[Confirm Your Address] Email - Sent!
about 5 years ago – Wed, Sep 04, 2019 at 10:27:08 PM

Hey there, USA Backers, this one's for you again.

I struggled with Word. I fought with Outlook. I managed to get the whole mail merge thing set up....and then I promptly sent 299 emails from the wrong email address. 

:D 

The emails should still go through? But it's not a GMail account like my personal one, so I'm not sure if there will be any problems with it getting rerouted to your spam filter? I don't know if I should try and do it again from the right email address? If enough people comment and say I should, I guess I will? I'm sleepy and life is hard? Yay, Wednesday!

If you don't see it, you can search your email for "Confirm your Address! [Rabbit Island]" and hopefully even if it's in the spam filter, you'll be able to find it. If you can't find it then either and you feel like you should have one (because maybe your address has changed), feel free to reach out to me at etalia.leslie[at]gmail.com

Thank you to everyone who proactively reached out to change your addresses, I took you off the email list. I only did that for the people who super recently emailed me, so if you feel like you already updated your address, still check the email just to be sure! 

If you don't need to update your address (the one in the email looks good) please DO NOT RESPOND to the email. 

Otherwise, go for it. Before or on September 8th, this coming Sunday, because come Monday morning, I'll be sending the finalized Master List to Quartermaster and we're gonna get these games out the dooooooor.

Okay, that was all. <3

USA Shipment Fulfillment!
about 5 years ago – Thu, Aug 29, 2019 at 07:09:49 PM

Hey there! Next smaller update, as promised.

The moment we've ALL BEEN WAITING FOR is finally here! I sold my house and it closed and I have a proceeds check to pick up tomorrow! I finally have a solid chunk of change that I can fully dedicate to getting the final 305 US backers their games!

Okay, so what this means is: I need to make sure everyone gets their games. This means confirming everyone's addresses. Gamesquest doesn't have the capacity to send out this many emails and would prefer that I handle it and give them a final backer document.

Y'all, this means a good old fashioned mail merge, because I don't have the mental stamina for literally hundreds of individual emails. It also means a deadline, because I don't want to wait forever to get people's packages out. I'll post another update with more information once the emails go through. 

In order for this to go well, a couple stars will have to align - your email address needs to be one you check and you must check (and possibly respond if your address is incorrect) before the deadline. 

If you miss my email or don't read it carefully, and therefore your package goes to the wrong address, I may have to ask you to chip in for extra shipping fees. Just because I'm getting a windfall that allows me to finish off the shipping in one go doesn't mean I actually have extra money sitting around that I can dedicate to this. Rabbit Island shipping has been one bill that I've desperately been trying to pay down/off, but it's only one of many in my life.

If you already know your address has changed since you last confirmed it in BackerKit and you haven't brought it to my attention yet, feel free to proactively reach out to me and give me your new address. You can message me here on Kickstarter or email me at etalia.leslie[at]gmail.com

This year has been rife with personal changes and a fair amount of hardships, but seeing the light at the end of this particular tunnel is so, so gratifying.

Not-North-America Shipping
about 5 years ago – Tue, Aug 27, 2019 at 12:36:41 AM

Hey there everyone!

I'm going to post a few shorter updates rather than continue to try and force everything into one large update, because that has been backfiring badly into me not posting anything at all. Additionally, I've been so busy coordinating, answering emails/messages, etc., behind the scenes, that these updates sometimes hit me as a, "oh, right, not everyone gets a personal note on the regular."

I wanted to touch on everywhere-except-North-America shipping first, because, well, the only reason USA shipping isn't finished yet is due to the sheer volume of packages that need to be paid for - while everywhere else comes with its own set of problems.

European Shipping - Or, I was not prepared (for things not to be shipped)

It has come to my recent understanding that several countries that I've reported as having been "shipped" have not. Been shipped. Apparently. I wasn't prepared to have to write this sort of update, but, on the heels of my recent back-and-forth with Spiral Galaxy (SG), here we are.

In preparation for what-I-thought-would-be-last-week's Kickstarter update, I pinged SG asking for (among other things) a list of tracking numbers for all the packages they've sent out, because they hadn't been giving those to me in real-time as I've authorized and paid for shipments - which didn't feel like a huge deal, since no one was reporting that they were missing their packages, etc. - but I wanted it on hand because part of the larger update included a "if you're in X country and you haven't received a package yet, let me know and I'll see what I can find out."

Well, they sent a list...with only 10 of the 18 countries I was expecting. So I responded asking for more records, and they responded to that with, "Apologies, those are the only orders we have shipped currently" and that they'd look into it further. 

That was three days ago, and while I want to forgive them the weekend, I shot off two emails today basically trying not to flip out while politely-as-I-could following up on last week's email.

