Author Topic: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects  (Read 385295 times)

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Offline Keef Wivanef

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #50 on: May 11, 2013, 10:02:55 pm »
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/aluminium-3d-printer--8?c=comments
Richard Sum said 5 months ago
Hello,

Please could anyone who doesn’t have a shipping notification please send a phone number for the courier.

Thanks

SUMPOD


GOLLY, where did I hear that before?

http://amasci.com/weird/wsmot.html

From: "Greg Watson" <gowatson asiaonlinenetau>
To: "Energy Vortex" <vortex-leskimocom>,
        "Energy FreeNrg" <freenrg-leskimocom>
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 2001 11:35:46 +1030
Subject: [FG]: SMOT Refunds

Hi All,

I need your help to rebuild my list of those who ordered & paid for SMOT
kits.  I lost my original files but do have bank records with dates &
amounts I paid in or came in via overseas funds transfers.

I intend to refund ALL the money whether you want it back or not but I
need you to send me (via the private email below) the date & amount you
sent me.  I can then put names to the dates.

I would prefer to do a direct bank to bank transfer but I can do US or
other currency bank cheques if you prefer.

Thanks for your help as I really do need to get your money back.

I do apologize for the delay but I just haven't been able to afford to do
the refunds until now.

========================
Good Health & Long Life,
 Greg Watson,
 

 :=\
 

Offline snoopy

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #51 on: May 12, 2013, 12:37:21 am »
Jeez how many 3D printers are they re-inventing and how many more can the market bear ?   |O

And this one takes the cake. A programmable torch. Are you fricken kidding me !!! :palm:

HexBright, an Open Source Light

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/527051507/hexbright-an-open-source-light?ref=category

Quote
HexBright is a stylish, rugged, high-power compact light you can use as-is or reprogram however you want using open-source code.

Why do I need a programmable light? What can I do with that? I don't know yet. And that's the point. I want to release the HexBright Flex into the wild and let the community develop original source code. I want to see how brilliant (pun intended) people can be and supply an outlet (hexbright.com) where folks can swap and share ligthing code. I'm not fundraising just to make creative lights, I want to build online creativity.
 

Offline EEVblogTopic starter

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #52 on: May 12, 2013, 12:45:01 am »
And this one takes the cake. A programmable torch. Are you fricken kidding me !!! :palm:

No, the torch enthusiast market is HUGE. It will likely have a big ready market.
Visit the Candlepower forum sometime and see the passion the torch enthusiasts have.
 

Offline snoopy

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #53 on: May 12, 2013, 01:22:05 am »
And this one takes the cake. A programmable torch. Are you fricken kidding me !!! :palm:

No, the torch enthusiast market is HUGE. It will likely have a big ready market.
Visit the Candlepower forum sometime and see the passion the torch enthusiasts have.

Torch enthusiasts !!  That's a new one to me. Now I have heard everything  :-DD

I was mucking around with torches in 1st grade in primary school. Looks like I went in the wrong direction when I gave up on torches :(

If I'd had of known this I would have left school early instead of getting an engineering degree ;)

There is hope for us engineers yet ;)
 

Offline Rasz

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #54 on: May 12, 2013, 01:33:57 am »
Torch enthusiasts !!  That's a new one to me. Now I have heard everything  :-DD

I was mucking around with torches in 1st grade in primary school. Looks like I went in the wrong direction when I gave up on torches :(

If I'd had of known this I would have left school early instead of getting an engineering degree ;)

There is hope for us engineers yet ;)

There are people with flashlight fetish.
http://youtu.be/bypi7h6WOGg?t=5m1s

Hexbright took almost two full years, time you could spend using one of the $20 Dealextreme flashlights instead of waiting. On the other hand it appears to be a high quality product, and at the very least ships (I sure hope so :P) with genuine high bin CREE LED (unlike ebay/dealextreme/alliexpress ones).
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Offline c4757p

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #55 on: May 12, 2013, 01:35:23 am »
There are people with flashlight fetish.
http://youtu.be/bypi7h6WOGg?t=5m1s

Nonono, that's not a flashlight...  ::)
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Offline Keef Wivanef

