This was a very transparent and honest update on the good, bad and lessons to be learnt from the Samedi campaign. I felt this is good enough to be posted for us to get a glimpse into all the things that can and did go wrong in getting a playing card deck printed and delivered. No wonder Lotrek chooses to do everything himself where possible! (even then he still gets delayed!)
Hello Backers!
Today we're going to have a look at what went wrong, and what went right with the Samedi campaign, our first Kickstarter. This information should be as transparent as possible, even if it is damning for us - the goal being that you, the backers, understand the process that goes on behind the scenes, and so that anyone trying their first playing card kickstarter might learn from our mistakes and make their campaigns run a little more smoothly!
A disclaimer: We would like to add that we do not intend any of this information to be deemed as petty, derogatory, or unkind toward any of our vendors or partners. What we state here we do out of a sense of professionalism - both our own, and the expectation that those with whom we partner are expected to uphold their own levels of professional conduct in completing their obligations. Where they have not, we have noted so in the hopes that it might help future creators avoid similar mistakes.
Let's dive right in!
What Went Wrong
To be straightforward, we were hampered by a few key things:
Our fulfillment partner, Gambler's Warehouse:
* Came highly recommended.
* Starting slowly, email communication became more and more delayed.
* Email responses would often be days or weeks late, would often contain incorrect information, or would ignore questions entirely.
* Requests for simple things, like accurate item counts from the warehouse after all items were shipped from the manufacturer, took *multiple* requests and *months* to finally get in. Towards the end, this was the primary delay - simply waiting and asking again "how many items are in the warehouse, and can we fulfill all orders?"
* Once the item counts were finally given, discrepancies were found with the number of items shipped from the warehouse. Several dozen inventory items are still unaccounted for.
* Lost several weeks due to unclear SOW on their part, leading them to start manufacturing tuck boxes themselves - which we had clearly stated USPCC would be doing.
* Cost per unit shifted and increased from order start to order finish.
* Since shipping the initial run, they have shipped a package to a customer's incorrect address *twice* despite having had it explained.
Our printing partner, USPCC:
* Printing guidelines were inconsistent, with the initial guideline claiming they needed 1200dpi files. This took us a month and a half to rebuild, only to find out a second set of guidelines only required 300dpi - meaning that month delay was unnecessary and the original files were fine.
* 6-8 week turnaround from artwork approval was quoted, but two key factors were missing - time to complete digital proofs FOR artwork approval (several weeks), plus time "in the queue" with the printer, which also added several weeks.
* 8-10 week additional time for gilding of decks. This was in the fine print of the initial setup document which we missed and was 100% OUR FAULT, but it did add time that was unaccounted for in the shipping schedule.
* On top of this time, the gilder apparently "forgot to ship the decks" after completion. Several weeks were lost waiting for them to arrive only to find out they hadn't been shipped, then several more waiting for them to finally ship them.
Our shipping partner, USPS
* Since we were offering signed decks, we needed to have USPCC send an amount reserved for signing to us instead of to the fulfillment house, to have us sign and then to send on to fulfillment to customers. Orders were damaged BOTH times.
* The initial package from USPCC to us incurred 3 damaged decks. This should have been a warning.
* The bulk package of signed decks from us to the fulfillment center was sent priority, marked FRAGILE in 5 places, and insured for $1000 (USPS later claimed it was only insured to $500). This package was so damaged that it lost nearly 50% of the inventory which was sent, amounting to $450 in damaged inventory. Unfortunately, this included many items which were limited run and could not be replaced, regardless of insurance. Insurance doesn't do the customer any good, it only protects the shipper.
* USPS is still in the process of dodging the claim. They have so far sent us three incorrect phone numbers to contact, had us prepare an online claim, a package, THREE in-person appearances, and will likely deny the claim following this.
Ourselves - these were OUR mistakes:
* As mentioned, we did not note the 8-10 week gilding process.
* We were not more aggressive with determining why the shipment from USPCC's gilder had not arrived - we could have dug deeper and forced USPCC to contact the gilding partner.
* We lost over a month rebuilding files that did not need rebuilding. 1200dpi is EXCEPTIONALLY large, and should have been questioned.
* We lost over 30 days in early February (due to my second son being born. Yay! But, delay. Let's be honest.)
* By the end, we should have hopped on a plane to Texas to talk to Gambler's Warehouse face to face to get our questions answered instead of sifting through incomplete or confusing emails.
Whew!
