Mercenaries Kickstarter Discussion 6: the 1st 3rd Star League conversation

[DarkSpade]

I think I need to contact them as well considering all I ordered was the regiment pledge, the cookbook, a few extra force packs and salvage packs and a bunch of dice, patches and a few challenge coins, and I’m paying half again or more in shipping to TN that others are paying to Ireland or Spain (including their VAT charges in that shipping total).

Ruger

Worth it.  They just messaged me that my final charge will be reduced by $75.  Still higher than I originally expected, but far more resonable.

[Teejay75]

[I think] They will send you a code to use that you input on check out and that will activate the credit.  If you do not use it all then the rest remains on your account.

I do not think we can put it in on just our account settings.  Although you could find a $0 item (.pdf), put in the code, get a cool .pdf and then get the funds put into the system.

It didn't have a code attached to it. I'm in no hurry so I'll probably just wait until after the kickstarter has shipped to everyone. I figure they'll have their hands full from right now til everyone on the globe has their packages in hand. And probably after that!

[Ruger]

Definitely do it.  Your pledge sounds exactly like mine, I’m on the US west coast, and my shipping went from 24% of my order down to 11% of my order.  Really helped make me feel like I wasn’t getting abused on the shipping.

I did, and they did apply a very reasonable sum to offset the charges.

Thank you Catalyst!

Ruger

[The Eagle]

Look, I don't want to sound ungrateful -- I'm not, trust me -- but they're reducing the shipping of everyone who is commenting about it.  And not just by a few bucks.  We're talking 50%+ of total shipping charges in most of the examples given.  I don't care if the original high prices were CGL's doing or QML's, but if CGL is able to eat this much of the Kickstarter's shipping costs -- and especially given the uproar about it right from the start -- why didn't they just slash everyone's S&H by half to begin with?

And I'm not trying to be rhetorical, I'm honestly curious.  If the answer is simply "we didn't want to dip into the excess revenue (you know, profit) so we could spool up the next round of products faster" that's a legitimate reply.  So is "more money for ownership & employees" though that kind of response isn't likely to go over very well given the, shall we say, negative opinions that have infected elements of the community.

[MarauderCH IIC]

I was told that my shipping costs were less than 10% of my order cost and they felt that was acceptable so I had no changes to my shipping. My shipping was about as high as I was willing to pay. It was certainly more than I expected to pay.

[Lorcan Nagle]

Look, I don't want to sound ungrateful -- I'm not, trust me -- but they're reducing the shipping of everyone who is commenting about it.  And not just by a few bucks.  We're talking 50%+ of total shipping charges in most of the examples given.  I don't care if the original high prices were CGL's doing or QML's, but if CGL is able to eat this much of the Kickstarter's shipping costs -- and especially given the uproar about it right from the start -- why didn't they just slash everyone's S&H by half to begin with?

And I'm not trying to be rhetorical, I'm honestly curious.  If the answer is simply "we didn't want to dip into the excess revenue (you know, profit) so we could spool up the next round of products faster" that's a legitimate reply.  So is "more money for ownership & employees" though that kind of response isn't likely to go over very well given the, shall we say, negative opinions that have infected elements of the community.

Based on Rem's comments on-stream, it seems that the decision was made somewhere in management to allocate a budget to discounting the shipping fees for people who were hit very badly.  And if that budget was allocated across everyone's shipping fees it means people for whom it was reasonable get a discount, but the people for whom it isn't reasonable get less of one than if they go through the current process. 

And yeah, you could probably have made a spreadsheet where you input people's shipping and total pledge level, figure out a percentage over which you'll discount and then apply said discount to only those people, but how much time is someone spending on doing that as opposed to some other important task?

[klarg1]

Just did. I feel a little bad piling on, but my shipping bill is north of $150 which seems a little high in view of the anecdotal numbers posted here.

...aaand Catalyst has already responded with a modest credit to offset the cost.

