Dear Mr. [redacted],
We at Coolest are incredibly grateful for your support when you backed this project on Kickstarter, and we share your frustration with the delays that we have experienced. When you do a Kickstarter campaign, you plan for success but even in his wildest dreams Ryan never...
imagined having to make more than 62,000 coolers. The Coolest Cooler cost more than estimated but we have a path forward and are going to fulfill all backers as soon as we are able. We are making good faith efforts to complete the project and are making progress.Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us to create something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledged to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the terms of service, the estimated delivery dates for the rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at the time. We recently shared our path forward with backers in a Kickstarter update and due to the positive response, we were able to restart production in May. We are shipping more than 5,000 coolers in the coming weeks and our plan is to resume shipments to all backers in the coming months, using retail funds for the delivery of remaining backer rewards. Every project has risks and challenges, but with your continued patience and support we’ll succeed together.
Sincerely,
Blake A[redacted]
Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Sincerely, [redacted]
Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:Hello, The correspondence below came during a two week period (7/22 – 8/5) while I was on vacation and the case is now showing as closed before I had a chance to respond. I am not pleased with this outcome and the runaround being provided by the The Coolest Cooler llc. Their answers continually fail to answer why they cannot provide a refund NOW for an order that was placed two years ago with no product delivered, or even an estimated time frame as to when it will be delivered. Their production issues & etc that they continue to offer as a form response are not my problem. I don’t care what their production issues, etc are anymore. We want a refund….period. Thanks. [redacted]Director of Operations
Dear Mr. [redacted]
We at Coolest are incredibly grateful for your support when you backed this project on Kickstarter, and we share your frustration with the delays that we have experienced. When you do a Kickstarter campaign, you plan for success but even in his wildest dreams Ryan never...
imagined having to make more than 62,000 coolers. The Coolest Cooler cost more than estimated but we have a path forward and are going to fulfill all backers as soon as we are able.
Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us to create something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledge to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the terms of service the estimated delivery dates for the Kickstarter rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at that time. I do see that you opted for the expedited delivery option, and we will be shipping out your Coolest Cooler by July 29th. We appreciate your support, and certainly hope you will get some great use out of it this summer!
We have checked our records and understand that Mr. [redacted]'s pledge was not initially fully completed. We have emailed him directly and will make every effort to sort out his backer reward in due course. We at Coolest are incredibly grateful for your support when you backed this project on...
Kickstarter, and we share your frustration with the delays that we have experienced. Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us tocreate something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledged to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the terms of service the estimated delivery dates for the rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at the time. Every project has risks and challenges, butwith your continued patience and support we’ll succeed together.
We plan to update backers shortly and will keep you up to date on progress.
Dear Mr. [redacted],
We at Coolest are incredibly grateful for your support when you backed this project on Kickstarter, and we share your frustration with the delays that we have experienced. When you do a Kickstarter campaign, you plan for success but even in his wildest dreams Ryan never...
imagined having to make more than 62,000 coolers. The Coolest Cooler cost more than estimated but we have a path forward and are going to fulfill all backers as soon as we are able. We are making good faith efforts to complete the project and are making progress.
Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us to create something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledged to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the terms of service, the estimated delivery dates for the rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at the time. We recently shared our path forward with backers in a Kickstarter update and due to the positive response, we were able to restart production in May. We are shipping more than 5,000 coolers in the coming weeks and our plan is to resume shipments to all backers in the coming months, using retail funds for the delivery of remaining backer rewards.
We have apologized for the delay but the consumer should understand that Kickstarter is a platform that supports new products and projects. The estimates given are that - estimates. When the Coolest cooler project scaled to the huge extent it did, the manufacturing costs also increased. We have delivered to more than 2/3 of the original backers and continue to do so. We have explained why we need to sell at retail - to fund delivery to the remaining backers. It's not ideal but it is the only option right now. We have not broken the terms and conditions of Kickstarter and while we apologize for the delay, the allegations of this consumer are simply not true. We have made and shipped more than 40,000 Coolest coolers and we are shipping to the remaining backers as we are able.
Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
I have paid over 200 dollars. 185 was the initial backer amount, and after "miscalculations" of shipping by your "business" I have paid above that amount. Please be aware I am well aware of the amount you have taken from my paychecks.
The terms of service, at the time of my purchase, clearly stated the "business" would provide the product at the earliest possible moment, this "business" has not. They are currently selling their product not only on the most popular retail website in the world (Amazon) but also on their own personal website. This shows they have product, but rather than sending this product to those who have paid for this product, they are selling it at a higher value for their own gain. I fail to see this differently.
After this previous statement, I find it hard to see how "theft" and "fraud" do not represent the current situation. If you have those who have paid and are waiting for a product not receiving it due to waiting for additional funds after selling it at retail, how does such match with any of the aforementioned statements? If product exists it should be sent to those who have paid. If not, holding onto monies is thereby removing it from those who have "pledged." This timeframe is not a short one, but over two years. Again, over two years.
When you pledge to a Kickstarter campaign, you pay for a product given at the earliest possible time. You do not plan for success or failure. Success is you receive the product. Failure is you receive a refund. Per the terms of Kickstarter. For over two years I have not received either. I want one of those immediately.
Please provide your audit for investment fraud.
The latest shipments were due to millions of monies added after requests from your "business." $97 per backer. Per your April 12th email, while asking for additional monies, you stated,
"I ever expected, but we have succeeded in making the Coolest Cooler a reality for more than 20,000 backers. Now we need to get it to the rest of you."
Well below the 35,000 you stated above. This was the same email you asked me for an additional 97 dollars before you shipped my cooler.
You are selling the cooler for retail prices on multiple avenues. I would like mine or a full refund immediately.
