Tim Roberts
CREATOR
6 months ago
Project Update: That tariffs update.
Hey lovely backers,
This update mainly relates to US backers, but please do read on if you are outside the US as it may be of interest.
I'm a bit later than I anticipated on this one. Seattle was wild and exhausting - I slept 15 hours through this weekend, something that I haven't done since I was... well, many years ago before there were mobile phones.
I wanted to make this update about Zeal, but I think there is a more pressing matter, especially for our US backers. The T word. (I'll do a brief production update at the end of this post).
I've followed the tariffs closely since that silly little board came out in front of that big white building in Washington DC. They are a prime example of how the longer timescales involved in big crowdfunding projects are succeptible to global conditions. Previously it was wars, now it still is wars plus ridiculous trade policies, both introduced by idiotic old men.
The current status is that sending the books does not (or should not) incur tariffs. Books are protected under the IEAA and can't be subjected to tariffs. We've had several thousand books enter the US without a single tariff added since the tariffs were introduced.
However, Wires in The Woods is a much more complex project and many backers have items that would be subject to tariffs at varying levels dependent on the type of goods and the country of origin (for us this is a mix of UK, Europe and China).
We want to get everyone their rewards without having unrealistic charges placed on them, so I've worked hard to come up with some solutions based on the following scenarios:
1. The appeals court has paused its ruling that the tariffs are illegal, allowing them to remain in place until 14 October.
In any case, this would be the earliest date we could begin fulfilment due to delays in production we have already experienced. This gives us an accidental luxury of seeing what happens then. If the tariffs are deemed illegal, theoretically it will be full steam ahead for fulfilment with no fear of ridiculous hidden costs.
2. The tariffs are deemed legal by the supreme court and remain in place.
Okay, this is the worst case scenario - effectively what we have right now. However, we have a solution. We would send everything into the states on a pallet and pay the tariffs from our side at cost. Then we would get our consolidators in the US to ship everything to you with zero extra charges.
Sounds ideal right, why don't we just do that?
Basically, this will cost us more for the initial shipping, tariffs and fees for packing and picking Stateside. It will also add time onto the whole process as we transport everyting en-masse to the States.
We can, of course, do this and we have it as a contingency to ensure you get your rewards. However, because of the higher costs involved, we need to ensure we have the cashflow to pay everyone in the chain. This will add at least two months on to the fulfilment. That sucks, but it also solves a problem.
I know you will have a lot of questions, so please do throw them in the comments below and I'll answer them to the best of my current knowledge.
As far as production goes, we are expecting the first items in this week (Buds comics) followed by patches, playing cards and many other auxillary items this month. I'll send photos as I have them.
I am hoping to have the book ready as a PDF for all backers in the first half of October and we will give you a couple of weeks to peruse it, play it, ask questions and spot any glaring errors (which should be minimal thanks to our fabulous proofreader).
I promise the next update will be Zeal at the end of this week!
Have a great remainder of the week.
Tim (and Simon)
This update mainly relates to US backers, but please do read on if you are outside the US as it may be of interest.
I'm a bit later than I anticipated on this one. Seattle was wild and exhausting - I slept 15 hours through this weekend, something that I haven't done since I was... well, many years ago before there were mobile phones.
I wanted to make this update about Zeal, but I think there is a more pressing matter, especially for our US backers. The T word. (I'll do a brief production update at the end of this post).
I've followed the tariffs closely since that silly little board came out in front of that big white building in Washington DC. They are a prime example of how the longer timescales involved in big crowdfunding projects are succeptible to global conditions. Previously it was wars, now it still is wars plus ridiculous trade policies, both introduced by idiotic old men.
The current status is that sending the books does not (or should not) incur tariffs. Books are protected under the IEAA and can't be subjected to tariffs. We've had several thousand books enter the US without a single tariff added since the tariffs were introduced.
However, Wires in The Woods is a much more complex project and many backers have items that would be subject to tariffs at varying levels dependent on the type of goods and the country of origin (for us this is a mix of UK, Europe and China).
We want to get everyone their rewards without having unrealistic charges placed on them, so I've worked hard to come up with some solutions based on the following scenarios:
1. The appeals court has paused its ruling that the tariffs are illegal, allowing them to remain in place until 14 October.
In any case, this would be the earliest date we could begin fulfilment due to delays in production we have already experienced. This gives us an accidental luxury of seeing what happens then. If the tariffs are deemed illegal, theoretically it will be full steam ahead for fulfilment with no fear of ridiculous hidden costs.
2. The tariffs are deemed legal by the supreme court and remain in place.
Okay, this is the worst case scenario - effectively what we have right now. However, we have a solution. We would send everything into the states on a pallet and pay the tariffs from our side at cost. Then we would get our consolidators in the US to ship everything to you with zero extra charges.
Sounds ideal right, why don't we just do that?
Basically, this will cost us more for the initial shipping, tariffs and fees for packing and picking Stateside. It will also add time onto the whole process as we transport everyting en-masse to the States.
We can, of course, do this and we have it as a contingency to ensure you get your rewards. However, because of the higher costs involved, we need to ensure we have the cashflow to pay everyone in the chain. This will add at least two months on to the fulfilment. That sucks, but it also solves a problem.
I know you will have a lot of questions, so please do throw them in the comments below and I'll answer them to the best of my current knowledge.
As far as production goes, we are expecting the first items in this week (Buds comics) followed by patches, playing cards and many other auxillary items this month. I'll send photos as I have them.
I am hoping to have the book ready as a PDF for all backers in the first half of October and we will give you a couple of weeks to peruse it, play it, ask questions and spot any glaring errors (which should be minimal thanks to our fabulous proofreader).
I promise the next update will be Zeal at the end of this week!
Have a great remainder of the week.
Tim (and Simon)
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