Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

Scam alert? Stunning laser shaver banned on Kickstarter after closing $4M mark

Published Oct 13th, 2015 7:15PM EDT

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

An interesting project hit Kickstarter not too long ago, offering buyers a breakthrough innovation in shaving. The sci-fi Skarp razor supposedly packs a laser that’s able to give users an even better, closer shave. The project had a $160,000 goal but recently blew past $4 million in pledges from interested consumers. However, Kickstarter soon took notice of the product’s popularity, and after investigating it further, the company decided to ban it.

Is the Skarp razor just vaporware?

DON’T MISS: iPhone 6s Plus vs. Galaxy Note 5: Real world performance test (it’s not even close)

That’s not really clear, but Kickstarter believes that’s the case. According to an email sent by the crowdfunding site to backers and seen by The Register, the Skarp team failed to provide a working prototype of the physical product that’s being offered.

The Skarp team did post a YouTube video to show a working prototype in action. However, as you can see below, the device is far from looking promising, even though it can cut hairs using light.

Likely fearing Skarp is a scam, Kickstarter decided to remove the campaign, but the team behind it will not go down without a fight. The Skarp project has moved to Indiegogo, where it raised more than $100,000 in its first 10 hours.

Here’s the working prototype video that can also be seen on the Indiegogo page.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.