EU shipping solution via GameOnTabletop, Protective Case for Spell Effects
almost 5 years ago – Sat, Jun 29, 2019 at 02:33:50 PM

Storage Cases

Our normal Map Cases are designed for 11x17" maps, and are slightly too small for 12x18" sheets of plastic.

However, when Die-cutting, we have to cut a small portion off the edge anyway. We did a few tests, and increased this edge just slightly so these sheets now fit inside the map cases.

This means if you'd like them, these are ideal carrying cases for your spell effects. They will fit your raw sheets, and protect the spell effects even if you haven't gotten around to popping them yet. And of course, once popped your spell effects will continue to have a happy little home.

They also fit nicely into the existing 12"x18" shipping boxes, and will have no effect on shipping costs domestically.

We'll make these portfolios available for +$5 after the campaign in our pledge management software (We use BackerKit). Of course you can always modify your pledge during the campaign if you'd prefer.

I also believe a single case will hold 2, maybe 3 sets of spell effects, but pushing the limit of portfolio cases isn't always a great idea.

Game On - Tabletop Crowdfunding

Last week I was at Origins Game Fair, and had a meeting with GameOnTabletop.com. They are a France-based crowdfunding platform catering to the tabletop community, and finding their niche in solving fulfillment problems directly in the platform. Essentially they are an all-in-1 solution for tabletop crowdfunding.

I spoke with them last year, and had high hopes that our meeting at this year's show might yield some results as far as EU distribution goes - and I'm happy to announce they had exactly the answers I was hoping for.

Game On Campaign with EU Fulfillment

We're going to be launching a sister-campaign to the RPG Spell Effects 2.0 campaign, with the specific intention of having them handle EU Distribution for us.

With only ~5 days left, I was hoping to already have an account set up, with some preliminary fulfillment costs in mind, but I'm not sure if that project will launch before this one ends. Regardless, they have an excellent setup, have a direct pipeline to handle EU fulfillment for their campaigns, and it will allow us to offer potential EU backers a new option - as well as raise awareness for our project.

This new campaign will cater directly to EU backer's needs, they'll get their own dedicated updates, they'll be handled by EU warehousing professionals, and most importantly - the missing link! - they will have guidance for us on exactly how best to use a major freight forwarder to get our product into the EU as painlessly as possible, and into their warehouse.

So, while the costs may not be as good as domestic shipping prices, it won't be nearly as bad as shipping each package directly.

Big picture, while we still don't have any of the hard details worked out yet, that GameOn campaign will have EXACT pricing for EU backers to receive their RPG Spell Effect 2.0 packs, with freight forwarding and VAT charges determined, and then the shipment itself WILL be EU Friendly, and come from an EU warehouse to avoid courier fees and minimize shipping costs.

Funding Crushed! - Lets Brainstorm; International Shipping, Pathfinder, Multiple Copies
almost 5 years ago – Thu, Jun 20, 2019 at 03:46:03 AM

Funded in 24 Hours!

First off let me say THANK YOU! Nothing excites me more than having a community that shares our vision, sees our new projects, and says "Yes! We would totally support you making that!"

Let me also remind everyone that this is a Micro Campaign, and what that means to us: We want this project to be quick, smooth, and get in your hands as soon as possible. We juggle several projects, and we're a tiny team. We want to hit a home run with this project, and move on because the next one is going to be awesome too. Its not in anyones best interests for us to overreach or overcomplicate a project and be stuck in a delivery cycle, etc.

That being said, we do have some ideas for ways to give more backers what they're after, and want to start that discussion.

Brainstorm - International Shipping

Shipping this pledge as Priority Mail, in the 12x18" box is $38 to Canada and $50 to the EU. This price is quite high, and we understand this doesn't work for people, but every box in Wave 1 is the same, and being shipped in the same manner, so we can process them all at once.

We decided against First Class International for this project simply because in our previous projects, a considerable amount of the packages go missing, get returned, have incorrect addresses, etc.

We're considering a $5 'Reserve' option for International Backers.

Backers in this tier will not ship immediately with Wave 1, but they will have their items produced and their Kickstarter price of $30 per set locked in and reserved. Lets say that's 100 backers, that means we'll produce an extra 100 copies, die-cut them, and they will exist. Now the only question is - how do we get it to you.

Our primary route will be to lock on Amazon UK, and ship many of these sets to them. We've been told (but we haven't done this ourselves to confirm it) once the listing exists, we can PUSH a list of pre-existing sales into the Amazon system, and they will ship. This should functionally create a route to EU-Friendly shipping, plus cover other countries across Europe. But what will the final costs be? We have no idea.

The good news is, you've only put down $5. If you're unhappy with the cost, you don't pay it, and we look toward other solutions or cancel your pledge.

Essentially, the $5 is to gauge the number of International Backers who are interested, and their level of commitment.

As a fallback, at the very least we can process these as a normal warehouse order, and offer you First Class shipping, in different packaging styles, etc and save you money there. Typical First Class shipments are only $22.80 to Europe and $14.50 to Canada, so nearly half the cost.

Brainstorm - Pathfinder add-on

We currently have a 1-page PF Generic set of spell effects, and an existing PFS Wizard 4-page set of spells.

We're considering creating additional Dies, to support PF players, starting with the PF Generic Page.

If we mock up a 3-page PF Generic Set,  the 1st page could be identical to our existing PF Generic page (found here).

By creating 1 additional Die, backers could add this 1 page to their pledge as an add-on. With enough support, we can increase this to 3 dies and create a real 3-page PF Set. Gauging how many backers are interested in the PF Set is a little tricky, since we cannot base it on the total pledge value of the campaign.

We're considering adding a new Tier for a 3-page PF set for $30 alongside the existing tier as a way to ask how many backers are interested in the PF Set. HOWEVER, if we do not get a minimum number of backers in this Tier, we will reserve the right to cancel the tier and refund or convert those pledges. We will never take your money and give you nothing.

Multiple Copies

We have worked out the weights for multiple copies, and made a handy chart.

If you'd like more than 1 copy, you can simply add +$30 to your pledge any number of times. Because of our shipping class, the price of 12x18" boxes is basically locked in, and we do not incur additional costs until your package weight becomes quite high.