In general, are you more compelled to order from a publisher’s webstore or to place a late pledge from a pledge manager?
In the midst of last week’s discussion about the Wingspan Nesting Box, I had a chat with a few publisher friends about various topics, including the whole idea between selling a product before it enters production (i.e., crowdfunding) vs only after it’s in stock (i.e., our typical method at Stonemaier Games).
The other publishers all said the same thing: Their customers seem considerably more motivated, compelled, and excited to place a “late pledge” for a product (even a product that’s now in stock) from a pledge manager versus ordering the same product on their webstore.
As far as they can tell, the psychology behind this is that an available late pledge communicates to the customer that “it isn’t too late” (opposed to a webstore product, which customers feel like they can get at any time). And it isn’t a matter of fear–I loathe FOMO as a marketing tactic–it really seems that people are excited to order when it feels like it isn’t too late.
This is fascinating and slightly worrying to me, as Stonemaier Games doesn’t use crowdfunding, so there’s no equivalent of a late pledge. The closest we do to this is indicate the stock level of a product, though it’s almost always “20+” unless we’re temporarily sold out.
Of course, as discussed in the recent Nesting Box article, our current method may evolve to include an option for customers to preorder special products with limited information before production begins, with the “late pledge” portion happening during production after quantities are set. The primary focus would remain on the full reveal of the product and the in-stock launch a few weeks later. If we sell out, we’ll make more, opening a new preorder. That way, at every stage it would feel like it isn’t too late.
This is a method we’re planning to test with Nesting Box reprints. I’ll recap below how this will work:
- All printings of the Nesting Box will be prepackaged for durability and must ship to customers on their own, so no other items can be combined with those orders. Future Nesting Boxes will be individually numbered but will not include Wingspan Asia inside the box, as we have an abundance of Wingspan Asia available–many more copies than the first printing of the Nesting Box; the two products have no real connection to each other aside from the the schedule alignment of their first print runs. In that way, if you want Wingspan Asia, there’s no reason to wait for a future printing of the Nesting Box–I recommend preordering from us while it’s on sale (November shipping) or from your preferred retailer (December release).
- The second printing of the Nesting Box started production a few months ago and is almost ready to freight ship from the factory to fulfillment centers. It’s a small printing that was mostly focused on localization partners, so there definitely are not enough units in that print run to cover the demand indicated by back-in-stock requests (those are the people we’ll contact first when we open the preorder, hopefully this week). I estimate that reprint will ship to customers in early 2023. The price will be much lower than the original Nesting Box (which was already subsidized) to account for the lack of Wingspan Asia in the box.
- The third printing has no quantity limit, as we’ll accept preorders before we even start production. It’s completely open in this way–anyone who preorders will get it (around 6 months after the preorder begins), and we’ll make extras for anyone who prefers to wait until the product is in stock. We’ll price it the same as the second printing and hope that freight shipping costs don’t increase 4 months later when production is complete.
- There is a possibility that when we make the next expansion (most likely in 2024), we will find a way to package copies of it inside a reprint of the Nesting Box as well. This is not a guarantee, just an idea. We’ll see what happens between now and then.
I’d also add that “it isn’t too late” applies to any publisher–like Stonemaier Games–that is happy to make more of any product that enough customers want (and isn’t hindered by artificial scarcity tactics or exclusives). After production begins, every print run has a finite quantity of products, but we can always make more.
What do you think of the psychology between late pledges and normal webstore orders?
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75 Comments on “It Isn’t Too Late”
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[…] another 8,000 copies of Wingspan Asia by itself. The difference between supply and demand led to some great discussions about how we can better serve customers, particularly those who don’t mind preordering prior to production based on minimal information, […]
Looks like I’m stumbling onto this discussion late, but why not just use a simple preorder model (a la GMT Games’ P500 program)? Take the preorders to gauge interest, but don’t charge until it’s ready to ship. It looks like you’re sorta doing that now with the 3rd printing of the Nesting Box (which I’m here now to order :) )
FWIW I don’t Kickstart anything unless it’s basically a ready-to-go preproduction kind of thing (Worthington comes to mind). Which is basically just a preorder anyway.
