He's not in a money losing position. In fact he made over $120,000 with his previous 3 decks, don't tell me there wasn't a quite a bit of profit in those, possibly enough to offset any loses he might have on these if he decides to emboss the boxes more like he wants to. And nobody is asking him to do that. Everyone pledged for the decks as is, why is he so afraid of just printing them as is? I'm sure he will still make some profit off the decks as is, perhaps more than he might if he abandons it and relaunches which could result in a failed campaign altogether.
I never said I was a businessman and I never said I don't make mistakes, I just have a different way of looking at things, doesn't make me childlike.
It's not a matter of simply making money off of the deck - if that was the case, he could have continued as he was and the deck would likely have funded, just as you stated. From the looks of things based on what he said, he had a grander design in mind - a BETTER deck than the one that was being offered. He made a bit of a tactical error in assuming that he'd fund it all through stretch goals and achieve the level he wants the design to be in the end. Rather than continue this project as-is, squeaking by with a decent-looking deck project in two colors and aiming for the bells and whistles with stretch goals he feels he won't achieve, he's decided he wants those bells and whistles and is canceling this deck to relaunch with a new project where the bells and whistles come first and the second deck becomes the stretch goal. It's a wiser move, to be honest - funding two decks off the bat is a daunting challenge, and it still kills me that a gorgeous deck like SiShou - Four Beasts didn't reach its funding goal because of it when so many lousier decks manage to get funded.
As far as profit - what do you think happens to the money made from previous projects? Sure, some may be kept in a company fund, but certainly not ALL of it! You're basically saying that it's not profit motive that should be the main reason for the company continuing to make decks, which completely neglects the fact that if there was no profit to be made, NO DECK PROJECTS would be made, ANYWHERE. Of that $120,000, the lion's share went toward getting the project done and out the door. What happened to the rest, well - that's up to him! I don't tell you how to spend your paycheck, so what gives you the right to tell him how to spend his? How about I insist that YOU make up the difference for the extras he wants in the deck - sound good to you? Of course not, and it's ludicrous to ask.
Unless the company's a non-profit or not-for-profit, no company goes into business to make projects that they know will lose money, period, regardless of how much funding they may or may not have in the "war chest" to make up the difference. Even a company that donates goods, services or cash to a charity has a monetary incentive for doing so in the form of tax write-offs. (Oh, wait, there is ONE type of company that goes into business to lose money - a front company for a money laundering operation! And in the end, they STILL manage to make money...)
Look, if you don't want to fund the improved deck, so be it. Somehow, I don't think he'll miss your pledge, since there will be enough people interested in seeing a better version of this to replace any lost funds from folks like you and then some. But before you start telling someone how their projects should be made, even if it loses money, perhaps you should run one of your own - and not some Etsy deck, but a real playing card deck project run on Kickstarter and printed by USPC or better. Maybe then I'll take what you have to say about it seriously. To say "I just have a different way of looking at things" is an understatement, indeed.
