Thoughts from a first-time self-publisher part 30: Manufacturing and Shipping.
Hey everyone! Welcome back. The blog returns to the normal format and focus this week. Thanks fo sticking around and reading. Before I get much further, I apologize for leaving out Kerwyn Velasko and Devon Mettlin from my list of people I got to finally meet!
Best Part of my week (so far): I have the final draft of the Super Snipers rulebook done! Things are really starting to come together and the end is in sight! I also have a show to look forward to this weekend.
Most stressful part: Injured my back somehow. Trying to get myself together to play that show this weekend!
Financials: Backerkit up to $12,769 (more on that jump in a bit). Just paid a $6,381 deposit to Gameland for manufacturing Super Snipers. Ran some ads over the last month and spent about $300.
Shipping:
I finally (after many months) have received my VAT number so that I can move forward with working with Spiral Galaxy for my EU, UK and rest-of-the-world shipping. According to my acceptance letter, I can look forward to paying fees on a 3-month schedule for the honor of receiving a VAT. I’m a little confused on this one and will update as I figure it out, but it looks like I will be billed about $600 over the next 6 months.
I also finalized my shipping numbers now that I have weights for everything. Super Snipers ended up weighing a whooping 4 pounds! I finalized my shipping numbers, updated my community, and uploaded them into Backerkit. My Backerkit totals were around $7000 , but are now at 12,769 with the addition of shipping costs. This brings the project total income to: $30,005 + 2200 in licensing money.
I have an estimate of around $4700 for shipping and fulfillment costs for US and Canadian backers through Bridge Distribution. I’ve already paid about half of that in a down payment. I am not yet sure what my costs will be for the remainder through Spiral Galaxy nor what my freight costs will be. As of now, I’ve collected approximately $5700 specifically for shipping and VAT.
Manufacturing:
It’s finally that time to get the files into the maufacturer! Very exciting, but it also means it is time to make all the final decisions, including the quantities. Here are the choices I’ve made and what it will be costing me:
Super Snipers KS Edition: Right now I have approximately 500 copies ordered of the main game (there are still some pldeges, including retailers that need to be finalized). The smart thing to do would probably be to order 1000. My price per unit at that number is about $11.15. At 1500 the price drops to $9.09. I’m taking a chance/ betting on my game’s future and ordering 1500.
Total cost: $13,635.00
Expansion: I have a 2 character expansion pack that comes with 8 cards and six 1.5 inch acrylic discs. I included it as part of the standard pledge level (part of my mid-campaign adjustment to address perceived value issues) and am selling it for $8 in the pledge manager and $10 MSRP. I’ve sold about 400 of these so far. I will be manufacturing 1000 at $1.36 each.
Total Cost: $1,360.00
Acrylic Upgrade Packs: This is an add-on I added post-campaign. The game already has acrylic Hiding Discs and Bonus Discs. This upgrades the 64 polyominoes in the game with UV printed acrylic ones. $15 in the pledge manager $20 MSRP. I’ve sold about 200 of these so far. I will be manufacturing 500 at $5.30 each.
Total Cost: $2,650.00
Production Samples: This is a cost I think a lot of people probably overlook. I can’t imagine not getting print production samples before okaying the print run. They are not cheap! Interestingly though, all of the cost is attributed to setting up the manufacturing and the number needed (in small quantities) doesn’t even effect the price. I’m getting 4 for the same cost as 1 would be. I plan on shipping 2 samples of everything to Hwa and 2 to me.
Total Cost: $728.00
Safety Certifications: I’m planning on selling in the UK, EU, and on Amazon and am getting all the relevant certifications done: CE, CPC, UKCA. It is not cheap.
Total Cost: $2,747.00
Grand Total Manufacturing Costs: $21,270.00
So how is it looking??
First, a reminder that I am willing to make some mistakes and take some risks for the sake of learning and improving. If you are considering any of this, I really hope this prepares you for what you may face and also discourages anyone who would need this to be “successful” in monetary terms.
Ignoring all my up front costs and expenditures along the way, let’s just look at KS funds, Pledge manager funds, and manufacturing and shipping fees for a minute.
I have $32,205.00 in raised funds.
Out of that I have $27,570.00 in known costs. Let’s just round to $30,000.00 with the unknowns (freight and final shipping numbers).
Considering my investments before any of this are around $30,000.00 already, this is not the prettiest picture so far. But, believe it or not, I’m smiling and excited still. I’ll dive back into the potentials of post KS sales next time.
Thanks so much for reading!
Galen.