Please be aware of the following:
http://chicago.[redacted]/Multiple coolers were given away as prizes here:
http://www.[redacted].com/en/[redacted]And someone who explained things better than myself:
"I will start with the points mentioned in her email:
...
3) With the exception of the last sentence directed at me, the entire email to you ([redacted]) is an exact copy of what has been sending in response to complaints through other organisations such as Revdex.com. Let's just say I posted a response on a private forum which consists of 590+ disgruntled backers and none of the responses that ensued said anything positive about reply to you or Coolest Cooler.
Right, so with that out of the way lets me explain what has happened since Coolest Cooler were given $285 ($100 of that is for international shipping) of my hard earned cash on 27th August 2014:
1) The attached PDF is a document produced by [redacted] Design LLC to portray how they designed the Coolest Cooler. A quote from it says:"With the redesigned product in his hands, Ryan was ready to give the Coolest another chance in the market. Between [redacted]’s design expertise and Ryan’s crowdfunding experience, the new Kickstarter campaign was sure to succeed."
The question that has to be asked is why were backer funds spent on improving the design, additional features and actually creating the Coolest LLC, none of which were in scope of the initial campaign. None of these activities formed the basis on what I was parting with $285 for and therefore it would seem like I was either misled or lied to from the offset.
A video here shows Ryan stating that nothing was ready for production, which is the opposite of what he claimed on the Kickstarter campaign and what I signed up to:http://www.[redacted].com/…/[redacted]-[redacted]-…/[redacted]/[redacted]...⇄ />
This is where the terms "fraud" and "scam" which are often used when discussing Ryan and Coolest Cooler come from.
2) One of the "excuses" that has recently been communicated is that the product ended up costing much more than initially expected. The previous mentioned PDF states:"Once Ryan signed off on all the aspects of the design, [redacted] helped Ryan create a working prototype of the new and improved Coolest Cooler. This prototype proved the function of the design and was used to generate preliminary pricing from manufacturers so he could start understanding his cost structure."
The Kickstarter pledges had clearly been priced accordingly, but then Coolest Cooler decided to start adding more to the product and therefore inflating the cost. Once again, this is not what I signed up for and highlights Coolest Cooler's apparent misuse of funds.
3) Following recent updates, it came to light that Coolest Cooler were aware of many of the issues with manufacturing and the dwindling funds well before they were communicated out to the backers. In order to salvage this, Coolest Cooler started selling the product at RRP on Amazon (as part of Amazon Launchpad) which Ryan later revealed they were forced to honour due to contracts in place and "to keep the lights on". The Kickstarter backer and Coolest Cooler "contract" pre-dated any of this and should have taken precedence.
4) Coolest Cooler then blames the outcry from backers and the resulting negative reviews on Amazon for why the product was further delayed. Clearly Ryan had expected to sell as many products as possible at full RRP and then resume production without anyone noticing.
One of the reviews dated 18th November 2015 caught many people's attention:
"The Coolest cooler was a Kickstarter project, and yes, there are lots of backers who have yet to receive theirs and it's pretty obvious that these are the people posting all the 1* reviews. But I love mine! The biggest difference between the Coolest and other coolers is obviously the features. The blender is powerful and makes great blended cocktails. The speaker is awesome and the USB port very handy for charging my phone. I made 12 pitchers of cocktails for people yesterday in Florida and they LOVED it. The wheels make it easy to roll and the my friends have just gone nuts for it! All the details (the built-ins are just insane) make it an amazing cooler to either tailgate, or go to the beach with. As a backer you have to be patient - 60K coolers is a lot of coolers to make! Be patient! I got mine and you'll get yours!"
The author of this review was [redacted] [redacted]. Does this name ring a bell to you? This review is at:http://www.amazon.com/gp/review/[redacted]
5) In January 2016, an update was sent out to backers asking for them to confirm their address. The reason provided for this was to enable Coolest Cooler to plan their fulfilment and provide delivery estimates. In February another update was issued providing backers with a "batch number". These batch numbers were not associated to any date and therefore clearly not an estimate. Once again this falls in line with the previous vague and useless updates provided by Coolest Cooler. This update also included an image, which I have attached as fund_breakdown.png. If you take a look at the bottom right of this image it states that it is not to scale. Who in their right mind would provide a diagram such as this which is not to scale? It completely defeats the point of the diagram and highlights further than Ryan was trying to fool people. It was in this update where Ryan disclosed that they were out of money and looking for traditional investors. So somewhere between the 21st January and 27th February updates, Coolest Cooler ran out of money? Surely if you were running out of money it wouldn't just creep up on you overnight?
6) Then in March 2016 Ryan beings to make excuses, which is where points 2), 3) and 4) come into play.
7) Coolest Cooler are required to honour refund requests if they cannot deliver. As it stands right now, they are incapable of delivering my product and therefore I am entitled to my refund now. However, this is being refused and instead they state that they will give me my refund 2 weeks before my Cooler is due to ship, which as mentioned before has no estimated date. I would like my refund now and not when Ryan or [redacted] or anyone else at Coolest Cooler deem suitable. Coolest Cooler claim that since they still plan to honour the original deal and supply the rewards, the refund request condition does not apply. That condition clearly states that they are required to do so if they are unable to deliver, which at this point they cannot... their determination, faith, willpower (whatever else you want to call it) is irrelevant.
8) A video made by Ryan a few years ago surfaced on the internet and once it was linked to the Coolest Cooler, it was promptly removed by Ryan. Fortunately it was downloaded by many people and I have uploaded a copy here for your viewing:https://www.youtube.com/[redacted]
In this video Ryan states:"you're leveraging a network of strangers to fund your project. They're not giving you a loan; they're not taking equity in your company; they're not investing. It's basically money that never has to be paid back."
