Putting it all together - What happens AFTER Kickstarter?

[OmahaRenegade]

This is a question for those who have successfully Kickstarted a miniatures project.

When the project is Kickstarted, how do you go about putting everything together? Minis, boxes, rulesbooks, etc.? Does it work best to solicit quotes from a vendor for each part and then compile everything yourself (like boxing up minis and putting in all the parts of a starter set) at your place of business/house before sending it out? Are there companies that people have had success with that do all of this for them?

I'm putting together the resources and soliciting requests for quotes from vendors for a space ship/station crawler tabletop miniature game. I have several pieces that must be created: minis (resin injection molding), bases, game tiles (publishing?), rulebook (publishing), dice, and boxes.

I wanted to see what other people have done so that I'm not recreating the wheel, or making it harder than it needs to be.

[GrauGeist]

IMO, you should take a good look at KS that failed / run late, and understand why things didn't go to plan.

At a minimum, you need to understand the true core of your game, and what it costs to produce. Then get FIRM, written quotes based on that minimum game in minimum volume. Also get FIRM, written quotes based on the other elements that you intend to offer. Then, you need to look at logistics costs (time, space, labor), and have that budgeted. Plus marketing.

If you do well, plan on a $50k - $100k funding level. If you can succeed with 500-1000 backers each pledging $100, you have a shot.

And set a solid schedule. From what I see, less than 6 months from close is hard for a newbie. Probably look at 9 month window, and focus hard on having all of your ducks lined up.

[euansmith]

A lot of the kickstater companies seem quite hobby-centric, so you might want to simply contact a few of them via kickstarter for some pointers.

A stumbling block can be foreign postage as this can sometimes double the cost to the customer of a boxed game.

You could try http://www.kickstarterforum.org/ also.

[GrauGeist]

A stumbling block can be foreign postage as this can sometimes double the cost to the customer of a boxed game.

IMO, the smart call is to not accept foreign orders at all. Sure, it costs you 5-20% of the potential backers, but you save a lot of headache and costs.

[OmahaRenegade]

Actually I was wondering more about the packaging process. Do people gather everything up and package in their front rooms/basements and send out themselves? Or do they have a vendor do that?

[GrauGeist]

Depends on the KS.

Go see where CMoN is with Zombicide 2. Some is pre-kit, some is pick-and-ship, and some is direct from the vendor.

[OmahaRenegade]

Will do, thanks GrauGeist :)