Lost/Missing Package Submission Form is Here! AND YIPPEE WE DID IT??
24 days ago
– Thu, Sep 12, 2024 at 11:14:51 AM
Hello hello hello!!
For those (mostly domestic USA backers) who had their package lost/stolen/missing during the initial fulfillment push in April/May, the form to file for a replacement is HERE!
RIGHT HERE OH BOY RIGHT HERE
This form is NOT meant to get free plush by non-backers and WILL be cross-checked with orders existing already in our system. Those that we have no record of will be ignored as attempted scams.
Additionally, these will not be sent out lightning quick. I am one person and I now have a family member helping to answer emails, but they are pregnant with their baby due soon, so their responsiveness/availability will be heavily affected because of that.
We thank you for your understanding ahead of time.
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By my records, all International backers have either been contacted, invoiced, or their package in transit/delivered.
YIPPEE!
I busted hump throughout August to make it happen and that leaves the first Weighted Wildlife campaign "officially" completed /AIRHORNS
With over 6,000 orders, over 12,000 plush sent out, and $70,000 in debt (haha :') don't ask) with the initial campaign, this was definitely the biggest thing I've ever done in my life.
The urge to hibernate for the next 1,000 years is strong, but alas there is no rest of the wicked and so I march on. We'll continue to have our online store open and go to shows (our next is BLFC!) and already have a new project brewing for next year, with talks already begun with BackerKit who helped us so much with Weighted Wildlife's success.
I thank everyone for their eternal patience and understanding in what turned out to be a highly complex endeavor that taught me way more about the world of shipping, customs, logistics, and all the rest than I ever wished to know.
What blunders happened were learned from and have already been carried forward with the stuff I have cooking up in the background.
I've already resolved to hire family and friends with the fulfilment for our next project to cut down on the massive issues caused by our 3PL (as well as cut down on shipping issues re: bad packaging from said 3PL that some of you experienced) which I've yet to fully explain here, partly due to legal reasons, and partly due to my pure exhaustion with what went down.
It is no exaggeration to say this project has affected everything in my life, some for better, some for worse, but I believe in Weighted Wildlife as a brand to help and comfort people with similar issues such as mine and will continue to improve our product line up.
We are in minor talks with a potential big charity collab where portions of the profits of every plush sale of that collab plush will go to that charity in perpetuity, but I will keep that one under wraps for now - just know it's exciting!
I will be fulfilling the missing/lost/etc package submissions as they are received, but in the mean time, as always, thanks so much to all of you!!
All International Emails Sent Out!
2 months ago
– Sat, Aug 03, 2024 at 01:24:37 PM
Whew! That took forever :'D
All queued international orders have been sent an email re: their postage overages due to the 2024 rise in shipping costs.
As a reminder - I DO NOT CONTROL THE POSTAGE COST
I have zero leverage to lower costs. These rates are the lowest I have access to. If I had lower, I would offer them to you.
I axed UPS for Canada shipments, deferring to the more costly USPS, due to multiple complaints about UPS charging brokerage prices atop customs to backers, which is apparently a known issue that I only became cognizant of a month or so ago. To avoid the problem entirely, I will no longer be using UPS for Canadian shipments going forward, including to the last batch of Canada backers.
Kickstarter, as a platform, does not guarantee delivery of a product or refund. I, however, due to the immense patience with the mountain of problems this campaign faced, have offered a refund/cancellation of order to international backers with the knowledge that some of the postage costs are astronomical and not feasible for some. This is my show of good faith to you, my supportive backers, and a sign of good will as a creator going forward.
I am immensely aware that not everything went to plan on this campaign. I like to think I did my damndest to overcome what, at times, seemed like insurmountable challenges. This campaign has taken up more brainspace and time and money than I could have ever imagined and has affected negatively my health, my relationships, and my personal and business finances.
