Coolest Cooler: Crowdfunder Asks for More Money, Backers 'Not Cool'

Setting up a great idea on Kickstarter then promising to deliver in exchange for money is something that is very risky. When people start sending hard-earned cash and then the product doesn't arrive, it's not good. Much more if the head of the project asks for more money so that the item could arrive.

That's what happened to the Coolest cooler, reports Cnet. Coolest, the Kickstarter project that is dubbed "the portable party," reportedly became a phenomenal idea when it was posted on Kickstarter in 2014, able to get 62,642 backers to raise up $13,285,226 in just 52 days. This is because of the idea behind it: Coolest is a cooler that comes with a built-in blender, USB charger and Bluetooth speaker that will enable users to have a 'portable party' wherever they may be.

Not Cool

However, only a third of all backers were able to get their Coolest coolers when it started shipping nearly a year ago. The Coolest company said that they are unable to deliver to the remaining two-thirds because of errors in estimating the actual cost of producing the said coolers and a worker strike at one of the manufacturing facilities that made its parts.

Coolest then asked the remaining backers if they would be willing to shell out an additional $97 so that the cooler will be delivered to them by July 4, reports Motherboard. This additional amount, according to an update from Coolest founder Ryan Grepper, will pay for the remaining costs needed for Coolest production and shipping. However, backers aren't obliged to pay for the coolers to arrive.

"It is just an option, if a backer doesn't want to do it, we will still get them their Coolest," Susan Towers, marketing director for Coolest, said.

Chiller Needed

Backers are now mad at what happened, most especially at the fact that the Coolest cooler became available through Amazon even before it was delivered to some owners. Sold at the online retail giant for $400 apiece, Grepper hopes to use the added revenue there for the production of the remaining coolers ordered by the backers.

However, Coolest needs to sell at least 144,000 coolers through Amazon to be able to secure the backers' Coolest coolers. Because of this, one can't stop to think if the Coolest company will either melt in the heat of the problem or be paralyzed frozen by the issue at hand.

What do you think? Will Coolest be able to deliver the remaining coolers? Share your opinion in the comments section below.