Funded, with time to spare! Plus, bags in action on Board Game Spotlight!
over 4 years ago – Tue, Aug 17, 2021 at 10:07:54 AM

FUNDED! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

We passed our $3000 funding goal earlier today, with about a day to spare! I breathed a bodily sigh of relief, finalized the files for the bags to send to the factory, and ate some dumplings for lunch. Yay!

On that topic, as some folks have asked about the durability of these bags, I've asked the manufacturers to put extra stitching on the bottom edge of the bag, and around the handles, to ensure that these bags hold up to your everyday gaming and more!

Can they fit IN a Kallax shelf? YES!

"Friend of the Frog" Derek Funkhouser of the Board Game Spotlight channel (and HUGE--22.2k gamers strong--Facebook community) gave us a shout-out in a video today showing our Go Fish bag sample in action. As you can see from this image, even when it's full of games, the bag slips neatly into a Kallax-sized cube organizer. It's ready to go for board game night with all your favs, just pull it out and go!

Finishing Strong

Thank you for your support, shares, and for answering the pre-Backerkit survey. The bags are currently fairly even in folks' interest for future bag orders, with Go Fish and Blockhead only slightly ahead of Boardgamecha, so with that in mind, we're able to do a standard print run of each design. I hope that you're excited to receive them; once manufacturing begins, we'll have a 3-4 week waiting period, (where I hope that shipping rates will drop even more...), and then the bags will arrive about 10 days later by air at Copper Frog HQ.

Backerkit and Shipping Schedule

The Backerkit will allow you to add additional bags for $10 each, as well as t-shirts sized Small to 3XL in all our designs. Shipping will be charged based on how many bags you order, (1-3, or 4+) and where you are located (America or Canada); each t-shirt has shipping built in to the cost as long as you ordered a bag, too. Shipping will be charged and collected in the Backerkit system once the bags arrive in the US. 

Our goal is to have US backers' totes shipped by the end of November at the latest, and Canadian backers' by the first or second week of December, with the help of our friend Katia (mentioned in an earlier update). Free local pickup will be an option for backers coming to Massachusetts, and free PAX Unplugged pickup will be available for those attending that convention (assuming it happens; the Delta Variant of COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on the US's reopening as I write this). 

Stay safe, have fun, and get ready to celebrate tomorrow!

Michael Epstein

Copper Frog Games LLC

Add-endum to Yesterday's Update!
over 4 years ago – Wed, Aug 11, 2021 at 01:31:08 PM

T-Shirt Add-Ons are here!

Since there has been some confusion regarding the t-shirts, you can now order Triangle Manor-printed shirts featuring our designs as PLEDGE ADD-ONS! To do so, just go into "Manage My Pledge" and select add-ons; shipping is included in this price ($27 per shirt), as they'll be included in your tote bag shipment. All 6 of the designs/colors have been added to the Kickstarter page towards the bottom, as well as below.

If you're just looking to get a t-shirt without a tote, preorders are still open on the Triangle Manor Etsy shop. We hope you'll check them out either way!

To Retailers:

We're happy to work with you on getting Shelfie Totes to you! Be sure to reach out if you have any questions about stocking these great bags at your game store, game cafe, or gift shop.

The Next Six Days

Still too soon to tell if we'll make our goal of $3000, but I hope that you'll continue sharing the current page with your fellow gamers to increase visibility. Our friends at One Board Family took our bags for a spin, as you can see in the link, as did Gaming with Sidekicks. Though the bags seem a bit sheer in the photos, they are still very durable for their size and weight. They're perfect to pack in a suitcase for convention shopping, or to mail to the bag fan in your life.

See you again soon! Keep up the great work on spreading the word!

-Michael

Shipping Updates
over 4 years ago – Mon, Aug 09, 2021 at 07:43:14 PM

Hello friends! We are halfway to the initial goal of this project, which is pretty cool. Your support and the kind words I've received in comments and messages has really helped make this less stressful than other Kickstarters I've run. THAT SAID, there's been some interesting developments in the last two weeks that I wanted to address and get your opinions on before we enter our last week!

