The Current State of Worldwide Fulfillment (2019) – Stonemaier Games

The Current State of Worldwide Fulfillment (2019)

After shipping very few direct orders in 2017, we sold several thousand units directly to consumers in 2018. This has required me to revisit the concept of fulfillment and shipping, so I though I’d update the methods I last discussed in 2016.

The Basics

In general, this is the 2-step process that many Kickstarter creators use:

  1. Freight: A freight company (I work with ARC Global: justin.bergeron@arcglobal.us) ships cartons/pallets/containers of products from a factory to several different fulfillment centers (Asia, Australia/NZ, Canada, US, and Europe).
  2. Fulfillment: The fulfillment centers send orders to customers within each region.

That method works well if you know exactly how many products to send to each region. Because I no longer use Kickstarter–instead, I simply make products and accept orders when they arrive at our warehouse–if I want to send products to a regional fulfillment center, it’s a guessing game.

A New Technique to Consider

One method that seems to be gaining traction is to have the manufacturer pre-package some quantity of the product for fulfillment. This can range from putting corner protectors or bubble wrap on the game to fully packaging the product in box so that all the fulfillment center needs to do is slap a label on it and give it to the courier.

I’m looking into doing this for the Scythe modular board. The pros are that it should speed up the fulfillment process and reduce the overall cost. It also ensures a consistent quality of packaging.

The cons are that the products take up more space for freight shipping. For example, you might be able to fit 126 games on a pallet normally, but if they’re prepacked in boxes, that number might reduce down to around 80. Also, if you intend to sell excess products to distributors, they shouldn’t be prepackaged, so it’s a bit of a balancing act in terms of the quantity the fulfillment center should prepack. Last, it isn’t always as simple as shipping 1 product to each person. Sometimes people order multiple units or there are add-ons or other games they want in the same package.

The Fulfillment Centers

If you’re selecting a fulfillment company, whether it’s one of these or another company, some of the things you’ll want to ask about and test are quality of packaging, speed, communication, customer service, and problem solving.

I’ve come to believe that consistently high quality is much more important than price when it comes to fulfillment centers. However, you can see a variety of stats (including price estimates, which are updated by each corresponding company) as well as contact information on this master list of fulfillment companies.

Here are my current top picks by region:

  • United States: Fulfillrite and Quartermaster Logistics have great reputations, and whenever I receive a package from them, I’m pleased with the quality of packaging. Greater Than Games handles our fulfillment because they also warehouse our games, and I recommend them, but their core focus isn’t on fulfillment.
  • Europe: Spiral Galaxy has been an absolute pleasure to work with on our last few preorder shipments. They’re extremely responsive, they’re fast, they pack games well, and they even have an optional system where they can confirm addresses with customers before printing labels.
  • Canada: [update 2020] I’ve been working with D6 in Toronto over the last few months, and they’re doing a great job.
  • Australia/NZ: Aetherworks is doing an excellent job at fulfilling shipments to Australia and New Zealand.

I’m sure there are other great fulfillment companies out there–feel free to recommend them in the comments below.

Instructions for Fulfillment Centers

I try to be abundantly clear every time we work with a fulfillment center. Feel free to copy and paste the instructions below (or add/subtract from them) they next time you fulfill a project:

  1. Ship all packages so they do not require a signature for delivery.
  2. Send customers their tracking number by e-mail on the same day that their order leaves the facility (not when the label is made and no later than the day after the package departs). Also, it’s crucial that backers see their FULL address on tracking notifications, not a partial address that will cause them to freak out and wonder if we forgot half of their information. If you need to identify the contents of each package for tracking, the label should read “_________.”
  3. Please send me a spreadsheet of tracking numbers and couriers within 2-3 days of fulfillment completion. I can answer 90% of customer service questions if I have that data.
  4. If an order is sent in multiple packages, please make sure the customer knows that they’re receiving more than one package. That will prevent a lot of customer confusion and frustration.
  5. Please pack the products with plenty of cushioning around the edges, corners, and between differently sized components.

