Shipping Amidst Constant Uncertainty
about 2 years ago
– Sun, May 05, 2024 at 11:48:32 PM
This update is about the calibration of expectations.
TL:DR
- Fulfillment is at a point where it could begin "any day now".
- Once shipment begins in earnest, your default assumption needs to be that Kickstarter comments and messages WILL NOT be monitored. If you run into an issue reach out to [email protected].
- If you HAVE NOT filled out your Backerkit survey, or paid for your shipping, please do so now. If you don't have your Backerkit survey email [email protected]
- If you're about to move, reach out to [email protected] so I can put you in my "moving soon" folder and keep a much closer eye on your specific situation.
To begin, I want you to understand that this project is essentially Ben and me (Jacob). We don't have teams of people. We don't have suites of offices. In fact, I don't think either of us have a single actual employee. Because of this, the shipping of Kickstarter rewards is going to be somewhat staggered.
If you live in the United States or Canada, your shipment will come from the United States (see US Fulfillment). If you live anywhere else* your shipment will come from an international warehouse (see International Fulfillment).
*Mexico is currently up in the air. Last time I ran the numbers, it looked like the price was going to be lower to ship them from the international warehouse instead of the US. Yet I'm in San Antonio, so this is baffling to me. Your shipment could go either way at this point. But you'll get your books one way or another!
International Fulfillment
Currently I show 1959 international orders as ready to ship. Meaning, their shipping has been paid and we have an address to ship it to.
- Knave books are in the international warehouse.
- Zines and posters are expected "mid week" this week (week of May 6th).
Will they actually arrive this week as expected? I don't know.
How much of a delay will there be between when the zines are received, and when orders begin shipping? I don't know.
How long will it take for that warehouse to process and ship the 1959 orders? I don't know.
I don't know if they're going to send out multiple batches, or pack them all and hand them off to their delivery service at one time. However, as soon as I get tracking numbers I will upload them to Backerkit and they will be emailed to you.
Once I know these orders have been shipped, I will have European retailer orders shipped out to retailers. It is possible that European retailers may get their hands on books, and list them for sale publicly, before your specific rewards are in your hands. It is unlikely, but as it's a matter of timing, it is possible.
If you have not filled out your survey, or paid your shipping, you are not a part of these 1959 orders. If your order is missing an address or last name, it is not a part of these 1959 orders. If you're missing info, I emailed you directly today.
As survey and shipping "stragglers" come in, I plan to send over batches of orders each Monday.
We will not maintain this international warehouse indefinitely. I do not have a firm date (but will announce on Kickstarter when I do), but we will eventually close the international warehouse. Meaning, if you don't get your shipping paid before that date, your order will ship from the US, and your shipping price will be higher because of that.
Please get your survey filled out and shipping paid ASAP, if you haven't already.
US Fulfillment
I have approximately 7000 orders ready to ship to the US and Canada. Meaning, their shipping has been paid and we have an address to ship it to.
- Zines and Posters are ready to go in the San Antonio warehouse.
- Knave books are still en route.
I was told the Knave books were supposed to get through customs and into the New York warehouse on April 30th. They didn't.
When the books do make it through, they will still need to be processed by the New York warehouse, then trucked to San Antonio.
Because there are 7000+ orders, I have enlisted the help of San Antonio's Lighthouse for the Blind (Vibrant Works) to help pack orders.
They have recently gotten a new contract (they do lots of government/military related work), so they are not sure how many people they will be able to dedicate to picking and packing these orders. I do not currently know the expected pace of fulfillment on that side.
Also, because of addons there are approximately 109 package "variants".
To read this chart, the first column "variant", of 0s and 1s and 4s, shows how many of each book or zine needs to go in a box. If you'd like to translate those numbers, the order is: Knave premium, Knave standard, maze rats, poster, summer's end, & willowby.
Meaning, 2370 orders need one copy of Knave (standard), and 1202 orders need a copy of Knave (standard) and one of each zine. As you can see, the quantities of each box variant (the Count column), falls off rather rapidly.
