I backed a project called "Meet Loona - The Most Intelligent Petbot by Jianbo". I've backed other projects in the past, and never had a negative experience like this one.This Loona project offered backers the chance to receive their products before Christmas if they paid a hefty extra shipping fee in advance. However, Jianbo chose to use all of the money from backers all over the world to give the American backers VIP dedicated service which is being denied to all others. Shipping updates for all backers only mentioned shipping to the US. Other backers were excluded and had to ask to get vague information. They wouldn't even tell us who our couriers would be. American backers got UPS tracking numbers well in advance of backers from the rest of the world. Most already have their shipments or will be receiving them within a few days. They are all gloating about it on Kickstarter comments and on external social media such as Facebook. Meanwhile backers from other parts of the world are stuck with last minute bargain basement shipping. For example, Canadian backers like me didn't receive tracking numbers until December 14. Our parcels have been sitting in a Hong Kong warehouse ever since. Yesterday (Dec 17) the tracking was updated to "on hold" status. We have no idea why our parcels are on hold or when we can expect our shipments to leave Hong Kong. Maybe Jianbo can't afford to pay the couriers after spending all the money on the Americans.Backers who paid extra for Christmas shipping from other parts of the world including Australia and the EU got similarly shafted. Most of them don't even have tracking numbers yet, and the few who do have been told they won't get their shipments until Dec 29 or later. Jianbo has been silent about this whole mess, and even sent an "update" a few days ago claiming that their staff all have covid, which is nonsense. Now they don't even have the app or software ready for their device, so it won't even work when people finally receive it.But the worst part has been the paid trolls who are being used for damage control on social media. Rather than admit that they screwed up the shipping and apologize or offer refunds to the people who've been ripped off, they're paying trolls to viciously bully, harass, insult and personally attack people who complain on social media or Kickstarter comments. For example, one person who complained because the late shipment means their child won't get their Christmas present was told by a paid troll that they were "disgusting". Others have been accused of "whining" and "not being sympathetic to Jianbo's situation". They're called "stupid" for "not reading updates". These trolls even make posts telling people they don't have the "right" to "freak out" about the shipping situation and should "shut up". Meanwhile these trolls also brag about getting their shipments a week earlier than anyone else. They're Americans, of course. Complaints to Kickstarter about this abusive behaviour are ignored. Kickstarter should not be allowing sleazy or incompetent projects to hire and use paid trolls to muzzle backer complaints and concerns. Customers have every right to complain about poor service. The fact that they allow and condone this behaviour only shows that this is a business which completely lacks any moral standards. Any project that's ripping off customers by charging them for services that aren't provided should be shut down, forced to refund backers and banned from the platform.
