Coolest Cooler Wants More Money To Ship Product To Backers

There was a time where Kickstarter was changing the way we saw new products come to life. You'd put down your money, and if it got funded, it would be taken from your account, and you were confident that whatever you backed would show up on your doorstep at some point. Well the latest Kickstarter fiasco has one company asking backers to pledge more money, if they want to get the product they backed in any sort of reasonable amount of time.

You might remember the Coolest Cooler from a piece we did back in 2014. (No, it's not the answer to the question "What's cooler than being cool?) This cooler does a little bit of everything, as it packs Bluetooth speakers, LED lights, a smartphone charger, and even a blender. And with a pre-order price tag of just $185, people signed up in droves to get theirs when they became available.

At the time, it was the highest-funded Kickstarter project, with its $13 million in funding surpassing the original Pebble. It still currently remains the second-highest-funded project, being beaten out by the Pebble Time last year.

So with $13 million in the bank, you'd think that the company behind the Coolest Cooler would be set. Unfortunately after manufacturing and shipping just one third of the original orders, the company came up short. According to the company, the original price of $185 was too generous, which caused them to burn through all of that cash in no time.

For those that funded the project and haven't received their cooler, the company has said that they can pay $97 for "expedited" shipping. This brings the total up to $282, which the company says is still a deal, when compared to the $399 price that they charge on Amazon for the device.

That's right, the company is also selling their Coolest Coolers on Amazon, and if you pay full price for one on there, you'll get one right away. This has many backers upset, as they put up their money years ago, and they're still waiting.

For those that don't pay for "expedited" shipping, they will still get their cooler eventually. The company says that for every two to four coolers that are sold on Amazon, they're able to ship one cooler to a backer. So as long as they sell really well, you'll get yours, eventually.

VIA: Engadget