There are pros and cons to that program; I don’t think it applies to us, as we’re not looking for permission to make a product. We know we’re making it; it’s more about ensuring we make enough. And our payment provider doesn’t allow for delayed payments. Here’s my thoughts on that program: https://stonemaiergames.com/my-thoughts-on-the-p500-program/
Here’s a more recent article about how we’re approaching this for Expeditions: https://stonemaiergames.com/eager-mechs-exploring-the-expeditions-surprise/
[…] quick context (described in detail in The Great Nesting Box Debate and later in It Isn’t Too Late), over the last 5 years, our method of launching new products has been to make the product, ship it […]
Fascinating!! So, the data coming in from your publisher friends is that people are more compelled and even excited about spending money for a game they can’t have then even ordering from a webstore for a game that is in stock? Wow, I don’t know anyone that would want to do this in any aspect of modern commerce. I can see how a publisher getting paid up front and then sending a game out later…whenever…would be in the publisher’s best interest. Is it possible you publisher friends would prefer people believe this because it’s the business model that is in their best interest? Golden Age of board games…for some, I guess.
My key takeaway from all this is that people are unique; different people like different things and methods for acquiring those things, and so offering various options can ensure that each person can choose what they prefer. Our focus is on making products and selling those products when they’re in stock, but we’ve heard from enough people (see the comments below, for example) that there are people who want to be able to preorder a product before production begins or while it’s being made.
Speaking candidly: I think something to consider too is that boardgame publishers have the reputation of having prices significantly higher than what you can find elsewhere. I absolutely am more excited about backing a kickstarter with possible extras vs. ordering from a publishers webstore that sells its game with no extras at a price higher than other online retailers. The psychology of “it’s not too late” is true and it does feel like a second chance if you somehow missed out previously, but I think if publishers were able to have a compelling reason for customers to order on their site the narrative would change.
I’m tending away from crowdfunding in all its forms and preferencing the in-store and webstore experience (even preorders). There are just too many shonks driving crowdfunding projects —with impunity — and the projects themselves don’t adhere to the collaborative innovation principles of the crowd any more – they’re just marketing hype.
Crowdfunding companies are failing to police their platforms, which leaves backers out in the cold. This is a recipe for anguish, not for excitement.
More of my money will go to the likes of Stonemaier directly, FLGSes and online stores for *in stock* items and less (if any) to the likes of Gamefound and Kickstarter.
What is the delay in opening the 3rd wave pre-order? I’ve already missed the first 2 waves despite being signed up for the notification. I have resorted to daily checking the Stonemaier store daily and it’s getting tiresome.
You don’t need to check daily–just sign up for a back-in-stock notification. There’s also no delay. We will contact customers–including anyone who has signed up for a back-in-stock notification–when we’re ready to open the preorder (probably early January). It’s not as simple as listing the product, and right now we’re focused on the fulfillment of the first printing.
Personally i love a late pledge option. Because i am new to board gaming and do not have the knowledge or the time to live on blogs and things to know when things are being launched. Since i started board gaming a year ago i have missed out a on a few kickstart collector type upgraded things after i discovered i liked the game (like everdell) or Ankh because i didnt know it was even a thing until it was over. The ability to late pledge and still get all the same goodies is super awesome because not everyone always knows about everything. For instance with the wingspan box. The only reason i found out was from watching the DiceTower News about it and by then it was already sold out on 1st print. I put myself on the list to know about 2nd print and when i tried to buy it on 11/9 with paypal 4 in one on your website it was glitching and charged me twice but no order went through. I tried again today. And now its sold out again. So im a little annoyed. But i do appreciate that you all are being aware of the demand and dealing with it appropriately.
Rebecca: I’m sorry for the frustration. PayPal doesn’t accept funds for products that won’t be shipped within 20 days, and the second printing won’t arrive until early January. If you contact me at jamey@stonemaiergames.com, I can set up an order for you.
Firstly, I’d like to observe that having a product go out of stock due to having underestimated demand is a good problem for a company to have (even if it’s not great for consumers who are missing out). The reverse – overestimating demand and being stuck with stock that won’t shift – is obviously much worse.
I want to mention two aspects to late pledges. Firstly, late pledges and other pre-orders cover a gap between the Kickstarter (or other crowdfunding platform) campaign, and the retail release, avoiding (or shrinking) that gap where people who want to put money toward the product can’t, while if they’d discovered it earlier, or only come to it later, they could.
