MICRO – The World’s Smallest Universal Travel Adapter

@Kin Chang, thank you for your encouragement and for being such a great supporter of MICRO! We want nothing more than to bring all the perks we had on Kickstarter over to Indiegogo, especially because so many of our backers here will follow us on Indiegogo. We just need to be careful because we depend on the funds raised there. Sadly, this situation forced our hand and limited everything we wanted and planned to offer our backers (better early bird pricing, different perks, etc.). There is no definitive decision as of now, since we cannot promise anything at this point.
However, do not lose your hope! We have seen such amazing backers determined to support MICRO, that we think anything is possible if we stick together and spread the word! As soon as anything changes, we will let everyone know immediately, as we want our backers to enjoy as many perks as we are able to offer them!

@Wong Koon Wing, as Monica and I have tried to explain in our previous comments, this is less a matter of technical feasibility and more a matter of having respect for all the backers who have already pledged. Even after being through so much in trying to support the idea they believe in, just like you have done for other campaign. I think you have to see that knowingly putting hundreds of our early-bird backers who already pledged in Indiegogo in the last three weeks at a disadvantage or making them jump through yet another hoop is indeed, as you said, a matter of principle. Thank you for sharing your perspective and for supporting MICRO until now.

@Ronaldy Ongky, I'm so sorry to say that we can unfortunately not provide any information about the refunds. It's simply because we don't know either. The funds were never credited to our account, so all refunds are actioned by Kickstarter themselves and we are obviously not part of that process at all. As per Kickstarter's message to all our backers, it should take a few days for the refund to arrive back on your card. Please let us know anytime if there's anything we can help with!

Hi Creator and Sam,
I back 2 Micro adapter in Kickstarer.
I am truly sorry to heard what Kickstarter did to you. It's a shame what they did. Don't worry they only did that because they envy you and your talent. Just wonder since Kickstart met the stretch goal already and unlock the black color, in Indieogogo, would we be able to back the black version as well?

Although it is only 4, I still name it priciples. The project start with an idea that is not sure it works out or not. The early bird help to build the foundation so that the project become more popular and more readily searchable and then it become more successs and the creator get the more concrete foundation to start igg. If the 4 is very little and it is very technical feasible, then I really fail to see why the creator cannot honour and respect the early bird by offering a secret pledge on igg. I backed more than 300 more projects on Ks and igg, actually for some projects I backed I believe the prodiluct cannot be delivered and really sad thing happen. I still backed to support the creative idea. I believe crowd funding is success by small amount contribution and principles. So yes even $1 is still related to principles.

Hi, I'm still waiting for my refund. The pledge has been charged on my card but no refund yet. Cheers

@Kai, thank you for your encouragement and warm wishes!

Sad about the turnout of this campaign. Wish you good luck on IGG.

@Judy Cabacang, thank you for your encouragement and enthusiasm about MICRO! Since we never received the funds from this campaign, the refunds are handled entirely by Kickstarter in accordance with their procedures. We're so sorry we can't do more for you and all our backers who are asking for information about this, it's just that we have no say in it nor are we being kept in the loop. I would suggest contacting Kickstarter directly to inquire about your refund. I'm sure someone there will be able to shed some light on the situation. We're sorry to say that there is no way to transfer the pledges from here to Indiegogo. That would have been so amazing for all our backers, not needing to take another step to support MICRO. But since the two platforms are esentially competitors, there is no integration between them. So in order to get your MICRO, you will have to head over to Indiegogo and pledge there for the number of units you wish. Thank you for your support, Judy! Please let us know if there's anything else we can help with.

How can i get my refund from this project or is it possible that you could just transfer those funds from kickstarter to indiego? I was shock when I heard this news and I feel sad about this. I don't know what is really happening. It's like their some a politics or conspiracy is going on here in kickstarter. But I'm totally fan of your project and I hope that you will still continue this project because this is such a wonderful device. I hope someone from your team or from kickstarter will response to my comment. Thanks!

@Mark White, thank you for offering us your support once more! We ourselves have been backers of such projects and we know what you mean. Given the issues you have experienced so far, we are honoured you have believe in us and surely we will do everything to fulfil our promise of bringing MICRO to you! Thank you!

