Where is the updated bio stuff? You guys are crazy cool and awesome for doing all of this and keeping it up to date. All the props to the site managing peoples!!!!!!!!
BruceP - The Chameleon 2015-02-03T14:55:10-05:00
@DDD,
Yeah, I've always thought we should have something larger that explains what the Kitten Corps is, rather than have the main focus of the main page be that 'tattoo' pic.
Mike Kabala 2015-02-03T14:55:20-05:00
Kudos on the Bios so far! It's been a lot of fun reading them as I add them to the site. BaKhan and Blind Justice have now been added.
BruceP - The Chameleon 2015-02-03T14:55:45-05:00
@Potatten,
Got to the Fact Sheet, and your name is a link now. :)
"Diamond Dan" Drake 2015-02-03T14:56:08-05:00
Perhaps the Main Page could start by saying mentioning that KittenCorps is an interactive commenting group that is collecting information/requests from backers and links to creator information, while encouraging fun brainstorming and roleplaying ideas....something with those kind of notes anyway
BruceP - The Chameleon 2015-02-03T14:56:21-05:00
Thanks, Cheetah Butt!
Andre "Silver Ninjatten" Bernier 2015-02-03T14:57:18-05:00
+1 DDD
Mike Kabala 2015-02-03T14:57:44-05:00
The rocket kitty is there because it was requested. I agree that it unbalances the page. Please hold your suggestions until the Bios slow town though, because I have my hands full with them.
Kevin "Lord Zombitten" Buckner 2015-02-03T14:57:59-05:00
@DDD, I think that would clear up a lot of confusion
Mike Kabala 2015-02-03T14:58:17-05:00
The photo is supposed to have a photo credit, but no one seems to know who the photographer was.
Peter 'General Calculus' W. 2015-02-03T14:58:22-05:00
@Cheetah Butt, great work on the bios. The only nitpick I have with it is that the names on the factsheet are not recognizeable as links (lick blue or such).
My comments and stats pages are static by the way so can be hosted wherever a server listens on a free 80.
All it says is DR. POTATTEN... meh. They'll get to it or it hasn't updated yet.
"Diamond Dan" Drake 2015-02-03T14:59:04-05:00
Again, I still like the picture, but the main page we're directing people to has very little info, and may be (whether fairly or unfairly) reinforcing the notion that we're all nut jobs :P
Oh there it goes, I figured it just hadn't 'caught up' to me since they said it was posted.
Daniel Ziegler 2015-02-03T15:02:54-05:00
You wait 16 days, what do you get? Another kickstarter and deeper in debt. Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go! I owe my soul to the internet store!
Mike Kabala 2015-02-03T15:03:09-05:00
It's great to see some discussion about the home page, BTW. That means people are actually visiting the page! (I can run stats, but when have I had the time?)
Mike Kabala 2015-02-03T15:04:34-05:00
@Dr. Potatten, refresh your web browser. Your bio is there.
Chris "The Historian" Loth 2015-02-03T15:07:23-05:00
@Cheetah, I actually have it loaded up throughout the day to check it out (and I may have already bookmarked it).
Andre "Silver Ninjatten" Bernier 2015-02-03T15:08:04-05:00
GJ cheetah butt
Mike Kabala 2015-02-03T15:09:46-05:00
@Creeper, I will honor "custom design" requests, but they will take a backseet to the "plain vanilla" web pages for the same reason that "custom" images" are taking a back seat to @DDD's illustrations. Thanks for understanding.
Andre "Silver Ninjatten" Bernier 2015-02-03T15:10:19-05:00
LOL I just noticed that the Kittzels is an animated picture too.
Andre "Silver Ninjatten" Bernier 2015-02-03T15:13:06-05:00
SUGGESTION - maybe people making honest/serious suggestions for the EK team to
consider should be headed with SUGGESTION.
