Financials of my Kickstarter laid out for all to see.

[matthewdcorley]

I'm not quite sure where to put this so it's going here. I hope this helps and/or educates someone

Long story short: I opened the books for the Kickstarter that I finished a few months ago. All the financials are in there and this is where it shook out.

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...ium-a-horror-sourcebook-for-5th/posts/2394101

If you'd like to support the project. It's open on Backerkit here (or via the pre-order button on the KS landing page):
https://lamps-light-sanitarium-a-horror-sourcebook-for-5th.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

 

[MNblockhead]

Thank you for sharing this. Very interesting. Helpful not only for the information on Kickstarter but also for those buying art or artists selling art.

I think going with POD was a very good decision. Shipping issues seem to be the number one cause for delays when it comes to print material on Kickstarter and many backers who mistake Kickstarter with a pre-order service get quite nasty about shipping delays.

I'm glad your first Kickstarter was a success and wish you the best in your future endeavors.

 

[Morrus]

I think going with POD was a very good decision. Shipping issues seem to be the number one cause for delays when it comes to print material on Kickstarter and many backers who mistake Kickstarter with a pre-order service get quite nasty about shipping delays.

You're exchanging one evil for another, of course. A standard print run, plus shipping, will cost you far less than a PoD book, and the more you print, the more noticeable that becomes. But yes, it does make things much easier.

With the Judge Dredd Kickstarter, a standard print run, warehousing, and shipping is a no-brainer. Doing all that by PoD would treble the costs, even with all that.

 

[matthewdcorley]

Thank you for sharing this. Very interesting. Helpful not only for the information on Kickstarter but also for those buying art or artists selling art.

I think going with POD was a very good decision. Shipping issues seem to be the number one cause for delays when it comes to print material on Kickstarter and many backers who mistake Kickstarter with a pre-order service get quite nasty about shipping delays.

I'm glad your first Kickstarter was a success and wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Thank you! I'm happy with how it all turned out, mostly because I'm in a position to be able to take a long-term view. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that many others have that luxury.

 

[matthewdcorley]

You're exchanging one evil for another, of course. A standard print run, plus shipping, will cost you far less than a PoD book, and the more you print, the more noticeable that becomes. But yes, it does make things much easier.

With the Judge Dredd Kickstarter, a standard print run, warehousing, and shipping is a no-brainer. Doing all that by PoD would treble the costs, even with all that.

Agree 100%. Volume solves a lot or problems, and creates a few too. Notably the one above. I'm completely guessing here but I would think that if you're not confident you're going to get at least 300 orders POD makes sense from a risk and timeliness standpoint.

That's probably math I'll have to do at some point

 

[Morrus]

I'm completely guessing here but I would think that if you're not confident you're going to get at least 300 orders POD makes sense from a risk and timeliness standpoint.

Well, that's the beauty of Kickstarter. Takes the risk away. You know exactly how many you need to print.

 

[matthewdcorley]

Well, that's the beauty of Kickstarter. Takes the risk away. You know exactly how many you need to print.

Very true, except for the pledge levels that have to be set before launch. Unless I'm forgetting something? You could always add them I suppose.

A break-even analysis could do it but once you start to try to account for your time, variable shipping costs, packaging, and potentially losing customers due to shipping limitations it gets very complex.

It can, and for larger projects absolutely should, be done but for a one man show with a few hundred backers you may not be putting yourself in the best position to be successful.

 

[Shasarak]

Shipping issues seem to be the number one cause for delays when it comes to print material on Kickstarter and many backers who mistake Kickstarter with a pre-order service get quite nasty about shipping delays.

Kickstarter is a pre-order system. Why else would you pay money for a product? It is not an investment.

 

[amethal]

Kickstarter is a pre-order system. Why else would you pay money for a product? It is not an investment.

Kickstarter is much more than a (notoriously unreliable) pre-order system. For me, reasons for backing include :-

To help a project get made that wouldn't otherwise happen
To help fund a stretch goal that you really like (I supported the Blue Rose kickstarter partly because I was intrigued by the idea of a Fate version; that stretch goal was not achieved and there will probably never be a Fate version of Blue Rose)
To support an author that you want to encourage to keep writing things, or to even to keep writing things for your favourite system and not another system
As an investment - if a project has a lot of funding, you can get a ton of stretch goals at a bargain basement price
Because you are interested in the development process and want to follow along (many kickstarters have a $1 level that allows you to be part of the project even though there is no end product at that level), or even take part in some way such as by choosing elements that will be included
Because you are the author's mother (not likely ever to apply in my case, but see the link in the opening post)

 

[matthewdcorley]

Because you are the author's mother (not likely ever to apply in my case, but see the link in the opening post)

I literally lol'd at this!! You forgot to eventually take over the world with a pair of genetically altered lab mice!