"the beautiful part about crowd funding is the money you get from these strangers, never has to be paid back."
Clearly Ryan thinks of the money as "free money", and now I want mine back. Many many other backers are in the same boat and really need for this to be investigated by someone who has the authority to do so (ie DOJ).
9) A month or so ago, [redacted] [redacted] posted on the Kickstarter comments page (which has exploded over the recent months with angry comments) requesting backers to stop filing complaints with the FTC and DOJ. She claimed that these reports had no relevance to the status of backer refunds, when backers would receive their products or have any impact on Coolest Cooler (other than causing further delays due to time being spent on replying to them). It sounds like Coolest Cooler believe they speak for DOJ and FTC, and that is what actually prompted me to file my report. There is no way I am letting a company whole has in effect stolen my $285 try and limit who I report their ponzi scheme to.
A comment was posted on the Kickstarter comments section about 2 hours ago by a guy named [redacted]:
I've been contacted by [redacted] [redacted] asking me not to be negative and stating they will not show such comments (I assume on facebook).Like this comes as some kind of surprise! She (as part of coolest) has been complicit in taking $285 from me (and other international backers) and spending this on supplying coolers to other people, including those who backed the project later.
Then, as the crowning glory they put the international backers orders to the back of the queue and exclude them from the 4th July delivery option.If she expects anything other than negative comments in light of this then in my opinion, she must be completely deluded.The way they have treated international backers is utterly disgraceful.
[redacted], I apologise for the really long email, but I had to explain the position the majority of backers and I are in, and how the likes of [redacted] [redacted] and Ryan G[redacted] are simply trying to cover it up. It would be greatly appreciated if you could review what I have said and even spend some time just Googling "Coolest Cooler". Most of what I have said will be found on numerous websites."
I would like a refund or my cooler immediately. Coolers are being sold at retail. Where is my money or my cooler.Sincerely,[redacted]
Dear Ms. [redacted],
We are incredibly grateful for all of our backers support, and we are fully committed on delivering all of our Kickstarter rewards. The Coolest Cooler cost more than estimated, but we have a path forward and are going to fulfill all backer rewards. We are making...
good faith efforts to complete the project and are indeed making progress.
We have recently shared our path forward with backers in a Kickstarter update and due to the positive response, we were able to restart production two weeks ago. We are making and shipping more than 10,000 coolers in the upcoming six weeks.
Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us tocreate something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledge to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the Kickstarter terms of service, Kickstarter does not offer refunds. A Project Creator is not required to grant a Backer’s request for a refund unless the Project Creator is unable or unwilling to fulfill the reward. The estimated delivery dates for the rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at the time. Our project is indeed ongoing, and we are making progress.
Sincerely,
Blake A[redacted]
Coolest Community Support Manager
We at Coolest are incredibly grateful for your support when you backed this project on Kickstarter, and we share your frustration with the delays that we have experienced. Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us...
to create something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledged to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the terms of service the estimated delivery dates for the rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at the time.
Our plan is to resume shipments to backers in the coming weeks, as well as to sell at retail to fund delivery of backer rewards. Every project has risks and challenges, but with your continued patience and support we’ll succeed together.
We at Coolest are incredibly grateful for your support when you backed this project on Kickstarter, and we share your frustration with the delays that we have experienced. When you do a Kickstarter you plan for success. But we could never have imagined that we would need to make...
more than 62,000 coolers and ultimately the cost was more than we had anticipated. The option we offered recently for guaranteed delivery was just that - an option. We will get all remaining backers their rewards whether they decided to participate or not. Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us tocreate something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledged to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the terms of service the estimated delivery dates for the rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at the time.
We recently shared our path forward with backers in a Kickstarter update and due to the positive response, we plan to restart production in the next week. Our plan is to resume shipments to backers in the coming weeks, as well as to sell at retail to fund delivery of backer rewards. Every project has risks and challenges, butwith your continued patience and support we’ll succeed together.
Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because your "hold ups" and issues with not being able to supply your kickstarter "supporters" with their coolest coolers, is because you chose to go down other avenues with "Bigger" options for yourselves. Like the deal you made with amazon and others AFTER you received all the money you needed to fund your project. People who supported you and got your business started, ARE STILL waiting for there coolers while others were able to purchase there coolers on sites as amazon...so of course ALL the coolers you could make first would go to amazon, before they would go to any of us. Then there was issues with factories... and now not enough funding! So now the option is pay AN ADDITIONAL 100 to receive a cooler by JULY 4. .... or guess what we wait some more. Your "reasons" OR as id like to call them excuses... are the reason why I will NEVER fund another project on kickstarter again. Who would, if theyd have to wait 2 YEARS just to get what they paid for. Ive seen MANY COMPLAINTS about your company and the so many of us who still have yet to receive their cooler. I assure you, I am not the only one upset, dissapointed, and I feel your response within Revdex.com is comical at this point. Sincerely,[redacted]
It’s important to remember that Kickstarter campaigns are not like regular online retailers. There is an ongoing misunderstanding around how Kickstarter and other crowdfunding sites work. Backers do not buy a product and there is no guaranteed delivery date. Through Kickstarter, they agree to...
terms of service that clearly state the risks and that they are donating money to the project creator who agrees to make best efforts to deliver the project. We have apologized for the delay in getting out the Coolest coolers to some of our Kickstarter backers. After a strike at one of our vendors was resolved late last year, we had planned to restart the production line after Chinese New Year but as noted in our most recent backer update update, there is a further delay while we confirm our Series A funding.While there have been delays, we are still working diligently to complete our project–and fulfill our obligation to all our backers.We have made and shipped more than 20,000 Coolest rewards to backers and the fact remains that this is one of the largest scale, and most complex projects in the history of crowdfunding. The reality is that the majority of oversubscribed Kickstarter projects are delayed. The project is not complete and we remain 100% committed to fulfilling all backer rewards. With regard to the coolers currently for sale on Amazon Launchpad, last Summer, the Coolest made a one-time sale to Amazon Launchpad (for holiday) which is the current inventory they are selling through. We are not selling any coolers on either our own website or on Amazon otherwise. There is nothing in the Kickstarter terms of service that prohibits a sale while concurrently fulfilling backer rewards. (I wouldn't recommend it ideally but manufacturing is capital intensive). The funds from the sale were reinvested in the business. Again we apologize for the delay and hope to fulfill all remaining backers shortly.