@Janice Dalziel, we are an UK based company and we have chosen to manufacture MICRO in Asia. We understand how that can appear off-putting to some people. However, please let me offer our perspective on it. Something not a lot of people are aware of is that many factories in China have decades of experience they bring to the table, well thought out manufacturing processes, extremely well trained employees, engineers and specialists in all areas. They're as professional as the European ones. Of course not *all* Chinese manufacturers are up to these high standards, but the same can be said for anywhere else in the world and any other industry. Daniel has been on the ground there especially to vet in person some factories. We have not chosen our factory off of the Internet without properly vetting them first. Everything is properly set up in order to handle the production of MICRO to the highest standards of safety and efficiency. In fact, Asia is a great option for manufacturing technology, as demonstrated by huge players like Apple, Samsung or Sony. They all make their products in China or Taiwan. Another reason besides the high quality standards is the cost efficiency. To manufacture in the UK or Europe in general, the cost would increase considerably, which would in turn result in a much more expensive MICRO. This however was not the most important reason, as we would never sacrifice quality for cost. And while we absolutely love and often support ourselves companies that produce locally in order to help their community, this strategy did not make sense for MICRO, a product whose mission is to help people all around the world. As we all know, the world is not created equal and we wanted to give the opportunity of using MICRO to people of all backgrounds. Even for someone who can afford a vacation abroad only every few years, we feel it can bring a lot of value. I do hope this sheds some light on the situation, Janice. Please et us know if there's something else we can help clarify.

@Cindy Lum, thank you for your support once again and your continued faith in our team and in MICRO! Your kind words mean so much to us!

Oh, forgot to state, I will pick up this item from the Indiegogo site. I believe it is a solid project, and one which will come in handy as I live in a foreign country and travel a lot.

It is regretful that Kickstarter decided to suspend this project on such scant objections. The real problem I am having with this issue is the lack of info why it happened at all. I wish Kickstarter would help enforce actions against those creators that are taking advantage of the system, and not delivering on their promises. In fact, I have wrote to them reference several creators which failed to deliver on the promises: REWARDS, and the creator fail to respond to any emails. Bur wait, I am having the same issue with two creators on Indiegogo too. The creators have not responded to my emails, and one is already selling their product on Amazon.com. Bottom line, I am starting to get the sinking feeling of supporting either of these companies. I should wait until the product is available from Amazon. Wasting good money on products I never receive.

Though disappointed that the project is suspended, I was slightly miffed the designers chose China to be their manufacturers when they first advertised as a UK made product.

My god, people, quibbling over 4 GPB and trying to call it "principle"? That's called being cheap. Did I lose out on my perks, too? Yes. But let's be real, if you really wanted this product, you'd still be behind them even if it cost 6 GPB more, and I live in the US, so let's mulitply that by 1.5 to 2x. Don't worry team, I upped my previous order from one to two, as I have seen a few others have as well, so hopefully we'll make up for those who won't go and order from IGG out of "principle."

@J A Sottolano, thank you for bringing your perspective to the group!

@Jonny - at no point did we blame Kickstarter, much less our backers, Jonny. We have in fact repeatedly said this has happened through no fault of our backers. But it wasn't our fault either. If we were mainly focused on finding the guilty party for all of this, I think that would have been clearly reflected in our messages and all our efforts would have been directed that way, instead of communicating with all of you and doing everything in our power to fulfill our promise of bringing MICRO in the lives of so many people that need it. We tried to offer a comprehensive, transparent and full explanation in Update #13. We posted even the actual e-mails we have received so you can read them for yourselves and not just take our word for it. Please let us know if there's a part of the situation you are not clear about and we'll do our best to explain it. Regarding the lack of information from Kickstarter you and many others are dissatisfied about, we cannot speak for them. Simply because we ourselves are waiting for an explanation as to why was MICRO singled out in the category of travel adapters, niche that has seen successfully funded campaigns and projects live at the same time as ours. Thank you for your kind wishes!