Vibrant Works and I are still discussing how many variants they will be able to help with. They'll do the top 4 (5110 orders) for sure. I'm hoping they'll be able to do the top 9 variants (6187 orders), but they may only be able to do the top 6 (5833 orders).
They are supposed to be able to have daily USPS pickups from their location, and the plan is for me to print shipping labels. Because we don't know how many people will be able to work on the packing, I don't know how many orders will be done each day. Meaning you may get a tracking number that sits in a "Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item" state for a while.
The remainder of the orders will be shipped by me, and anyone else I can beg, borrow, steal or bribe into helping.
I intend to begin packing orders from the bottom of the variant list, and work my way up. This means that the 2 people who ordered 3 copies of Knave (standard) will likely receive their order before the 25 people who ordered a Knave (premium) and Knave (standard).
The main thing is: When I get tracking numbers, you will get tracking numbers.
"Stragglers" will be worked in as they can be, so if you haven't filled out your survey or paid for shipping, please do so ASAP.
General Shipping Info
It is likely that international backers may receive their copies of Knave before all backers in the US and Canada receive their copies.
It is likely that Knave may be available to buy from select European retailers before some people in the US receive their copy.
Sometimes the delivery driver who's supposed to walk up your driveway is going to decide they don't want to (or can't) and will mark the address as being wrong, even though it's correct.
Sometimes the delivery driver will say they attempted delivery when you were home, but they didn't, and you'll have to go pick up the package from the post office.
Sometimes packages are going to seem to disappear in a customs or local delivery office for weeks. Then magically, a month later they're going to show up on your door step. Sometimes they really do vanish, but because they so frequently show up, I'm going to ask you to wait for approximately 3 weeks when you reach out to [email protected].
If you have questions, comments or concerns, email [email protected]. You can absolutely post, comment and message on Kickstarter, but it is not guaranteed that those comments will be seen or responded to in a timely manner. If you need assistance, send an email.
But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!
As things change, and the fog of uncertainty parts, I'll let you know.
-Jacob
An Update from Gary Con
over 2 years ago
– Thu, Mar 21, 2024 at 10:41:21 AM
Hello,
Ben and I are at Gary Con XVI this weekend, and the pieces of this Kickstarter have all managed to come together around the same time. The books and zines exist physically, and yesterday was the first day I have been able to see every piece and hold them in my hands. Here they are:
When are they shipping?
We still don't know.
The communication from the printer hasn't been 100% clear if all the books are printed, packed and ready to go, or if that process is happening this week. That said, we're at the "any day now" point of completion for the books.
The zines and posters are complete and in a warehouse ready to go in San Antonio.
What's the current situation?
We're going to use an international fulfillment service to help with the international orders, so we need to get books from the EU to the UK, books from the EU to the US, and zines from the US to the UK. Then, once everything is in place we'll start picking and packing for individual Kickstarter rewards and pre-order fulfillment. Freight both ways across the Atlantic Ocean is still in the process of being arranged.
The printer was able to air freight two boxes (~60 copies) of the premium cover version of Knave to us on Tuesday of this week so that have some available at Gary Con. We weren't sure up until the last minute if that was going to be possible, but it all came together. If you see a copy of Knave pop up on social media somewhere, that's where it came from. No books are available for general sale, and won't be, until after the Kickstarter begins fulfilling.
FAQ: "I may be moving."
A number of individuals have reached out, concerned because they are, or may soon be, in the process of moving, and things are up in the air. If you're in a state of flux, don't worry. We will get your books to you. You don't need to worry about updating or changing your addresses until we notify everyone that we are locking addresses. You should be able to update your address through your Backerkit Survey at any time before addresses are locked. If you may be moving from one country to another you'll need to reach out to [email protected], (the country option is locked once shipping is paid). But again, we can take care of all that when it's time to lock addresses down.
