Im a backer and they offered refunds twice to anyone that wanted it so I don't know why anyone is complaining.
This project was before Kickstarter disallowed renderings (for good reason) and they would probably never have gotten to this shitty position if they had to actually prototype it and find out how insanely expensive it would be to manufacture.
OK so I'll launch a Kickstarter project, 10s of thousands of people will back me and I'll just say that I can refund their money after charging them. I think only several hundreds will request the refund, the rest is mine then?
This seems rather unlikely (hyperbole, to be frank) - those using Kickstarter are surely aware of the nature of the platform, not thinking of it as a checkout.
Unless the refund process is unduly complex, there doesn't seem to be an obvious reason why the vast majority of backers wouldn't ask for a refund.
I think a lot more Kickstarter backers (especially on big projects like this one that attract a lot of first-time backers) think of Kickstarter as a checkout than as a way to contribute to cool projects and get something in return if the project succeeds.
I don't. I actually invest in projects and wait for them to get their product out. Sometimes I just back projects for donation (e.g. remember Aaronsw Documentary project).
This project was before Kickstarter disallowed renderings (for good reason) and they would probably never have gotten to this shitty position if they had to actually prototype it and find out how insanely expensive it would be to manufacture.