If you would like to request a refund for your Coolest Cooler, you will need to submit your request via the link here: http://coolest.com/kickstarter-refundApproximately two weeks before your Coolest is due to ship, we will contact you again and give you the option to either accept delivery or process your refund. In the meantime we remain fully committed to producing and delivering the Coolest to ALL our Kickstarter backers.
I would like to point out the terms of service backers agreed to:
“To receive the reward, Backers agree to provide the requested information to the Project Creator within a reasonable amount of time. Kickstarter does not offer refunds. A Project Creator is not required to grant a Backer’s request for a refund unless the Project Creator is unable or unwilling to fulfill the reward. Project Creators are required to fulfill all rewards of their successful fundraising campaigns or refund any Backer whose reward they do not or cannot fulfill.”
https://www.kickstarter.com/terms-of-use/oct2012The project is ongoing, and we are 100% committed to delivering all backer rewards. For a time we did offer refunds, but we are not obliged to under the terms of service and as we recently sorted all remaining backer rewards into shipment batches and paid all deposits with the manufacturer to produce the outstanding units, we have now stopped doing so.
We at Coolest are incredibly grateful for your support when you backed this project on Kickstarter, and we share your frustration with the delays that we have experienced. Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us...
to create something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledged to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the terms of service the estimated delivery dates for the rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at the time.
We recently shared our path forward with backers in a Kickstarter update and due to the positive response, we restart production this week and will be shipping to backers again in the coming weeks. Our plan is to resume shipments to all backers in the coming weeks, as well as to sell at retail to fund delivery of remaining backer rewards. Every project has risks and challenges, but with your continued patience and support we’ll succeed together.
We were funded in September of 2014 and shipped the first Coolest coolers in July 2015. In product development terms this is in fact a very fast timeline from prototype to finished product. Furthermore we have to make more than 60,000 of them for backers. The vastly increased scale caused some challenges but we have continued to make good faith efforts to fulfill every backer. When a backer supports a Kickstarter campaign, they sign very clear terms of service that explaiin that the timeline is a best estimate and no guarantee of a delivery. There is a risk involved that is inherent in any campaign. To date, the Coolest Cooler remains one of the most complex hardware projects ever crowdfunded. We have been audited and there is nothing irregular about our finances. We apologize for the delay but the complainant signed the agreement to donate a pledge fund to the campaign. Kickstarter is not a retail store but rather a way to support creative endeavors and bring new ideas to life. We have at all times communicated regularly with backers and have a customer service team who respond to requests at [email protected]. We have communicated and responded to the Oregon Department of Justice who, due to the Kickstarter terms of service, are not pursuing any action. This project is ongoing and while the timeline is not ideal, we will get there.
Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:I can't believe that it would take almost 2 years to produce and ship this product and just an occasional email with another empty promise of a future delivery is supposed to make the backers happy? The lastest update date is they want even more money then has already been paid to insure that the orders are shipped out. SCAM, SCAM, SCAM! ASHAMED THAT I FELL FOR THIS!!!!Sincerely,[redacted]
Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. However, if the Company does not fulfill the order by the ship date provided in their response, we will open a new complaint. Sincerely, [redacted]
Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
For the same reasons in my original complaint. They collected funds two years ago and have yet to furnish any product. HOWEVER they are fulfilling product to retail and online customers. Their first priority should be the original backers from who they have already collected funds. They are prioritizing original backers who pay an additional $97 per cooler underteh guise that there were "unexpected costs" and that if you elect to pay the extra $97 they will guarantee delivery of your order. It is not the customers probelm that they quoted, advertised and collected payment for an item that they did not source properly & consider all costs. Prioritzing customers willing to pay for their mistake is unethical at the very least.Sincerely,[redacted]
We at Coolest are incredibly grateful for your support when you backed this project on Kickstarter, and we share your frustration with the delays that we have experienced. Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us...
tocreate something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledged to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the terms of service the estimated delivery dates for the rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at the time. Every project has risks and challenges, butwith your continued patience and support we’ll succeed together. Please note that Kickstarter backers are not investors but pledge to donate funds to a project. We have a plan to get every backer their Coolest and are working hard to make that happen as soon as possible.
Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
Some backers have already received their coolers for the same price everyone paid, while others will continue to have to wait and others have been given the option to pay $97 more to receive theirs by July 4th, with no additional perks besides receiving their cooler sooner. That scenario is wrong in so many ways, but wait you can get a refund! Well that refund won't be sent until your cooler is about to ship, so why would anyone want to do that? The end game is we all want the cooler, but this companies missteps and empty promises has caused everyone to lose faith in this company! We all did our part, we pledged the money that was asked of us and have received nothing, so why would we entrust them with more money? Just so we can be disappointed again when their deadline is not met and they feed us more excuses? Absolutely ridiculous.Sincerely,[redacted]
Dear Mr. [redacted],
We at Coolest are incredibly grateful for your support when you backed this project on Kickstarter, and we share your frustration with the delays that we have experienced. When you do a Kickstarter campaign, you plan for success but even in his wildest dreams Ryan never...
imagined having to make more than 62,000 coolers. The Coolest Cooler cost more than estimated but we have a path forward and are going to fulfill all backers as soon as we are able. We are making good faith efforts to complete the project and are making progress.Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us to create something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledged to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the terms of service, the estimated delivery dates for the rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at the time. We recently shared our path forward with backers in a Kickstarter update and due to the positive response, we were able to restart production in May. We are shipping more than 5,000 coolers in the coming weeks and our plan is to resume shipments to all backers in the coming months, using retail funds for the delivery of remaining backer rewards. Every project has risks and challenges, but with your continued patience and support we’ll succeed together.