A Few Tips I’ve Learned Over the Years

  • Bar Codes/SKUs: Some fulfillment centers require bar codes (go here to get gs1 numbers, then make barcodes here); others just need SKUs (stock codes; if you’re in the board game industry, get these from heather.stoltzfus@hmahobby.org). Make sure you have both, and make sure you have a system for ensuring that you don’t use the same bar code on different products (I use a Google Doc with conditional formatting that highlights duplicate cells).
  • Made in China: If you manufacture in China, put “Made in China” on the box (or wherever you made the product). Customs will have a problem if you don’t do this.
  • Product Size: A certain number of cartons fit on a pallet (usually 48), and your manufacturer will often use the same carton size for everything they send. Keep this in mind when you determine the size of your product. For Scythe, if we had increased the box size even by 1 mm, we could have only fit 3 games per carton instead of 4. That’s a significant increase in freight shipping costs.
  • Add-Ons: The more add-ons and various configurations you offer, the more trouble you’re going to have when you fulfill rewards. Not only does it increase the potential for human error, but it also increases the cost: most fulfillment centers charge a fee for each item in the box.
  • Fee Precision: When calculating shipping rates on your crowdfunding project, use accurate fees for each country, not one-size-fits-all rates.
  • Europe: If you’re shipping within Europe, I’d recommend putting an address on the back of the box. Guidelines indicate that it can be any address linked to your company (it does not need to be a European address).
  • South America: Request tax ID numbers (CPFs) from backers in South America–this will help them pick up their order from the local customs office.
  • Communication: I’ve found that keeping backers informed with frequent updates throughout the fulfillment process is really helpful for easing their anxiety, even if you have no news to share.
  • Local Pickup: If you have some products in stock at your location, here are some factors to consider when offering local pickup.

***

Of course, this is far from the only way to ship stuff worldwide. There are a variety of methods you can use. Perhaps by reading my other articles about fulfillment, you can find the method that works best for you.

Also, I would love for there to be more forwarding services in the US that can service non-US customers. Has anyone used Shipito, Vyking, or YouShop?

If you fulfilled a project in 2018, what’s something you learned that can help your fellow creators?

If you gain value from the 100 articles Jamey publishes on this blog each year, please consider championing this content.

74 Comments on “The Current State of Worldwide Fulfillment (2019)

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  1. Hello Jamey, thank you again for your blog and all the treasure trove of information you can find here! A Quick question about fulfillment and current shipping issues (2022-23?)

    We have a game that is currently being kickstarted and are thinking about adding “a big box” stretch goal for our backers. The box dimensions are similar to Wingspan 30x30x8 with an expansion of 30x15x8. The big box size will be 30x45x8, basically both boxes combined. Based on our math this makes sense. But we were advised to be very careful on offering a “Big box”. What are you thoughts? thanks in advance!

    1. E.M.: Thanks for your comment! I think backers are advising you because they’ve heard about the rise and unpredictability in freight shipping costs; they don’t want to be surprised by a much higher shipping fee than estimated (nor do they want you to be surprised by it). I echo their sentiments…though I say that as someone who’s releasing two big boxes this year! I think the key is that your math now could be very different than your math in the future when it’s time to ship, so you have to balance what you know now (and can estimate or even guarantee for backers) against the financial burden you may incur later. If you have enough of a buffer to make such a choice now and you’ve fun the numbers multiple times, I think it’s fine.

      Here’s a recent related article: https://stonemaiergames.com/puzzles-cmon-el-dorado-and-grey-gnome-talking-points-from-recent-news/

      1. Thank you so much for the reply and linking in the newer post. The post you linked is definitely interesting !

  2. Jamey,

    Hi! I have been reading your shipping ( and well all shipping) articles I can find. I am a little confused and hope you can clarify. You said you use OTX to get from the manufacturer to the fulfillment center. Does that mean that they get it from manufacturer to ship on a truck, then load it on a ship, move it on the ocean, and then pick it up at its destination and deliver it to the fulfillment center? Do they do all of that, or just a piece of that process? All of the fulfillment parts make sense. It is just the transportation parts that dont make sense to me yet.

    I appreciate you!