Secondly, a late pledge, specifically, offers a compromise between full participation in the Kickstarter (etc) campaign, and the retail experience. You don’t get signed up for KS updates, and can’t leave comments, but may be able to contribute in off-site polls and other ways. You might get an intermediate price between KS and retail prices, and if there are KS exclusives, you might or might not get them with a late pledge. Meanwhile, a pre-order might also offer some degree of intermediate price and product between late pledge and regular retail, but the expectations are different there – definitely not expecting KS exclusives, but possibly promo/deluxe versions, etc.
Late pledges are 100% FOMO tactics. It reminds people there’s a finite amount of time to buy. People “are excited” to order that way because they got in at the last possible moment; it feels more special than just buying off the shelf when there was a chance they could have missed it forever. It’s scummy.
I agree that there are some “last chance” tactics that can feel scummy when it creates a false sense of demand. I think late pledges (usually) are different. I know there have been cases I didn’t know when a crowdfunded game was available until it was over. In that case, a late pledge feels like good faith to me because in most (not all) cases I get the same rate than if I was in the kickstarter. Late pledging combats some of the FOMO eBay and other retailers who buy extras and then charge exponentially more. I feel more burned when I have to pay $300 to secure a game that was crowdfunded for $75 on Kickstarter.
In the end, to me “last chance” can come off as a genuine effort to get as many people an opportunity to get something they missed out on. Sadly, it can get overused to a point where it’s less about giving me a second chance and more playing a mind trick.
100000%% agree.
This is what happened to me with Ankh and as a result i didn’t buy it
I agree. I’ve joined a few late pledges for some Kickstarter games I’ve missed out on, and I was delighted to be able to do so, as it gave me the opportunity to receive KS exclusives. I think that’s a great opportunity for backers, and a good way for the creator to make sure that even late fans have their chance.
The circumstances that Tyler refers to certainly exist, but I would think that it’s more if there is a false “advertising” of missing out on exclusives that eventually ends up in retail anyway. However, in my experience this is quite rare, and most often the creators enable late pledges out of consideration for their fans.
I might be wrong, but that’s my take on it.
100%
i agree. i’m not really in the gaming space enough for my experiences with pledging to be primarily with them, but i know i would be frustrated not excited if i bought something RIGHT NOW when there was a grace period after pledging and it was just “not too late” only because i thought i would otherwise have never been able to get it when actually not only would it be available in future as retail, but that the company would be happy to run another pre-order or generally make more of the item. like the price differential would have to be ENORMOUS before it wouldn’t be fair to say i’d felt pressured artificially and experienced unnecessary FOMO in any of those type of situations. i want, as a consumer in this awful economy, all the information so i can time my purchases to when it’s actually good for my finances not to when i am lead to think something is a “last chance”.
Fyi that when one clicks on the out of stock button on the nesting box product page, one is presented the option to add their email for back-in-stock notification but the text says the following: “Currently Unavailable: Fill in your email address below to be notified when Nesting Box with Wingspan Asia Expansion is available.”
Just wanted to point out the reference to the Asia expansion which you may want to change.
Additionally, the link you provided in your article goes straight to the back-in-stock request page.
But for anyone who lands on the product, they see the out-of-stock button. While it looks like a button, it’s not clear one has to click/tap it as there is no call to action in the button text. Perhaps changing text to “Out of Stock – Sign up for Back-in-Stock Request” or something way better than my suggestion might make it clearer for folks so you can have a more accurate count for the next reprint.
I’m guessing people find their way to the product page without reading your clearly written blog posts or emails so the already-described instructions may not be top of mind for them.
This is a hypothetical answer, as I’ve never had a chance to late pledge. If there was no difference between a late pledge and website order, I would choose the website as it wouldn’t have the potential fulfilment issues of a crowdfunding campaign and I’d have more time to consider whether I actually want to spend my money or not. Otherwise I’d have to consider the perks, but I’d still lean towards website orders.
Late pledges still feel like FOMO to me, especially if the product isn’t guaranteed to come to retail/webstores or has many exclusives – same applies to limited-time products sold on webstores. I think the batch system you mention strikes a nice balance between predictability for production and reliability for orders – although I think a counter (like the one keeping score of ordered boxes during the first run) would be nice to have an idea of when it’d be available again.
Thanks for your perspective, Giulia! What is the “counter” you refer to in the last sentence?
I took Giulia’s meaning as being that they’d like to see a “this many people have signed up for back in stock notification” (possibly with an additional indication of the threshold to trigger a reprint).
I can see that working both ways – a counter near the threshold might make people more inclined to sign up, expecting it to come relatively quickly, but a counter stuck in double digits might put people off, expecting it’ll take years before the next reprint.