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Offline Keef Wivanef

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #57 on: May 14, 2013, 02:10:15 am »
Kickstarter is supposed to be a source for crowdfunding of new and, hopefully, innovative projects, not as a way for some individual to come up with the front money to make bulk purchases of already-existing Chinese hardware to sell at a profit to the ignorant:

Ultra-high capacity battery for mobile devices ($144,516 pledged of $25,000 goal)

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/560071831/ultra-high-capacity-battery-for-mobile-devices?ref=card

This individual presented these battery packs of widely different styles (indicating different designers) which were undoubtedly already available from various Chinese manufacturers on alibaba.com as his own development at which point 2,461 clueless people who didn't know these sort of devices have been available for quite some time supported his "project."  All he actually was was nothing more than an eBay seller with people fronting the money to make his bulk purchases of already existing Chinese goods.  I mention this here in case he tries to pull something like this again.
Well, he does make up a fight though, as there is a long-ass post at the end of the FAQ where he claims to disprove the china-copy accusations.

TL;DR, he pretty much says that yes, the cases were designed by a Chinese company, but that they have 'our' one-of-a-kind charging circuit in them.
Best case scenario, if he is telling the truth?
He asked a Chinese manufacturer to make a USB charger with a circuit that he hired someone experienced to design just for him.
Not very kickstartery thing to be honest.


 amspire
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Aldi Traveller MPP-7400
« on: November 05, 2011, 05:31:31 PM »
Quote
Aldi have just released in Australia the Traveller MPP-7400 7400mAH battery pack for about $20.  It includes mains charger, 10 output adapters. I believe it is a limited time sale probably ending 9th to 11th Nov. There is I think a smaller unit that will be $12.99 from the 9th to the 15th.

Not a bad thing at all for the price.

http://www.traveler-service.de/popups/MPP_7400_au_popup/index.php

The thing is it has 5 charging LEDs on the front panel.  The instruction book says 4 LEDs means it is fully charged, but in practice no-one can get past 3 LEDs. So I had to take it apart, and photos will be coming. I can confirm that with 3 of the 5 LEDs lit, the battery is fully charged.

The main charger IC has had the most thorough milling job I have ever seen to erase the identity, so now I want to work out what it is.

More photos soon, but I am just giving some advanced notice in case anyone else is interested.

Richard

 mpp7400.jpg (84.55 kB, 916x805 - viewed 253 times.)

WTF?
These batteries were already available from Aldi but these gentlemen could still run their silly kickstarter campaign?

Aaaaaaarrrgh!
 

Offline JVR

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #58 on: May 17, 2013, 02:36:04 pm »
What do you think about this one: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/retrievor-the-complete-gps-tracking-retrieving-solution? I think it´s a scam. They were always talking about the GPS module and there is no information at all how the GPS positioning signal will be transferred (online?) to any receiving device. So at least the GPS module has to be connected to any 3G transceiving device to transmit the actual positioning data to a mobile phone or central positioning station via SMS or other message service. They also claim "Using satelites orbiting the earth to keep track of your RETRIEVOR is an expensive business, which means there is a $5.95 monthly subscription fee for your first RETRIEVOR." Isn´t that complete bullshit? - for me it is! And all the comments seem to be erased.
For me also it seems that in indiegogo there are a lot more scams than in kickstarter. Anyway, my problem is that I´m living in Germany and it seems a lot more easy to me to set a project in indiegogo than in kickstarter, because in kickstarter I need some "friend" in the US or UK.

Best regards, Markus

Quite easy to do that, battery management is a slight issue though.   But the subscription is for the data costs on the simcard.  Unless of course it uses WiFi/BT/USB and only dumps the data when its back home.
 

Offline AlienRelics

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #59 on: May 23, 2013, 03:31:19 am »
How about a magnetic battery?

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-magnetic-battery

Through the magic of IndieGoGo's "flexible funding", he gets to pocket all the money raised and not give anyone anything.