  3. Thanks for all the amazing info! I’m trying to figure out fulfillment after my first Kickstarter – and I have a lot of add-ons. The main product is getting made in China, but all of the add-ons are getting made here in the US. Would you still suggest trying to ship to fulfillment centers around the world to save on shipping costs? I really want to save my backers the money, but I’m worried about it being too complicated.

    1. annatenae: Thanks for your question. Honestly, I would still suggest that if you’re shipping at least a few cartons to each fulfillment center and if the fulfillment center can handle the way the add-ons are labeled and sorted. The only risk is that one of those sets of cartons could get lost in the freight shipping process. May I ask what types of add-ons these are and roughly how big the main product is?

      1. Sure! The main product WxLxH is approx 4x6x1.5″. Each tier comes with a 5×7″ print, a bandana, a small drawstring pouch, and an enamel pin. They had the option to add more, and they could choose a print of any of the cards… which really seemed simple at the time, but now I realize is going to be a major pain to ship. Live and learn I guess!

        1. Thanks! This is helpful. And I also realized by re-reading your comment that you already know how many units you need to ship to each region. Is it substantial? Like, do you have dozens/hundreds of backers in each region, or are there some regions where you only have a few backers?

          1. I only have a few in Asia and South America, but all the other major regions have dozens to hundreds.

          2. Perfect. Yes, I would definitely ship cartons to each fulfillment center from both China and the US. It’ll cost you a little more up front, but ultimately I think it will cost less for you and backers.

  4. Thanks Jamey! I was wondering how you felt about humble projects and dealing with freight/fulfillment. I am manufacturing in China (hopefully) but am worried that offering my product to regions like South America or Australia (based off the info here and in other posts) might be biting off more than I can chew… Do you have any advice?

    My product is very small and light weight, so my only thought (because I am a one man team and learning all these laws might be a bit much) is to have some of the freight sent to me and to pack/send to those regions myself.

    Would love to hear your thoughts on how humble projects can still offer their creations to a global market. Maybe it is not as complex as I think it is, haha

    1. Ben: Even if you’re just sending a carton or two to fulfillment centers in Australia, Canada, and the UK, I think it’s worth using those fulfillment centers. However, make sure to do your research on shipping costs from the US. It’s quite possible your game is light enough that the shipping costs aren’t too bad from here.

  5. Thanks for the great resource! Just a quick question. I tried to find contact information for D6 Fulfillment, but could not find anything. Would you mind passing along their info?

  6. Did you hear from the TMNT Adventures City Fall KS Europe customs debacle?
    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/idwgames/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-adventures-city-fall/posts/2814188
    I hope IDW will provide more informations later, so that other KS can learn from it. I’m lucky not to be a backer for this one, but I do have a couple other board game KS in my pipeline and hope that something like this will never happen again. I’m a bit taken aback from this situation.

      1. EU Directive on the safety of toys.

        Chapter III Conformity of Toys

        Article 11

        “3. In accordance with Article 4(7), a Member State may, within its territory, stipulate that those warnings and the safety instructions shall be written in a language or languages easily understood by consumers, as determined by that Member State.”

        The part about the not suitable for 0-3 label has an interesting sentence at the bottom to suggest that it is not needed at all if the toy clearly cannot be mistaken as a toy for 0-3 year old. I wonder if they never hat that label would they have let it go through. By having it the creator is kind of stating that they believe it could be mistaken for a 0-3 year old’s toy, giving “ammo” to the inspector. Next time I am in a toy shop I will check the packaging of big European brand toys.

        ANNEX V
        “1.

        “This point shall not apply to toys which, on account of their function, dimensions, characteristics or properties, or on other cogent grounds, are manifestly unsuitable for children under 36 months.”

          1. My copy of A Feast For Odin and Rising Sun don’t have that 0-3 icon. Other Z-man games do. Either does my Fantasy Flight Marvel Champions copy. That does have small tokens, not just cards. Maybe the EU is correct that it is not needed for toys “unsuitable for children under 36 months.” Marvel Champions says “Imported in to the EU by” … a company from the UK, a company from Denmark, a company from Holland.

