Tip 1: Get Your Kickstarter Account Ready

Create/Login Early

If you don’t have a Kickstarter account, please register using the email you used to pay your deposit. Make sure your account is active and verified.

If you already have a Kickstarter account, please check that the account is registered with the same email used for your deposit. If not, please email our customer service team at info@snapmaker.com to update the email address associated with your deposit.

• For deposit backers, your purchase email will serve as proof for the $100 cashback. You do not need to take any action. Ensure that the email used to purchase the deposit is the same as the one used for your Kickstarter order.

Payment Method: 

• Link a credit card to avoid delays. Kickstarter charges only at the end of the campaign.
• To pledge to a project, you can use a debit or credit card associated with Visa, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, UnionPay, or American Express. PayPal and installments are not supported.
• ✅Credit Card Validity Requirements
  • Valid through project end: To ensure successful charging after a project is successfully funded, your credit card must remain valid through the project’s end date.
  • Avoid temporary cards: Using a temporary or soon-to-expire card may result in failed charges.
  • Bank pre-authorization: When you pledge, Kickstarter’s payment processor may place a temporary authorization on your card to verify its validity.
• 🔄How to Ensure a Successful Charge
  • Update card information: If your card is about to expire or has been replaced, update your credit card information before the project ends.
  • Contact your bank: Make sure your bank allows Kickstarter pre-authorizations and that your card is not restricted or frozen.
  • Monitor your account: After the project ends, check your bank account to confirm the charge was successful. If any issues occur, contact Kickstarter support promptly.
• ⚠️ For multiple accounts, the same credit card cannot be linked to more than one account. Each account must be associated with a unique credit card.

Steps on How to link a credit card

Access the Payment Tab: Navigate to the "Payment" section in your project.

Enter Bank Account Details: Provide your bank account information, ensuring it is a checking account that supports direct deposits in the currency you're raising funds in. Kickstarter does not support wire transfers, savings accounts, or virtual bank accounts.

Verify Bank Account Ownership: The bank account must be owned by and registered in the name of the verified individual or entity raising funds.

Ensure Compatibility with Stripe: Kickstarter's payment processor, Stripe, only supports checking accounts.

For more detailed information, please refer to Kickstarter's official support article: What type of bank account can I use?

Tip 2: Set a Launch Day Reminder

Campaign Start: August 19, 2025, at 7:00 AM PDT (4:00 PM CEST).

For Deposit Holders (10-Minute Early Link): Check your email 10 minutes before the campaign starts and click the special Kickstarter link we provide. Preview the details and be ready to back the U1 as soon as the campaign goes live.

• The email will be sent to the address you used to pay your deposit. If you’re unsure which email you used, or if you’re unable to receive emails at that address, please get in touch with our customer service team at info@snapmaker.com as soon as possible to confirm or update your email.
• We will be sending emails from newsletter@snapmaker.com, so please add this address to your whitelist in advance to prevent our emails from being blocked or sent to spam.

For Non-Deposit Users: Visit the U1 campaign page a few minutes early and refresh it until the Kickstarter campaign officially begins.

Time Zone Planning: Convert the launch time to your local time and set multiple reminders so you don't miss it.

Tip 3: Quick Guide to Secure Early Bird Rewards

For All Users

Early Bird Recommendation: Kickstarter only charges after the campaign ends. We recommend grabbing an Early Bird tier first when the campaign goes live. If you find the U1 doesn’t meet your needs after backing, you can cancel your pledge at any time during the campaign.

Considering Your Order: If you don’t want to purchase the U1, you can cancel your pledge at any time during the campaign. However, if you still plan to purchase the U1 but wish to change your pledge amount or reward selection, you can directly change it, instead of canceling, as it may affect your backer number and shipping priority. For instructions, see: How can I change my pledge amount or reward selection?

Missed Early Bird? If Early Bird slots sell out, you can back the Special tier, $50 higher.

For Deposit Holders

Preview Rewards Early: You’ll get a link 10 minutes before the campaign starts to preview reward details. If you don’t finish the preview, place your order first when the campaign begins. No payment is charged yet, and you can still review the product details after backing.

Choose Your Pledge Wisely: Use the preview time to decide on your first-choice tier and an alternative.

Forgot Add-Ons or Want Extras?: Don’t worry, in the preparation phase before rewards are shipped, you’ll receive a survey to provide your shipping address and add any add-ons.

Missed Early Bird?: If Early Bird slots sell out, you can back the Special tier, $50 higher, and still qualify for the $100 cashback after your order ships.

Backing Multiple Units: Kickstarter allows only one reward tier per account, and each deposit applies to a single pledge. To purchase multiple U1 units, use separate emails for each deposit and create individual Kickstarter accounts with those emails.

