Post-Boxed Set Fulfillment Update
about 1 month ago
– Tue, Oct 15, 2024 at 08:39:26 AM
Hi All,
This update is a bit overdue, and I appreciate your patience, as I’m in the middle of some personal challenges right now.
After the fulfillment of the Complete Boxed Sets to US and Canada backers, I’m trying to troubleshoot individual backer issues. Who didn’t get their set that should have, who still managed to get a janky, defective box (still!), and who might be missing a playmat or a mouse pad. If you’re still having problems, please let me know through Kickstarter DM so I can address them directly.
I’m sorry to report that after several weeks of telling you there would be another production announcement, those plans have fallen through. I had an outside funding source that, combined with the remaining project funds, would have gotten Core Sets and the top 3 most popular Companion Decks in production, but that funding source disappeared at the last minute. I’m still deeply frustrated by this, but I’ve re-set, and am looking at other options. I have possible partial solution through a small business loan within the State of RI. It will take me a couple of weeks to get the paperwork and the documentation completed. This, plus what I hope will be a strong holiday season, should get us back on track for production of the all-important Core Sets, and as many of the Companions as we can afford to print. I will update you in the next few weeks on potential progress.
I have also seen that after the wave of positivity from North American backers who received their orders, there’s been a wave of frustration and growing concern from the international community. First, I fully acknowledge (and share) your concerns. You have a right to feel impatient and unhappy. There have been more than one request to reassure you that I plan to come through with your orders at all. I want to be absolutely clear: I remain 100% committed to delivering everyone’s rewards. Some Kickstarters are creators' personal projects, where the Kickstarter is the end goal of that project’s lifespan - they create for their backers, they fulfill their rewards, and that’s it. And then there are projects where the Kickstarter is meant to launch a product line with a lasting commercial life, in both in e-commerce and retail stores, available in the US and internationally. This has always been the intention behind Psyche, and I’ve had many interactions with buyers at game stores, bookstores, and on college campuses that have proven there’s an audience for it. I’m also well aware that Reckless Deck’s business has consistently been bout 30% international. This project isn’t done until everyone’s received their rewards, and Psyche is available at retail outlets in the US, the EU, and Australia.
As unfashionable as it is to continue to invoke the pandemic as a source of continued fulfillment delays, it remains a fact that the Complete Box Sets I just produced, whose production got moved from China to the US because of covid-related freight shipping costs, cost more than 3 times per unit what they were budgeted for. While this is frustrating, I know I'm not alone in this – I’ve talked to many other covid-era project creators that are digging their way out of similar circumstances. I want you to know that I’m still committed to seeing it through, because I’m still passionate about the product, and I see that there’s nothing else available on the market that does what Psyche can.
If you have a fulfillment problem with the most recent Complete Boxed Set wave, please continue to let me know what your issues are. If you need to change your address, send me your new address via Kickstarter DM - I’m happy to make the change for you.
More soon.
Clark
Fulfillment is Back on Track
about 2 months ago
– Wed, Sep 18, 2024 at 10:04:34 AM
Hi All,
This is just a quick one to let you know that our latest production issues are resolved, and fulfillment of the Complete Boxed Sets is back in action!
The boxes have been re-run, and the issues with the bubbling and the seal of the art wrap are resolved. All the sets have been shrink wrapped, and returned to our printer's facility. Fulfillment resumed yesterday, and continues today. I will find out later today if there will be more days of fulfillment needed to complete all remaining orders, or if they'll have it completed by end of day.
Some of you should have received shipping notices yesterday via email. If you did, please consider leaving a quick comment below to let both me and the other backers know things are proceeding as they should.
Once I get my own replacement boxes for the inventory I have here on hand, I can get started on those orders from international backers who said they're willing to pay the shipping to get their Complete Boxed Set sent ahead of the shipping for their region.
There have been a lot of questions about the Core Set lately, and I want you to know I'm working very hard on that as we speak. I should be able to give you more specifics very soon.
I'll continue with updates on fulfillment when there is more news to share!
Cheers,
Clark
Additional fulfillment hangups this week
2 months ago
– Fri, Sep 13, 2024 at 09:21:14 AM
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to provide an update on the new boxes and our fulfillment progress. It’s been a challenging week, for sure. There’s good news is, the new boxes have been produced, and the issue with the glue and art wrap bubbling has been resolved. To ensure the best results, production had to be run slowly over the weekend, and then we allowed the boxes an extra day and a half to rest to confirm the bubbling wouldn’t return. Thankfully, it didn’t.
However, we hit an unexpected snag—the boxes are too large for our printer’s shrink wrap equipment. (I mean, seriously?) As a result, they’ve subcontracted the shrink wrapping to another local business, and all the completed sets will be ready for shipping first thing Monday morning.
Shrink wrapping may not sound like a big deal, and not worth a further weeks delay for. But I was very unhappy that the initial wave of sets were not shrink wrapped, and were shipped with just loose box lids with no seal whatsoever. I thought it was a very unprofessional presentation, especially for such a high price point item. And many of the sets they sent me experienced damage during shipping from rubbing up against one another, due to the fact that they weren’t shrink wrapped. So, it wasn’t a step I was willing to forego, even though it cost us yet another delay.