Sincerely,
Blake A[redacted]
Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Sincerely, [redacted]
Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:Hello, The correspondence below came during a two week period (7/22 – 8/5) while I was on vacation and the case is now showing as closed before I had a chance to respond. I am not pleased with this outcome and the runaround being provided by the The Coolest Cooler llc. Their answers continually fail to answer why they cannot provide a refund NOW for an order that was placed two years ago with no product delivered, or even an estimated time frame as to when it will be delivered. Their production issues & etc that they continue to offer as a form response are not my problem. I don’t care what their production issues, etc are anymore. We want a refund….period. Thanks. [redacted]Director of Operations
Dear Mr. [redacted]
We at Coolest are incredibly grateful for your support when you backed this project on Kickstarter, and we share your frustration with the delays that we have experienced. When you do a Kickstarter campaign, you plan for success but even in his wildest dreams Ryan never...
imagined having to make more than 62,000 coolers. The Coolest Cooler cost more than estimated but we have a path forward and are going to fulfill all backers as soon as we are able.
Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us to create something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledge to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the terms of service the estimated delivery dates for the Kickstarter rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at that time. I do see that you opted for the expedited delivery option, and we will be shipping out your Coolest Cooler by July 29th. We appreciate your support, and certainly hope you will get some great use out of it this summer!
We have checked our records and understand that Mr. [redacted]'s pledge was not initially fully completed. We have emailed him directly and will make every effort to sort out his backer reward in due course. We at Coolest are incredibly grateful for your support when you backed this project on...
Kickstarter, and we share your frustration with the delays that we have experienced. Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us tocreate something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledged to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the terms of service the estimated delivery dates for the rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at the time. Every project has risks and challenges, butwith your continued patience and support we’ll succeed together.
We plan to update backers shortly and will keep you up to date on progress.
Dear Mr. [redacted],
We at Coolest are incredibly grateful for your support when you backed this project on Kickstarter, and we share your frustration with the delays that we have experienced. When you do a Kickstarter campaign, you plan for success but even in his wildest dreams Ryan never...
imagined having to make more than 62,000 coolers. The Coolest Cooler cost more than estimated but we have a path forward and are going to fulfill all backers as soon as we are able. We are making good faith efforts to complete the project and are making progress.
Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us to create something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledged to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the terms of service, the estimated delivery dates for the rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at the time. We recently shared our path forward with backers in a Kickstarter update and due to the positive response, we were able to restart production in May. We are shipping more than 5,000 coolers in the coming weeks and our plan is to resume shipments to all backers in the coming months, using retail funds for the delivery of remaining backer rewards.
We have apologized for the delay but the consumer should understand that Kickstarter is a platform that supports new products and projects. The estimates given are that - estimates. When the Coolest cooler project scaled to the huge extent it did, the manufacturing costs also increased. We have delivered to more than 2/3 of the original backers and continue to do so. We have explained why we need to sell at retail - to fund delivery to the remaining backers. It's not ideal but it is the only option right now. We have not broken the terms and conditions of Kickstarter and while we apologize for the delay, the allegations of this consumer are simply not true. We have made and shipped more than 40,000 Coolest coolers and we are shipping to the remaining backers as we are able.
Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
I have paid over 200 dollars. 185 was the initial backer amount, and after "miscalculations" of shipping by your "business" I have paid above that amount. Please be aware I am well aware of the amount you have taken from my paychecks.
The terms of service, at the time of my purchase, clearly stated the "business" would provide the product at the earliest possible moment, this "business" has not. They are currently selling their product not only on the most popular retail website in the world (Amazon) but also on their own personal website. This shows they have product, but rather than sending this product to those who have paid for this product, they are selling it at a higher value for their own gain. I fail to see this differently.
After this previous statement, I find it hard to see how "theft" and "fraud" do not represent the current situation. If you have those who have paid and are waiting for a product not receiving it due to waiting for additional funds after selling it at retail, how does such match with any of the aforementioned statements? If product exists it should be sent to those who have paid. If not, holding onto monies is thereby removing it from those who have "pledged." This timeframe is not a short one, but over two years. Again, over two years.
When you pledge to a Kickstarter campaign, you pay for a product given at the earliest possible time. You do not plan for success or failure. Success is you receive the product. Failure is you receive a refund. Per the terms of Kickstarter. For over two years I have not received either. I want one of those immediately.
Please provide your audit for investment fraud.
The latest shipments were due to millions of monies added after requests from your "business." $97 per backer. Per your April 12th email, while asking for additional monies, you stated,
"I ever expected, but we have succeeded in making the Coolest Cooler a reality for more than 20,000 backers. Now we need to get it to the rest of you."
Well below the 35,000 you stated above. This was the same email you asked me for an additional 97 dollars before you shipped my cooler.
You are selling the cooler for retail prices on multiple avenues. I would like mine or a full refund immediately.