  7. So researching Kickstarter fulfillment keeps bringing me back to you. 😊 thought I would ask a (maybe?) quick question.
    Not sure if this is covered as I haven’t come across it …. What are the benefits of selecting your own regional fulfillment centers versus letting one company (like Funagain) handle shipping to all the regions? A lot cost savings trade for a a bit more work in coordination?

    Thanks for all the info. It’s been enlightening!

    1. ADB: I think it depends on how they handle it. If they’re coordinating freight shipping from the source (China), that’s fine. If they’re receiving all of the products and then shipping those products via freight to various fulfillment centers, that’s adding redundancy and cost.

  8. Hi Jamey,
    Amazing resource!!!
    I have a question about fulfillment centers. Let’s say you set your goal to a 1500 unit print run (the smallest Panda will do). You work the numbers to allow you to fund as long as you hit 1000 units (assuming you can work the math to make this happen) and you barely fund. You will have 1000 copies sold and about 500 copies that are not sold (but that you intend to sell in the future). Do you send these to the fulfillment centers as well and just wait for them to sell from your website (and then direct the fulfillment company as to who the game needs to be sent to)? Will the fulfillment center store them till sold? Or is that what my garage is for :)
    Thanks!

    1. Thanks Trevor! If I were in that situation, I would send some extra copies to the fulfillment centers as buffer copies (unexpected sales and replacements for damaged/stolen backer rewards). After that, I would send all remaining copies to the closest fulfillment center to me, knowing that if I get lucky and have distributors who want to sell my games to retailers, I can ship pallets to them.

  9. Hey Jamey,

    First off, thanks for sharing your incredible wealth of knowledge! If you don’t mind, I have a few questions about your experience with OTX and the ‘Stonemaier Method’ of international fulfillment.

    After browsing their website, it looks like OTX provides comprehensive services as a carrier: Sea, air, truck, and customs clearance. If I understand correctly, hiring them would mean an intermediary freight forwarder is now redundant, right? Specifically, if my manufacturer offers FOB out of Shanghai, will OTX pick up the entire logistics between China and the fulfillment centers without a freight forwarder stepping in to manage the process on my behalf?

    That brings me to the next question: How much more expensive is it to split cargo into smaller shipments to separate fulfillment centers around the world? (Let’s say four: US, Canada, Europe/UK, & Australia.) Do four freight shipments each with their own customs clearance effectively quadruple the cost compared to shipping to a single destination? If so, is there a tipping point where X backers per fulfillment region offset that additional cost?

    And finally, do you recommend buying up on freight insurance? Do you find that comprehensive coverage is good enough?

    Hopefully that wasn’t too much. Happy holidays!

    1. Derek: Thanks for your comment!

      “Specifically, if my manufacturer offers FOB out of Shanghai, will OTX pick up the entire logistics between China and the fulfillment centers without a freight forwarder stepping in to manage the process on my behalf?”

      Yes, that’s correct.

      “How much more expensive is it to split cargo into smaller shipments to separate fulfillment centers around the world?”

      It’s not that much more expensive, and it’s considerably less expensive per unit than shipping everything to one fulfillment center and fulfilling each individual order from there.

      As for freight insurance, I find that the standard coverage is good enough.

  10. I can’t thank you enough for all of your blog posts. You mention http://www.buyabarcode.com and gs1 as options for acquiring barcodes. Do you use buyabarcode.com? Have you had any issues? I am asking because there are some upc/barcode sellers that reportedly sell codes that are already in use, and buyabarcode.com is way less expensive than GS1.

  11. Hi Jamey,

    This was a very helpful article and I enjoy reading all of your posts! They are always so insightful for new creators like myself!

    I had a question regarding your master list of fulfillment companies that you have hosted on google drive. I am trying to create a similar document that anyone with a link can have access too but I have read there is a 200 person limit on the total number of people who can view the document. What did you do to work around this limit?

    Thanks,
    Caleb Morton

    1. Thanks Caleb! I haven’t run into the limit–I have it set so “anyone with the link can view” the document, and there doesn’t appear to be a limit for that, like most URLs.