As mentioned, shrink wrapping will be completed by Monday morning (the 16th), and fulfillment will resume immediately after. In the meantime, replacement boxes are being sent to backers who have requested them. If you received one of the earlier faulty boxes, I encourage you to submit a request for a new one. You deserve the product you were originally promised.
I’m also working on being able to make another incremental fulfillment announcement, but I’ll wait until everything is finalized before sharing details. I hope to have more news for you next week.
I apologize for this latest delay and appreciate your continued patience. I'm doing everything I can to ensure you receive a top-quality product.
Best Regards,
Clark
Fulfillment Resumes Tomorrow
2 months ago
– Thu, Sep 05, 2024 at 04:11:35 PM
Hi All,
This is just a brief one to let everyone know that the new boxes for the Complete Boxed Sets are complete, and fulfillment starts up again tomorrow. I was told the fulfillment team is already scheduled to work through the weekend, and that fulfillment on these Boxed Sets should be complete by end of day Monday. (We shall see if that turns out to be the case.) So, if you're one of those people who was messaging me or commenting that you didn't get your Boxed Set, it should be on its way to you between tomorrow and early next week. And yes, you should be getting an email notification of some kind.
Claim Your Box
For those of you who received your Boxed Set in the first go round, and got one of the boxes with faulty glue, where the art wrap is not sealed well to the cardboard and has large areas of bubbles in it, please remember you're entitled to a NEW BOX! Some of you have taken advantage of the link to claim your new box, but not nearly enough of you. Here is that link again:
https://shuffledink.formstack.com/forms/reckless_deck_box_replacement
If you're a Canadian backer, reach out to me via DM. This form link doesn't have a field to input a country other than the US, so I will submit your address to the printer separately.
As far as other fulfillment news goes, I'm working as hard as I can on having something good to announce. I will say more once it's official.
Subreddit!
Lastly, please join our very own Subreddit on REDDIT! Just go on Reddit.com and enter r/RecklessDeck in the search field. It's still very new, but I feel like THIS is the social media platform I've been wanting for so long. Longer, more in-depth posts get people's time and attention, and it seems like people are generally willing to hang out longer, and participate more. And, any member can add content to the thread, so it's all of us, not just me. I'd love for you to share anything and everything about what you're working on, what's hanging you up creatively, what new ideas your having, the cool new characters you created, a look at your new short story, or a rabbit hole all about your new DND campaign. Seriously. Overshare. I'm excited about this new forum where we can really build a great community all about maxing out our creativity.
Any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments.
Cheers,
Clark
Fulfillment Hangup
3 months ago
– Mon, Aug 26, 2024 at 03:00:35 PM
Hello All,
Yes, there have been fulfillment delays to the Psyche Complete Boxed Set, and I wanted to respond to the questions and comments I've been hearing from you all. Here's what's going on:
On many of the game boxes, we are seeing that the glue holding the art wrap to the actual cardboard is separating, causing areas to bubble. Once I received a portion of my own inventory, I saw immediately that this was a problem, and reported it to Shuffled. They are adamant that the game units did not leave their facility looking like that, but all the same, that's how they're ending up looking on the receiving end. And so, Shuffled is re-running the game boxes, and have paused fulfillment to all the orders not yet shipped. Once we resume, all orders going forward will go out with the new, corrected game boxes.
I received a timeline for their process for the printing and swapping out of the boxes: They're already halfway through the process. The art wraps have been printed, and the spot UV has been added. The cardboard is being delivered to them Wednesday or Thursday of this week, and then needs to be cut, assembled, and wrapped. They will allow for time for the glue to set, and do testing to make sure we won't have the same problem again. Fulfillment will resume mid-to late-next week, Sept 4th or 5th, and go through the weekend, and is scheduled to be 100% completed by end of day September 9th.
If you're a backer who received a box that's got this bubbling effect happening, you're eligible for a new box! First, this is what the problem looks like:
Here is the link to the form to fill out, and post a photo or two of your faulty box:
https://shuffledink.formstack.com/forms/reckless_deck_box_replacement
If your box has this problem, Shuffled Ink will send you one of the replacement boxes at no extra charge.
I'm sorry that the fulfillment process is experiencing setbacks. After all your waiting, you deserve better. It goes without saying that I am as frustrated as all of you about this. My assessment is that fulfillment hasn't gone smoothly or speedily AT ALL. The original estimate I got for fulfillment of these sets was 3 days to a week, if you can believe that. And while Shuffled has been very apologetic about the delays, that doesn't help you, the backers, who are still waiting.
Let me address one other concern that's been raised by backers: because this has dragged on so long, fulfillment is now overlapping with ads I have running on Reddit and with convention appearances, which I fully realize is frustrating, and just...not classy. I see some of you commenting on this, and believe me, I agree it's not ideal. However, this marketing plan was put in place weeks ago, and started after fulfillment should have already been completed. It was my intention to build on the momentum and excitement of people receiving their orders in order to support the next wave of production and fulfillment. Pulling the ads now would put the other backers still waiting for the smaller sets in a freeze as well, because that drastically slows the revenue I'm generating to produce their inventory.
Again, I'm sorry to report yet another delay. I'm doing everything I can to ensure you get the high quality product you paid for.
Cheers,
Clark
