廉价纸板自行车撞上众筹壁垒

    虽然纸板自行车看上去似乎不可能带来非常舒适的驾乘体验，但低廉的材料价格是它难以匹及的优势所在。艾尔米什透露称，每辆自行车的材料成本在9到12美元之间。正是这种低廉的生产成本让纸板科技公司成为全美关注的焦点，但也导致该公司陷入最近这场困局。

    纸板自行车运动把“众筹”作为一种最新的筹资策略所具有的优点和缺陷体现得淋漓尽致。通过这次筹资活动，艾尔米什和加夫尼迅速地获悉，290美元的售价无法打动消费者，即便这种情况只是暂时的。通过众筹活动为项目筹集资金能够让创造者在投资数千美元批量生产之前分析评估他们的定价策略。当然，公开宣传这种策略，同时在产品投放市场前就从消费者手中要钱，也会让创造者成为批判对象。预期自行车售价20美元的消费者群体可能觉得自己被出卖了，或者对纸板科技公司按时交付产品的能力产生怀疑。（美国的前期订单显示，纸板自行车的上市时间为2015年3月。）

    这也是众筹方式的反对者们过去一年讨论的主题。反对者指出，像电子智能手表Pebble Watch这类众筹活动遭受的挫折充分证实了他们对这种筹资方式的质疑。在大众融资平台Kickstarter网站上发起的Pebble Watch众筹活动大受欢迎，以至于这一创意幕后的创业者无法及时完成订单，进而引发了消费者的愤怒情绪和潮水般的媒体批判。通过降低纸板自行车的价格，纸板科技公司希望在一切为时已晚之前改变目前的局面。鉴于200万美元的筹资目标依然没有完成，艾尔米什和加夫尼正在把纸板自行车项目的命运交到他们最有影响力的顾问，也就是他们的顾客手中。（财富中文网）

    译者：任文科

    And while it may not look very comfortable to ride, it's hard to beat the price of materials, which cost between $9-12 per bike, according to Elmish. It was this cheap cost of production that put Cardboard Technologies into the national spotlight, but also initiated the company's most recent struggles.

    The cardboard bike campaign represents the best and worst of the newest fundraising strategy known as crowdfunding. Thanks to their campaign, Elmish and Gafni learned quickly that a $290 version of the bike—even if only temporary—would not fly with consumers. Crowdfunding the project enabled the creators to analyze their pricing mistake before investing thousands of dollars into mass production. Of course, publicizing their strategy and taking money from consumers before their product hit the market opened them up to criticism. A consumer-base expecting a $20 product may feel betrayed, or skeptical that Cardboard Technologies will be able to deliver when the time comes. (For pre-orders from the United States, that means a delivery date in March of 2015.)

    This has been a major point of discussion for crowdfunding opponents over the past year, who have pointed to campaign stumbles like the Pebble Watch to explain their concern over the fundraising method. The Pebble Watch campaign (launched on Kickstarter) was so popular, that the entrepreneurs behind the idea were unable to fill orders in time, resulting in angry consumers and a critical media. By lowering the price of their product, Cardboard Technologies is hoping to change course before it's too late. With their $2 million funding goal still unfulfilled, Elmish and Gafni are leaving the fate of their bike project in the hands of their most influential advisors: their customers.