Cvrst Project Kickstarter - Ripoff?

[acegoulet]

Backed this guy on kickstarter for motorcycle bags and whatnot (along with 168 other backers).

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1750018846/cvrst-functional-clothing-made-in-usa

Rewards (bags and vests) are almost a year late and he hasn't even sent out an update in the last 5 months...he's not returning messages, etc. From the comments on the kickstarter and his last instagram post, looks like I'm not the only person wondering if they just got robbed.

I know a bunch of people know the guy (Dave Buchanan from Portland) and I'm trying not to jump to conclusions, but he's making it pretty hard.

[Yodhan]

Damn. That sucks. Don't know him, nor have had any dealings with him, but if that is the case, that sucks.

[CraiGORE]

i bought a bag from him that he had in stock and it was shipped immediately. that was over a year ago, he used to be very active on social media but I have seen no posts in a while. Sucks. Hope he figures it out seems like a good dude and his products are great

[acegoulet]

Yeah, i mean, all it would really take is a returned message or an update letting the backers know what's going on...but radio silence for the past 5 months isn't a good look.

[Revelator]

Maybe the Cat is out on another long road trip to help inspire new designs.

[humancertainty]

He's still active on his personal Instagram. He appears to have taken up carpentry to pay his bills. I had to buy another vest waiting on the one I ordered. Probably way too late to get my money back. Pretty shitty. I've ordered a few other things from him in the past.

[farmall]

Sounds like he failed to "keep it small and own it all".

The market is competitive as fuck so the way in is to buy machines for cash then open fire after you have all the gear and minimal overhead, for example by keeping production on property you already own. One of my bros makes high end custom military web gear for specops and whoever else has the money, but he got overextended by renting a facility (terrible idea) and otherwise doing business with high overhead. He's retrenching now so it may work out but he lost years by seeking outside investment. In his case the investor bailed midstream.

Many people are very good at their specialty but lack of business sense shits on their dreams.

[acegoulet]

I have been very accommodating and understanding to this point, but no replies to any messages and no updates in 5 months while the rewards are a year late is unacceptable. I'll give it another week to let him respond, then I'm taking legal action. I've spoken to a lawyer already and it's pretty cut and dry...I guess this happens a lot so it's not an uncommon process. It'll be a class action suit on behalf of the backers. He is clearly in violation of the terms of use (https://www.kickstarter.com/section4...blems#section4) which states he is now subject to legal action by the backers. The most likely remediation will be the seizure and liquidation of the equipment and materials purchased from the kickstarter, plus his personal assets to make up the difference. Most likely it'll ruin his life because it'll fuck his finances and credit and be extremely hard to come back from. I genuinely don't want to do it, but at this point it's no one's fault but his own.

Then I'll make a video of me burning whatever money I get recouped from the lawsuit and send it to him, because it's not about the fucking money.

[Whoremonger]

UnderstAnd your position 100%. As a matter of fact he is getting off light. Don't feel bad about it either. He gots it coming.financial ruin does not mean a ruined life to any man with a skill that will always be marketable. A good carpenter will NEVER go hungry. In my world there are only two things that can truly ruin my life; being paralyzed or any other health issue that keeps me from living life ( not merely existing) or locked up for life. Everything else, in my mind , can be overcome.

[nickey]

Any update on this? Was really hoping it would all work out cause dude seemed cool and went for it ya know. But shit happens I guess.

[humancertainty]

I messaged his personal Instagram and commented on the Cvrst one. No response. No updates. Nothing.

[nickey]

Bummer. Hope the dudes alright.

[duckburns]

I'm in the same boat. Sent the money for the dry bags and nada. No communication at all. If any of those people do know him, please tell him to put out an update or just tell me I ain't gettin anything.

db

[Dougtheinternetannoyance123]

I have no dogs in this fight, nor do I know the guy, and please dont ask me to track him down and kick his ass.

(Happened years ago with "Englishman" on the Horse and a local guy here he got in a dispute with, well truth is I DID go an talk to the guy but there was a bunch of guys who wanted me to pound on him, Englishman just wanted his stuff back. My response was plane tickets or the bus is cheap, Im not going to jail for someone elses dispute, But Englishman DID run a 2 page article about the guy & their dispute so its good to have resources eh??)

But, I can add I do know the PDX area, and we got a shit ton of people moving here who come here with big dreams and many have skills, But there is some significant logistical issues going on right now. HIGH cost of living, shortage of housing, shortage of affordable workspaces and a very crowded marketplace. UNLESS you have a very unique product, you have a very big uphill battle and some even with tons of skills, ideas and resources crash and burn. Motorcycle accy and gear is NOT a unique product idea. Hand crafted and quality manufacture is not enough in most cases, and you are competing with people who farm out the labor and manufacturing to overseas. Very hard to compete with that.

In other news, despite critical housing shortages (If you move here, drive an RV so you have a place to live, no joke) But there is a ton of jobs,. Construction is going crazy right now, and many big projects are on the back burner due to skilled labor shortages. (I know a LOT of people in the trades as well as real estate and prop mgmt). So, just speculating right now, but here is my take.

I BET the guy, if he has any carpentry and trades skills at all has people bangin' down his door and competing job offers for good money, so given the choice of starvin' for your art & craft or making some serious coin, Its a safe bet he moved onto something else.

I am not saying dont invest in cool projects, But always keep in mind that self employed and entrepreneurs are a very flaky bunch and for good reasons. Very few people are good all around talents for business, finance, marketing, creative and then buckling down and cranking out production.
If you invest, expect it to fail, investments are risky. If it prospers, bonus. But the percentages are against you.

Back in the mid 2000s before the crash, Investment capital, public offerings and Venture capitalists were all over the Motorcycle biz,, (Henderson bankrupted the State of Minnesota)...
And I have a friend who works finance back east. She repped for some venture capitalists and attended MANY meetings and offerings. She said the funnest one was Indian Larrys. Her conclusion was it was super interesting to attend, meet all the characters, but that they were idiots, not the faintest clue about running a successful business. She advised her clients it was a terrible idea to invest with them. Who ever owns the IL intellectual property probably makes a decent revenue stream of Mailbox money, But no way was their prospectus based on reality.

[tradarcher]

In the video he says he is "militantly ethical".