One of the commericals on the Super Bowl Game was the purchase of a car. The ad used crowdfunding to purchase the new car for a couple getting married. It was a good idea, one person paid so much that would pay for the engine, another person paid enough for the tires and so on. Would you use this type of funding to pay for something you need?
I have never heard of crowdfunding personal items. I just know about crowdfunding for business or creative ideas. Usually the people who support or help pay for the item get some type of compensation. I don't see how this would work for a personal item unless they share in the use of the item.
I think the thought was to help the couple out everyone would donate a little towards the purchase of the vehicle.
Sure, it's no different than a couple getting married taking their wedding money and buying a car. This way they are just knowing what their money is going towards.
I've often thought it would be a good way to get a business idea off the ground, but I've never thought of it in relation to high ticket personal items. I don't think I'd care to go down that route, quite honestly. A car is a convenience item, and if others expected to share the use, it would become very inconvenient. I may consider it if I could institute a repayment schedule, so everyone got their money back.
Hmmm, I did not see that commercial, but it is an interesting idea. There is something that I would like to do that requires getting certification and I wonder if crowdfunding might be a realistic way to go about it. I'm not sure though, that I would want the world knowing about my situation and what I am trying to do. When you try to fund something personal you'd really have to put yourself out there.
I don't think the people who pay for it think they will be able to use it. It's like gifting it to you. I had a friend who did this with their honeymoon. They set up a bank account and poeple could buy 'parts' of their trip.
Agreed, you do have to put yourself out there and reveal your personal business to the world. That's why my crowdfunding campaign isn't going so well. I'm too embarrassed to promote it so I only have 3 backers. In my case, I was trying to crowdfund a security deposit because my crappy apartment has actually been causing some child custody unpleasantness with my ex and I need to move. Crowdfunding for personal causes and goals is becoming more common ,but you need a lot of family and friends, a great social network and a lack of shyness about putting your campaign out there. I have none of these things.
With crowdfunding, people don't normally expect to be paid back. It's kind of like a donation drive or fundraising drive except they used to be just for creative ideas and now some people do crowdfunding campaigns for student loans, trips, medical bills and more.