Mine would be to create a stretch goal for just those who are funding this quirky KS peculiarity. A really feasible (and inexpensive) one would be to produce a card (or 3) specifically for this separate from the 2 other decks... easy enough to just do a flat run print of each exclusive design and divvy a set for each order.
Melissa "The Creeper" Nicole 2015-02-03T15:16:32-05:00
Cheetah butt- You work on Bios, I'll take note of suggestions for the site. And DDD - I agree with what you're saying about redirecting people. Originally people were confused about our nicknames, etc, and Elan's comments were more prominent. Now that Kittencorps has a life of it's own, I'll modify what I say to newcomers.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2015-02-03T15:16:38-05:00
@Shaun, if its a big concern, perhaps just message the creator directly, rather than stress out about its "getting lost" in the comments section?
Jonathan Brown 2015-02-03T15:19:50-05:00
Actually, maybe we could discuss the Kickstarter in the Kickstarter comment section, and the 30-40 (of 130,000) people in the KittenCorps could move their chat to their own website. Just a thought.
"Diamond Dan" Drake 2015-02-03T15:20:13-05:00
@BaKhan @Shaun - it's actually not a terrible idea to put something like that on the page. First would help identify those comments for all purposes. Whether genuine, a little whiny or outrageous. Second it would indicate that someone commenting with requests/suggestions has at least followed through to learn a little about what's going on, and a prefered manner to approach it.
Melissa "The Creeper" Nicole 2015-02-03T15:21:19-05:00
And their twitter account has a few mini-updates/interviews. Might be best to contact them via twitter- they seem to respond on there as well. https://twitter.com/gameofkittens
@Shaun: The entire NSFW deck is Kickstarter exclusive, just so you know. A lot of people seem to miss that, including myself at first.
Melissa "The Creeper" Nicole 2015-02-03T15:22:49-05:00
If anyone has kittencorps site suggestions, let me know, I'm making a list that Cheetah can check when bios have slowed down. I already have DDD's updated homepage disclaimer, and General C's suggestion about the names appearing as links.
Andrew Whiteoak 2015-02-03T15:26:15-05:00
Can we please have some parasites like Captain Higgins, please?
"Diamond Dan" Drake 2015-02-03T15:26:18-05:00
@Jonathan - ppl are free to discuss the EK kickstarter in the this comments section. And have been. (admittedly among other thngs)
Juha-Pekka Ahonen 2015-02-03T15:27:54-05:00
After lurking for for weeks I came up with idea worth of joining The Madness. Bittens as in bit kittens the main reason why computers have big unexplainable "bugs" , that also disappear for no reason at all.
Peter 'General Calculus' W. 2015-02-03T15:28:54-05:00
Melissa "The Creeper" Nicole 2015-02-03T15:29:04-05:00
Hi Andrew and Juha!
Melissa "The Creeper" Nicole 2015-02-03T15:29:56-05:00
Oh dear, General..... Potattens have indeed fallen from grace.
"Diamond Dan" Drake 2015-02-03T15:30:13-05:00
I personally am only using this comment feed to compile a list from the +100k I know I would NOT enjoy playing EK with. :) :P
Andre "Silver Ninjatten" Bernier 2015-02-03T15:31:21-05:00
+1 DDD
Shaun Fergus 2015-02-03T15:31:26-05:00
@Evan "Potatten™" Weideman
I was just trying to suggest something that would be a stretch goal that could be feasible (and not a time delay) given how much the fan base has grown over the last week or so... As it is now, if they were to do a stretch goal (depending on what it is) it could delay the product's release date... as well as complicate the fulfillment end of the KS...
Andre "Silver Ninjatten" Bernier 2015-02-03T15:32:15-05:00
@Shawun Fergus They have specifically stated that any SG will not impact the timeline.
Melissa "The Creeper" Nicole 2015-02-03T15:34:04-05:00
@Shaun - I keep begging for a holagram card... I totally feel ya.