From the project page:

What the Magnetic Battery is:

Following in the footsteps of Tesla, Maxwell, Farraday & Crookes, I've used concepts from electrodynamics, chemistry, magnetism and physics to devise a modified electrodynamic generator that accepts Alternating Current (AC) electricity to be converted into an electromagnetic field. Circulating without resistance (heat) and stored in-phase, the magnetic flux acts as both a seal between the surrounding alloys (preventing damage to circuitry) and as a plentiful power source.
Steven J Greenfield AE7HD
 

Offline snoopy

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #60 on: May 23, 2013, 10:20:00 am »
How about a magnetic battery?

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-magnetic-battery

Through the magic of IndieGoGo's "flexible funding", he gets to pocket all the money raised and not give anyone anything.

From the project page:

What the Magnetic Battery is:

Following in the footsteps of Tesla, Maxwell, Farraday & Crookes, I've used concepts from electrodynamics, chemistry, magnetism and physics to devise a modified electrodynamic generator that accepts Alternating Current (AC) electricity to be converted into an electromagnetic field. Circulating without resistance (heat) and stored in-phase, the magnetic flux acts as both a seal between the surrounding alloys (preventing damage to circuitry) and as a plentiful power source.

they need to stop this kind of sh.t. It doesn't do much for the reputation of the website :(

At least kickstarter has the right idea of forcing people to come up with a working prototype and hopefully an un-doctored video to prove its credibility ;)
 

Offline rougeaux

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #61 on: May 23, 2013, 02:46:54 pm »
Following in the footsteps of Tesla, Maxwell, Farraday & Crookes, I've used concepts from electrodynamics, chemistry, magnetism and physics to devise a modified electrodynamic generator that accepts Alternating Current (AC) electricity to be converted into an electromagnetic field. Circulating without resistance (heat) and stored in-phase, the magnetic flux acts as both a seal between the surrounding alloys (preventing damage to circuitry) and as a plentiful power source.

Suggested applications:  Detecting cloaked Romulan warbirds, powering time machines, triggering supernovae.
"If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be Spock."  -The Truth
 

Offline codeboy2k

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #62 on: May 23, 2013, 11:18:29 pm »
That SumPod 3D printer guy had at least 3 of his 7 campaigns fail to meet funding goals, yet still earned over $20,000 total as flexible funding.  Two of his campaigns ( for the same product no less ) exceeded funding goals by several thousand dollars and there doesn't seem to be any updates, or anyone complaining, for several months up to a year... what's up with that ?

 

Offline PlainName

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #63 on: May 24, 2013, 02:30:26 pm »
Quote
what's up with that ?

Could it be a fun way to do money laundering? I guess most funds would come via PayPal, and that would be tricky (not to mention tedious) to channel anonymous cash.
 

Offline Hily

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #64 on: May 24, 2013, 07:08:49 pm »
Looks like these guys are just reselling an existing product?

Headphone With Touch Technology and Bluetooth
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/headphone-with-touch-technology-and-bluetooth?c=home
http://www.hammacher.com/Product/83551?promo=search
 

Offline rougeaux

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #65 on: May 26, 2013, 11:08:52 pm »
Looks like these guys are just reselling an existing product?

Headphone With Touch Technology and Bluetooth
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/headphone-with-touch-technology-and-bluetooth?c=home
http://www.hammacher.com/Product/83551?promo=search

Wow, check out that impendance!

The real question is, if they're reselling the HS product, how will they be able to make ones in black, red or "limited edition platinum," or any combination thereof? (My money's on spray paint.)
"If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be Spock."  -The Truth
 

Offline AlienRelics

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #66 on: June 04, 2013, 06:30:42 pm »
I see only $155 from two donors, both anonymous. Shills?
Steven J Greenfield AE7HD
 

Offline nathancrum

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #67 on: June 05, 2013, 08:49:34 pm »
This one is so obviously a fraud I don't understand how even indiegogo allowed it to post:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/home-health-care--2

At least no one has put any money into it, but this guy obviously has nothing but a shell to try and dupe people into giving him money.