Please be aware of the following:
http://chicago.[redacted]/Multiple coolers were given away as prizes here:
http://www.[redacted].com/en/[redacted]And someone who explained things better than myself:
"I will start with the points mentioned in her email:
...
3) With the exception of the last sentence directed at me, the entire email to you ([redacted]) is an exact copy of what has been sending in response to complaints through other organisations such as Revdex.com. Let's just say I posted a response on a private forum which consists of 590+ disgruntled backers and none of the responses that ensued said anything positive about reply to you or Coolest Cooler.
Right, so with that out of the way lets me explain what has happened since Coolest Cooler were given $285 ($100 of that is for international shipping) of my hard earned cash on 27th August 2014:
1) The attached PDF is a document produced by [redacted] Design LLC to portray how they designed the Coolest Cooler. A quote from it says:"With the redesigned product in his hands, Ryan was ready to give the Coolest another chance in the market. Between [redacted]’s design expertise and Ryan’s crowdfunding experience, the new Kickstarter campaign was sure to succeed."
The question that has to be asked is why were backer funds spent on improving the design, additional features and actually creating the Coolest LLC, none of which were in scope of the initial campaign. None of these activities formed the basis on what I was parting with $285 for and therefore it would seem like I was either misled or lied to from the offset.
A video here shows Ryan stating that nothing was ready for production, which is the opposite of what he claimed on the Kickstarter campaign and what I signed up to:http://www.[redacted].com/…/[redacted]-[redacted]-…/[redacted]/[redacted]...⇄ /> This is where the terms "fraud" and "scam" which are often used when discussing Ryan and Coolest Cooler come from.
2) One of the "excuses" that has recently been communicated is that the product ended up costing much more than initially expected. The previous mentioned PDF states:"Once Ryan signed off on all the aspects of the design, [redacted] helped Ryan create a working prototype of the new and improved Coolest Cooler. This prototype proved the function of the design and was used to generate preliminary pricing from manufacturers so he could start understanding his cost structure."
The Kickstarter pledges had clearly been priced accordingly, but then Coolest Cooler decided to start adding more to the product and therefore inflating the cost. Once again, this is not what I signed up for and highlights Coolest Cooler's apparent misuse of funds.
3) Following recent updates, it came to light that Coolest Cooler were aware of many of the issues with manufacturing and the dwindling funds well before they were communicated out to the backers. In order to salvage this, Coolest Cooler started selling the product at RRP on Amazon (as part of Amazon Launchpad) which Ryan later revealed they were forced to honour due to contracts in place and "to keep the lights on". The Kickstarter backer and Coolest Cooler "contract" pre-dated any of this and should have taken precedence.
4) Coolest Cooler then blames the outcry from backers and the resulting negative reviews on Amazon for why the product was further delayed. Clearly Ryan had expected to sell as many products as possible at full RRP and then resume production without anyone noticing.
One of the reviews dated 18th November 2015 caught many people's attention:
"The Coolest cooler was a Kickstarter project, and yes, there are lots of backers who have yet to receive theirs and it's pretty obvious that these are the people posting all the 1* reviews. But I love mine! The biggest difference between the Coolest and other coolers is obviously the features. The blender is powerful and makes great blended cocktails. The speaker is awesome and the USB port very handy for charging my phone. I made 12 pitchers of cocktails for people yesterday in Florida and they LOVED it. The wheels make it easy to roll and the my friends have just gone nuts for it! All the details (the built-ins are just insane) make it an amazing cooler to either tailgate, or go to the beach with. As a backer you have to be patient - 60K coolers is a lot of coolers to make! Be patient! I got mine and you'll get yours!"
The author of this review was [redacted] [redacted]. Does this name ring a bell to you? This review is at:http://www.amazon.com/gp/review/[redacted]
5) In January 2016, an update was sent out to backers asking for them to confirm their address. The reason provided for this was to enable Coolest Cooler to plan their fulfilment and provide delivery estimates. In February another update was issued providing backers with a "batch number". These batch numbers were not associated to any date and therefore clearly not an estimate. Once again this falls in line with the previous vague and useless updates provided by Coolest Cooler. This update also included an image, which I have attached as fund_breakdown.png. If you take a look at the bottom right of this image it states that it is not to scale. Who in their right mind would provide a diagram such as this which is not to scale? It completely defeats the point of the diagram and highlights further than Ryan was trying to fool people. It was in this update where Ryan disclosed that they were out of money and looking for traditional investors. So somewhere between the 21st January and 27th February updates, Coolest Cooler ran out of money? Surely if you were running out of money it wouldn't just creep up on you overnight?
6) Then in March 2016 Ryan beings to make excuses, which is where points 2), 3) and 4) come into play.
7) Coolest Cooler are required to honour refund requests if they cannot deliver. As it stands right now, they are incapable of delivering my product and therefore I am entitled to my refund now. However, this is being refused and instead they state that they will give me my refund 2 weeks before my Cooler is due to ship, which as mentioned before has no estimated date. I would like my refund now and not when Ryan or [redacted] or anyone else at Coolest Cooler deem suitable. Coolest Cooler claim that since they still plan to honour the original deal and supply the rewards, the refund request condition does not apply. That condition clearly states that they are required to do so if they are unable to deliver, which at this point they cannot... their determination, faith, willpower (whatever else you want to call it) is irrelevant.
8) A video made by Ryan a few years ago surfaced on the internet and once it was linked to the Coolest Cooler, it was promptly removed by Ryan. Fortunately it was downloaded by many people and I have uploaded a copy here for your viewing:https://www.youtube.com/[redacted]
In this video Ryan states:"you're leveraging a network of strangers to fund your project. They're not giving you a loan; they're not taking equity in your company; they're not investing. It's basically money that never has to be paid back."
