What is a Survey? Why Did I Receive One?

If you've backed a crowdfunding project and received a survey from BackerKit, you might be wondering: "I already paid — why am I being asked to fill something out?" This is a very common question, and the answer has everything to do with how crowdfunding works. If you’d like to learn more about BackerKit, please see What is BackerKit?

Crowdfunding Is Different From Regular Online Shopping

When you back a crowdfunding project on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or BackerKit, you're not purchasing a finished product off a shelf. You're supporting a creator: an inventor, artist, or entrepreneur, to help bring their idea to life.

Platforms like Kickstarter, BackerKit, and Indiegogo are not online stores. They are fundraising tools that allow creators to raise the money they need to manufacture and deliver their rewards. When a campaign is successfully funded, the creator then begins the process of working with manufacturers to actually produce the product–a journey that can take anywhere from several months to a few years.

This means that at the time you pledged, your reward may not be in existence yet. Your backing made it possible for that reward to be created.

What Is the Survey For?

Once the project is funded and production is on the horizon, the project creator sends out a BackerKit survey to collect the information they need to actually fulfill your order. This typically includes:

• Your current shipping address
• Your reward selections (e.g. size, color, or version)
• Any add-ons you'd like to include with your order
• Shipping payment, if applicable

The survey is a critical step in the fulfillment process. It allows creators to sync backer data with their production and shipping partners so they know exactly how many of each reward variant to produce and where to send everything.

Without the survey, any backer who needed to update their address or change a reward selection would have to contact the creator directly, who would then need to manually edit a spreadsheet for each and every request. For campaigns with hundreds or thousands of backers, that would be an enormous (and error-prone) undertaking. The survey streamlines this entirely.

Does Completing the Survey Mean I'm Paying Again?

No, your original pledge payment has already been collected. The survey is not a second charge.

You may see an option to pay for shipping during the survey, or to purchase add-on items, but your core reward is covered by your original pledge. These additional charges, if any, are clearly presented and optional (except for shipping and tax, if it was not included in the original campaign).

What Can I Do in the Survey?

The BackerKit survey gives you the opportunity to:

• Enter or update your shipping address
• Make selections for your reward (size, color, edition, etc.)
• Add more items to your order
• Pay for shipping, if applicable

Be sure to complete your survey before the deadline set by the project creator, as late responses can delay or halt your shipment or limit your ability to make changes.

When Will I Receive My Reward?

Shipping timelines vary widely depending on the project. Receiving a survey does not necessarily mean your reward is about to ship—it means the creator is gathering the information they need in preparation for fulfillment.

For the most accurate shipping timeline, check the project's main campaign page or look for update posts from the creator. Delays are a normal part of the crowdfunding process, as creators are often navigating manufacturing and logistics for the very first time.

A Note About BackerKit's Role

BackerKit is a pledge management platform used by project creators to manage backer data, surveys, and pre-orders. BackerKit is not directly involved in the production or shipping of your reward—those responsibilities belong to the project creator and their fulfillment partners.

If you have questions about your order status, production timeline, or shipping, the best resource is always the project creator directly. Want to know how to contact the project creator? See our help doc here.

Quick recap:

• The survey is not a second payment—your pledge is already on record.
• It's how creators collect the info needed to ship your reward.
• It's your chance to update your address, choose reward options, and add items.
• Complete it before the deadline to avoid delays.
• Thank you for supporting a creator and helping bring something new into the world!