OK - What Went Right:
Kickstarter:
* The campaign went off without a hitch!
* Backers were, and have been throughout this entire process, AMAZINGLY enthusiastic, patient, kind, and supportive. We have never forgotten that this is YOUR product!
* Kickstarter support was effective and prompt
* Kickstarter payment after campaign end was fast and efficient.
Backerkit:
* Backerkit deserves the GOLD STAR SERVICE. Often answering emails after hours or on weekends, they were prompt and helpful, often digging into the account personally to solve problems on the backend or find solutions to issues which cropped up.
* Backerkit survey setup, cart, and Stripe integration were butter smooth.
Our add-on vendors:
* Our add-on vendors were amazing, prompt, and helpful. We never had a single problem with an add-on, they were manufactured and shipped very early on, with no oversight needed, and everything arrived safely. They were:
* Booklet - SmartPress
* Samed Dice - Chessex
* Poster - ThreadBird Printing
* Deck Pouch - Pouch Mart
* Challenge Coin - Coinmakers
Again, each of these were awesome partners. We would (and will) happily work with them again (although there have been some complaints about the quality of the Pouch Mart pouches - customer service was great, but the wuality will be taken into account for further campaigns).
Our fulfillment partner:
* Shipping, when it finally happened, was efficient and effective. Tracking numbers seemed to take forever to arrive, but this is very likely USPS's fault.
Our printing partner:
* USPCC was actually really amazing to work with. Very prompt with their replies, happy to help out and explain things, often responding multiple times per day (the average response time was 0-2 hours - this was great for rapid-fire technical questions.)
* Even though they took longer, the end results of the gilding were INCREDIBLE. Very much exceeded our expectations.
* Same with the printing. There's a reason they're a world-class printer. Decks are amazing, printing is beautiful, tuck boxes were clean and crisp, tuck seals were gorgeous. Will definitely work with again, we just needed to learn how their timetables work and that deadlines quoted were subject to significant padding.
Lessons learned:
* The initial expectation was that issues would crop up with coordinating so many different add-ons from disparate manufacturers and getting them all in one place. Amazingly, that was the thing that went COMPLETELY RIGHT! This gives us plenty of impetus to include more interesting and fantastic add-ons in future releases!
* Shipping - not to the customer, but BETWEEN us on the backend - was a HUGE blindspot. More product was damaged shipping between manufacturer, us, and fulfillment (which are separated by only a few US states) than in shipping nearly 900 decks *worldwide*. Paying extra for the insured shipping, double (and triple) packed boxes, and even then *saving all packaging and receipts for proof of damage* is warranted and vital. Just because you mark something EXTRA FRAGILE doesn't mean it will be treated that way. Just because you have insured a package for twice its value doesn't mean that claim will be honored.
* Tying into the above lesson, anything which increases product shipments - such as having subsets of product shipped to us to sign - greatly exposes that product to additional damage. We may consider whether or not to do signed decks in the future for this reason - it's simply too dangerous.
* Refunds can be very tricky when people have sent payment through multiple services For example, payments are made BOTH through Kickstarter (initial pledge) and through BackerKit (later add-ons). When someone, for example, wants their entire order refunded, they have to be refunded in two places.
* Any partner who is handling your merchandise before it gets to your customer can potentially hold it hostage through incompetence or ineffectiveness. This is was a HUGE problem, and in future contingencies must be spelled out in the contracts for partners who fail to meet their responsibilities within an allotted time limit.
* We moved across state lines in April. WE DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS during a campaign - especially one involving mailing addresses, billing addresses, or shipping addresses.
* Watching your customers grow increasingly disappointed while your partners increase delays is a horrible sinking feeling. We also do not recommend.
* Always read the fine print of technical documents and question things that seem suspicious, EVEN if stated plainly.
And some GOOD lessons learned:
* Seeing your product in people's hands and in person is an amazing feeling. We want to do this again if only for this experience.
* Backers were, are, and always will be a fantastic source of energy and enthusiasm. Creating a product WITH people is even better than creating it FOR people.
* At the end of the day, being able to make stuff is fantastic. This platform, Kickstarter, is fantastic. BackerKit, as a service and a customer interaction company - both us and backers - is fantastic. Our add-on vendors, each carefully chosen, are fantastic. Being able to create a product from nothing that makes so many people happy is an amazing ride, and through these bumps in the road we have come to see how it can be done smoothly, efficiently, and joyfully. Count us in, we're hooked.