Peter 'General Calculus' W. 2015-02-03T15:34:21-05:00
Kevin "Lord Zombitten" Buckner 2015-02-03T15:34:28-05:00
Shaun's suggestion is not a bad one. I imagine that's what they're planning, since they don't want to impact shipping time too much
Melissa "The Creeper" Nicole 2015-02-03T15:34:58-05:00
General C - Totally digging the graphs.
Keith "Virrgo" Goken 2015-02-03T15:37:15-05:00
What do I do besides join the web site , what's this about bio's ? Seance I brought up Kitten Con Las Vegas
Peter 'General Calculus' W. 2015-02-03T15:37:56-05:00
@Creeper, thank you. I am just looking into some possibilities. Need to make it somehow more automatic and scripted. Just could not hold back my finds.. :-)
The potattens™ we're known for spontaneously catching fire and baking themselves... the one flaw with using the sphagnum dna... but they we're at least still tasty...
"Diamond Dan" Drake 2015-02-03T15:40:56-05:00
@Shaun - The stretch goal thing is interesting because, I assume going into it they had a range of different ideas depending on how successful the start was... When that's been blown out of the water immediately, you'd really have to go back to the drawing board if the main thing you've said from the start is hoping not to over-complicate things. Money for a Game or two. Boom. Done.
"Diamond Dan" Drake 2015-02-03T15:42:58-05:00
We only have ourselves to blame for creating such a precarious situation for shipping expectation
Corey 2015-02-03T15:44:48-05:00
The "complicated shipping" excuse is sort of a cop out. Many Kickstarters deliver stretch rewards after the base reward. There is no reason they couldn't get the game to us as soon as possible while ALSO providing extras down the road.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2015-02-03T15:47:13-05:00
@Corey, the problem with that strategy is it will at least double the shipping costs, especially for those in Europe. They need to find a strech goal, that will add value to the game, not delay shipping any more than it will inevitalbly be due to volume, and not add to the cost of shipping (already a concern for many.) This is not easy, IMHO.
"Diamond Dan" Drake 2015-02-03T15:48:40-05:00
@Corey - Maybe true, but I really don't see where the entitlement for additional rewards comes from for most people. Unless you haven't pledged enough to get the game...and doing a hold out to decide if you want to just stay low with the game tier, or throw more to "earn" a new reward?
Kevin "Lord Zombitten" Buckner 2015-02-03T15:49:52-05:00
Suggestion for motto from fb:How about “Animus in consulendo liber”-Free spirit to decide from Cato the Elder?
Kevin "Lord Zombitten" Buckner 2015-02-03T15:50:35-05:00
Same user says she things excessively popping joints goes hand-in-paw with EK
Corey 2015-02-03T15:52:45-05:00
@Diamond Dan & @Rod. Fair points. I need to be mindful of international shipping. I don't personally feel entitled. I can't even really think of any sort of reward that would add to what is a very simple game anyhow.
@Mike Kabala - Villain Please! Backed a while ago but pretty new
Eric 'Tchotchke' Aschner 2015-02-03T15:55:21-05:00
@Corey
"Many Kickstarters PROMISE stretch rewards after the base reward"
Fixed it for you.
When you include fulfillment and shipping, each pack of cards isn't terribly margin rich.
Mike Kabala 2015-02-03T15:57:25-05:00
Please take a look at the home page. The huge graphic is removed and some introductory text has been added. Don't worry, the graphic is not gone. We can bring it back anytime and anywhere we want to.
As long as there's trinkets that are EU Friendly we'll all be happy! Though honestly I think they've got some good ideas, and that their just trying to find the best way to implement them so they can avoid delays.
Corey 2015-02-03T15:58:30-05:00
@Eric - Now THAT is where I disagree with you. at $20 per pack of cards, this kickstarter feels EXTREMELY margin rich, especially at this volume.
"Diamond Dan" Drake 2015-02-03T15:59:30-05:00
@Evan - And WHEN to implement them/announce, is as strategic as the what.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2015-02-03T15:59:37-05:00
@Chettah Butt, not to be picky but the links are to the left. ;)
I must say the Kitten Corps website is coming along very nicely.
