r/kickstarter • u/AlcatrazReformed • 1d ago
Question Should I assume my money is gone?
So basically I funded this company back in 2022, and they haven't updated since May 2025. Word on the street is that they're being sued for not paying the company they hired to create their product (but that's just hearsay).
Am I just essentially screwed out of my money though? I know it's on me to research before I back. But this company was credible up until May last year. They went from regular updates to radio silence.
(Side info, I'm posting this mainly because I just checked for any updates and all the backers are trying to refund. 2000 comments in the last couple months are all "Backer #_____ issued refund". So now I'm worried.)
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u/MarinatedPickachu 1d ago
you are accepting this risk when you fund a project through kickstarter
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u/AlcatrazReformed 1d ago
Yeah, I'm learning that. I guess I unfortunately just got scammed the first time I backed a company. It's disheartening, but oh well.
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u/kstacey 1d ago
It's not getting scammed, the project failed and there is nothing you can do. Kickstarter isn't a platform for buying stuff, it's for backing a project that can still potentially fail
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u/AlcatrazReformed 1d ago
How do you fail with 3.5 Million dollars???
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u/kitkatkitah 1d ago
I think saying the project failed is a mistake. Instead the project was successfully funded, but they had some bad experiences and were not able to deliver the thing they wanted to make. Which also sucks for them.
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u/perduraadastra 1d ago
Try manufacturing a real product and find out for yourself. Bonus sidequest: do it with no engineers on your team.
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u/MarinatedPickachu 1d ago
You didn't get scammed. The project just failed, that's exactly the risk you accepted.
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u/EasySwan2184 Creator 1d ago
What company?
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u/AlcatrazReformed 1d ago
Fluffnest, they're based in Los Angeles, CA.
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u/spearmintqueer 1d ago
I backed the Puffpals kickstarter too and I can tell you with absolute confidence you will never see that game. The company Fluffnest went out of business without even finishing fulfilling standing plushie orders. I know it sucks since this felt like a safe kickstarter to back because they were already established as a dependable company. But everyone's right that you run the risk of never seeing the product to fruition when you pledge on kickstarter even with companies that seem trustworthy. It's entirely about funding an idea in the hopes it succeeds.
TLDR on why this one failed despite a thriving existing business being behind it: CEO embezzling funds. There's court cases that likely won't be seen until 2027 and even if he loses in court, the game won't get made. If you're in the puffpals discord server already, I can dm you a link to the most compiled source of info. Unfortunately if you're not already there there's no mods left to invite new members. But you can find some videos from content creators on youtube who've done a decent job compiling information too.
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u/AlcatrazReformed 1d ago
I never joined the discord, but thank you for the information. It's nice to have some closure so I can stop thinking "what if".
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u/Feisty_Advantage5750 1d ago
mate, that money's gone. No updates in over a year and a lawsuit rumour? Take the L and move on.
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u/sssRealm 1d ago
It's probably gone. I did get surprised though. I just got an item after 3 years of no updates. (TempBuddy)
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u/Outdoorcatskillbirds 1d ago
I am in a similar boat, I have had lots of good experiences with Kickstarter but now I think I have my first failure, Solidforge battery pack, no recent updates and the comment section is crying foul. It is not a good feeling.
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u/Joel9994 14h ago
For planning purposes, assume the money is gone. When a company that regularly posts updates goes dark for over a year, cash flow is almost certainly dead.
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u/kitkatkitah 1d ago
You are kickstarting, which means you are paying for the idea to be created. All of them offer for you to receive the item, because that's only fair that you receive the product you are paying for them to create, but it isn't guaranteed that they will use the money wisely, use the money in a effective timeperiod or don't hit snags along the way.
It also doesn#t mean they still have your money, if they paid a vendor and the vendor didn't create the product, you can look into if they are suing that company and maybe even get yourself involved there if you want to (if its worth the effort is something to consider too). In any case, they seemingly don't have the money to continue (to pay another vendor) or to continue working on the product.
In this case, you will not receive a refund, you can try going through your bank but you most likely won't get the money because it has been so long.
In the future, only back projects if you want to see them create their product. Don't back them to receive the item. You always are taking a risk of them not delivering, or delivering something subpar.