I've been spending some time trying to work out Kickstarter fulfillment. The two competing options at this point are:
Amazon: Using Amazon in the US, plus also .ca, .uk, and .de (at least) to fulfill everything, and then I can use FBA to sell on Amazon afterwards.
Other: Using a set of different partners in different countries, e.g. Fulfillrite.
The main downside of Amazon from my perspective is that they're said to be tough to work with. I have a seller account there, but it was for a very small game with only like 15 units available. Worked okay. Also the different countries don't work together well, so you need a different account with each company, etc. So no synergy there. Amazon will ship me copies for like $0.50 each, so that's a bonus, but Amazon also has a HUGE cost to hold inventory over the XMas season, which worries me.
If I have sub-pallet amounts going to the different areas, I'm not sure how easy it is to get the stuff there.. ship from China to US and then back out?
The main point of having multiple countries involved is to reduce shipping costs for customers. Areas like South America and Russia are known to be tough to ship to. I'm considering not supporting them at all in the KS, which would basically leave:
US
Canada
Mexico
EU
Australia
The goal in removing areas completely is to reduce the risk to my sanity, the risks of high shipping fees that I have to eat myself, and also delivery issues that I have to handle. Particularly for areas that might have a low turnout in the best case. I could still sell to those areas in the aftermarket as needed.
I think those are all manageable. Not sure if I should expect sales in Mexico at all, but if only a handful, fine, it's a limited risk at that point. I can make the project "EU Friendly" by shipping from an EU Warehouse (VAT and customs handled by me, not by customer), which should be a big benefit to those in the EU.
Anyway, just thinking out loud, because that's what a blog is for I guess :)
Comments
This is from 2013 but still a
This is from 2013 but still a fairly relevant read..
https://stonemaiergames.com/how-to-provide-free-shipping-worldwide-on-ki...
I would say excluding all but US/Canada/EU/Australia (and NZ) is a decent enough option as easily 90+% of backers come from those locations and the hassle of all the other locations may not be worth it.
I would, personally, consider a north american fulfillment option, EU and Australia. You're shipping to 3 locations, but you make it a LOT easier for fulfilling those areas.
I Will Never Grow Up Gaming
https://stonemaiergames.com/how-to-provide-free-shipping-worldwide-on-ki...
I would say excluding all but US/Canada/EU/Australia (and NZ) is a decent enough option as easily 90+% of backers come from those locations and the hassle of all the other locations may not be worth it.
I would, personally, consider a north american fulfillment option, EU and Australia. You're shipping to 3 locations, but you make it a LOT easier for fulfilling those areas.
I've read most of the stuff on that site :) That particular article was part of my current research..
Thanks! It did seem like a decent way to remove headaches.. which makes it easier to get everything else done.
For a follow-up question, have any successful KS users here used BackerKit? Was it worth the fees?
Jay103 wrote: For a follow-up
For a follow-up question, have any successful KS users here used BackerKit? Was it worth the fees?
If I recall correctly backerkit is easier for the backers to deal with, but costs more for the project creator.
I've heard good things about PledgeManager too (who I plan on using myself).
I Will Never Grow Up Gaming
For a follow-up question, have any successful KS users here used BackerKit? Was it worth the fees?
If I recall correctly backerkit is easier for the backers to deal with, but costs more for the project creator.
I've heard good things about PledgeManager too (who I plan on using myself).
Backerkit costs 2% of your pledge total. I’ll look into pledge manager, thanks!
Jay103 wrote:I Will Never
For a follow-up question, have any successful KS users here used BackerKit? Was it worth the fees?
If I recall correctly backerkit is easier for the backers to deal with, but costs more for the project creator.
I've heard good things about PledgeManager too (who I plan on using myself).
Backerkit costs 2% of your pledge total. I’ll look into pledge manager, thanks!
2% of what's pledged through Kickstarter, or through Backerkit? (I've heard both)
If it's the former, that's kind of bad because they had nothing to do with the KS funding.
Pledge manager is US$150 to set up for less than 600 backers or $0.25 per backer for over 600 backers (plus a bit if you have multiple items to pick and pack).
From their website:
Flat rate per backer
With our per-backer billing, you can build in your PledgeManager costs in to your pledge levels. This allows you to manage your project budget easier and make sure you are able to watch your bottom line numbers accurately and with confidence.
[/quote]2% of what's pledged
2% of what's pledged through Kickstarter, or through Backerkit? (I've heard both)
If it's the former, that's kind of bad because they had nothing to do with the KS funding.
Pledge manager is US$150 to set up for less than 600 backers or $0.25 per backer for over 600 backers (plus a bit if you have multiple items to pick and pack).
From their website:
Flat rate per backer
With our per-backer billing, you can build in your PledgeManager costs in to your pledge levels. This allows you to manage your project budget easier and make sure you are able to watch your bottom line numbers accurately and with confidence.
2% of the total, 5% of what’s through them. Plus a setup fee. They have another price tier as well but I forget what it is.
I won’t have anything complicated going on, so definitely not worth it for me, but maybe PledgeManager is.