As shared in previous comments, tone is everything as it sets the perception of the customer. “It isn’t too late” sends a message of wanting to include as many people as possible in securing a product. I believe it’s popular because of this as it helps eliminate the salt of FOMO when a product sells out in expectantly OR gives a customer a sense of grace when their own actions forget to pledge in time or secure a product. The late pledge concept gives publishers extra grace from customers as a result since the customer feels like they had a second chance. Hard for a customer to be mad at a company if they lost 2 opportunities to back a game as they only have themselves to blame at that point (perception wise)
I really like this, Matt: “[it] sends a message of wanting to include as many people as possible in securing a product.”
Jamey,
While I get the frustration with the quick sell out of the Nesting Box, I’m not sure there is anything fundamentally wrong with your current approach. You did communicate several times that the print run was limited to 10,000 and even mentioned it could sell out, without ever venturing into FOMO marketing.
But more to the point, I don’t buy many games outside of retail, but I do buy a lot of Wingspan-adjacent items — field guides for birds — at the publisher’s pre-sale, usually just ahead of the production run. It usually is the best price, and a nice indication to the publisher of appreciation, or at least I like to think so.
The issue is when the title doesn’t come out when originally advertised. The publisher of my favorite guide series routinely missed these dates. Usually for reasons beyond their control. But still it grates. I never think “I’ll never buy their guide again!” But I do think “I’ll never do their pre-order again!”
It is always good in the end, but there is a time, and one that can persist for months, where I’m not really a fan.
I fully get the frustration in missing out on the Box. But it also isn’t as though there is a clear “no regrets” alternative!
I appreciate you sharing your thoughts, especially with the comparison to field guides. I can see how meeting the estimated timeline (and communicating along the way) is very important.
I like to pre-order items I know I’m going to buy, preferably from the method of ordering that the content creator prefers me to order from (website vs Amazon etc). I most often pre-order games and books. I know how much a difference it makes for authors to have their books pre-ordered, but I’m generally just trying to show my appreciation with my wallet. Having a limited stock item run out before I remember to go pre-order it? Bummer. I’ll still gladly pre-order and support the creative team! But it makes my support feel unappreciated when I can’t complete a pre-order due to limited series production. At that point it doesn’t feel like a pre-order anymore. It feels like a hard to get collectors item, and my mental preparation (alarms, reminders etc) would be different had I known it would be limited number available.
This is great feedback, Anthony–thank you! I can see how you’d feel that way about a limited product. Fortunately that isn’t the case with Stonemaier products (there’s no limit–we’ll keep making more as long as people want them), but it would frustrate me too if I missed out on something for which a publisher isn’t even considering a reprint.
You’re very welcome! Just trying to give valuable feedback!
For me, the “It’s not too late” definitely hits that FOMO feel. I don’t mind it though. I’m developing a resistance. :)
If Stonemeier wanted to experiment with the psychology you could change the wording on some products so it said it’s not too late in your webstore.
That’s true, maybe we’ll test that wording!
I’m sure I’m firmly in the minority in saying this, but I am dealing with quite a lot of crowdfund burnout. While I understand the current environment is making it more difficult to hit dates, my experience is crowdfund projects rarely deliver near suggested dates (which is a direct cost to me in time, money, and – at times – frustration) and are often more expensive to me, the consumer, than if I purchased it from a local retailer. I won’t mention the project, but a very recent backing arrived at my door days after it released to a local retailer and the retailer is price is less than I paid for product let alone product with shipping. That said, I don’t typically order from a publisher site either as I will incur the shipping cost which means the total cost to me is typically higher than the price at my FLGS.
I know crowdfunding isn’t a retailer, but it seems too much like buying a dream that may or may not come true and will probably be too late when it does.
Thanks for sharing your perspective, Adam. I hear you! I was trying to focus this post on in-stock products: late pledges vs webstores.
Ah, yes, I didn’t pull it back around. My preference is webstores for the reasons above.
Really gutting that I missed out on the first printing with Asia in it.
Question : will the second run of the nesting box will have a lower price, so that people buying both Asia and the nesting box still pay the same as the people who bought in the first run?
Adrienne: Yes, here’s what I say about this in the above post (second bullet point): “The price will be much lower than the original Nesting Box (which was already subsidized) to account for the lack of Wingspan Asia in the box.”