I've long since paid for many countries to be shipped to. The date ranges represent when the request was made to when the payment was confirmed (we use wire transfers, and those take some time):

March 7th-20th

• Austria
• Belgium
• Germany
• Denmark
• France
• Netherlands
• Poland
• UK

June 6th-17th

• Croatia
• Finland
• Hungary
• Italy
• Lithuania
• Norway
• Portugal
• Spain

June 25th-28th

• Sweden
• Switzerland

The tracking information I have access to now indicates the following countries have actually been shipped to:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Denmark
• France
• Germany
• Netherlands
• Poland
• UK
• Sweden
• Switzerland

So! If you live in one of the 10 countries listed above and have NOT received your package, please message me via Kickstarter or email me at etalia.leslie[at]gmail.com 

If you live in one of the 8 other countries listed above-the-above....I genuinely don't know yet what to tell you yet, and I hope I'll have something soon, but continuing to wait on information and for conversations to finish playing out is exactly why this update is coming as late as it is.

Moving on to other parts of the world!

Australian/New Zealand Shipping

Y'all hopefully know what's up. If not, go check yer emails.

Everywhere Else

If 1) you don't see your country listed above but 2) haven't already heard from me personally, don't fret! I'll be emailing you soon. 

Okay, maybe fret. If it's gotten to this point, it's because the cost of shipping to your country is so far and above my budget capacity that I've needed to create a set of solutions specifically for you, including possible refund, meeting me half-way on the cost of shipping, or changing your address to a place with a lower cost of shipping.

Okay. Next small-ish update will come tomorrow. <3

Shipping Update, Anthrocon, and MSRP!
over 5 years ago – Thu, Jun 27, 2019 at 10:20:19 PM

Happy end of June!

Shipping

Shipping has been slow but steady, with new packages going out every other week. 

Adding in next week's 4th Batch shipment (more USA; all of Switzerland and Sweden), roughly 274 backers (out of 683) will have been satisfied!

I've been actively working with Australian backers this week to figure out the most cost effective way to get their games down under (if you are an Australian backer and are confused by this, go check your email!).

I'm preparing information for Asian-continent backers to send next week, as it's looking more and more that there are no solutions to solve the costly postage to these regions.

I'm sorry for not being proactive about telling people which batch they're going into prior to Quartermaster sending out their notices. Starting with this Batch, I'll send out a quick notification to everyone within the Batch after I send the information to Quartermaster, so you are appropriately notified. 

Because of regular fluctuations of, well, life, I cannot always be sure how much money I'll be able to pour into shipping every payday. Once Rest of the World shipping (which has had the most variation in postage costs), Australian shipping (which will be a biggish single payout), and refunds-instead-of-increased-shipping costs have been satisfied (no hate, I get it), focusing steadier funds into USA shipping will be much easier. And, who knows, maybe I'll come into some money sometime soon and it'll all be over soon in one fell swoop. ::shrugs::

Anthrocon

If you're a fan of anthropomorphic art & animation, you may be headed to one of the biggest related conventions in the world from July 5-7! 

Here's the thing: Samantha, the game's designer, put demos on the gaming schedule, because she planned on going and playtesting the Rabbit Island expansion that's being developed (more on that in a later update). She actually had some stuff come up recently, and it wasn't until this week that she confirmed that she's still definitely going to go do demos/playtesting.

Well, also just this week, I got my shipment of games - I waited to have them shipped because I knew I wanted multiple copies, and felt guilty for "wasting" money on having them shipped to myself - and she asked me if I wanted her to take them to Anthrocon. Between the two of us, we have 9 sealed copies.

So...part of me really wants to say, "No" because I don't want to put the added responsibility/anxiety on her to find backers, or on backers to feel like they need to find her to pick up a game when we have such a limited quantity to begin with. 

BUT obviously a part of me also acknowledges that if she takes them, and a backer finds her and confirms their details, then picking it up from her makes the most sense. I just haven't advertised it because I didn't know she could go until this week, and augh.

I'm overthinking this, right? No one's going to hate me for not planning this better with the information I had available, right? ::definitely not a worried face::

If you're attending Anthrocon next weekend and find Samantha, and she has available copies, we'll confirm your details and you can get your game in-person! 

If you have friends attending, but you yourself cannot attend, please don't ask them to pick up your game for you. If something were to happen to your copy between the convention and you (lost/stolen/damaged) - I will have to ask you for shipping/handling costs at the *least* to replace it. Instead, please ask them to playtest the new expansion and report back! 

If you DON'T find Samantha, or if she's run out of games by the time you find her, please don't worry, you will def still get your game in the mail as soon I can get it there.

(If you already have your copy, make sure to find her and say hi! And playtest the expansion! Or not, it's all good :D )

MSRP!

The Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, or list price, is the cost that I, the manufacturer, believes that the game should be sold at, based on a variety of factors, including quality, comparison to like products, perceived value, etc.

When I originally made the reward tiers for this campaign, I was conceptualizing a $50ish MSRP - that helped me do the math required to factor in discounts, shipping, etc. 

After having talked to some industry peers - Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS) retailers, in particular - the new MSRP is $69.99 (because somewhere, out there, that dropped penny creates the illusion of cost-savings). 

Those of you who have hefted the game by now might be nodding your heads at this number; those of you who haven't might be raising an expectant eyebrow. 

