What I see as a problem is a failure by some projects to manage expectations. I think that a lot of people who are backing projects like this don't realise that they are not pre-ordering anything, they're making a contribution to the project startup costs and hopefully they'll receive one or more of that product when manufacturing begins. I've seen comments on some Kickstarter projects that have slipped on shipping deadlines that don't seem to indicate that the commenter understands the uncertainty of funding a project like this.
I don't think there's much risk backing an experienced person with a ready to be manufactured product, and I've backed several such projects on Kickstarter, but I think that backers need to remember that part of the Kickstarter proposition is that you get discounts on products like this as a reward for putting in fixed upside risk capital.
Observe how it's fairly obvious from the original video and Kickstarter project that Schuyler Towne isn't exactly an experienced business guy and that these picks are nowhere near ready to actually be manufactured. Nonetheless, a lot of people (me included) contributed some money.
Well, two years later and still no picks, maybe they'll come eventually, maybe he'll never manage it. I rather suspect the latter, since he's blown through the available money and is nowhere near shipping. I'm not really bothered because that's the risk you take when you do speculative funding, but I'm not sure other backers understood that this was what they were doing.
Meanwhile there's a few people commenting on every one of his 60 or so updates who seem to have mistaken Kickstarter projects for Amazon pre-orders, having silly little fits about the money that was 'stolen' from them. Obviously it sucks that they're not getting what they wanted, but if you want a risk free transaction you're free to buy from Amazon.
I think that might be an open legal question, if you use the word pre-order all over your Kickstarter page you might be creating a situation where you're on the hook, legally speaking for fulfilling those orders.
I don't think there's much risk backing an experienced person with a ready to be manufactured product, and I've backed several such projects on Kickstarter, but I think that backers need to remember that part of the Kickstarter proposition is that you get discounts on products like this as a reward for putting in fixed upside risk capital.