[rabz]

These products or services are not guaranteed by Kickstarter or Kickstartees though, so we backers aren't paying for a product alone. In many cases, the value of the product is not commensurate with the money paid. Notch certainly didn't get his $10000 worth from getting a kit and meeting Carmack—he could have picked up a kit after the campaign and met Carmack at GDC or Quakecon or wherever. It's more akin to donating $100 to PBS and getting a tote bag and a $70 tax write-off, without the write-off. As others have said, it's a charitable donation to a cool project from which backers could possibly get some benefits.