Anyway, I wanted to let you know, for when this game eventually goes back on sale to the general public online and presumably at cons. After fulfillment has been finished. As y'do.

---

I'm looking forward to the moment that everyone has their game in hand! Thank you all SO much for your continued patience, support, and understanding as things continue to get sorted out.

Shipping Update & Postage Cost Transparency [Batch 2]
over 5 years ago – Tue, Jun 04, 2019 at 12:12:04 AM

The 2nd batch of USA shipments should start to be sent out this week (the wire for postage just went through today) and the following European countries are up on deck as soon as Spiral Galaxy confirms:

• Croatia
• Finland
• Hungary
• Italy
• Lithuania
• Norway
• Portugal
• Spain

That'll be 36 USA packages and 18 European packages, for a grand total of 223 backers between the first & second batches. 

Who Gets Picked, and Why?

To be perfectly honest, choosing "who gets shipped first" is roughly 90% strategy/10% mostly random draw.

For example, I sent all of the Canadian packages all at once because it made the most sense to handle the import fees altogether - but then I also went through and just picked the most EU countries with affordable postage that I could afford in one swoop. (We'll talk more about postage costs further down.)

Despite Kickstarter's system of labeling Backers as #1 and so on ("I'm Backer #34, but I haven't gotten my game yet!"), this system doesn't translate to any other way to keep track of y'all. I don't see any of you in a ranked order on BackerKit, etc., that may determine your importance based on when you found or decided to back my campaign, and it would be practically impossible to factor in that sort of thing on top of all of the other balls I'm trying to keep in the air.

To me, you are all of equal importance to my first backer (which is saying something, if only because Micah Edwards has been a great resource and sounding ear during the campaign and fulfillment, and you should totally check out his work).

Despite this, of course, there are also simply HUNDREDS of you, and while I care about all of you, time & money are finite resources.

Average Postage Costs

This has been asked about a lot at this point, especially with people offering to donate extra money toward postage; I'm sorry it's taken a while to get the information to you. I guess I had been hoping to somehow manage to put the funds together and not bother you with the harsh realities of budgeting, but ultimately I've been having to have some hard conversations about postage costs to some areas of the world, and so I might as well bring you in on what's going on.

We'll get to more of that in a moment, though. Here are the broad strokes - these prices are based on the cost of a single postage label for a single box to a single backer (so, not incorporating handling fees, etc., that the fulfillment companies added in to the final invoices):

•  USA: $13.34
•  Canada: $19.55 (26.28 CAD)

The rest of the world swings wildly around (on top of having varying currency exchanges), so I'm going to kind of cherry-pick so you get a sense of the scope:

•  Great Britain: $10.89 (£8.6/€9.69)
•  Germany: $12.97 (£10.24/€11.53)
•  France: $15.73 (£12.42/€13.99)
•  Spain: $21.01 (£16.59/€18.69)
•  Norway: $28.26 (£22.31/€25.13)

Aaaand, that's a sampling of the cost spectrum in countries I've covered so far in the first two batches. 

I've been justifying some of those postage costs on the more expensive side of the spectrum specifically because there were enough donations made toward helping with postage that I felt that the few packages coming from the more expensive countries could be covered - for example, there are 5 packages going to Spain, and 4 to Norway.

However, that logic and the donated money only stretched so far, and I'm left with a big decision on my hands, one that has loud voices/emotions on either side of the divide.

When shipping costs more than the literal pledge itself, does it make more sense to just refund the pledge?

25 of my Backers with Asian addresses (Japan, South Korea, Singapore, etc.) - each label to these countries would run me $50.21 (£39.64/€44.65) apiece. I have 3 Backers in Israel - $77.62 (£61.28/€69.02) each.

I have been exploring possible solutions for those more expensive countries, but unfortunately the cost of air freight is prohibitive and restrictive. I have found solutions for future projects that involve shipping to Asia from Asia (basically, directly from the port), but that doesn't really help us today. (I had explored options for this earlier this year, but I only just recently got clued into courier services that would have been MUCH cheaper than the options I had originally found.) 

I have made a recent breakthrough with Australian & New Zealand shipping, in that I found a shipping work-around that brings the postage down to under $40 (57.34 AUD) each!  This is down from an original quote of almost $50 & first solution of $40, so. Makin' things happen over here, that's me.

What do I do?

(Possible Solution 1?) Technically, I could pay off all shipping costs, given enough time and continued investment of personal funds.

(Possible Solution 2?) I could offer people the choice of paying the sticker price for shipping (possibly minus the shipping subsidy they originally had added onto their pledge) or a refund.

(Possible Solution 3?) I could even start selling the game directly from a website, despite there being Backers waiting for their packages, specifically because I want help in covering the cost of shipping to those Backers. (I don't know why, but this sort of thing always turns my stomach a bit.)

I could...what? If you have an opinion on any of this, please feel free to speak up in the comments. 

Eventually I will have to figure it out, though. 

The next update is about how to handle problems you may be encountering with the game, for those of you who have received your copies!