Mike you have done a great job :-)
Eric 'Tchotchke' Aschner 2015-02-03T16:00:25-05:00
Also even something as simple as 'add a few cards' isn't that simple in this volume. For one, the decks are 56 cards. That's one sheet. (7x8) The cost to print one more card per deck isn't that much (practically free) but then someone has to take these extra sheets and put one card from it in each and every package. It's not an automated process.
@DDD: Exactly. I thought I had indicated that myself but apparently spaced out on it, so well said.
"Diamond Dan" Drake 2015-02-03T16:01:07-05:00
@BaKhan - Unless he DOESN'T want ppl to explore the links? o_0
Eric 'Tchotchke' Aschner 2015-02-03T16:01:23-05:00
Projected costs of a $35 deck (Warning, only my guesstimate):
KS cut - 5% = $1.75
Credit card processing fees - 3-5% = $1.40
Pre-fulfilment survey and processing - 3-5% = $1.40
Actual card production on decent cards - $2/pack = $4
Instructions / box / packaging = $2
'Thing-of-incredible-delight' = $2 (may vary depending on where you buy your delights)
Freight to Partners = $.50
Postal packing and shipping first class = $4
Sales tax - 7% = $2.45 (avg amongst the states by pop. I'm guessing)
Fulfilment partner cut = $2 (best guess from Amazon's site)
==========
Revenue = $35 - $1.75 - $1.40 - $1.40 = $30.45
Costs = $4 + $2 + $2 + $.50 + $4 + $2.45 + $2 = $16.95
Profit per unit = $13.50 (39% of top line revenue)
The single decks are $15 cheaper, but only save about $5.25 in shipping and production costs. They're making less money per unit on the $20 / deck version compared to the $35 for two version.
Most of the excess revenue will still be pumped into production to produce games to sell after the KS. If they do keep any money, they have to pay income tax on it.
Mike Kabala 2015-02-03T16:02:03-05:00
If the potattens had offered decent trinkets to their sycophants, they wouldn't have such a bad PR problem now.
Kevin "Lord Zombitten" Buckner 2015-02-03T16:02:05-05:00
Also from fb concerning motto:Technicaqlly, Cattus Crepitus Communitas is the name of this group in Latin as opposed to a motto which is a phrase encapsulating the ideals of the group. "Live free or die" for example is a motto.
"Diamond Dan" Drake 2015-02-03T16:04:34-05:00
@LZ - Yes, good point. I wanted to mention that as well.
Mike Kabala 2015-02-03T16:06:22-05:00
Hi @Virrgo. All you need to do to get your Bio posted is to put it in a comment and let me know it's a bio. If you want to be more private, please PM me.
But alas, all they had was the [Fully Loaded] and [Cheesiness Maximus] backer levels... will they learn from this lesson, or will there be trinkets abound? Find out five episode from now when planet Namek explode five minutes from now!
Bob "Powers of Tesla" Lindley 2015-02-03T16:08:09-05:00
I thought that said kelly blue book at first and had to double take, I was SOOO confused for a second......
Eric 'Tchotchke' Aschner 2015-02-03T16:10:07-05:00
Carten?
Mike Kabala 2015-02-03T16:10:50-05:00
@Puppy Crusher, villain it is!
Bob "Powers of Tesla" Lindley 2015-02-03T16:12:20-05:00
@Tchotchke. Lets not forget development costs, pre-production costs, and the shear magnitude of time these guys have/are investing in getting this thing off the ground. They're gonna earn whatever they take out of this.
@Tsveta: Not really, they technically have to spend more to get it to you. Profits aren't made on shipping.
There is also post-production product that they have to make and deal with too. This is all just to get it up and running, once it takes off they still have to manage it too.
Eric 'Tchotchke' Aschner 2015-02-03T16:14:41-05:00
Well, admittedly their development costs are near $0 considering. Looks like they had a dozen or so decks made at various stages. Even at a few hundred dollars, who cares?