Deposit Refundable: If you cancel your pledge during the Kickstarter campaign, and you still haven’t purchased the U1 after the campaign ends, you can contact our customer service team at any time to request a refund of your deposit.

Tip 4: Order Step

• Head to the project page and click the “Back this project” button, or open the Reward tab, to see the available rewards.
• Select your reward, and be sure to choose the appropriate country from the drop-down menu before clicking the “Pledge” button.
• On the next page, you can choose to increase your pledge with add-ons. To add an available add-on reward, simply click the “Add” button next to it.
• Click “Continue” to go to the Pledge summary page. Here you can double-check your pledge details, including any selected add-ons and the shipping country.
• When ready, enter your payment details and check the box confirming that you understand that rewards aren’t guaranteed. To complete your pledge, click the “Pledge" button.

Please note: 

• It is not possible to split a pledge between multiple credit cards. You’ll need to provide one debit or credit card per pledge.
• Once your pledge has gone through, you should receive a confirmation email to confirm that you are now a backer of the project. If the project is successfully funded, your card will be charged when it reaches its deadline.
• If you didn't reach a "Thank you!" confirmation page and/or you didn't receive a confirmation email (title: "You just backed [Project Name]"), likely, your pledge did not go through, and you may want to try again.

Tip 5: Payment Process

Kickstarter funding typically takes place in 3 stages:

Stage 1: During the Campaign – Initial Pledge

When: While the campaign is live.

What happens:

• You choose a reward tier and enter your payment details.
• Kickstarter may place a temporary credit card authorization, but your card is not charged yet.

If the project fails: No charge will be made.

⚠️ Please note that when pledging using American Express from Apple Pay, your pledge will be authorized for the full amount.

Stage 2: After the Campaign Ends – Pledge Collection

When: As soon as the campaign successfully ends.

What happens: Kickstarter starts a 7-day collection period to charge your card. 

• If the charge fails (e.g., expired card), you have a short grace period to fix it.

• Once payment succeeds, Kickstarter deducts platform and payment processing fees.

⚠️ The order amount will be calculated based on the exchange rate on the day of the charge.

⚠️ If you will be using a prepaid credit card, please make sure that the card has a value of at least 1 USD (or a similar equivalent in your local currency, e.g., 1 GBP) more than the amount of your pledge. This will help to reduce the chance of any issues collecting your pledge.

Stage 3: Before Shipping – Pledge Manager Stage

When: In the preparation phase before rewards are shipped.

What happens: 

• You’ll receive an email with a direct link survey to provide your detailed shipping address and confirm your order.
• You may need to pay additional fees for extra add-ons.
• For Taxes/VAT:
  • Product prices do not include taxes or VAT.
  • For addresses in the EU, US, Canada, UK, Australia, Japan, or Korea, we ship from China to a local warehouse in your region, and Snapmaker covers any additional tax costs—no extra taxes for you.
  • For addresses in Norway and Switzerland, orders ship from our Germany warehouse. You are responsible for any taxes or customs duties per local regulations, payable upon arrival at customs.
  • For all other regions, orders ship directly from China. You are responsible for any taxes or customs duties per local regulations, payable upon arrival at customs.

⚠️ The order amount will be calculated based on the exchange rate on the day of the charge.

⚠️ If you will be using a prepaid credit card, please make sure that the card has a value of at least 1 USD (or a similar equivalent in your local currency, e.g., 1 GBP) more than the amount of your pledge. This will help to reduce the chance of any issues collecting your pledge.

Tip 6: How can I add or remove add-ons from my Kickstarter order?

Option 1

Step 1. Log in and go to our Kickstarter campaign page

Step 2. Click the green "Manage your pledge" button at the top of the page.

Step 3. Select "Change your pledge."

Step 4. Select the same bundle you originally chose.

This will take you to the add-ons page, where you can use the +/− buttons next to each add-on to adjust quantities and add items.

After making your changes, don’t forget to complete the payment.

You should receive a confirmation email showing the updated items and the revised pledge amount.

⚠️Note:

1) Even if you click Continue your Payment at this stage, no charges will be applied.

2) Modifying or adding add-ons during the Kickstarter campaign will not affect your Backer Number. Your Backer Number is assigned based on the order in which your initial pledge was successfully submitted, and it remains the same regardless of any later changes to add-ons or reward tiers.

3)Snapmaker will not charge you until the Kickstarter campaign ends. If you receive a charge message, it may be a pre-authorization. You can check your bank account to see if any actual payment has been deducted. If a charge has occurred, please contact Kickstarter support for assistance.

Option 2

We will send you a survey before shipping to confirm your delivery address. During this process, you can still add any desired add-ons to your order. The price of any add-ons purchased through the survey will be the same as the current add-on prices.

Tip 7: Kickstarter User Guide

For detailed instructions, please refer to Kickstarter’s official guide: Kickstarter Support