[klarg1]

Look, I don't want to sound ungrateful -- I'm not, trust me -- but they're reducing the shipping of everyone who is commenting about it.  And not just by a few bucks.  We're talking 50%+ of total shipping charges in most of the examples given.  I don't care if the original high prices were CGL's doing or QML's, but if CGL is able to eat this much of the Kickstarter's shipping costs -- and especially given the uproar about it right from the start -- why didn't they just slash everyone's S&H by half to begin with?

And I'm not trying to be rhetorical, I'm honestly curious.  If the answer is simply "we didn't want to dip into the excess revenue (you know, profit) so we could spool up the next round of products faster" that's a legitimate reply.  So is "more money for ownership & employees" though that kind of response isn't likely to go over very well given the, shall we say, negative opinions that have infected elements of the community.

After asking, my shipping went down by approximately 15% and I am delighted with the fast and positive response.

[Charistoph]

And I'm not trying to be rhetorical, I'm honestly curious.  If the answer is simply "we didn't want to dip into the excess revenue (you know, profit) so we could spool up the next round of products faster" that's a legitimate reply.  So is "more money for ownership & employees" though that kind of response isn't likely to go over very well given the, shall we say, negative opinions that have infected elements of the community.

Considering that's exactly what a lot of profit goes into, like the development, production, and transport of Faction Packs and Era Packs they've announced for the next few years, and they are sacrificing some of this to gain good will, I don't think your statement is coming across as anything but rhetorical and quite negative.

[The Eagle]

. . . which is exactly why I qualified it.

[DarkSpade]

Look, I don't want to sound ungrateful -- I'm not, trust me -- but they're reducing the shipping of everyone who is commenting about it.  And not just by a few bucks.  We're talking 50%+ of total shipping charges in most of the examples given.  I don't care if the original high prices were CGL's doing or QML's, but if CGL is able to eat this much of the Kickstarter's shipping costs -- and especially given the uproar about it right from the start -- why didn't they just slash everyone's S&H by half to begin with?

And I'm not trying to be rhetorical, I'm honestly curious.  If the answer is simply "we didn't want to dip into the excess revenue (you know, profit) so we could spool up the next round of products faster" that's a legitimate reply.  So is "more money for ownership & employees" though that kind of response isn't likely to go over very well given the, shall we say, negative opinions that have infected elements of the community.

Keep in mind, that this is a very very small sampling of the total kickstarter, and the people active on the forums are bigger fans, and therefor more likely to have shelled out a large sum.  When shipping is a little higher than expected, it's a bigger impact on a $1000 order than it is on a $100 order.   

If Catalyst is going to take a hit by trying to help people out, it makes more sense from a business stand point to help those who are complaining, rather than try to help everyone.  Especially when it's possible a lot of people didn't even have any issues.  We really don't know since most people don't rush to internet forums to scream, "Everything was fine!"   

Remember too that over 23,000 people backed this. If they tried to help everyone by slashing costs, it's likely those who are speaking up now would see a much smaller percentage cut from their shipping.   

[shivanwurm]

After the reupload my shipping was well within what budget I set aside and very close to what was expected from some rough math during campaign. Came out to be about 13% of my purchase which seems to be the acceptable target range, so I decided not to contact Catalyst. I would almost certainly have taken any rebate as store credit for future purchases, but I thought others might need the limited resources from the fund for actual shipping difficulties.

[CitizenErased]

I heard back and got a more than generous reduction in my shipping costs! I was starting to get a little anxious but they got back to me late last night (which I also specifically appreciate, so thank you whichever Catalyst employee was answering emails at 11 Pacific time last night).

[bobthecoward]

After the reupload my shipping was well within what budget I set aside and very close to what was expected from some rough math during campaign. Came out to be about 13% of my purchase which seems to be the acceptable target range, so I decided not to contact Catalyst. I would almost certainly have taken any rebate as store credit for future purchases, but I thought others might need the limited resources from the fund for actual shipping difficulties.

My shipping was fine as well. About the same.

[Euphonium]

CGL have replied to my questions about the VAT charge for UK, and rather than recalculate the VAT (I'm guessing they can't easily segregate VAT-able and non-VAT-able in a single shipment), they have given me a credit for $25 to offset the VAT charge on the books I had ordered.