Now, this will completely suck up every minute of free time for 3ish months, and obviously there was a fair amount of prior knowledge that went into creation. They earned success and it's not like they're all pocking $5M each.
I'm not saying there WON'T be profits, I'm just saying it's not going to be as much as some people seem to think. Patent/Copy Right law is built into the US constitution: Have good idea, profit from idea. Good on the I says indeedly doo.
Melissa "The Creeper" Nicole 2015-02-03T16:18:17-05:00
@Cheetah Butt - tiny edit on Chameleon's description on Call sheet- "Had a Skittles-dyed Kitten named Skitten" Was just reading over everyone and that took me a second to figure out what it was saying.
Eric 'Tchotchke' Aschner 2015-02-03T16:20:35-05:00
Why would they give international free shipping in that case though? This isn't a 'hey, we're going to spend months of our time making this great idea and sending it out to everyone just from the goodness of our hearts' thing. Profit is not evil.
Keep in mind also that Elan said they were thinking that they would sell maybe a 1000 of these and then get on with their lives (ie. not taking this project too seriously)... 130,000 backers and growing with still over another 15 days to go... they may have buried themselves and may now need to hire help and all... They are definitely not pocketing 5M... not to mention the time it will take to to keep track of orders, label, ship, etc, etc, etc. I for one don't think we need another stretch goal... just seeing how high this anomaly will climb on its own merit is reward enough for me... Keep it simple seems to being doing alright by them already anyway...
Melissa "The Creeper" Nicole 2015-02-03T16:23:18-05:00
Definitely, Shaun. I think they are over-whelmed, and they repeatedly mention in interviews that they never imagined it would have taken off like it has. Just logistically handling the number of orders they already have has to be a mammoth-sized task.
Kevin "Lord Zombitten" Buckner 2015-02-03T16:24:05-05:00
Well-said, Shaun!
Mike Kabala 2015-02-03T16:24:14-05:00
@Creeper:
"Has an albino Kitten named Skitten that he has dyed with Skittles colors"
Where is the updated bio stuff? You guys are crazy cool and awesome for doing all of this and keeping it up to date. All the props to the site managing peoples!!!!!!!!
@DDD,
Yeah, I've always thought we should have something larger that explains what the Kitten Corps is, rather than have the main focus of the main page be that 'tattoo' pic.
Kudos on the Bios so far! It's been a lot of fun reading them as I add them to the site. BaKhan and Blind Justice have now been added.
@Potatten,
Got to the Fact Sheet, and your name is a link now. :)
Perhaps the Main Page could start by saying mentioning that KittenCorps is an interactive commenting group that is collecting information/requests from backers and links to creator information, while encouraging fun brainstorming and roleplaying ideas....something with those kind of notes anyway
Thanks, Cheetah Butt!
+1 DDD
The rocket kitty is there because it was requested. I agree that it unbalances the page. Please hold your suggestions until the Bios slow town though, because I have my hands full with them.
@DDD, I think that would clear up a lot of confusion
The photo is supposed to have a photo credit, but no one seems to know who the photographer was.
@Cheetah Butt, great work on the bios. The only nitpick I have with it is that the names on the factsheet are not recognizeable as links (lick blue or such).
My comments and stats pages are static by the way so can be hosted wherever a server listens on a free 80.
+1 DDD
I'm off to lunch. Play nice, kittens!
All it says is DR. POTATTEN... meh. They'll get to it or it hasn't updated yet.
Again, I still like the picture, but the main page we're directing people to has very little info, and may be (whether fairly or unfairly) reinforcing the notion that we're all nut jobs :P
@Potatten,
Refresh your page, Mr. ;)
http://www.kittencorps.com/bios/DrPotatten.html
Oh there it goes, I figured it just hadn't 'caught up' to me since they said it was posted.
You wait 16 days, what do you get? Another kickstarter and deeper in debt. Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go! I owe my soul to the internet store!
