Ooooo, shiny...
almost 3 years ago – Sun, Jun 20, 2021 at 10:36:52 PM

Hi everyone!

Hope you're having a great weekend. We're celebrating the milestone conclusion of our latest campaign that just ended last night (www.carbon-and-silicon.com), but that's not the only exciting thing that happened yesterday... we got a "wet proof" sample of the SMALL WORLD variant cover with the super-cool pearlescent foil logo! Check it out!

Seriously, it looks like glowing neon even just sitting still!

This will be on the spine as well as the cover of the campaign-exclusive Peach Momoko variant. And it won't be available in stores! Just for you lucky backers! :D

Thanks again, everyone! We'll share more cool developments and progress shots as we receive them!

Some Backerkit Qs answered
almost 3 years ago – Tue, Jun 08, 2021 at 07:29:10 PM

Hi everyone!

Hope you had a nice weekend. We've gotten a handful of questions about Backerkit since surveys went out so we thought we'd answer a few of those FAQs...

Where are all of the cool stretch goal items? I only see "SMALL WORLD Stretch Goal Bonus Packet"...

We're hoping to streamline the fulfillment process by combining all of the unlocked stretch goal items into a single packet of stuff so that the box-packing process is simpler for the team at Quartermaster. Rest assured each Packet will contain the following items:

• The Bonus print by Toru Terada
• The sketchbook
• The Challenge Coin
• The Sticker Set
• The Postcards set
• The 2-sided mini-poster

I'm in a digital tier, but I'm being asked to pay for shipping because of those automatic weekly prints. Can you remove those so I don't have to pay for any shipping?

You bet! Just send us a message and we'll take those off your order manually. If you're in a digital tier, please check and be sure you do or do not want them! Any items in your cart when we lock orders later next month will be calculated for potential shipping charges!

I'm in a digital tier, but I decided to add a physical item, but the system isn't letting me enter a shipping address...

That should be fixed now, but let us know if that is still the case for you. There might still be a hiccup in how your particular order was configured...

What is the "Digital download - all prints" item? I don't remember anything about that...

That is a pack of medium-resolution .jpgs of each of the 5 limited prints that were offered -- the pre-reg print, the Day-1 print, and the three Weekly prints. We thought it would be nice to give everyone digital versions of those beautiful art pieces. :) Big enough to use as a cool background for most devices (but maybe not if you're running an ultrawide monitor at 4k...) 

That's about it for now. We've ordered the coins and vinyl, so those should be on their way in a number of weeks. Toru is working on the original drawings now (and he's excited by some of the requests!).  We've been working with the printer on the final approval of all print files, including the special foil on the Peach Momoko variant logo... it's promising to be trippy! Everything else is looking good, too. We'll share pix as soon as we have some!

Thanks, everyone!

Prints added to Backerkit! Feedback survey posted! And shipping rates explained.
almost 3 years ago – Tue, Jun 01, 2021 at 05:04:50 PM

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all doing well, and for those of you in the US, hope you're enjoying a nice Memorial Day weekend! We actually took two days off the grid -- our first non-working holiday in 15 months! -- and it was very relaxing. While not part of the plan, I actually accidentally left my cell phone at home, so it was strange and refreshing to not have any access to social media, email, text, phone calls... Of course, that all just queued up waiting for my return, so today has been quite a fire drill, but whatayagonnado?

A few things to announce:

BONUS PRINTS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO BACKERKIT

Many of you have been reviewing your recent Backerkit surveys and have asked where the pre-reg/Day-1/Weekly bonus prints are. They needed to be added manually, but that has now been completed. You should now find whichever prints you qualified for in your basket. If you don't see any or feel you may be missing some, send us a message and we'll look into it. The Day-1 and Weekly prints are based on the specific day/time you pledged according to Kickstarter, reported in CST (which is the timezone we measure everything on our campaigns), so if you feel you were right on the edge for something, send us a message. 

If you missed out on any of the prints, we have put a handful of remaining copies up on Backerkit as Add-ons. VERY LIMITED QUANTITY so act fast! Or, as an alternate, we are continuing our referral offer -- spread the word and bring a friend to the Backerkit store to pre-order their copy and we'll fill in your set so that you get all 5 prints!

In order for you to receive your prints, your referring friend/family just needs to either message us with your email address or add your email address as a note/comment with their Backerkit order. That's the only way we can know who to credit. We will then be sure to adjust all orders accordingly (including yours) when we prepare to lock orders at the end of July.

FEEDBACK SURVEY

We're also offering another fun way to earn $.50 credit off of your Backerkit balance by taking a few minutes to answer some questions about the campaign itself, as well as your usual comic/book-buying habits. These answers will help us refine our offerings for future campaigns. We value your input (and your support!) and to show you just how much, we will give a $25 AMAZON GIFT CARD to one randomly selected survey responder! (For real, no gimmick, we've awarded several in previous campaigns already!)

Just scan this QR code with your smartphone or click on it to go to the survey site:

It might take you 5-10 mins, depending on how much info or suggestions you wish to share. We are open to all feedback (even complaints! That's how we learn!)

A WORD ABOUT SHIPPING RATES

A few of you have noted that shipping rates are higher this time around than on previous campaigns. That is the result of two things: 

• Previous under-estimations
• Recent worldwide rate increases

The first item can be put on our shoulders. We were optimistic on PARIS, ASTER, and WAHCOMMO, and we ended up absorbing a lot in actual international shipping costs being double-or-even-triple in some cases. We acknowledged our mistake and took responsibility for those under-estimations and delays. We certainly were not going to come back and ask you for more money after you've already completed your order on Backerkit. We simply learned and adjusted for better accuracy on the next campaign.  