I’ll state up front that I equate “late pledge” and “$1 pledge that I upgrade in the pledge manager”, and ice done a bunch of both. With that definition in mind, I “late pledge” for one of two reasons: 1) I simply have backed too many things recently and I just want to spread the cost out over time: and/or 2) there is a specific aspect of the project that I would like to learn more about post-campaign before I commit.
I would prefer to order from a publisher’s webstore, assuming I can get the same deluxified product. If you sell out of a product, will you *always* make more, or do you need a specific number of requests before starting another production run?
Ed: We do need enough demand to justify a minimum print run of 1500 units. So if only a few dozen people are interested, that isn’t enough.
Consider those of us that have just recently 1) found the game 2) fell in love with the game 3) found about this site expansions, etc 4) had no idea about the nesting box+expansion options. :) I bought my copy of the base game in Target out of impulse and curiosity while browsing. I had just recently discovered how much i enjoy board games. I played it several times. Really found both my wife and I loved the game. Then I found out expansions existed by surprise when I saw them in Barnes and Noble. Only then I realized how big this game really is. That’s when I landed on this site and found out about what is already available and what is to come. Including the nesting box and the Asia expansion.
So… If there’s still a way to get the box+Asia in the US, I’ll take advantage of it.
Just my two cents 🙃
Josue: Absolutely! Ideally we would reach all 1 million people who have Wingspan, but we rely on them to seek out our communication systems in some way so we can share information with them. :) Thank you for visiting our website!
I always order from the source which nets me the game the fastest. A caveat to that is if there is a deluxe version, promos, or something else not offered on the webstore, but only through a pledge manager. Another reason or two may be you want to up your “backer status” or shipping isn’t offered to your country through the webstore. Short of the long: fomo only for promo. As always thanks, Jamey.
It’s helpful to know that speed is your priority–thank you!
Well, I will say that there’s a few reasons that go beyond the “it isn’t too late.” More often than not, late pledges will include a promo or upgrade not available through the website. I’ve also found that sometimes the main website won’t ship to Puerto Rico, but through the pledge manager I’m able to get it. If all things are equal, I will always go for the way that will get me the game the quickest or for the lowest shipping cost.
Gaby: Thanks for mentioning those other reasons!
Jamey, what I absolutely love. Is that you answer or at least try to answer or comment on each comment left by each person. Thank you for what you do. I look forward to more cool stuff coming from you and your team.
Thanks Jeremy! To be transparent, I don’t always reply to every comment, but I read every one. I’m grateful for anyone who takes the time to consume any content we create (and even better if they interact with it).
I think it is FOMO. It seems like it’s more “here’s your last chance” rather than “it’s not too late”. If people know the opportunity will come up again in the future and “it’s never too late” I think you would see less late pledges. All this is conjecture on my part of course. But the new Stonemaier approach still seems quite different than late pledges. The latter could be (at least in part) affected by FOMO while the former essential removes FOMO completely, except that potential buyers may have to wait for the next print run. So maybe a bit of FOMO for those who don’t want to risk waiting. Buy is that really FOMO. They know it is likely they won’t miss out on ever getting it.
That could indeed be part of it, even if it isn’t the publisher’s intention! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Trevor.
There is a hybrid type of product sale method which works as a crowdfund, late pledge, and webstore item. I don’t see it on too many stores, but it might be something to experiment with.
Essentially, a user goes to the webstore, signs up interest in a product, then when a certain threshold is reached of signed up users that product is sold to all signed up users, manufactured, then shipped accordingly. If you over order the print run a bit you can sell the extras as a “late pledge”.
Benefit of this kind of sale is that allows the “crowdfund” of a diverse range of items that may not usually see runs because of the risk to create them without solidly knowing interest. It also allows your webshop to have value to people to shop there instead of retail, to get unique and limited print runs of items.
This could be all kinds of items. Special playmats, coins, alternate artwork versions of games, various merchandise, reprint wave of limited items (like the nesting box), etc.
Thanks for sharing this hybrid method! I explore it a bit here: https://stonemaiergames.com/my-thoughts-on-the-p500-program/
It’s essentially what we do with our back-in-stock system, but without a need for an up-front commitment.
Thanks for the link. I haven’t seen P500 before, but that’s essentially what I was talking about.
I think a good takeaway that this kind of a system doesn’t need to apply to just games. I’ve seen this kind of model for all kinds of product. For example, if an artist was commissioned by Wizards of the Coast to create some card art for Magic the Gathering that artist may have some niche interest in some of that artist’s artwork to be featured as a playmat. That artist may employ such a system on their website to get in demand designs converted into playmats.