It's great to see some discussion about the home page, BTW. That means people are actually visiting the page! (I can run stats, but when have I had the time?)
@Dr. Potatten, refresh your web browser. Your bio is there.
@Cheetah, I actually have it loaded up throughout the day to check it out (and I may have already bookmarked it).
GJ cheetah butt
@Creeper, I will honor "custom design" requests, but they will take a backseet to the "plain vanilla" web pages for the same reason that "custom" images" are taking a back seat to @DDD's illustrations. Thanks for understanding.
LOL I just noticed that the Kittzels is an animated picture too.
http://www.kittencorps.com/images/Kittzel.gif
SUGGESTION - maybe people making honest/serious suggestions for the EK team to
consider should be headed with SUGGESTION.
Mine would be to create a stretch goal for just those who are funding this quirky KS peculiarity. A really feasible (and inexpensive) one would be to produce a card (or 3) specifically for this separate from the 2 other decks... easy enough to just do a flat run print of each exclusive design and divvy a set for each order.
Cheetah butt- You work on Bios, I'll take note of suggestions for the site. And DDD - I agree with what you're saying about redirecting people. Originally people were confused about our nicknames, etc, and Elan's comments were more prominent. Now that Kittencorps has a life of it's own, I'll modify what I say to newcomers.
@Shaun, if its a big concern, perhaps just message the creator directly, rather than stress out about its "getting lost" in the comments section?
Actually, maybe we could discuss the Kickstarter in the Kickstarter comment section, and the 30-40 (of 130,000) people in the KittenCorps could move their chat to their own website. Just a thought.
@BaKhan @Shaun - it's actually not a terrible idea to put something like that on the page. First would help identify those comments for all purposes. Whether genuine, a little whiny or outrageous. Second it would indicate that someone commenting with requests/suggestions has at least followed through to learn a little about what's going on, and a prefered manner to approach it.
For people interested - This is the link to Elan's Comment Stream - https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/elanlee/comments
And their twitter account has a few mini-updates/interviews. Might be best to contact them via twitter- they seem to respond on there as well. https://twitter.com/gameofkittens
@Shaun: The entire NSFW deck is Kickstarter exclusive, just so you know. A lot of people seem to miss that, including myself at first.
If anyone has kittencorps site suggestions, let me know, I'm making a list that Cheetah can check when bios have slowed down. I already have DDD's updated homepage disclaimer, and General C's suggestion about the names appearing as links.
Can we please have some parasites like Captain Higgins, please?
@Jonathan - ppl are free to discuss the EK kickstarter in the this comments section. And have been. (admittedly among other thngs)
After lurking for for weeks I came up with idea worth of joining The Madness. Bittens as in bit kittens the main reason why computers have big unexplainable "bugs" , that also disappear for no reason at all.
I've been playing around a bit with my scripts, looking into how many times "potattens" have been mentioned... so here you are: The Fall of the Potattens: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/23263053/EK/img/fallofthepotattens.png
Hi Andrew and Juha!
Oh dear, General..... Potattens have indeed fallen from grace.
I personally am only using this comment feed to compile a list from the +100k I know I would NOT enjoy playing EK with. :) :P
+1 DDD
@Evan "Potatten™" Weideman
I was just trying to suggest something that would be a stretch goal that could be feasible (and not a time delay) given how much the fan base has grown over the last week or so... As it is now, if they were to do a stretch goal (depending on what it is) it could delay the product's release date... as well as complicate the fulfillment end of the KS...
@Shawun Fergus They have specifically stated that any SG will not impact the timeline.
@Shaun - I keep begging for a holagram card... I totally feel ya.
And here you are with the eufriendliness: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/23263053/EK/img/eufriendly.png
Shaun's suggestion is not a bad one. I imagine that's what they're planning, since they don't want to impact shipping time too much
General C - Totally digging the graphs.
