I just got back in the door from dropping some boxes off a bit ago, so here is an overdue update on fulfillment! We're most of the way there!
Buddy I don't know what you mean by "you're done" but I appreciate the encouragement
I apologize for how late fulfillment has ended up. To say this campaign has been a challenge at every step would be an understatement, and it has honestly kicked my butt (and my wallet) pretty darn good. The upside: I've learned SO MUCH for future projects! The downside: oof ouch ow my butt and wallet. If I ever crowdfund for designs this size again it will be for just 1 at a time with a much more informed-by-experience timeline, far fewer add-ons, and no pay-in-4.
I've been keeping my head down with my nose to the grindstone to get stuff done instead of writing updates, so this one has to be a little completionist. That means this is pretty text heavy so strap in!
If you'll recall, we specifically wanted to have BBB plush arrive stuffed and sewn, but thanks to the still-evolving shipping hell we're all struggling in right now that didn't happen. It was the difference between the plush arriving in 8 boxes per hundred or 50 boxes per hundred, and thanks to the budget issues caused by pay-in-4 I did not have deep enough pockets to stubbornly forge ahead with stuffed. It has been a large part of our delay woes!
Last update we'd stuffed everything for the Backerkit, but we ran out of Anthrocon prep time and had to make a call. AC prep and BBB fulfillment timelines were never supposed to overlap. AC this year was the largest display we have ever put together, and we had multiple hired helpers depending on us for a paycheck, so I ended up deciding to take what wasn't already sent out to AC with us and to pull unstuffed stock set aside for conventions to replace it when we got back. We're keeping our con stock and shop/Backerkit fulfillment stock separate. That meant all that work would need to be redone. This ended up being the single biggest delay since last update. While many Big Brew Bash orders had already been fulfilled by AC it sucked to have to pause right when we were getting going. We're back in the saddle now and have been going at a good clip, but still, making the decision in the moment sucked.
It was the correct call to make, as it helped us cover some big shipping cost changes detailed further down.
We'd heard back from some folks who had issues with their packages. We're not sure if it was the bags we were using, the post being really rough with them, or both, but some arrived with partly opened or torn seals. That issue continuing was not acceptable. So we switched from soft packaging to cardboard boxes, and the big guys are also wrapped in bags within to protect them in case of tears. It was an expensive shift but necessary. We have not yet heard back from anyone saying their boxes were in poor condition, so that is very good news!
This did cause additional small delays:
One size of box, the one we needed the most of, was on back-order.
Another size was a ship-to-store kind of pickup, but the shipment ended up late.
Boxes are a lot more difficult to take multiples to a drop off location than soft packages, and more trips means more time spent driving and less doing anything else.
Luckily we were still able to work on re-preparing plush in the meantime since we'd just gotten a fresh stuffing order. That pretty much covers what's been going on since the last update.
Shipping related news:
Some of you might have actually gotten your plush without even knowing they shipped. That's my bad, I forgot you have to manually tell Backerkit to send out tracking numbers I apologize if those arriving after the packages gave anyone a scare!
Most boxes are also now shipping via UPS. USPS had another dramatic price hike very recently, and it has become untenable for us to continue using them for domestic shipping for packages over a pound (or via Backerkit Postage for that matter, I'm having to manually do every label on PirateShip now.)
We are still shipping smaller packages, flats, and international packages via USPS. We want to give as much business as we can to our local post as we have a good relationship and it keeps the money going to employing people in our community, so when the price difference is a narrow margin we still choose USPS as well.
Your tracking number email should tell you which provider is ferrying your plush!
Just to make sure it is clear:You do not owe more for shipping! We covered it, you're good, please don't worry!
We're rural and live pretty far from the nearest UPS drop off that can handle more than 4 or so boxes at a time. If your tracking is not moving, it is packed and sitting at our door waiting to be loaded and sent! It is just a victim of the dreaded package volume bottleneck. Since we're already having to eat such huge cost difference we're trying to avoid wasting too much gas and time that could be spent getting the final boxes ready to go, but we're doing larger drop-offs whenever we have any other reason to go in to the city.
MOST IMPORTANTLY: There are now only 16 packages to finish up!
There is a total of 6 packages that will be delayed a little. Specifically ones with name tags for Garth and Skye. I had to re-order those because I was shorted on the amount and didn't realize until I was reaching in to an empty basket. The order is very small, so it shouldn't take too long to arrive.
If you don't have tracking yet, your stuff is being actively worked on right now. I'll be stepping away from my desk to go sew once this update is published. There is not a lot left to do! A lot of the slowdown is just manual label entry, at this point.
The 2 boxes that went missing during transit were never recovered and they were both boxes of Skye, so the trans pride werewolves already sold out. We've decided to do 1 more run of him out of pocket, and he is already in production. If you saw the batch 2 unstuffed preorders on lairbrew.com, don't panic! You are still getting your Skye from the first batch, we've had them set aside waiting.
I apologize again for the length of time this has all taken. It was not meant to go this way, and I've learned a lot of hard lessons from this. Even if it hasn't gone perfectly, I deeply appreciate all the support for the project. I'd do it all again if I had to so these guys could get out there and make people happy. We're still crossing the finish line, even if I'm moving like the rat poison energy drink guy from that marathon in St. Louis back in 1904. Thank you for all of your patience! I look forward to getting the last packages out very soon.
PS: If you haven't seen it already,Deadweights are our next big project. The current plan is still in-house fulfillment, but we've also lined up a distribution partnership that we can make the decision to switch to, which is partly thanks to the lessons we've learned from BBB. Some of you might find these guys pretty cute, so maybe check it out!
