Number of copies for initial manufacturing run of a card game (prospective KS)

I've never done a kickstarter. But Mr. Stegmaier has done a lot of research and reporting for people in your situation (and quite a few KS campaigns). Here's the first entry that came up when I did an Internet search for "stegmaier first-time kickstarter low goal or low cost per unit."

https://stonemaiergames.com/kickstarter-lesson-201-a-step-by-step-guide-...

I think some of the material in the above entry will help you determine (strictly based on the numbers) what your decision should be. Do the math, then listen to someone else's gut. NOT the other way around. That's my suggestion.

hello. i haven't kickstarted myself (so feel free to ignore my advice) but from the research i have done it seems that most of your backers are already on board. if you have done all the Facebook, email lists, bgg entry and the other pre-campaigning you should have a fair idea how many people are ready to back you (is it closer to 1k or 5k)
the other advice i have gleaned is that success on kickstarter can be worse than failure. that is if you dont fund, nevermind, learn from what you did wrong and have another go in a few months. but those people that promised the earth and got funded, then took years to deliver (or never deliver) they wont get backed again (or not by the same people). i would aim low but be prepared for overwhelming success.
oh and remember to factor in postage. it might end up costing all your profits and then some.

You are insane if you're planning for 5000 copies.

Maybe you'll get lucky and viral and have a great KS. An astonishing KS. But you can't possibly plan on that, particularly for your FIRST KS.

The price point is NOT the important thing for you. If you sell at $15 with a run of 1000, or you set a huge funding goal and drop the price to $10 or $12? It's the same customers. Nobody on KS buying games is that price-sensitive.

The only way you could plan a card game with a goal over $20k (or maybe even $10k) is if you start with a HUGE mailing list of likely buyers.

Do you have a huge mailing list of likely buyers? Let's say at least 5000 people?

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ObAdvice: Plan for 1000 copies printed. Get a price for that, INCLUDING an estimate to have it shipped to whatever fulfillment house you're using (or your home or whatever). Then add about $1000. That's your cost. Add 10%. That's your KS goal.

Then set your price point equal to about 4x your cost (plus shipping).

And don't forget to post here as you go..

Take this game from Wee Robin Games:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/weerobingames/for-treasures/

It's got only 170 backers and their Funding Goal is $30,000 USD. They are AROUND $8,000 USD currently. If their goal was $10,000 USD ... Odds are they probably would make it!

I'm not just making up these figures. They are based on observations over the last few years about how projects tend to succeed/fail.

Some people think: "If I make MORE games then it will be less expensive to make." But on the opposite side: "This guy is a first time creator and he expects people to fund him for OVER $30,000 USD?!" It's ASKING too much.

You need to be realistic and understand the figures before you go about and make an unrealistic KS campaign (which may SEEM legit ... but one that will never succeed).

My goal here is to HELP you understand how to PLAN your project. It's very important because otherwise you'll commit yourself to too much inventory, take a loss and never be able to recover.

And why I say this??? Is because that's what happened to me BEFORE I knew about KS. I dumped $20,000 CAD into a game and made 100,000 cards (or 10,000 boosters). I could not get any traction for the game and wasted a small nest egg on the project. I've since learned SO MUCH. But even I know to expect no more than 1,000 backers on my NEXT project.

So it pays to ASK QUESTIONS. If you don't know, please POST about it. I want people to succeed without the hard price I paid with my first project. If I can help 1 or 2 people from making a HUGE mistake... My mission/goal is reached and at least someone else isn't paying a big price for something that will be a complete loss.

Cheers Adam!

Yes you should be thinking in terms of "minimums" to succeed. And you should also be thinking about "overstock" and that you may elect to sell it on a website (your own) or via Amazon. Hope for 300 backers at about $45 USD a copy and then you've made $13,500 USD. That might be a realistic goal for Funding and then you've either got to find a way to SELL the remainder.

It all depends on the price for your manufacturing (Cost). To get WIDE distribution means you need to accept that you make maybe $5 USD on each game sold through traditional distribution. But the volume means that your game may be on store shelves. Otherwise you can focus on LOCAL direct distribution (which means you can sell to stores in your area at a discount of 50% which means you make about $10 USD per copy).