@Wong Koon Wing - we respect your opinion. I would just like to emphasise the fact that, as Monica kindly explained below in detail, it is a choice we have been forced to make. Technical feasibility is just one side of this complicated cube. We have taken into account all aspects, including the human ones. Our Indiegogo backers have already been through two platforms trying to support this project, a harder-than-usual process over which we had no control. This should have been simple, backers pledging on a platform and getting their MICRO. Besides the huge financial limitations this suspension has brought on and which we are currently struggling with, the respect for our backers is another reason driving this decision. The respect for our backers is why we feel it is not moral to intentionally add yet another hurdle for them to jump through, affecting at this point hundreds and hundreds of people who have already completed all the required process of supporting MICRO and have given their consent (along with their money) to purchase at a non-early-bird price. I do hope you can at least try to understand this. As you said, it is not about the money. We are just trying to do the right thing by all our backers. If we were interested only in the money, I think this would have been obvious in our lack of interest for our backers, not replying to comments and definitely Daniel would not have been in China for two weeks already trying to bring MICRO to you as soon as possible. And Sam would not have been on his way there too right now, in precisely the moment I'm writing this message to you. Have a great day, Wong Koon Wing!

Seriously folks.. Putting aside the "secret offer" capabilities of IGG, If $4 is going to break your bank, then I'd suggest just not backing the project. I think the Micro folks are frankly dealing with enough. If the price of Micro on IGG is really upsetting, there are plenty of these types of units on Amazon that cost less and are only slightly larger. (smh) ... :-(

err Monica: you seem to be blaming KS for infringing their rules, then blaming backers that they can't get early bird prices. neither you nor KS have given backers a valid explanation for the cock-up. Best of luck with your campaign on Indiegogo.

it is completely technically feasible but it is just they choose not to honour or respect early bird. It is not about $4, it is about moral and principles.

@Rheng Chin - we can unfortunately not provide any information about the refunds because we don't know either. The funds were never credited to our account, so all refunds are actioned by Kickstarter themselves. Let us know if there's anything we can help with and thank you for your continued support!

when can I see the refund to my account?

@Wong Koon Wing, we appreciate your frustration because we feel it as well. It isn't your fault, it isn't ours either, we are really just doing the best we can given the situation. If you feel this way about $4 (the difference between the early bird price and the regular price), can you imagine how we feel about over $580,000? We respect your opinion nonetheless and we still hope to have you as a backer in the future. We wish you the best in the meantime.

For your information: It is no problem on indigogo to cancel your current pledge and go with a secret perk instead!

Explanations not accepted. And I will black list all your future projects.

Hi creator
I went on indiegogo from the link in the update but being an early bird at 19£ I could not find any equivalent pledge level on the other website. What can I do?

@Stephanie Pocchia - we know exactly how you feel, and then some... We can unfortunately not provide any information about the refunds because we don't know either. The funds were never credited to our account, so all refunds are actioned by Kickstarter themselves. Let us know if there's anything we can help with and thank you for your continued support!

@Wong Koon Wing - Because we are backers ourselves, we would probably feel the same if we were in your position. From the creator's perspective however, we have challenges that we need to take into consideration at the risk of losing some of our backers. To give you a bit of insight, the early bird prices, along with the perks we so happily offered here had been exclusive to our Kickstarter backers. When our Kickstarter campaign ended, we had approximately 200 backers with error-ed credit cards and whose pledges didn't go through. Many were early bird backers and have contacted us wanting to still get their MICRO. Because there was nothing we could do for them on Kickstarter, we encouraged them to head over to Indiegogo and pledge there, which they did. Offering a secret perk on Indiegogo, 3 weeks after we had started the InDemand campaign, would have been unfair to these backers and many of the rest of our early bird backers who already backed us on Indiegogo over the past couple of days since this very unfortunate situation ensued. We want nothing more than to bring all the perks we had on Kickstarter over to Indiegogo, especially because so many of our backers here will follow us on Indiegogo. We just need to be careful because we depend on the funds raised there. Our production costs are different when we ask our manufacturer for 4 - 5,000 units and very different when we ask for 15,000 units. Sadly, this situation forced our hand and limited everything we wanted and planned to offer our backers (better early bird pricing, different perks, etc.). We do respect everyone's choice and we are nonetheless happy to have had every single one of you as original backers for MICRO. So thank you once again!

Very disappointed! I am interested in checking out the Indiegogo campaign, but will wait until I see the refund post to my account. Shouldn't I see the credit by now?

