When is a Kickstarter campaign considered a success?

A Kickstarter campaign is considered a success when it reaches the campaign funding goal within a limited timeframe (commonly around 30 days) which is set by the project creator (the person making the thing that your pledge is supporting).

Every Kickstarter campaign has a specific monetary goal amount, again set by the project creator.

When the campaign ends, if the campaign has reached or exceeded the funding goal, the creator gets 90-92% of the total funds raised when the campaign is over in gross profit. The remaining 8-10% of the funds raised are paid to Kickstarter, and used to pay processing fees.

The creator then uses the gross profits to finance the project their backers have helped fund. They also use it to fulfill reward pledges for backers. Remaining net profits are taxable.

When am I charged for my Kickstarter pledge?

Kickstarter backers are always charged at the end of a campaign. If you make a pledge to a Kickstarter campaign it may potentially be weeks until your payment is actually taken.

In this way, if the campaign is unsuccessful, there is no need for Kickstarter to refund your pledge, because no money will have been taken from your account in the first place.

What if a Kickstarter Campaign is not successful?

If a Kickstarter campaign fails to reach the campaign funding goal within the time that it is live, backers are not charged, and the creator receives no funds.

The creator then must look for other funding options if they continue to pursue the project.

What are pledge rewards?

Pledge rewards are highly varied depending on the campaign, but they will always be related to the project you are backing. For example, with your pledge to Zip, you can receive copies of the comic itself, and merchandise based on the comic such as posters and stickers.

Kickstarter campaigns will often make digital or intangible rewards available too: for example, by pledging to Zip’s Kickstarter campaign you can receive your name in a special credits section at the back of the comic.

All Kickstarter campaigns, including Zip, allow you to make a pledge to support the project without opting into a reward if you would prefer to do so.

There are certain kinds of rewards prohibited by Kickstarter, such as weapons, tobacco, live animals, and rewards which enter backers into raffles or other prize draws. For a full list of prohibited reward items on Kickstarter, please see Kickstarter’s own FAQs.

What information does Kickstarter need When I pledge?

At minimum, to pledge to a Kickstarter campaign you will need to sign up for a Kickstarter account. To do this you will need to provide an email address, password, and username.

You can then begin to explore a wide range of creative projects which YOU can help bring to life.

You can add a debit or credit card to your account by editing your profile, or when you make your pledge to a campaign.

What kind of payment method can I use to make a pledge?

A valid debit or credit card is required to make a pledge to a Kickstarter campaign.

What information does a creator need to fufill my pledge rewards?

Due to the fact that pledge rewards widely vary, creators on Kickstarter send their backers a custom-written survey asking the information they need to fulfill your pledge. Physical rewards will always require a delivery address when you have opted to have your reward delivered.

When will I receive my pledge rewards

Again due to the wide variety of rewards offered by different Kickstarter campaigns, there is no uniform timeframe which rewards are fulfilled. When you make your pledge, you should see an ‘estimated delivery’ date in the reward information. This expected arrival date is set by the project creator

A well planned Kickstarter campaign will typically factor contingency time when setting this date, in the event that fulfillment does not go exactly according to plan.

You can even let creators of your backed projects know your rewards were received from the ‘backed projects’ section, accessible when you select your username/avatar, which is found near the top of Kickstarter’s interface.

How can I make sure I get my rewards as quickly as possible?

For the best chance to get your rewards as swiftly as possible, make sure that you have checked your Kickstarter notifications for any reward surveys the creator has sent to you, as they may require specialised information before they can fulfill your pledge. If your payment fails after the campaign ends and Kickstarter attempts to take it, they should send you an automated email letting you know, with instructions on how to fix the problem.

What should I do if I don’t get my rewards when I expected?

If you don’t get your reward when you expected to receive it, message the project creator. You can do this from their creator profile, the link to which should be visible next to their main campaign image or video. My creator profile is here: so if you have any problems receiving your pledge to Zip, drop me a line.

You can remind yourself when your rewards are expected to be fulfilled in the ‘backed projects’ section of your profile, ccessible when you select your username/avatar, which is found near the top of Kickstarter’s interface.

Where can I back Zip on Kickstarter?

Zip’s latest Kickstarter campaign is here! Thanks for your interest. If you have any questions about our campaign in particular, it has a dedicated campaign FAQ section here.

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Didn’t find your question here?

This FAQ is work in process and so new questions are very welcome. Feel free to leave a comment on this page (see below), email me at info@zipcomic.co.uk, or send me a message at my Kickstarter profile. You can also find Kickstarter’s official FAQ section here.

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