"the beautiful part about crowd funding is the money you get from these strangers, never has to be paid back."
Clearly Ryan thinks of the money as "free money", and now I want mine back. Many many other backers are in the same boat and really need for this to be investigated by someone who has the authority to do so (ie DOJ).
9) A month or so ago, [redacted] [redacted] posted on the Kickstarter comments page (which has exploded over the recent months with angry comments) requesting backers to stop filing complaints with the FTC and DOJ. She claimed that these reports had no relevance to the status of backer refunds, when backers would receive their products or have any impact on Coolest Cooler (other than causing further delays due to time being spent on replying to them). It sounds like Coolest Cooler believe they speak for DOJ and FTC, and that is what actually prompted me to file my report. There is no way I am letting a company whole has in effect stolen my $285 try and limit who I report their ponzi scheme to.
A comment was posted on the Kickstarter comments section about 2 hours ago by a guy named [redacted]:
I've been contacted by [redacted] [redacted] asking me not to be negative and stating they will not show such comments (I assume on facebook).Like this comes as some kind of surprise! She (as part of coolest) has been complicit in taking $285 from me (and other international backers) and spending this on supplying coolers to other people, including those who backed the project later.
Then, as the crowning glory they put the international backers orders to the back of the queue and exclude them from the 4th July delivery option.If she expects anything other than negative comments in light of this then in my opinion, she must be completely deluded.The way they have treated international backers is utterly disgraceful.
[redacted], I apologise for the really long email, but I had to explain the position the majority of backers and I are in, and how the likes of [redacted] [redacted] and Ryan G[redacted] are simply trying to cover it up. It would be greatly appreciated if you could review what I have said and even spend some time just Googling "Coolest Cooler". Most of what I have said will be found on numerous websites."
I would like a refund or my cooler immediately. Coolers are being sold at retail. Where is my money or my cooler.Sincerely,[redacted]
Dear Ms. [redacted],
We are incredibly grateful for all of our backers support, and we are fully committed on delivering all of our Kickstarter rewards. The Coolest Cooler cost more than estimated, but we have a path forward and are going to fulfill all backer rewards. We are making...
good faith efforts to complete the project and are indeed making progress.
We have recently shared our path forward with backers in a Kickstarter update and due to the positive response, we were able to restart production two weeks ago. We are making and shipping more than 10,000 coolers in the upcoming six weeks.
Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us tocreate something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledge to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the Kickstarter terms of service, Kickstarter does not offer refunds. A Project Creator is not required to grant a Backer’s request for a refund unless the Project Creator is unable or unwilling to fulfill the reward. The estimated delivery dates for the rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at the time. Our project is indeed ongoing, and we are making progress.
Sincerely,
Blake A[redacted]
Coolest Community Support Manager
We at Coolest are incredibly grateful for your support when you backed this project on Kickstarter, and we share your frustration with the delays that we have experienced. Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us...
to create something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledged to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the terms of service the estimated delivery dates for the rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at the time.
Our plan is to resume shipments to backers in the coming weeks, as well as to sell at retail to fund delivery of backer rewards. Every project has risks and challenges, but with your continued patience and support we’ll succeed together.
We at Coolest are incredibly grateful for your support when you backed this project on Kickstarter, and we share your frustration with the delays that we have experienced. When you do a Kickstarter you plan for success. But we could never have imagined that we would need to make...
more than 62,000 coolers and ultimately the cost was more than we had anticipated. The option we offered recently for guaranteed delivery was just that - an option. We will get all remaining backers their rewards whether they decided to participate or not. Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us tocreate something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledged to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the terms of service the estimated delivery dates for the rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at the time.
We recently shared our path forward with backers in a Kickstarter update and due to the positive response, we plan to restart production in the next week. Our plan is to resume shipments to backers in the coming weeks, as well as to sell at retail to fund delivery of backer rewards. Every project has risks and challenges, butwith your continued patience and support we’ll succeed together.
Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because your "hold ups" and issues with not being able to supply your kickstarter "supporters" with their coolest coolers, is because you chose to go down other avenues with "Bigger" options for yourselves. Like the deal you made with amazon and others AFTER you received all the money you needed to fund your project. People who supported you and got your business started, ARE STILL waiting for there coolers while others were able to purchase there coolers on sites as amazon...so of course ALL the coolers you could make first would go to amazon, before they would go to any of us. Then there was issues with factories... and now not enough funding! So now the option is pay AN ADDITIONAL 100 to receive a cooler by JULY 4. .... or guess what we wait some more. Your "reasons" OR as id like to call them excuses... are the reason why I will NEVER fund another project on kickstarter again. Who would, if theyd have to wait 2 YEARS just to get what they paid for. Ive seen MANY COMPLAINTS about your company and the so many of us who still have yet to receive their cooler. I assure you, I am not the only one upset, dissapointed, and I feel your response within Revdex.com is comical at this point. Sincerely,[redacted]
It’s important to remember that Kickstarter campaigns are not like regular online retailers. There is an ongoing misunderstanding around how Kickstarter and other crowdfunding sites work. Backers do not buy a product and there is no guaranteed delivery date. Through Kickstarter, they agree to...
terms of service that clearly state the risks and that they are donating money to the project creator who agrees to make best efforts to deliver the project. We have apologized for the delay in getting out the Coolest coolers to some of our Kickstarter backers. After a strike at one of our vendors was resolved late last year, we had planned to restart the production line after Chinese New Year but as noted in our most recent backer update update, there is a further delay while we confirm our Series A funding.While there have been delays, we are still working diligently to complete our project–and fulfill our obligation to all our backers.We have made and shipped more than 20,000 Coolest rewards to backers and the fact remains that this is one of the largest scale, and most complex projects in the history of crowdfunding. The reality is that the majority of oversubscribed Kickstarter projects are delayed. The project is not complete and we remain 100% committed to fulfilling all backer rewards. With regard to the coolers currently for sale on Amazon Launchpad, last Summer, the Coolest made a one-time sale to Amazon Launchpad (for holiday) which is the current inventory they are selling through. We are not selling any coolers on either our own website or on Amazon otherwise. There is nothing in the Kickstarter terms of service that prohibits a sale while concurrently fulfilling backer rewards. (I wouldn't recommend it ideally but manufacturing is capital intensive). The funds from the sale were reinvested in the business. Again we apologize for the delay and hope to fulfill all remaining backers shortly.
