Bags on a Boat
over 6 years ago – Fri, Nov 03, 2017 at 12:37:30 AM

Good news! Your bags have left China and are currently enjoying an ocean voyage anywhere from 17 to 39 days in length. They are packed tightly into cartons on one of three massive ocean freighters: one bound for Boston (est. arrival Dec. 3rd) that contains the bags headed to the US and Canada; another on its way to Hamburg (est. arrival Nov. 24th) with bags for the EU, and the third headed to Melbourne (est. arrival Nov. 7th) for delivery to Australia and New Zealand.  

Over the past few weeks we’ve had an eventful and sometimes stressful crash course in international shipping. Overall, however, we’re pleased with our progress. That said, please keep in mind that there are still many hurdles ahead. The bags will arrive at their destination ports during one of the busiest times of the year. They could be held at customs for any of a dozen different reasons or for no reason at all. They could get lost or the ship could sink or be delayed by a storm or they could spontaneously combust. All kidding aside, there may be unforeseen delays. For that reason, our official delivery estimate remains February 2018, though delays of that magnitude appear highly unlikely. 

Belinda and I began this project almost one year ago today. We were walking out to the car on our way to a friend’s house for game night, and we were both carrying a comical amount of games in our arms. Some of those games were big and heavy, and a sturdy bag immediately made sense to us. We wanted a product that could hold everything—especially the larger games that seemed to be overlooked in the board game bag market. 

We can’t wait until you get your bags! They will be nice and wrinkled from that long ocean journey, but they iron out well. We hope you get a ton of use out of them. We’ve got bags that have been heavily stress-tested for over 8 months and they are doing great. As we see more and more oversized games hit the market (looking at you, Twilight Imperium 4th Edition!) we’re glad we designed our bag the way we did. We think you’ll like it, too. 

More to come soon once the ships arrive at port. All our best, 

 Adam & Belinda

Manufacturing and Shipping
over 6 years ago – Wed, Oct 11, 2017 at 11:52:55 PM

Hello backers! Ready for some good news? Read on!

The factory visit was great. The Kickstarter (black and green) and Oxblood (red and black) bags are finished. The other two colors--Original (navy and grey) and Logo (grey and blue)--will be finished this week. By Tuesday of next week they will have made the short trip to the port in Xiamen, China and will be ready for loading onto one of three ocean freighters. 

Our estimated delivery date throughout the campaign has been February 2018. That is still the official estimate. That said, however, we believe you're going to have your bags in late December. We're exactly where we hoped we would be in our project timeline, but please know there is still so much that could go wrong: the shipment could be held up at the border waiting for customs clearance, a storm could impact shipping routes, etc. No promises, but we'll continue to cross our fingers for a holiday delivery!

Fulfillment is being handled by our good friends at Ship Naked. The bags will be delivered to three separate depots: Londonderry, NH for US and Canada orders; Merseberg, Germany for EU orders; and Dandenong, AU for Australia/NZ. More detailed shipping estimates will be provided when the ships leave port in China. 

Some of you have asked about address changes. Don't worry about that for now. We'll let you know when the deadline is approaching to take care of it.

We can't wait for you to get your Board Game Garage! We abuse the heck out of them and they just work. We have a fun giveaway coming up around the holidays just for our backers. Stay tuned! Until next time, 

- Adam & Belinda

Production Check
over 6 years ago – Thu, Sep 14, 2017 at 06:07:26 PM

Hello! Just a quick note on our progress: today we're headed to the factory to check on production. We'll spend a few days there, inspecting materials, testing samples, and finalizing shipping details. Everything is on track. Within the next few weeks we will have a pretty good estimate on delivery dates around the world. 

We hope you're all getting in solid game time with friends and family! Thanks for your support. 

- Adam & Belinda

Order Placed with the Factory!
over 6 years ago – Fri, Aug 18, 2017 at 11:12:44 PM

Thank you so much for completing your surveys through BackerKit! There are just a handful of incomplete surveys remaining, but we had enough to go ahead and place the order. The initial payment was sent yesterday and we confirmed the final details with the manufacturer. 

What's next?  It will take 25-30 days for materials to arrive at the factory. Production begins as soon as the materials have arrived. Fortunately the actual production is fairly quick, taking place in about 2-3 weeks. Then the bags get loaded onto a big boat and begin their journey to fulfillment centers all over the world. The last step is delivery from the fulfillment center to your address. 

Are we on schedule?  We are AHEAD of schedule and it feels GOOD! 

 If you're at Gen Con, we're super jealous and we hope you're having a great time. We've already cleared our calendar to make sure we can attend next year's show. If, like us, you couldn't make it this year, we hope you're at least getting in some good game time with friends and family. 

All our best,

- Adam & Belinda

BackerKit Surveys are on the Way!
over 6 years ago – Tue, Aug 08, 2017 at 06:08:18 PM

LET'S TAKE A SURVEY!

The first batch of surveys from BackerKit is going out today. A few of you (approximately 5% of backers selected at random) should see that survey in your inbox very soon. You are essentially our "test group." Assuming easy completion of the survey by the test group (no major hiccups in the software), the remainder of the surveys will be sent out shortly thereafter. 

Once you receive your survey, PLEASE fill it out quickly. We cannot place our order with the manufacturer until we know how many we need of each color. We are a little ahead of schedule and we'd love to keep things moving along as fast as possible. Once 90% of you have completed your surveys (or by Tuesday, August 15th, whichever occurs first) we will submit our order with the factory. If you fail to complete your survey in a timely manner, we cannot guarantee that you will get your preferred color(s)!

Questions about your survey? Please feel free to leave a comment or shoot us an email at [email protected]. 

Note: Some of you have inquired about buying four or more bags. You can only buy up to three bags through the BackerKit survey. Once we hit a fourth bag, our shipping costs increase dramatically (it becomes a big, heavy box). So beginning with the fourth bag we have to charge new shipping costs. The best way to do this is to create a new order through our Pre-orders Store, which you can find below. Shipping is provided at the same rates offered during the campaign. 

https://boardgamegarage.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

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YOUR PRIVACY MATTERS!

We've seen a few posts recently on various social media platforms about Kickstarter campaign creators selling or trading the emails and contact information of their backers for marketing purposes. Like many others, we have been contacted a few times to participate in this practice. We value your privacy. We WILL NOT sell or trade or otherwise share your information with other parties. /rant