      1. Okay. Its good to hear that I have it set up the same way at least! I guess I will just let it stay up and see if it ever gives me a warning. Thanks for your help!

  12. Hey Jamey,

    Currently making my way through your KS articles for the first time and enjoying every bit of it.

    As I read through all of these rules, regulations, and recommendations for manufacturing and shipping, it made me wonder:

    Would it hurt my campaign significantly if I limit shipping to the US?

    Especially for my first campaign it feels like this would allow me to focus more on the backers and less on the logistics. Then, say in my second or third campaign when I have the basics down, expand to an international audience. Thoughts?

    1. Matt: That’s a great question, and I appreciate the focus, but I would strongly discourage it. No one likes being told they can’t do something simply because of who they are or where they live. So the amount of backlash you’ll receive if you limit shipping to the US isn’t worth it. Instead, you can only ship from the US if you’d like, and backers can self-select themselves based on the high shipping fees. You’ll still get complaints, but not at the same level if you tell them they’re not even allowed to back it.

      1. Thanks for the quick response.

        I greatly appreciate the alternate perspective. Sometimes I forget that the recommended method is not the only method.

  13. So much great information here. Here is a hurdle I can’t get past: Every successful campaign I see claims to be EU, Australia, etc. friendly and states where they will have fulfillment centers outside of the US. I don’t know how they know that they will have enough backers in a given region for it to be worth it to have a fulfillment center there. What am I missing here? I want to be “friendly,” but what if only three Germans like my game? Additionally, is there a way to guarantee individuals won’t have any customs and tax issues if you are not working with a fulfillment center is their country or region?

    1. Ina: I understand your concern. However, most fulfillment centers can work with very small quantities. You could just send a single carton of games to a fulfillment center–I’ve done that–and they’ll take care of it.

      Alternatively, if you really just have 3 people in all of Europe who want your game, you can just ship to them from wherever you’re located and cover the customs fees so it’s a seamless process for them.

      “Additionally, is there a way to guarantee individuals won’t have any customs and tax issues if you are not working with a fulfillment center is their country or region?”

      If the value of the package (what the customer paid plus the cost of shipping) is less than a certain amount (usually around $30, but it depends on the country), yes.

      1. Thank you so much for the quick response. That helps. Still, I think shipping will be the death of me. We did recently talk to a fulfillment center that said only thousands of backers per region would make an international fulfillment center “worth it” and really talked down having multiple accounts/using multiple fulfillment centers. I thought that was weird, but didn’t have expertise to counter it. How many are usually in a carton for one of your games?
        Also, I’ve read a number of your shipping blogs, but I haven’t come across an explanation for a shipping formula. For Scythe, I remember you subtracted $15 from what shipping and freight would cost you. I wonder how you chose $15, if you don’t mind sharing. Shipping is so expensive, but there’s a lot of pressure to compete in a world of Amazon-will-deliver-this-to-you-in-five-minutes-for-free-and-will-also-groom-your-dog-when-dropping-off-the-package.

        1. The carton quantity can vastly change from game to game, but typically for us there are 5 or 6 games per carton.

  14. Hi Jamey,
    first time commenting here so thanks for reading, once you get around to it!

    1. Why do they care about having “made in ****” on the box for ? can this be a sticker or should it be written on the box somewhere? Can it be on the back of the box somewhere amongst all the text on the back?
    2. Do i have to likewise have barcodes printed on each box? Or do i ask the chinese factory to stick them on?
    3. Same for the company address, I dont have a physical address for the company yet (well i do but i dont want to put my house address down lol) so can i put down a P.O BOX address instead? and why do they want to see that in Europe?
    4. Do you have a specific article about sending stuff to Ukraine? I have an artist from there whose friends and family will want copies of the game and i i’m doing a certain amount of copies in Russian for them (well for them mainly but this opens the door for other customers there i guess) I notice that most people say they can’t ship to Ukraine, Russia etc…

    Just a comment too – initially i was going to send everything myself individually from Australia using discounted Australia Post rates (for when you do mass mailing they allow this) however, this means that my packages will attract taxes when they arrive in some places i believe. do you have an article that specifically talks about this topic? I’m definitely using Australia Post for my AU and NZLD customers because they shouldn’t pay import taxes (i would have paid it at the docks myself).

    sorry for all the questions, i dont mind if you dont answr them all, it will just make my mission to do things the right way, a little quicker and easier :)

    kind regards,
    Matt

    1. 1. Why do they care about having “made in ****” on the box for ? can this be a sticker or should it be written on the box somewhere? Can it be on the back of the box somewhere amongst all the text on the back?