I could see potential in such a system used for limited edition / special products separate from Stonemaier’s primary production flow we see with board games. Or maybe just with restocks of specialty items that might have a bit more risk inherent with it (like the big box solutions).
I did late pledges for Resurgence and Quest, because I wasn’t sure how available the games would be. But when I could not late pledge for Canopy and Pax Pamir, I was excited to do the web order. I like to compare the overall cost of the game and usually I won’t buy the game if I “lose” money. Late pledge is not ideal because you aren’t a real backer – you can’t comment and you aren’t on the email list for updates – which makes me feel like I’m in the dark void of kind of existing but not really. I randomly got Resurgence in the mail and I forgot I backed it and I spent a few minutes figuring out why the game was in my hands. So web order VS late pledge – whichever gets me the better deal. Publishers often jack up the price on the web stores. So usually a Late Pledge is a teeny bit better. Except for Canopy. I paid $39 and it’s $29 now for deluxe. That’s the way to go – if publishers want people to order direct they need to have sales.
I really appreciate Stonemaier games because the game is already deluxe – there isn’t a lame version and a better version and the games are usually available. And there are sales. Who doesn’t like a good sale?
I also appreciate Garphill Games and Pencil First Games for their Kickstarters: you get a little somethin somethin for the Kickstarter but it isn’t game-changing. I’m planning on web ordering from Pencil First because I want to combine my order and save on shipping.
Aleana: Thanks for sharing your methodology and your preferences (including the examples of Garphill and Pencil First, both of whom I deeply admire).
I can certainly see why FOMO might prompt someone who is still debating a purchase to pull the trigger on a Late Pledge (particularly since many crowdfunded products are never offered via retail), but I’m not sure that fully explains why someone would choose a Late Pledge over the same product In Stock in a webstore. There are 2 other factors I’d consider.
First, many crowdfunding campaigns include additional items (expansions, add-ons, upgrades) or options that are not available when the product reaches retails. They also often offer a discount during crowdfunding compared to planned retail pricing. For both reasons, a potential customer could easily assume that purchasing a product via a Late Pledge will be the best way to ensure they are getting everything available, versus getting a more scaled-down version of a retail product. Of course, this is only an issue because companies routinely include more in crowdfunded version than in retail – and they are often not great about communicating the differences between the two.
Second, with a crowdfunding campaign, you know going in that shipping timeframes are likely to change. But there is also an expectation of regular updates regarding progress, changes, and timelines – at least from reputable campaigns. With a webstore purchase, a customer assumes an In Stock item will ship within a few days. A Pre-order item, on the other hand, often has the same vague timeline as a crowdfunding campaign. However, we don’t often receive or expect the same kinds of regular updates for Pre-order items. So in that respect, a customer might expect a Late Pledge will get them better communication than a webstore Pre-order.
Most importantly, with both factors the key issue is communication. Communication of the differences between a retail product and the crowdfunded version – or explicit communication that there is NO difference. Clear and routine communication regarding expected delivery timelines, including changes and progress updates.
One of the things that continues to set Stonemaier apart is your outstanding communication. So in that regard, I don’t think you need to worry much about “webstore vs. crowdfunded”. Just keep doing what you’re doing.
Well said, Sean–that makes sense to me, especially about the expectations regarding shipping timelines and the importance of communication.
I have definitely noticed that crowd-funding and late pledges get much more interest than web stores. So much so that, after we lost our consolidation partnership, we stopped using a web store and just sell the standard version of our games through Amazon.
I think returning customers have come to know that they can get deluxe versions and promos from us through crowd-funding and late pledges, but it’s only available for a limited time. If they miss out, they’ll have to wait for the next crowd-funding campaign or just get the standard version.
This isn’t an ideal model for a variety of reasons, but without a big following like Stonemaier and because we have limited time in doing this part-time, it’s a realistic model that works for us.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with this as a publisher, Brian!
I would take the quick selling of your inventory as a sign that you’re doing something right, and not worry about the anecdotes from other companies. I’m sure some people do like Late Pledges, etc, but clearly you are doing something right. I totally get how people are frustrated you sold out quickly, but I don’t think it’s necessarily a given implication that you did something “wrong” other than show an inability to predict the future precisely. BTW, when do we get more Rolling Realms promos? :)
Wendell: That’s totally fair! The future is difficult to predict. :)
I’m hoping to release a new batch of 3 promos either in December or January. :)
It’s an interesting question. I back a lot of things, and from my point of view, if I back something in a pledge manager (whether it was attached to crowdfunding or not), I’m much more ok with it not coming for X amount of months, whereas when I buy from a store, I have the expectation that it should be coming sooner, so I get more anxious the more time passes.
