It's against most networks' (Visa, etc) TOS to charge before the goods are shipped, but you can usually word things in such a way to get around it, and it's usually not enforced strictly until it becomes a real problem. It's definitely higher risk than paid-on-shipment though.
However, you'll find that the Lockitron guys aren't charging cards until shipment, just getting the preapproval to do so when they're ready to ship. I suppose that means either they have some other funding or means to get it (with nearly $2m in "pledges", it shouldn't be hard to secure a loan for the first run if they need it if they don't want to go the VC route)
So this solves a slightly different problem than Kickstarter, since the people doing preorders aren't providing working capital. Still, it shows that Kickstarter got enough traction that continuing to fly under the radar wasn't possible, or the chargeback rates on preorders was way too high.
However, you'll find that the Lockitron guys aren't charging cards until shipment, just getting the preapproval to do so when they're ready to ship. I suppose that means either they have some other funding or means to get it (with nearly $2m in "pledges", it shouldn't be hard to secure a loan for the first run if they need it if they don't want to go the VC route)
So this solves a slightly different problem than Kickstarter, since the people doing preorders aren't providing working capital. Still, it shows that Kickstarter got enough traction that continuing to fly under the radar wasn't possible, or the chargeback rates on preorders was way too high.