      I don’t know if every country cares about this, but there are laws in some countries. As long as it’s visible somewhere on the packaging, it’s fine.

      2. Do i have to likewise have barcodes printed on each box? Or do i ask the chinese factory to stick them on?

      Either way is fine, though in general it’s better to have them on the box.

      3. Same for the company address, I dont have a physical address for the company yet (well i do but i dont want to put my house address down lol) so can i put down a P.O BOX address instead? and why do they want to see that in Europe?

      Yes, PO Box is fine. It’s a weird EU regulation that I don’t understand.

      4. Do you have a specific article about sending stuff to Ukraine?

      I don’t. There are just some countries that have a higher delivery failure rate than others–that’s why you’ve heard about Ukraine and Russia in that context.

      5. do you have an article that specifically talks about this topic?

      Yes, it’s this article: https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-47-this-project-is-eu-friendly/

  15. Hi Jamie
    Out of interest why do you recommend ‘ Ship all packages so they do not require a signature’, surely having confirmed delivery would be safer, as well as confirmation that it was received?

    1. Paul: The reason I recommend that is it significantly increases the chances that a package will be returned to sender if the person isn’t available to receive the package, which creates a much bigger hassle than replacing a few stolen packages.

      1. Good point. In Australia the delivery company usually leaves a note and redirect the parcel to the nearest post office for you to collect. But it might be different in other countries.

  16. Jamey thanks for posting this! Such a wealth of knowledge.

    Everyone please stay away from SFC Fulfilment in China! Will post the details of everything that happened with us soon.

  17. This is good timing as it will soon be the next leg in my journey. I am talking to Gamerati right now. They partner with both Starlit Citadel and Aetherworks, yet I don’t see them on the list. Do you know anyone who has worked with them? They seem quite enthusiastic.

  18. Hey, thank you for your work! I read nearly all your posts and your book about Kickstarter. It helps a lot and the list of shippers is another super useful information. Thank you for sharing!we are a German publisher and want to launch a kickstarter campaign in summer. When looking for a shipper, I used your list of contacts.
    There’s

    1. oh, I wasnt fished yet :D
      Now my question: Does anyone have experience with the german shipper Aimplify? I can’t find any reports about experiences, either good or bad.
      How did you get in contact with them Jamey?
      Thanks a lot, for you advices!
      Milena

      1. Milena: I don’t know much about them, just what they put on the Google Doc (they have an e-mail address there). And that was a while ago.

      2. Milena did you contact aimplify? have you seen any reviews from them online? We are using zenfulfilment right now so far with mixed results. There is also happyshops but they do not answer their phone. Its hard finding someone inexpensive and good.

        We are using shipmonk in the states and they have people you can reach on the phone and live chat. The website seems to be top notch. I will update this

        1. How was your experience with shipmonk? They seem to offer pretty decent fulfillment prices but some recent reviews have made me a bit gun-shy.

  19. Liberty: Thanks for sharing! Have you read my post about the 3 funding situations you should be prepared for? Basically, I suggest that you plan on (a) not reaching your goal (no games made), (b) barely reaching your game (some games made, in which case making and shipping them yourself isn’t a problem, thought it’s certainly more expensive per unit), and (c) wildly overfunding, in which case you would absolutely need a manufacturer and a fulfillment center. It’s important to be prepared for that scenario, and at the very least, by reaching out to a manufacturer to get an estimate and learn about the types of questions you ask will inform your bespoke process. I would highly recommend doing that as soon as possible, just so you can be prepared (the process can take a while). It will also inspire trust and confidence in your potential backers if you can show that you did your research.