I'm still not happy with my govt for changing the VAT rules on crowdfunding but I'm happy that CGL have done everything they reasonably can.

[thedancingjoker]

In the CGL discord there were definitely a bunch of folks who were unhappy that their shipping wasn't deemed to qualify for dipping into that fund, so it is being allocated on a case-by-case basis rather than a flat discount.

[MarauderD]

In the CGL discord there were definitely a bunch of folks who were unhappy that their shipping wasn't deemed to qualify for dipping into that fund, so it is being allocated on a case-by-case basis rather than a flat discount.

Interesting.  I wonder what the threshold is for CGL being willing to help.

[MarauderCH IIC]

Interesting.  I wonder what the threshold is for CGL being willing to help.

My shipping costs were less than 10% of my kickstarter pledge so i didn't qualify for help.

[Xan]

Just to add another data point, I had a Veteran pledge ($80, Box set and three salvage boxes) + the clan invasion dog tag add on ($7.50), to the central US (Nebraska) shipping was $21.44 (not including sales tax or shipping tax).  So not a deal breaker by any means, but a little higher than I would have guessed.

[klarg1]

My shipping costs were less than 10% of my kickstarter pledge so i didn't qualify for help.

That would fit. I dropped down to ~10% of my pledge. (Give or take)

[Deathknight69]

I'm at 20 - 22% for shipping on both of my ks pledges' - each of a company level ($150.00) with 1 add-on to one of them. Should I say something to CGL ? And I'm stateside.

[Garak]

Today is the last day before the final payment is charged?

[Deathknight69]

When are they supposed to start charging for the shipping ? Tomorrow May 13th, 2024 ??

[Aresneo]

I'm at 20 - 22% for shipping on both of my ks pledges' - each of a company level ($150.00) with 1 add-on to one of them. Should I say something to CGL ? And I'm stateside.

The deadline to request shipping assistance was Yesterday.

Today is the last day before the final payment is charged?

When are they supposed to start charging for the shipping ? Tomorrow May 13th, 2024 ??

For the people who haven't already paid shipping credit cards will start to be charged at around 11:00 AM EDT tomorrow. They have not announced what happens if your card is declined or you don't have a card on file, there will probably be a grace period of at least a few days for you to sort out payment and after that it will likely delay your fulfillment.

[wundergoat]

I'm at 20 - 22% for shipping on both of my ks pledges' - each of a company level ($150.00) with 1 add-on to one of them. Should I say something to CGL ? And I'm stateside.

It's worth asking since charges haven't processed, but I'd do so immediately.

[Deathknight69]

Well hopefully they're gonna give a few days time because I get paid Friday so...

[ColBosch]

It usually takes a full week. If you can't cover the final shipping charges, message CGL through Kickstarter.

[BoyOfSummer]

...why didn't they just slash everyone's S&H by half to begin with?...

Because it would be unfair to those who actually have disproportionately high shipping costs compared to those who have acceptable or even relatively low shipping costs.
QMLs initially had high but in my opinion still reasonable shipping costs for me. After QML's recalculation, my shipping costs are now ridiculously low, at least in my opinion.
Why should this small amount be halved now? I already feel like half a thief.

[thedancingjoker]

My offered discount was $75, which would have brought my shipping down to almost exatly 10% of my order total, if I hadn't taken to option of $150 in store credit.  Since I regulalrly spend significantly more than that on the Catalyst store in any given year I went with the credit.  But yeah, it looks like they think roughly 10% of the total cost is an appropriate level for shipping, (I personally agree), and are only offering help for orders that are significantly off that mark.

[NeonKnight]

Charges should now be going through on your CREDIT CARDS for Shipping:

Hi Daniel Thomson,
Thanks again for supporting BattleTech: Mercenaries!

We successfully charged $114.50 to the credit card you provided for the balance owed on your survey in BackerKit. This charge will appear on your statement as CATALYST GAME LABS.

If you want to review your information, follow this link.

If you think this charge is an error, please reply to this email and you'll get sorted right away.

Please check the project updates for the latest information, including estimated shipping dates.

Thanks again for your support,
Catalyst Games