I will not pledge in igg as I do not think it is moral for the creator not honour the early bird price and it is completely feasible in igg to offer a secret pledge to early bird backers here. Without the early birds, I do not think you can start the project here or igg.

I think there is a legal case against KS for stopping the project AFTER funding has closed. KS should do this diligence BEFORE close of funding. this action could lead to difficult legal situations for project creators, as public decisions like this (unfounded) could impact other backers outside the crowdfunding world

@Raf Czlonka,
@Cynthia Lam,
@Joao Gabriel Garcia de Gouvea,
@[wintermute], Due to the suspension of the campaign, comments are now closed on project updates, so we can't reply to you there. But don't worry, you have not been forgotten, of course not! @Raf Czlonka, thank you for supporting us up until this point! Since more people have asked for this, we will definitely try to notify everyone in the future about the progress of MICRO and when it becomes available on the market. @Cynthia Lam, we thank you for your fierce support! @Joao Gabriel Garcia de Gouvea, thank you for believing in us and pledging your support once more! It means more than we can say. Given this situation, it's been incredible to see so many people supporting MICRO and we are beyond grateful for it! @[wintermute], "confusion" is certainly a feeling that we share in. You have nothing to apologise for, we are here to answer any concerns you might have, because we do take our role and product very seriously. We believe the integrity of our company can be easily noticed through everything we've done so far. Thank you for your kind thoughts and please know that your appreciation means the world to us in a moment like this. Thank you!

@Scott Mosher - thank you so much, you have no idea what messages like this mean to us! We are beyond grateful to all the people that continue to believe in MICRO. Such a beautiful response from our backers has been a tremendous help in getting back in the saddle and bringing MICRO to all of you! Thank you!

@Simon Collier - I think the last update, #13, might help you better understand this unfortunate situation. If there's anything else we can help clarify, do let us know! Thank you for being a supporter of MICRO!

Just re-pledged on IGG - for two units this time! Good luck!

I have to admit that I've not been following the comments on here so no idea what the heck has just happened! Never had this happen on a Kickstarter project before, so really confused! I still believe in this product and no idea why Kickstarter stopped it.

@Jersey Jesus - it really means the world to us, thank you!

@Manuel Walker, thank you for that! We'd love to hear the full explanation if/when it comes. Feel free to email us at info@kickstartsuccess.co anytime and thanks a million for your continued support!

@Cindy Lum, we know exactly how you feel, and some... We have tremendous appreciation for you and every single one of our backers and we thank you very much for all your support!

@Rasmus Lohse, we just checked our dashboard and we have an order with the status "Paid" under your name so you are set. We also sent you a message to confirm your order there. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

@Mohanad Albader, thank you very much for your continued support!

Thank you for being so responsive. it's really troubling to see Kickstarter behave this way including the poor support timing. Honestly most of the projects I've funded have been through Indiegogo and will pay more attention to their platform in the future because they know how to take care of their backers. I have backed you on IGG because I believe in this product and the people behind it. Can't wait to use it!

Dear Micro Team I have sent an email to KS Support with the KS CEO in copy demanding a review and full explanation. Unfortunately, there will probably be no real reply, but they nevertheless need to hear our discontent. Find below my message. Keep it up! Manuel Dear Kickstarter Team This email puzzles me completely. You are suspending a sucessfull campaign two weeks after the funding (almost 500K $!) and offer no real explanation to us, your users! If the project had really violated your terms of service, you should have stopped it in its tracks at the beginning. I'm absolutely disgusted by your actions towards the 10'000+ backers of this projects who are your customers. We're the ones who generate your income through our pledges. I am demanding a review of this case and full explanation. Best regards
Manuel

The way Kickstarter worded their communication (I got another email this morning) is less than appealing. I'm sorry this has been happening to you, it has really left a bad taste in my mouth for Kickstarter and the dude who caused this entire debacle.

So I just backed on igg but I failed to log in. I can see my bagger name under bagged, but I haven't received a confirmation email. Is this a normal issue or? Because I still want to support you but I don't want to bag it twice by mistake �

Backed on Indiegogo

@Mike Morrison
@Geert Besselink Thank you so much for your continued support, guys! Truly!