My co-founder and I launched on IGG ( https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-paq-carry-on-travel-bag-backpack#/ ). We raised $15K but we spent more than that trying to launch (that's not including product development and patent expenses), and we still didn't reach our goal. As I see it, our lack of success comes from five possible issues:

1) Bags as a category on Crowdfunding platforms are just played out as far as interest from the consumer: Nobody will ever again have success like Peak Design did. 2) My product is too niche. Despite the fact that everybody travels, having a carry-on bag that transforms from duffel to backpack is perceived as useful only to a small subset of people. 3) Crowdfunding campaigns used to succeed because of free advertising from media stories. The primary theme of these stories was crowdfunding itself. Since Crowdfunding is no longer a hot topic, campaigns no longer receive a boost from media like they did just 2 years ago. 4) It takes money to make money. Most campaigns likely spend A LOT of money on advertising. Way more than they admit. Our lack of advertising budget predicts our failure. 5) As newbs we just suck at gaining publicity for our product. But this begs the question does getting the marketing 75-90% right compared to "successful" campaigns really result in a campaign which is 10X less funded?

What do you all think? Is crowdfunding dead? Does my product just suck? Does anyone else here have a similar experience and advice for us the next time around?