    In case you haven’t read these posts, they’re here to help: https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter/how-to-design-a-tabletop-game/

  20. Hi Jamey, I’m a first time Kickstarter hopeful, and I’m getting close to ready to launch my campaign (A couple of months out.) So far I’ve been planning to assemble and ship the game myself. It’s small (around 7” x 9” all assembled) so even a lot of copies wouldn’t take up a massive amount of space… also, I had planned to get the various pieces (gems, rulebooks, cards & tuckboxes, and other packaging) from different places based on their quality, speed, and pricing. This being my first project, it seemed simpler and safer to be totally hands on with each copy that I send out, rather than crossing my fingers and hoping while my games are assembled and shipped somewhere far away. Is this a totally insane way to do it? Assuming I have a great group of family and friends that would love to help make it happen— is it feasible? Would it be more expensive? Just really want to have my hands on the actual copies so I *know* everything is right :) PS— thank you so much for your blog, it’s been a godsend since day 1.

  21. Spiral Galaxy is in the UK right? Have you considered other EU options after March 29 if the Brexit deal falls through?

    1. Yes, that’s correct. It should only be a concern if it’s a hard Brexit, in which case we’ll pivot to another fulfillment company.

  22. Hey Jamey, my name is Tanner Livingston. I’ve been working on some game designs recently, and as part of that have been researching all that I can about the industry, Kickstarter, product publishing, etc. I just wanted to thank you first for all of your great content. I really enjoy your posts.

    In particular, thank you so much for this post! I read your original and this update was a great addition. I really appreciate how you put examples of what you do (down to the letter you write essentially) in your posts. It makes it easier to relate to and build on. Keep up the good content, I look forward to reading and interacting with you more in the future.

  23. This article is amazing! Thank you! As an aspiring board game creator I can easily get excited about game design – but fulfillment is a daunting task to me as it is quite confusing as you have to deal with customs and different international laws. This post has been very helpful. I plan to re-evaluate what I currently had planned for fulfillment. Can you point me to an article that helps break-down VAT (this is confusing to me) and how to best fulfill orders to keep VAT and shipping costs to a minimum?

    I’ve received orders from FunAgain and ShipNaked before – and I haven’t had an issue with either one (both provided good tracking and good delivery). I’ve also received orders from others – but those two have stood out to me.

  24. Besides barcodes/SKU, probably this goes without saying, but marking the box with appropriate CE mark – “Not a toy”, “Not suitable for children X+ age” etc. is also important. CE testing as well. Recently, Dungeon Degenerates all shipment was turned around and creators have to return it back for proper marking.

    Reminding creators to be more active when communicating with backers, especially during the most important stages like fulfillment, will never be enough. :) Some creators understand that without saying, but there are so many examples when backers are kept in complete dark, when they aren’t told why the shipment is stuck in customs for so long or which fulfilment company is taking care of sending the games.

    1. Yes, I went to Essen 2017 and heard that some exhibitors’ games were not allowed into the country through customs as they did not have the appropriate CE marking, and others had to quickly sticker up their products before they could put them on sale. Conventions are generally becoming more aware of CE marking requirements.

  25. I can’t speak to working with Aetherworks as a producer, but as a customer I have zero complaints. They pack well and ship fast and if there are any issues (incomplete address in my case) they were on it quickly.

    I hope your experience with them goes well and we can enjoy preorders in Australia without the big international shipping.

    On that note, in most industries the economy of scale means things tend to get cheaper, but even though more and more packages are being delivered around the world, shipping continues to get more and more expensive. This constantly confounds me.

  26. You missed Flat River Group which recently bought Impressions and does awesome fast and cheap fulfillment. They did my last campaign in under a week. They are in MI, USA but are looking for EU partners. Anyway, I think they are a serious player as the already do a huge amount of mass market and hobby fulfillment for Amazon.

    1. I’m familiar with Flat River, though I didn’t know they handled fulfillment. Thanks for the heads up!

  27. Great article. Bookmarked. Thank you! :)

    Does Australia still need fumigation certificates for board games? I remember reading an article from an Australian news source that said board games are now exempt.

    1. Can you find that source? I haven’t heard that, but it would be great to remove that item from my list. :)

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