Ok, the January Preorders are finally squared away, shipping imminent
over 8 years ago – Thu, Mar 17, 2016 at 12:19:51 AM

So in the last update I indicated that we'd found a new shipper to distribute the books from the January pre-order.

When we initiated the transfer of our books to the new location, the existing warehouse quoted us a very large sum to have them perform the transfer.

We insisted that we would arrange the pickup and delivery ourselves, confident that we could do so for less if we shopped around.

ShipNaked then expressed interest in negotiating the pricing they had originally given us to fulfill these orders, and ShipNaked and Ideaspatcher were able to work out a shipping price for these books that fell in line with our expectations.

Given the extra expense and time involved with moving the books and setting up elsewhere, once we had the opportunity to ship from their current location at an agreeable price, we decided that was the best route for just getting these orders out the door asap.

So with that said, we've paid the invoice to ShipNaked and as soon as the wire transfer clears, they'll be ready to begin shipping these orders. If not before Friday, I'd expect the books will ship next week. This includes all orders placed in January, and all outstanding replacements for people who emailed after the last update to confirm that they still had not received them.

All International replacement orders that I was contacted about after the same update have already been shipped. I'm not sure if Ideaspatcher emailed tracking numbers, but I have them, so if you didn't get one, feel free to email me and I'll give you yours.

Shipping and replacements
almost 9 years ago – Wed, Feb 24, 2016 at 10:24:18 PM

So I was told today that my books should be in the hands of the new shipper next week, and shipping for the most recent round of preorders should begin shortly after. I should have some specifics to share then (dates, etc).

Additionally, if you previously contacted me regarding a replacement for a Kickstarter backer shipment that was damaged during delivery, it would be helpful if you could reach out to me again now, either via email (tim (at) cad-comic.com) or via the Kickstarter messaging system (not the comments; I cannot discuss order details/addresses in a public comments section).

Since communication with ShipNaked has been so spotty, I do not have a reliable list of what replacements were fulfilled and which ones were not, so I am looking to rebuild a list of outstanding issues to have the new shipper take care of them.

US Preorders - Small Update
almost 9 years ago – Fri, Feb 19, 2016 at 09:06:36 PM

Ok, Ideaspatcher has helped arrange a solution to shipping via a different partner. I don't have all of the details yet, but I just wanted to let you all know that things are in motion.

I'm told it will take about a week to get things set up, and then the books will be shipped to the new warehouse where they can be sent out to customers.

As soon as I get more specific details, I'll share them.

Making a move
almost 9 years ago – Sun, Feb 14, 2016 at 11:32:53 PM

This update is directed at those customers that placed an order for a book set in January.

In a previous update I mentioned there may be a delay in shipping as we investigate a possible change of distribution situation, and I can now verify that that is in fact going to happen.

Though they previously charged us $18 per book shipped within the US, ShipNaked has now turned around and insisted we pay them $37 per book. Neverminding that I already offered a shipping price of $18 to those of you that preordered (and that I know for a fact you can ship one of these books Media Mail for $12), in light of ShipNaked's poor communication/performance during Kickstarter fulfillment, there is no way that I intend to pay their exorbitant new prices. They simply have not earned our trust as a business partner.

So Ideaspatcher is currently assisting me with moving the product out of ShipNaked's warehouses, and hopefully locating a more reliable partner that can come closer to a shipping price we find reasonable. If all else fails, I will take possession of my books myself and handle shipping these orders personally.

This includes any pending replacement items for US orders from the original Kickstarter, as we no longer feel confident that ShipNaked will follow through with those responsibilities.

Obviously, since there is going to be a period of fluidity with the situation here, I can no longer guarantee that these orders will ship by the end of February. I will of course continue to keep you posted with details via these updates as we settle on a new plan going forward. However if the delay is unacceptable for anyone that placed a preorder in this round, you may message me directly and I will happily refund your preorder.

Straggling Update
almost 9 years ago – Tue, Feb 09, 2016 at 02:47:02 PM

Hey folks! It's been a while! There hasn't been much to update since Kickstarter campaign fulfillment wrapped up a while back, but there are a handful of straggling issues I wanted to keep you posted on, both for backers of the original Kickstarter and recent book pre-orders via Backerkit.

Sketches

First of all, I'm almost done with pencil and ink sketches from the highest backer tiers. I'm beginning to investigate how best to mail these so they are as protected as possible. Default would be a rigid envelope covered in "Do Not Bend" stickers, though that can still be hit or miss depending on what kind of mood your mail carrier is in on a given day. Ideally I can locate a solution that's sturdy enough that someone would need to work purposefully hard to fold your original art.

Worst case, I may be able to do a rigid mailer inside a larger rigid mailer. Double mailer action. We'll see. You will receive an update here when they have shipped, so you know to begin looking out for them.

Cameos

I continue to plug through cameos as content allows. You'll receive an email from me asking for reference photos when its your turn.

Kickstarter Fullfillment

As pertains to backers of the original Kickstarter campaign, and/or pre-orders taken in July, fulfillment has finished. There are a couple of reported cases of disappearing packages we're still tracking down, but otherwise, we've counted initial fulfillment as complete.

Damaged Order Replacements

Most all of the replacements for damaged product has been shipped. In the EU, replacements are complete save for half a dozen that I'm following up on now.

Within the US, replacements have moved a bit more slowly. ShipNaked, the company that was contracted to ship the US orders, has been a nightmare to communicate with, refusing to answer emails and provide us with timely updates. When they ship things, they do a great job; all US books were double boxed and we had FAR fewer arrive damaged than abroad as a result. Getting them to actually do anything (or confirm they've done anything) is another matter entirely.

So they are processing replacements, but it's like pulling teeth. If you're in the US, still waiting on a replacement, this is why. We're investigating alternative options for completing these items (see below).

EU Preorder #1

The round of preorders taken in December 2015 have shipped in their entirety via Ideaspatcher.

US Preorder #1

The round of preorders collected in January 2016 have been submitted to Ideaspatcher, however they are currently investigating an alternative to ShipNaked for US fulfillment.

As stated above, ShipNaked has not been easy to work with, and Ideaspatcher is incredibly frustrated. They are currently exploring an alternative stateside partner with better/more reliable communication, and may elect to transfer my books there for fulfillment instead.

Our goal is still to ship this round of preorders in February, however if that changes as a result of seeking a better distributor, I will update you here.

Final Backerkit Survey Cutoff Date

The original cutoff date for filling out Backerkit Surveys was the first week of September. Regardless, there were a number of people who neglected to fill out there surveys by that time (for various reasons), and have only completed them in the last few months.

Orders with late survey completion are shipped with a future round of order fulfillment. For example, if you are in the US and completed your survey between October and today, your order would be included with the upcoming round of US preorder fulfillment.

However, there are still 20 backers who have not filled out their survey/contacted me. I want to get you your pledge rewards, but at some point I need to be able to stamp this Kickstarter as finished and move on. March 1st 2016 will be the final date for filling out the Backerkit survey. If you have not completed your survey by that time, your book will be cancelled and your pledge will be considered a donation to the campaign.