I am one person and started this campaign thinking it would be a small little broach into plush for my art based business, which serves as my only source of income due to not being able to hold a traditional job because of autism/CPTSD/panic disorder. This is not meant as a 'woe is me', but as a continued explanation of any beef you may have with me personally. I try to do my best and do right by backers and have had my nose to the grindstone for a year now and I will admit to a level of exhaustion I have never known before (I even found my first grey hair :'), but I've learned a lot the hard way (the hardest way possible in some cases) and strive to continue forward as a creator/artist to provide both good products and design as the world continues to spin.
I will be following up with the email replies in order they are received, invoicing, and then sending out those backed up shipments. If you had a change of address, please let me know right away or in your reply to your email to save us from any accidental shipment grief.
Thanks again!! Ya'll are great ;o; <3
PS. Form for lost/stolen/damaged orders will be going up in the coming week. It will be based on the honor system, which might be foolish of me, but it is the only feasible way to do it at this time.
International Backer Update
2 months ago
– Sun, Jul 28, 2024 at 08:12:48 AM
Short update for those still waiting for emails
I am going to sit down this week and get through all the remaining (less than 100 at this point) international orders re: calls to action for shipping overages and/or offers of refund/changes in address/etc etc. For some of you, I'm already in active communication to finalize your orders.
This month has lowkey been ridiculously busy, but I have a list of the final backers to go through and I, again, promise you're not forgotten or being ignored on purpose.
These past few months have been overwhelming and busy and expensive since escaping the old 3PL to a point I've never experienced before in life/business, but I thank you all for your continued patience and understanding.
Anthrocon helped us get out of the bulk of the massive debt incurred from our split from the 3PL, which makes me extremely thankful for the support and love for Weighted Wildlife as we move forward as a brand/project.
Exhausted doesn't quite begin to describe how I'm feeling, but onward we march for the good of heavy fluffy bois expanding their world domination~
International Backer Progress + Anthrocon 2024
3 months ago
– Sat, Jun 29, 2024 at 09:25:10 AM
We are down to 131 international orders that I need to follow up with, from a height of 175 just a few weeks ago.
I have NOT sent out every single follow-up email re: shipping overages to international backers, but this is my progress and I wanted to update you all about it.
It's a slow and tedious process, especially when trying to run the rest of the biz + life stuff + Anthrocon prep, but know that I am quite literally working from 6:30 am to basically 5-6pm every day on one thing or another while trying to keep myself sane and fed.
ANTHROCON / MISSING AND/OR DAMAGED REPLACEMENTS
We WILL be at Anthrocon with about 2,000 plush for sale, but if you are someone who had a packaged lost/damaged and are waiting for the Missing/Damaged form for replacements, if you are at Anthrocon, I encourage you to come up and get your replacements for us at the show if only to save us all some headache/cost with shipping out again.
Thank you all for your continued support and patience. As of little over a week ago, all our inventory has come back in-house at a rented warehouse space near my place and I am there a few times a week fulfilling packages, organizing, and generally getting back up to the pace and quality of service I aim to deliver with my ventures.
Gone are the shitty plastic bags for delivery that our old 3PL was using and the even worse delivery methods they were utilizing. We've replaced that with nice boxes + decorative tissue paper + care cards + curbside recyclable tape to make all our packaging 100% plastic free and 100% recyled/recyclable as was our first goal in sustainability practices. Our next round of production for all plush will be with recycled faux fur, as well, and a potential new method of shipping that would also lower our carbon footprint for the biz overall.
Just wanted to update ya'll and hope all are well during this hot hot summer.
International Backer Update
4 months ago
– Mon, Jun 17, 2024 at 10:43:54 AM
Some of you may have been seeing your orders getting shipment notifications/fulfillment notifications, this is because I am slowly going through the backlog and finding orders that the original shipment payment covers the postage.
I am fulfilling those as I find them first since it's simply the easiest way to chop off some of the queue before I start muddying my inbox waters with sending out invoices and the like for shipping overages.
Thanks again for everyone's patience :'D I am working every day to keep on keepin' on!