If you would like to request a refund for your Coolest Cooler, you will need to submit your request via the link here: http://coolest.com/kickstarter-refundApproximately two weeks before your Coolest is due to ship, we will contact you again and give you the option to either accept delivery or process your refund. In the meantime we remain fully committed to producing and delivering the Coolest to ALL our Kickstarter backers.
I would like to point out the terms of service backers agreed to:
“To receive the reward, Backers agree to provide the requested information to the Project Creator within a reasonable amount of time. Kickstarter does not offer refunds. A Project Creator is not required to grant a Backer’s request for a refund unless the Project Creator is unable or unwilling to fulfill the reward. Project Creators are required to fulfill all rewards of their successful fundraising campaigns or refund any Backer whose reward they do not or cannot fulfill.”
https://www.kickstarter.com/terms-of-use/oct2012The project is ongoing, and we are 100% committed to delivering all backer rewards. For a time we did offer refunds, but we are not obliged to under the terms of service and as we recently sorted all remaining backer rewards into shipment batches and paid all deposits with the manufacturer to produce the outstanding units, we have now stopped doing so.
We at Coolest are incredibly grateful for your support when you backed this project on Kickstarter, and we share your frustration with the delays that we have experienced. Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us...
to create something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledged to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the terms of service the estimated delivery dates for the rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at the time.
We recently shared our path forward with backers in a Kickstarter update and due to the positive response, we restart production this week and will be shipping to backers again in the coming weeks. Our plan is to resume shipments to all backers in the coming weeks, as well as to sell at retail to fund delivery of remaining backer rewards. Every project has risks and challenges, but with your continued patience and support we’ll succeed together.
We were funded in September of 2014 and shipped the first Coolest coolers in July 2015. In product development terms this is in fact a very fast timeline from prototype to finished product. Furthermore we have to make more than 60,000 of them for backers. The vastly increased scale caused some challenges but we have continued to make good faith efforts to fulfill every backer. When a backer supports a Kickstarter campaign, they sign very clear terms of service that explaiin that the timeline is a best estimate and no guarantee of a delivery. There is a risk involved that is inherent in any campaign. To date, the Coolest Cooler remains one of the most complex hardware projects ever crowdfunded. We have been audited and there is nothing irregular about our finances. We apologize for the delay but the complainant signed the agreement to donate a pledge fund to the campaign. Kickstarter is not a retail store but rather a way to support creative endeavors and bring new ideas to life. We have at all times communicated regularly with backers and have a customer service team who respond to requests at [email protected]. We have communicated and responded to the Oregon Department of Justice who, due to the Kickstarter terms of service, are not pursuing any action. This project is ongoing and while the timeline is not ideal, we will get there.
Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:I can't believe that it would take almost 2 years to produce and ship this product and just an occasional email with another empty promise of a future delivery is supposed to make the backers happy? The lastest update date is they want even more money then has already been paid to insure that the orders are shipped out. SCAM, SCAM, SCAM! ASHAMED THAT I FELL FOR THIS!!!!Sincerely,[redacted]
Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. However, if the Company does not fulfill the order by the ship date provided in their response, we will open a new complaint. Sincerely, [redacted]
Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
For the same reasons in my original complaint. They collected funds two years ago and have yet to furnish any product. HOWEVER they are fulfilling product to retail and online customers. Their first priority should be the original backers from who they have already collected funds. They are prioritizing original backers who pay an additional $97 per cooler underteh guise that there were "unexpected costs" and that if you elect to pay the extra $97 they will guarantee delivery of your order. It is not the customers probelm that they quoted, advertised and collected payment for an item that they did not source properly & consider all costs. Prioritzing customers willing to pay for their mistake is unethical at the very least.Sincerely,[redacted]
We at Coolest are incredibly grateful for your support when you backed this project on Kickstarter, and we share your frustration with the delays that we have experienced. Please remember that your pledge to back the Coolest Cooler project on Kickstarter, allowed us...
tocreate something that previously didn’t exist in the world and we pledged to make a good faith effort to fulfill each reward. Per the terms of service the estimated delivery dates for the rewards were not a promise to deliver by those dates, but simply our best estimate at the time. Every project has risks and challenges, butwith your continued patience and support we’ll succeed together. Please note that Kickstarter backers are not investors but pledge to donate funds to a project. We have a plan to get every backer their Coolest and are working hard to make that happen as soon as possible.
Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
Some backers have already received their coolers for the same price everyone paid, while others will continue to have to wait and others have been given the option to pay $97 more to receive theirs by July 4th, with no additional perks besides receiving their cooler sooner. That scenario is wrong in so many ways, but wait you can get a refund! Well that refund won't be sent until your cooler is about to ship, so why would anyone want to do that? The end game is we all want the cooler, but this companies missteps and empty promises has caused everyone to lose faith in this company! We all did our part, we pledged the money that was asked of us and have received nothing, so why would we entrust them with more money? Just so we can be disappointed again when their deadline is not met and they feed us more excuses? Absolutely ridiculous.Sincerely,[redacted]