Additional links:
http://www.ezcourses.org/

His over-the-top, psychotic response to some simple inquiries regarding his product & business plan is the most telling of all:
http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=2359356&type=member&item=244937141&commentID=141351408&report%2Esuccess=8ULbKyXO6NDvmoK7o030UNOYGZKrvdhBhypZ_w8EpQrrQI-BBjkmxwkEOwBjLE28YyDIxcyEO7_TA_giuRN#commentID_141351408
 

Offline MacAttak

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #68 on: June 05, 2013, 11:21:10 pm »
It seems to be a pretty good idea to just avoid IGG unless they take some steps to prevent scams. At least Kickstarter has some moderation in place. IGG just seems to not give a sh*t if their platform is a vector for criminal activity.
 

Offline CanadianAvenger

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #69 on: June 06, 2013, 04:01:22 am »
Agreed. IGG does not care, at least that is my perception based on my interactions with their "support" staff.  Basically report a shady project, and you'll get a form like letter response. Keep pressing, you get told they'll pass on your comments to their fraud department, and they would contact you IF they have more questions-- you never hear back again.

As an example: I reported a project that violated the first law of thermodynamics, and basically told them so... the response I got was the following [I didn't keep pressing on this one, as it obviously wasn't going anywhere]

"Indiegogo empowers campaign owners and contributors to raise money for, or support, the things that matter to them. Because Indiegogo is an equal opportunity platform, a wide variety of subject matter and opinions may be expressed through campaigns. Because we do not curate these campaigns, the views reflected by campaign owners are not necessarily those of Indiegogo."

I wasn't aware that the laws of thermodynamics were a matter of "opinion".

My take is that they think they can provide a platform, and by turning a blind eye they are free and clear. I'd like to see what happens when it inevitably ends up in court... that position didn't play well for Napster back in the day.
 

Offline Bored@Work

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #70 on: June 06, 2013, 05:20:29 am »
To summarize, Indiegogo is in on the fraud.
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Offline Corporate666

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #71 on: June 06, 2013, 06:58:02 am »
To summarize, Indiegogo is in on the fraud.

No,

I think it's a much simpler explanation.  I also don't think IGG lets things slide because they only care about their cut.

I think, rather, that if IGG takes on a moderation role, then they take on liability in case things go wrong.  If their position is "we just provide the venue, it's up to you to do your due diligence on the project", and they apply that rule to all projects, then they are in the clear.  If they start exercising a level of oversight beyond the most basic items, then they are now in a role of subjectively critiquing and vetting each project for authenticity/legitimacy.  And when they get it wrong, people will want (all) their $$ back from IGG, despite the fact that IGG only has a small portion of that money.


They ought to follow Kickstarter's lead and require a real prototype. 

The main issue with all these sites is that there is zero qualification done on the ability of the project creator to actually get the job done.  Most projects are about getting sales, not about "raising funds", but KS plays dumb about that while they claim to be enacting rules to protect users, but that which do anything but.
It's not always the most popular person who gets the job done.
 

Offline nathancrum

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #72 on: June 06, 2013, 06:46:52 pm »
Speaking of law suits - someone here poked the hornets nest (not that I mind) and Joe apparently feels the need now to sue LinkedIn, the venture capital firm he posted in (DFM Ventures) and our own aussie "Village Idiot" as a result.   :palm:

http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&discussionID=244937141&gid=2359356&commentID=142538721&trk=view_disc&ut=20YAiEKk8lz5M1

What a turd.  Who the F does this guy think he is?
 

Offline nathancrum

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #73 on: June 06, 2013, 07:57:56 pm »
This is probably distracting from the original thread topic, but it's entertaining as hell.  Whoever made Village Idiot and taunted this fruad - you have a brilliant sense of humor!   :clap:

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/village-idiot/63/bab/9bb
 

Offline Pentode

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Re: List of Dodgy Crowd Source Funded Projects
« Reply #74 on: June 07, 2013, 01:48:35 am »
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/scanadu-scout-the-first-medical-tricorder

WHAT IS THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THE SCANADU SCOUT™, IS IT SAFE?

The device uses passive sensors (electrodes, visible and IR light sensors, accelerometers, thermistors, gyroscopes, microphones etc.) to acquire your vitals. The only energy being delivered to the body is in the form of low-power LED light pulses.  To acquire your data, just place the device on the forehead.

 :wtf:
 


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