Progress Update
about 3 years ago
– Tue, Mar 16, 2021 at 05:01:40 PM
Writing
While slower than I'd like, I anticipate finishing up the draft of CC4 today. The character descriptions, spell lists, and stats are all done, but now a small brain trust and I are going over the various characters and assigning suitable magic items. This takes time to get right, but I'm closing in on it.
I will probably be going over CC3 as well, since some of the higher point characters should have some valuable equipment, possibly magical.
CC1 and CC2 are probably fine as-is, since CC1 was already published and CC2 is "rookies," who haven't been out there long.
Cards and Counters
I am still struggling with EN71 certification for counters. I got a quote for certified counters today, but honestly, something like 40-60% of backers would have to buy all 14 sheets in order to make this cost competitive. Certification and testing was over $2,000 and the setup costs for the dies were over $7,000. If I had enough orders, this is a no-brainer (the marginal cost per additional set is very good).
I will note: this right here is why the backer-count goals are so important. With (say) 1,000 backers and 400 orders for the sheets, this is clearly the right way to go. With 100 backers, the manufacturing cost very nearly exceeds the revenue.
I'm still working on this, but it's not looking good. I'm looking around for test labs in the USA that might be able to help me, but at some point I'm going to have to stop sourcing and just get the Surveys out there.
Backerkit Surveys
Speaking of surveys, I'm also still working options for this, and nearly all of it is wrapped up in International orders that include STUFF.
For the USA, I can do what I need to do, and will likely start that as soon as writing is done. I'm still on schedule to get the surveys out this week, but the shipping and manufacturing unknowns provide a chicken/egg situation I'm trying to resolve. I will resolve it, but I really want to resolve it by saying "yes, we can do all the things, fully documented and bulletproof!" That does not seem to be the trajectory at this moment, but I'm working on it.
Next Steps
about 3 years ago
– Wed, Mar 10, 2021 at 08:34:48 PM
Well! We had a good closing for the campaign, and now it's time for next steps. This is a long update...so buckle up, grab a coffee, and let's dig in.
The biggest issue a creator faces with a campaign like this, with a separate shipping phase, is that to know shipping, you need to know location and package types; to know full package types, you need the Backerkit Survey.
It's a pickle.
Nonetheless, here's what I know:
Community
I think everyone can see this, but this campaign had eight folks opting for no rewards. That leaves 549 with something, and of that number, 464 are in the USA, and 85 are 'not-the-USA.' For the 85 folks "not the USA," 16 have committed to physical goods. The rest are either uninterested or waiting to see what the butcher's bill is for shipping, which is sensible and smart. I'll be working on that this coming week.
Domestic US Shipping
If you're in the US, this is relatively straight-forward. There are no issues with any supply chain I might have. The cards are made here, the books are made here, the counters. . .are not, but there are no impediments. I can work out the weight of the most likely packages and derive shipping profiles from there. That's never fun, easy, or simple...but it's doable.
International Shipping
The good news is that I have spoken to a fulfillment partner in the UK and the barriers to importing cards and counters are lower than I thought. International books are made in the UK anyway, so that's a trivial thing. Cards are still coming from the USA, and counters...I'm working on that. Right now, it's China (that's not a problem).
As noted (several times) in the campaign, prices for goods in not-the-US are subject to additional taxes, whether VAT, GST, or something else, which seem to vary between 10-25% by country. These taxes will be assessed as part of the Backerkit survey, which will enable DDP (delivery duty paid) service so that once you do pay it, that should be the end of it. Kickstarter does not make VAT-inclusive pricing easy, fun, or transparent...so I have to do it in Backerkit.
This, of course, may be why currently 80% of not-the-USA customers are currently digital products only.
In any case...I'm not yet ready to give the all-clear to "you may order cards and counters if you wish, if you can afford the taxes and shipping!" I need to resolve a few supply chain issues first, including CE Marking and testing products for CE. I have a better understanding now of how that works, and it looks like with the right advance work, the worst-case scenario here would be "a few weeks of delay as any questionable products are tested."
Backerkit
As noted, I'll be constructing the Backerkit surveys over the next week. If I can resolve my supply chain questions to my satisfaction, we'll kick off the surveys real fast.
I ask that you are prompt in filling out the surveys. The good news is that (see below) I expect that by the time the Backerkit primary survey phase starts to draw to a close in late March, all of the PDFs will be ready to ship. They'll go out, you can check my work for typos and errata (and I'll send a separate note about what constitutes an error vs a characterization choice), and then I'll place print orders, card orders, and counter sheet orders once I have a good idea of total quantities.
But y'all really, really ought to have PDFs in your hands before the month is over if I do my job right. Which I plan to do.
Writing CC4
Obviously I need to write the Wizards book! I have a significant start on this already. They've names, spell lists, and Talents for each. Now I have to see to their backstory, plus ensure their basic equipment is in place. That should be finished by Friday. Then another week or 10 days for art. Then a few days for ship approval from SJGames (I'm not anticipating issues here), and that's that. As noted: all books should be done and ready before the survey phase ends.
Parting Shot
That's probably enough for now. I've got writing and administrative work galore in front of me for the next week, in order to prepare to get the PDFs staged and the surveys launched. There's a bit of chicken-and-egg here with the various platforms, but that's on me.
I'm going to try and be expeditious on this one, so that I can get the goods into manufacturing ASAP. I intend 2021 to be a very busy year for Gaming Ballistic, but I'm sticking with my policy of not launching a new project until an old one is into the fulfillment stage...so it's in everyone's interests to get to that point fast.
