Hello Everyone
So, this week I launched my first Kickstarter, ever, and I am still taking in the response. As many of you know, and are painfully aware, I have been out of stock on the Obi Wan and Anakin Buckles for a good while now as the factory I was using closed during Covid. I have been looking for that new source for over 2 years now and finally secured the right, established, factory to use for these pieces. I kept a few goals in mind during this process:
1 - Price - this stayed first and foremost in my process. I had to make sure that I could still offer these buckles at affordable prices to the Costume and Cosplay Community. To be honest, this was the hardest part as many factories I dealt with came back with pricing that would have put these at double or even triple the price I was selling them at, based on the order quantities I could justify. I could not, in good faith, sell these buckles for $30 or more to you. So, did I accomplish this goal? YES. I have secured the pricing to keep these priced at their current retail of $15 once they are in stock
2 - Quality - I had to be sure that we hit the same, or better, quality than what we previously had. This new factory, based on the samples, nailed it. The finish is perfect, the function is perfect, the only change that we needed to make on the Prototypes to Production, for Obi, were the pins for the wings. That will be corrected. Anakin will go through the same review process once those samples are in hand
3 - Future Availability - I had to be sure I didn't end up in this boat again, being out of stock has been horrible to so many people. This factory is reputable, survived through Covid, and is more than willing to work with a small business like myself to make sure we have stock for as long as we want to produce
My current status and future plans:
- So, where are we now? Well, the Kickstarter is live and we are 1/3 of the way to our goal of $6000 raised
- Hold up, why so much? Good question, I am glad you asked. That $6000 target is based on a couple things. First, bringing the Obi Buckles into production as I already have the molds paid for and ready to go. Second, paying for the molds for the Anakin Buckles. Third, bringing the Anakin Buckles into production
- How about pricing? Another great question, during the Kickstarter Campaign, you can get the Obi Wan Buckles for a discount of $10 each, with Flat Rate Priority Shipping. Order as many as you want, split with friends on a group order, the more you order the cheaper shipping gets. Once these are in stock and on the Website, the retail price goes back to $15 each.
- You mentioned Anakin Buckles, what's the deal there as the target includes those? Again, good question. Yes, part of this campaign is to raise the total money needed for the entire initial production run. I had to commit to both buckles at the same time to secure the needed pricing, so it is all or nothing for us
- So, when will the Obi Wan and Anakin Buckles be ready? Great Question. Right now, if we get the Campaign successfully funded and I place that order right away, I expect the Obi Wan buckles in your hands by the end of Aug, probably sooner as the molds are done, we just need to start production. The Anakin is a bit longer as the molds still need to be made and I will want samples in hand to inspect before I pull the trigger on the production run. In reality, the mold and samples should take about 30 days, so in my hand end of June beginning of July, then 60ish days for production. If the stars align, Anakin should be in stock about a month after Obi Wan, and in your hands before Halloween in Oct.
- What about Pricing on the Anakin Buckles? Well, as I am not planning on another Kickstarter Campaign, what I am going to do is run the same style of Sale as the Obi Buckles, $10 each once I have them in stock, for the first 30 days, with retail going back to $15 once that 30 day period is over.
I know, there is a lot here to unpack. What I need now is everyone's help. Please, share this out, spread the word, lets get these special pieces back into stock and secure them for good.
Here is the link to the Kickstarter - http://kck.st/3xMjTnD
And here are pics of the samples:
Thank you all so much for all the support and help you have given me. I am so grateful to everyone and I can't wait to be able to help all of you on your costume and cosplay journey.
- Dave