What do I do besides join the web site , what's this about bio's ? Seance I brought up Kitten Con Las Vegas
@Creeper, thank you. I am just looking into some possibilities. Need to make it somehow more automatic and scripted. Just could not hold back my finds.. :-)
The potattens™ we're known for spontaneously catching fire and baking themselves... the one flaw with using the sphagnum dna... but they we're at least still tasty...
@Shaun - The stretch goal thing is interesting because, I assume going into it they had a range of different ideas depending on how successful the start was... When that's been blown out of the water immediately, you'd really have to go back to the drawing board if the main thing you've said from the start is hoping not to over-complicate things. Money for a Game or two. Boom. Done.
We only have ourselves to blame for creating such a precarious situation for shipping expectation
The "complicated shipping" excuse is sort of a cop out. Many Kickstarters deliver stretch rewards after the base reward. There is no reason they couldn't get the game to us as soon as possible while ALSO providing extras down the road.
@Corey, the problem with that strategy is it will at least double the shipping costs, especially for those in Europe. They need to find a strech goal, that will add value to the game, not delay shipping any more than it will inevitalbly be due to volume, and not add to the cost of shipping (already a concern for many.) This is not easy, IMHO.
@Corey - Maybe true, but I really don't see where the entitlement for additional rewards comes from for most people. Unless you haven't pledged enough to get the game...and doing a hold out to decide if you want to just stay low with the game tier, or throw more to "earn" a new reward?
Suggestion for motto from fb:How about “Animus in consulendo liber”-Free spirit to decide from Cato the Elder?
Same user says she things excessively popping joints goes hand-in-paw with EK
@Diamond Dan & @Rod. Fair points. I need to be mindful of international shipping. I don't personally feel entitled. I can't even really think of any sort of reward that would add to what is a very simple game anyhow.
@Mike Kabala - Villain Please! Backed a while ago but pretty new
@Corey
"Many Kickstarters PROMISE stretch rewards after the base reward"
Fixed it for you.
When you include fulfillment and shipping, each pack of cards isn't terribly margin rich.
Please take a look at the home page. The huge graphic is removed and some introductory text has been added. Don't worry, the graphic is not gone. We can bring it back anytime and anywhere we want to.
As long as there's trinkets that are EU Friendly we'll all be happy! Though honestly I think they've got some good ideas, and that their just trying to find the best way to implement them so they can avoid delays.
@Eric - Now THAT is where I disagree with you. at $20 per pack of cards, this kickstarter feels EXTREMELY margin rich, especially at this volume.
@Evan - And WHEN to implement them/announce, is as strategic as the what.
@Chettah Butt, not to be picky but the links are to the left. ;)
I must say the Kitten Corps website is coming along very nicely.
Mike you have done a great job :-)
Also even something as simple as 'add a few cards' isn't that simple in this volume. For one, the decks are 56 cards. That's one sheet. (7x8) The cost to print one more card per deck isn't that much (practically free) but then someone has to take these extra sheets and put one card from it in each and every package. It's not an automated process.
@DDD: Exactly. I thought I had indicated that myself but apparently spaced out on it, so well said.
@BaKhan - Unless he DOESN'T want ppl to explore the links? o_0
Projected costs of a $35 deck (Warning, only my guesstimate):
KS cut - 5% = $1.75
Credit card processing fees - 3-5% = $1.40
Pre-fulfilment survey and processing - 3-5% = $1.40
Actual card production on decent cards - $2/pack = $4
Instructions / box / packaging = $2
'Thing-of-incredible-delight' = $2 (may vary depending on where you buy your delights)
Freight to Partners = $.50
Postal packing and shipping first class = $4
Sales tax - 7% = $2.45 (avg amongst the states by pop. I'm guessing)
Fulfilment partner cut = $2 (best guess from Amazon's site)
==========
Revenue = $35 - $1.75 - $1.40 - $1.40 = $30.45
Costs = $4 + $2 + $2 + $.50 + $4 + $2.45 + $2 = $16.95
Profit per unit = $13.50 (39% of top line revenue)
The single decks are $15 cheaper, but only save about $5.25 in shipping and production costs. They're making less money per unit on the $20 / deck version compared to the $35 for two version.
