Here’s a not good business plan. Create the most successful Kickstarter campaign in history, never actually ship the product you raised all that money for, then try to fleece your backers into shelling out even more cash for “expedited shipping” even though they’ve already paid for it.
Such is the case of The Coolest, that “21st Century” cooler that has earned more than $13 million in funding only to deliver exactly diddley-poo on the investments of those who pledged. Did we mention The Coolest is also available on Amazon? Yikes.
As per The Verge, the creators of The Coolest claim its backers came up with the idea for the extra money in exchange for the faster shipping, but that seems questionable when one considers how poorly the company has lived up to its hype so far. After raising that $13-plus million, the makers of The Coolest now say they need another $15 million in funding.
The company also says that those who sprung for The Coolest will get their orders by the Fourth of July, but that seems highly unlikely. Apparently, those who didn’t feel like ponying up any more cash for that “expedited shipping” will still get what they ordered, but “there’s no timetable for when the coolers will be shipped out.” What a racket. Just go buy a styrofoam box at CVS for like $5.99.
(Via The Verge)