Shipping Estimated to be Imminent
about 5 years ago
– Fri, May 10, 2019 at 01:14:03 PM
It’s been about a month since the last update, a month of micro-setbacks. Our resin supplier postponed an order, then short changed it, and finally delivered three vats of liquid resin. None of these micro-setbacks felt significant enough to post an update about, but they did mean we were slightly less productive than projected. Fortunately, we now have enough resin to fulfill all of our Kickstarter orders, so even if our next order is delayed, it will delay store orders, not our backers.
All this to say, I’ve been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to post today’s update:
Our first wave should be packed and ready to ship next week!
I say "should" and "estimated" because I'm a hedge my bets kind of guy. As long as nothing keeps Greg out of the warehouse next week, we are on track to start shipping on or around the 16th.
Start watching your inbox (and spam filter) for shipping notifications, and check back here next week for more information on what made it into the first wave.
Preliminary Shipping Export
about 5 years ago
– Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 06:07:08 PM
Quick update, backers. Based on a meeting today, we should be good to start shipping in two weeks. That means if any of you need to update your shipping addresses in BackerKit, now is the time!
If you haven't completed your survey or you are having issues with a credit card, your window to fix those issues without delaying the shipment of your order is closing. If you are at all uncertain if you've filled out your survey, do not hesitate to send us a message. Don't be so concerned that you'll be a bother that you become a bother! We're happy to spend the minute it takes to verify if you've completed your survey to give all parties peace of mind.
-Costello
Working Weekends
about 5 years ago
– Thu, Mar 21, 2019 at 12:55:38 PM
As we discussed in the last update, we're going to miss our March delivery estimate, but we're doing what we can to minimize how much we miss it by. Greg will be putting in weekends in the warehouse getting products made and sorted for fulfillment.
While I have your attention, you know how I mention the people who haven't filled out their BackerKit survey in most of these updates? You're probably tired of reading it. Well trust me, I'm ten times more tired saying it and trying to find me ways of getting in touch with the backers who haven't filled out their surveys yet. Well this week I had a breakthrough! A backer I've contacted dozens of times over the past several months suddenly got all the e-mails that have been going to their junk folder. They filled their survey out shortly thereafter. There's still hope!
If you are getting this update and aren't sure if you've filled out your BackerKit survey, please reply in the comments below and we'll try to work around whatever the issue has been. Otherwise, once production is done we are going to start fulfilling our pre-orders. Don't let your priority get bumped! Fill out your survey today!
Now you know,
Costello
Production Rolls On Despite Snags
about 5 years ago
– Tue, Feb 26, 2019 at 05:29:47 PM
Hello Bannerless Backers,
So, snags. Before anyone panics, I am not minimizing a major problem by calling them snags. There were a few minor issues that affected the timeline, and we felt it was important to keep you informed on how this impacts you and, if you're interested, what happened.
HOW THIS IMPACTS YOU
Our estimated delivery date was March 2019, which is right around the corner. At this point, we are adjusting that to shipping out in March 2109. Backers can expect to receive most of their orders in April 2019.
By "most of their orders," there is one item that's been challenging: The Church Mega Facade.Greg is still fully able to deliver the ~75 Church Mega Facades that were ordered, it's just affecting the time table. As a result, we've decided to focus on the production of the smaller items ("smaller" as in everything but the Church Mega Facade) and ship those out in March. Then we return to production on the Church Mega Facades, which we will ship out as they are done. We will be absorbing any additional shipping costs this creates.
We are offering something more than just an apology to hopefully make this up to you. Everyone who ordered a Church Mega Facade will receive a coupon with the first part of their shipment. This coupon will offer a discount on items in the bannerlessbuilds.com store as well as free shipping. The order will be sent out with the Church Mega Facade when it is ready to ship. This does mean that not everyone will have the same window to redeem the coupon, so we may send out a survey between now and the shipment of the first round of fulfillment. This survey will basically determine if you'd rather get your Church Mega Facade sooner or later, effectively adjusting the lifetime of your coupon based on how interested you are in redeeming it.
WHAT HAPPENED
Put simply, we were sent the wrong resin. Greg ordered his usual type of resin, the supplier accidentally sent him a different type. The differences were subtle, so Greg used it for a day or two and got weird results. Those days were wasted, as were the days lost to waiting for the correct resin to arrive.
We attempted to increase production time to make up for the lost days, but we found the rate we were trying to produce at was burning through the lifespan of our moulds, the most expensive element of the process. We reevaluated if the extra item or two we were producing per mould per day was worth the dozens of lost uses of each mould and decided we were better off burning our schedule's buffer than burning through expensive materials.
Then we had the issues with the Church Mega Facade. It is 2 lbs of solid resin, and the production process didn't scale up to that size as we anticipated. Producing one Church Mega Facade takes considerably longer to produce than 2 lbs of smaller items. We need a little extra time to accommodate their production, but we're out of buffer. Hence, this update.
ON THE PLUS SIDE
Greg has completed production of the largest component to be fulfilled: the facades. He's also made new moulds for the props that will facilitate production for the Kickstarter fulfillment. So as long as our supplier keeps us in the right type of resin, and nothing terrible happens to Greg (knock on wood), we aren't expecting any more delays. And even if something terrible happens to Greg (knock on wood), one of us could take over production and logistics.
This isn't the first time I've had to write that despite being Greg's baby, Bannerless Builds can fulfill even without him and it feels weird every time...
-Costello
