Yes $650 is a large amount to be donating to a project like mine, and I agree that it is not the way to go for everyone or every project. I thought that I would try it out for this project to see what the response would be like, and it seemed like the best way to build both financial support and interest for the project so I went for it.
I know producing these will be a big job and I liked that Kickstarter allows me to set my funding goal at a level where I will be most likely to succeed. I could have certainly set up a pre-order page with a Stripe button and started building as the orders came in, but being woefully underfunded is not a great way to start an enterprise like this in my opinion. And I thought that Kickstarter would be the lowest risk option for everyone involved.
I know producing these will be a big job and I liked that Kickstarter allows me to set my funding goal at a level where I will be most likely to succeed. I could have certainly set up a pre-order page with a Stripe button and started building as the orders came in, but being woefully underfunded is not a great way to start an enterprise like this in my opinion. And I thought that Kickstarter would be the lowest risk option for everyone involved.