Nik: That’s a great point about the expectations that accompany a webstore order.
This is a challenging question. We weren’t really looking for the Nesting Box, so the sell out didn’t affect us. However, if we had been waiting for it for a long time (like Wingspan Asia, which we knew we would buy no matter what) and didn’t get one, we would have been disappointed, especially going into a prime gift-giving season. I can see the appeal of having a copy reserved for you even before production finished or even began—you know that you will get it when it comes out, and if you trust the company, you know they will make good on the order. I have yet to be burned by a Kickstarter, so maybe I’ve just been lucky. However, I’m also not a “have to have it immediately” sort of person. If more copies of something are coming, I can wait. (Obviously, if something is a limited run and will not have extra quantities available later, that changes things.) I searched high and low for six months to get my hands on Wingspan in 2019, and while that was a little frustrating, I got my copy and we have been happily playing ever since. I’ve also been living in a pandemic for a few years now, and honestly, waiting unexpectedly for things is par for the course. So . . . there could be value in customers being able to preorder much anticipated, limited edition, or expensive/lower profit products like the Nesting Box if folks are ready to buy. It could give a better idea about how many of the product to make, but there still will be a group that will want to order at launch and still have a chance of getting it.
Thanks for your thoughts, Julie. I think I’m fairly similar to you–I rarely feel like I need to get the product first or early, but it would be frustrating if I had to wait a long time for a product I’ve now decided I really want.
To address the initial question… It depends on the publisher.
In many cases I think what you’ve said about the psychology of late pledges is spot on. It is a little bit about the FOMO. In addition to that, I think a lot of publishers’ webstores are, for lack of a better term, bad. That may factor in to the hesitance of some folks to direct-order.
That said, Stonemaier is also a bit of a special case for me. The Champion program, combined with the transparency that you bring to the table and the clear perception that you’re trying to “do the right thing” in all aspects of how you run the business makes me far more inclined to place direct orders from Stonemaier than from any other current publisher.
+1 to all of this. Couldn’t have said it better. If everyone operated the way Stonemaier does, it would be a no brainer to order from them as soon as they announce the pre-order. Nesting Box ordered one week and received within a few days? Yes! All day long yes!
Thank you, Tom and Greg!
For me, late pledging often means I will gain access to all of the original crowdfunding exclusives and/or deluxe upgrades that may not be available via a webstore order (though this is not always the case). I suspect this mentality might play a profound role in the data that publishers are seeing.
100% agree, here. The only time the FOMO of “late pledge” really kicks in for me is if there are crowdfunding exclusives that I might miss out on in a standard retail order.
I’ll state up front that I equate “late pledge” and “$1 pledge that I upgrade in the pledge manager”, and ice done a bunch of both. With that definition in mind, I “late pledge” for one of two reasons: 1) I simply have backed too many things recently and I just want to spread the cost out over time: and/or 2) there is a specific aspect of the project that I would like to learn more about post-campaign before I commit.
For the publishers I talked to last week, this doesn’t apply, but I can see what you’re saying about other publishers.
A possible way to do the “it’s not too late feeling” for a web store might be to show a projected duration of stock rather than a strict numeric quantity. For example instead of 20+ units left, or “out of stock” as options instead take the qty remaining and the most recent rate of sale. Then you could display to the customer that at the rate of sale this item will only last X days, or X hours or X minutes.
It gives them more information than just a quantity. If an item moves slowly but has 20 units left it may be available for weeks, but a fast moving item like a Gamenerdz sale in july of 300+ units can clear out in a couple minutes. So it’s not just a marketing FOMO tactic to try and get the customer to buy now. It’s communicating both how much stock you have and how likely it is to last until some point in the future which can help them inform when they should buy.
How often you make this calculation could be tweaked and perhaps using previous sales rates for earlier products could be used for new products with no order history, but to hedge your bets you could show both bits of info. Absolute qty and the time estimate with an * saying that it’s just an estimate.
That’s interesting, Jon. I’m not sure if that’s something we can program into Shopify, but I’ll check.