Most of the excess revenue will still be pumped into production to produce games to sell after the KS. If they do keep any money, they have to pay income tax on it.
If the potattens had offered decent trinkets to their sycophants, they wouldn't have such a bad PR problem now.
Also from fb concerning motto:Technicaqlly, Cattus Crepitus Communitas is the name of this group in Latin as opposed to a motto which is a phrase encapsulating the ideals of the group. "Live free or die" for example is a motto.
@LZ - Yes, good point. I wanted to mention that as well.
Hi @Virrgo. All you need to do to get your Bio posted is to put it in a comment and let me know it's a bio. If you want to be more private, please PM me.
But alas, all they had was the [Fully Loaded] and [Cheesiness Maximus] backer levels... will they learn from this lesson, or will there be trinkets abound? Find out five episode from now when planet Namek explode five minutes from now!
News release posted this morning.
http://www.kfdi.com/blogs/kellieblog/290639251.html
I thought that said kelly blue book at first and had to double take, I was SOOO confused for a second......
Carten?
@Puppy Crusher, villain it is!
@Tchotchke. Lets not forget development costs, pre-production costs, and the shear magnitude of time these guys have/are investing in getting this thing off the ground. They're gonna earn whatever they take out of this.
@BaKhan, D'oh! I need some more Caffeittens!
So technically they make even more on international shipping.
Thank you @Kabala will do all when I get to the computer. GO KITTEN Power
@Cheetah Butt, ;)
Kitten Corps is what we are
Chances are we won't go far...
@Tsveta: Not really, they technically have to spend more to get it to you. Profits aren't made on shipping.
There is also post-production product that they have to make and deal with too. This is all just to get it up and running, once it takes off they still have to manage it too.
Well, admittedly their development costs are near $0 considering. Looks like they had a dozen or so decks made at various stages. Even at a few hundred dollars, who cares?
Now, this will completely suck up every minute of free time for 3ish months, and obviously there was a fair amount of prior knowledge that went into creation. They earned success and it's not like they're all pocking $5M each.
There really needs to be a Cathuhlu card.
Just sayin'.
@Jacob, +1, I would love to see that!
Oh, I'm okay with that. Just worth the mention.
Anyway, by your calculations international shipping is almost covered by the $35.
@PofTesla, link has been added to the presspage. Thanks.
I'm not saying there WON'T be profits, I'm just saying it's not going to be as much as some people seem to think. Patent/Copy Right law is built into the US constitution: Have good idea, profit from idea. Good on the I says indeedly doo.
@Cheetah Butt - tiny edit on Chameleon's description on Call sheet- "Had a Skittles-dyed Kitten named Skitten" Was just reading over everyone and that took me a second to figure out what it was saying.
Why would they give international free shipping in that case though? This isn't a 'hey, we're going to spend months of our time making this great idea and sending it out to everyone just from the goodness of our hearts' thing. Profit is not evil.
(http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlei#section8: Article I, Section 8, Clause 8)
#themoreyouknow
Keep in mind also that Elan said they were thinking that they would sell maybe a 1000 of these and then get on with their lives (ie. not taking this project too seriously)... 130,000 backers and growing with still over another 15 days to go... they may have buried themselves and may now need to hire help and all... They are definitely not pocketing 5M... not to mention the time it will take to to keep track of orders, label, ship, etc, etc, etc. I for one don't think we need another stretch goal... just seeing how high this anomaly will climb on its own merit is reward enough for me... Keep it simple seems to being doing alright by them already anyway...
Definitely, Shaun. I think they are over-whelmed, and they repeatedly mention in interviews that they never imagined it would have taken off like it has. Just logistically handling the number of orders they already have has to be a mammoth-sized task.
Well-said, Shaun!
@Creeper:
"Has an albino Kitten named Skitten that he has dyed with Skittles colors"
- better?