Amazon does profit sharing at 50% ... So a bit better than standard distribution and I would say you will probably make about $10 USD per copy.

Your best bet is to sell it at retail price from your website and then maybe you can earn $20 USD per copy. And maybe charge for shipping with some kind of shipping subsidy (to attract people outside the USA).

A strategy with one or more of these could be good too. It just takes you to figure out all the logistics when dealing with each one of these.

Good Luck!

Someone said this recently and I've had to go to the FBA Amazon page to get a feel for pricing. I read this on some thread in a FB group... So looking at the Amazon FBA page and you are correct. Sorry for the confusion...

Maybe the cost of their game and FBA pricing made it that it was a 50% cut into the retailing of their game on the Amazon website (not sure...)!

Anyhow I stand corrected.

Is there anyone here that helps first timers with their Kick Starter for a fee?

Questccg, I will email Mike now. I don't know if I can get this thing off the ground this year, but I'm darn well going to try. I'll let him know you referred me, and let you know how it goes. Thanks

Hmm... James Mathe used to offer this service too. It was called KIG "Kickin It Games". But I don't think he offers such a service any longer. I know Mike is VERY busy... Did you discuss the window for the KS??? When are you planning to WANT to Kickstart your game???

I don't think of anyone ELSE that I know who does this... I know Mike told me a while back they don't want to RUN KS ... but simply consult and guide creators through the process with advice.

But like I said people have busy schedules and may not have the time to invest unless the timing is right or you offer something interesting. It would seem like your only other options are to "Go it alone" or "Find a Publisher" for your game.

Answer my question and let me know your "timeline" (What and When) and then let me see what is and/or is not possible. Maybe Mike thinks your game will not be a successful campaign (due to the Roll & Move nature of the game... IDK). Answer some of my questions and then I'll have a better understanding what you want to do ... and see if anyone is interested...

Cheers!

That is a terrible timeline, and you will not make it.

First, if you're in the US, I'm pretty sure that taxes are simpler if you're both getting income and paying manufacturing/shipping costs in the same calendar year. Your timeline says that, but make sure that's what's going to happen, otherwise you'll end up paying a lot of taxes on your KS money before you make anything.

Second, if you run a Kickstarter that ends in, say, September, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to assume that you think your game design and all your assets are ready on the end date, and you have a firm manufacturing quote from somewhere in China. If you have a true in-the-US manufacturer, I'd be interested to know who :)

September 10: KS successful.
September 24: KS sends you the money.
September 25: You send a deposit to the manufacturer, plus all your assets.
September 28: Deposit received.
October 31: Game manufacturing complete.
November 14: Toxicity testing complete (you didn't forget about this I hope.. it's a game for kids, so it needs testing)
November 15: Manufacturer invoices you for the rest
November 18: They receive your money
November 28: Your goods get loaded on a ship (this is generous.. it could be 2 weeks later than this)
January 2-15: Your goods arrive in the US (depending on west coast or east coast port)
January 9-30: Your goods clear customs
January 15-February 8: Your goods are in the fulfillment house and ready to go.
January 22-February 15: Your customers actually get stuff.

This also assumes that you have AHEAD OF TIME gotten all of your assets, which are completely done, in the exact correct format your manufacturer needs.

(oh, if you're wondering who else is trying to get goods from China to the US in October and November, the answer is "everyone")

This is literally the best case scenario, with all of your assets in CMYK PDF with correct bleeds, etc., ahead of time, and no other glitches or delays, and there are no revisions needed for any reason. This includes the box. There are no printing errors, no problems with wire transfers (I had one!), etc.

For comparison, I had a 600-person email list, plus some paid ads on day 1, and you can see my first few days here:

http://www.kicktraq.com/projects/727578181/heroes-and-treasure-rpg-board...

I hit 100 backers on day 4. Not that many. Nobody gets a very large amount of traffic without a large existing fan base, news stories, or other external buzz..

(Also, I highly recommend posting your KS page link here ahead of time for feedback)