Shipping from China: Not Nearly As Expensive?

Late last week, I realized that the initial goal of the Kickstarter was much higher than it needed to be. As mentioned in the FAQs, this campaign is almost entirely to *ship* the totes to America from our manufacturer, Longpack Games. We were aiming to use air freight rather than sea, since totes are small and light compared to games, and will arrive much faster than if they had to go through the ports.

However, there was a mix-up on the freight company's part, that really terrified me into making the goal $3000, which is a lot: they quoted based on 296kg of tote bags, for 2000 tote bags. The issue there is that 1000 tote bags are only 68kg TOTAL; the shipping estimate I got was for about 4500 bags! 

Now that I'm clearing this up with the shipping company, the ACTUAL goal I need to reach to produce and ship the full 1500 unit run of Shelfie Totes should be only $1100 (with the usual 10% going towards Kickstarter and credit processing fees). As you can see, we're already well past that! So my question to you backers is this: do I cancel this Kickstarter and relaunch next Tuesday (8/17) to ensure you can get your awesome bags? If we do this, your credit cards will not be charged for this campaign, and I will post an update when the new page is ready so that you can return and back that. I will also be able to advertise it a bit better before then with your help, and with that, I'm sure we can blast through our goal of $1100 in one day, if so! We'll also set it up so that you can order t-shirts from Triangle Manor featuring these designs as add-ons in the Kickstarter directly, to ship with your bags!

For now, please check out the good news regarding Canada and US shipping below as well, for this campaign or the next, should we relaunch!

Canada Shipping and Convention Pickup

I've partnered with board game mosaic artist Katia Howatson (whose Board Game Mosaic Calendar pledge manager is open for another couple days!) to help ship Canada backers' pledges. 

Canadian backers can order their bags with only a $21 shipping cost, which is a good deal lower than I'd initially anticipated, thanks to her help. As well, I've added the option of convention pickup at PAX Unplugged 2021 in Philadelphia this December for backers!

US Shipping

We've updated the shipping rates on the page for US backers, to clarify certain things. For 1-2 bags, shipping is only $6. For 3+ bags going to the same location, it will be $9 flat. These bags are lightweight and portable, in addition to stylish, so we can't wait to send them your way!

Again, apologies for any confusion this page may have caused, and thank you for sticking with Copper Frog Games on this crazy ride! We're so excited to get these Shelfie Totes made, and hope you are, too.

Until next time, leave your thoughts in the comments,

Michael Epstein

Copper Frog Games

On our way! Plus, T-Shirt Updates!
over 4 years ago – Tue, Jul 27, 2021 at 07:59:18 PM

Hello! I'm writing this update to discuss shirts, discussed at the bottom of the campaign page.

As well, I wanted to make folks aware of a shipping option I'm adding: convention pickup at PAX UNPLUGGED 2021! If you select this option in the Backerkit pledge manager, you will be able to pick up your bags at the Copper Frog Games booth this December! 

 Shirts! 

I have known Michael Lowe from Triangle Manor for well over a decade now, and have always been impressed with his professionalism and creativity. His LGBT+ owned and operated creative company, Triangle Manor, has been providing 5-star-review-worthy products for a few years now, and he's got the equipment and skills to bring these designs to life on screen printed shirts, so Copper Frog Games is proud to partner with Triangle Manor for this line. We'll have a variety of color options available as the campaign goes on, so be sure to check them out HERE.

Michael will be attending shows as a vendor during the 10 days between August 3rd and 13th, so the preorder page for the shirts will be on "vacation mode" then. Don't panic! Preorders are open both before and after these dates; we'll be getting more shirt images up, too, as the ink dries!

We're doing great so far going into the evening of day 1, so be sure to share the campaign with your friends, family, and fellow gamers!

Michael Epstein