of much use without first- and third-party support.
Ossic promised headphones that would automatically sense the dimensions of a person's ear, generating a custom sound profile. They were also intended to track head positioning, which could've had applications in augmented and virtual reality experiences.
In all the company's crowdfunding efforts raised $2.7 million through Kickstarter with $3.2 million in total accounted for through Indiegogo, according to Business Insider.
Losing money is a real risk of such platforms. While backers can potentially get products before anyone else, and other perks as well, many crowdfunding efforts fail and refunds aren't guaranteed. Nevertheless a Facebook group has organized around Ossic's demise, threatening a class action lawsuit.
Update: Updated to reflect the total amount of the campaign, which is $3.2 million.
Comments
Personally, I would steer far clear of anything needing development. The product needs to be fully finished and production ready.
You buy something that already exists and has buyer protection.
http://drop-kicker.com/2014/08/ritot-projection-watch/
1, how complex is the product attempting to be produced? And thus, what’s the likelihood of success. A necklace, garment, bed ware, clever key chain or simple board game (without many pieces) is easier to build than a piece of complex technology.
2, how costly is the product? A $25 loss is easier to swallow than a $500 loss. Each backer has their own measure of wealthy and max amount they can brush off.
3, trustworthiness. Are these folks well known for producing in this area previously? Do I know and trust them? If I don’t know them formerly, do they activate my spidey-sense? Do they appear to be trying to hard to get me to trust and like them? Does the video look a bit vague, sketchy, cheesy or too good to be true?
Complexity, cost, gut feeling or prior knowledge, maybe in that order, too.