We brought in Quartermaster Logistics to help reduce overseas rates on WAHCOMMO, and now for the first time we have full visibility of ALL ACTUAL costs involved: not just regional postage rates (as charged), but the cost of shipping orders in bulk to each of those regional fulfillment centers. Depending on how many orders are going to each center, those additional freight costs can stack up quite dramatically. For example, if a regional shipment includes 50+ orders, that freight cost can be divvied up quite reasonably for just a small increase per order. But a $780 freight shipment to Australia for 15 local orders breaks down to $52 per order ON TOP OF LOCAL POSTAGE.

And that is admittedly quite ridiculous. 

So we reviewed all regions and rates and did our best to come up with the best reasonable compromise.

But why is freight so expensive? Many factors, most of which have doubled in the past 15 months: Port Congestion, Customs Delays, and (yes) Pandemic-related traffic limitations. Without going into boring details here (feel free to google "Suez Canal crisis 2021" "shipping container shortages crisis 2021" or "customs delays crisis 2021"), COVID has introduced a perfect storm of complications that a tiny indie book publisher like us can only do so much to navigate.

Things will get back to "normal" (whatever that term will ever mean), but right now, things are expensive. And as much as we want to absorb all of those skyrocketing costs ourselves, we can only cover so much. So if/when we have to ask for a few more bucks in shipping, we try to ensure that the extra value of what is being shipped makes up for that difference with a wealth of unlocked bonus items, collectible exclusives, limited-edition variants, etc. We estimate that every physical package we send is worth two to three times the price of the pledge tier, with $40-80+ in valuable free bonus items inside each box. 

But we do recognize that many of you just want the book and don't care about those extras. That is a perfectly fair preference, and if you'd like us to remove those items to reduce your package weight, we are happy to oblige. Please be aware, however, that the total weight of those bonus items is often quite minimal -- less than 16oz total -- and that the books alone will still make up the majority of your package weight.

We can't speak to other Kickstarter campaigns that have charged less. Having run twelve of these now, we would strongly suspect that they are either originating from a more local location or they are subsidizing (ie. losing) a lot more than they let their audience know about. That's not for us to speculate; that's totally their own private business. All we can do is be as transparent as possible with our own business. 

We have considered other options, such as not taking international orders or restricting which countries we will ship to, but that just seems unfair. So many of you around the world have been with us for years, and a third of our fans are abroad. We are proud of our international community and would absolutely hate to have to close any doors. So that's just not an option.

If you live in a distant region and you feel that the value of an order's total content doesn't justify the shipping costs to get it there, you are perfectly within your rights not to back a campaign, or in hindsight ask for a refund. We would hate to see you go and would hope to see you back again someday, but no one will be judged. :)

Sorry if that felt long-winded! We certainly don't wish to sound defensive, we just want to give everyone a clear picture of the business side of things. As a small indie, we're happy to share as much of what goes on in the kitchen as you'd be interested in witnessing! If you have any other Qs, feel free to ask us anything! :)

Surveys are out! Watch your email inboxes!
almost 3 years ago – Fri, May 28, 2021 at 02:07:49 AM

Hi everyone!

Just a quick message to let everyone know that the Smoke Test went smoothly and we have sent the rest of the surveys out! Watch your inboxes for the email addresses associated with your Kickstarter account. If you haven't received your survey link in a few days, send us a message and we'll look it up for you. Or you should be able to go to smallworld.backerkit.com and log in using your Kickstarter-associated email address.

Please note that pre-registration prints, Day-1 bonus prints, and Weekly bonus prints have not been added to your orders yet. We will be adding those manually once we have sorted through the lists. 

We will leave the surveys open for the next several weeks, so you have plenty of time to decide on any extras you may wish to add, or make any changes to your shipping address if you foresee a relocation before September. We will lock down the orders in late July, at which point your credit cards will be charged any balance due (eg. shipping, add-ons, etc). We will then lock down final shipping addresses in late August to begin fulfillment.

A special note for backers who are receiving an original drawing from Toru: Please fill out your survey as soon as you can! Even though the subject matter of the drawing is at his discretion, if you have a special request, he will need to know soon, as he is hoping to finish them all in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for your patience! Please let us know if you have any questions!

The Smoke Test has begun!
almost 3 years ago – Wed, May 26, 2021 at 11:19:32 PM

Hey everyone!

Just a quick update to announce that the Backerkit is (finally) up and cleared review! 

We just started the "Smoke Test." For those of you who aren't familiar with Backerkit or that process, it is a limited test run where surveys are sent to just 5% of the backer list to make sure that there aren't any questions or technical issues to fix before sending out the full batch of surveys. 

If you're one of the lucky 5%, please do us a favor and respond as soon as you're able so that we can be sure things are working properly.

Normally this process only takes 24hours to weed out any problems, so assuming everything goes as smoothly as expected, the rest of you should get your surveys in the next 48 hours.

In the meantime, if you haven't checked it out already, hop on over to our newest campaign that launched yesterday! Not to compare projects (WE LOVE THEM ALL), but it was our best Day One yet!

www.carbon-and-silicon.com