How do you calculate your costs for multiple Kickstarter Levels?

You would ORDER 1100 "core" Components (Shared by BOTH Reward Tiers) and you would make 1050 "Entry" Level Extras and 50 "Upgraded" Level Extras.

As per MY example...

So your order would be:

1100 x "50 Hexes", "10 Tokens", "1 Rulebook".

1050 x "12 Stands", "12 Cards"

50 x "12 Miniatures"

The problem in this scenario is the Molds cost about $300 USD per Miniature. So it may be wise to ensure that people buy into that level given sufficient motivation...

So maybe the Stands are $59 USD and the Minis are $69 USD. And you know that the cost of Miniatures might be a LOSS... Let's assume 100 orders. so $1000 USD in funding... But it's going to cost like 6 unique molds for $300 USD gives you a net LOSS of $800 USD... Which you can absorb given the volume of total sales and profit.

This is the PERFECT example, because often Creators WONDER(?) if they should offer miniatures instead of standies. In some cases it's NOT worth it. But if you are talking about OTHER "Premium" content, please share your thoughts on this and I'll see if this impacts the calculations.

Sincerely.

Note #1: The other point that I wanted to make is that I only stated that there are 6 unique MOLDS. Meaning there is some duplication of miniatures. They're going to cost like $0.10 each... So the MOLD costs is the prohibitive cost not the making of them...

You can also make MINIS a "Stretch Goal"... They UNLOCK after a certain amount of funding and this way you KNOW you can pay for the extra COSTS because you've collected sufficient funding to AFFORD the MOLDS...

Note #2: When I say "UNLOCK" means that a NEW Reward tier with a HIGHER COST is added to the KS. Not that they are FREE or an upgrade to EVERYONE. You could make this "stretch goal" visible like maybe #3 ... And show the next 2 AFTER "FUNDING".

So Goal #1: FUNDING, Goal #2: 5 Extra Hexes and Goal #3: Unlock Miniatures Reward Level, etc.

Note #3: So your FUNDING GOALS could be like:

Goal #1: FUNDING = $45,000 USD

Goal #2: 5 Extra Hexes = $50,000 USD

Goal #3: Miniatures UNLOCK = $58,000 USD

etc.

So $8000 extra (-10%) = $7200 extra = 6x $300 = $5400 left over. So you have $5400 to pay for the minis (which might cost around $0.10 USD each)... Minus $15 USD Landed Costs = 135 Backers. So COST = 135x $15 = $2000 USD Cost.

You are left with ~$3400 USD in terms of profit (less cost to produce the minis...) Which is like 135 Backers x $0.10 x 12 = $200 USD. So let's say you are left with ~$3000 USD in your pocket.

In our campaign we started with 2 Reward Pledges. And then once we received a minimum of Backers, we unlocked the Miniatures. I can't remember if it was a Stretch Goal or something that Mike figured out after seeing a quantity of Backers and offered "Premium Content".

So in our case, we have a "Entry-Level" Pledge with KS ALL Extras. Next we had an "Expanded-Level" Pledge which included the cards, game pads, rulebooks, mats and PREMIUM DICE and specific Expansion-based content and then lastly we added the Miniatures given that we had a COMMON Base Mold and 5 Unique Molds.

And I saw the Quotation Spreadsheets where there was like 1100 "core" + 200 "Entry-Level", 300 "Expanded" and 600 "with Miniatures"...

Something like that. Just as a FYI. We did exactly what you are talking about.

And ALSO... PRICE your LANDED COST and SHIPPING FEES. I doubt you will be able to OFFER FREE VAT (in Europe). So be aware of this ... You need to make sure your figures are ALL CORRECT and that your QUOTES stand. We shipped in the middle of COVID and it meant 2x the COST of Container Shipping. We lost a lot of profit from this. NEXT the COST of Manufacturing went up because it was 5-Years Later (Yeah we had a lot of struggles and it took more time than we had planned for... And Mike died too... So RIP and it impacted our timeline). NEXT the COST of VAT from the UK was offset by a VAT Fee we collected from MOST of the European Backers (but not all... About ~50 Backers did not pay and got no game) ... We were already SHORT because the EXTRA art brought the Budget to $10,000 CAD ART... So $4,500 USD + $3,000 USD (I had initially paid).

I think a lot of people who do KS the first time... Get into trouble. We ended up in the RED by ~$2500 USD in the END. So PLAN properly and establish a good TIMELINE. The more you can do UPFRONT the better. Obviously if Manufacturing takes 6-Months ... There is nothing you can do and maybe 2-Months for Shipping ... So 8-Months... I would give more time and say 12-Months to deliver... etc, etc.

Generally a placeholder when using a Pledge Manager after the Campaign is over like "BackerKit", "Pledge Manager", "Gamefound", "Crowdox", etc. This will allow the $1 Level pledges choose their Funding in the Pledge Manager AFTER the KS is done.

It can ALSO act as a placeholder for STORES that maybe want to purchase 10x a game (several boxes for their store). Some stores like to do this and the $1 Level acts as a way to contact them to confirm if they want to purchase a larger quantity than ONE (1) Game box.

Most KS I've seen have like 2 or 3 Levels unless they have compound products. Like for say a KS for DICE. You can have 1-set, 2-sets, 5-sets, etc. and only one (1) shipping cost because 5 or 1-set is the same (almost) weight and cost nothing extra (for example).

But I will state the OBVIOUS: the simpler the better.

What you need to DO is figure out the pricing according to the LEVELS: Entry, Upgraded and Premium (for example) and know how much it is going to cost for a "core" and your improved parts. You've got to contact manufacturers and state a minimum of 1,000 units + the variation content.

That is very important. Also you should figure out your Landed Cost (how much to SHIP your games to the USA) and the shipping to the Backers (depending on where you want to sell the game) and price that ABOVE and BEYOND the basic price. What I mean is it's $65 USD + $16 USD shipping and you can maybe get away with a better price using "Pirate Ship" in the USA. But figure out where you want to send games: USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. As sample destinations and try to get a common shipping price (for those destinations). Europe should pay their OWN VAT taxes... Don't get mixed up with that otherwise you are going to get into trouble (like we did). And don't ship for Europe from the UK... The British Pound makes everything more expensive and you will get stuck having to pre-pay the VAT taxes (bad for you)!

You should be PREPARED and know your costs AHEAD of the KS. It could take 1-Month to get quotes and figure out what the pricing and shipping should look like. Keep it as SIMPLE as possible but do what YOU want to do for your KS and your Backers. They will thank you for all your preparation ahead of the KS.

And remember if your KS funds, you probably have a 1-Year Window and contact the manufacturers AS SOON AS POSSIBLE "after the KS" given that you are READY to make and ship (down-the-line) so-to-speak.

Figure out your LANDED COST too: this is the price of the manufacturing plus the COST to ship to the USA (for example). You could use Fulfilrite in the USA and Happy Shops in Europe or you can ship everything from the USA. But you've got to figure that out BEFORE to know what to charge for the game and its shipping...

That also is very important. Don't do it as an estimate... Because you may get caught with higher pricing that eats into your profit and leaves you very little in terms of profit after all is said and done.

Having 1 to 3 levels for a KS is perfectly acceptable. Know what YOU want to do and what you want to OFFER to your Backers.

Cheers.

Note #1: One CLARIFICATION I want to make is this:

#1> You can ship to your home and fulfill yourself via "Pirate Ship".

#2> You can ship to Fulfilrite in the USA and pay them to fulfill Globally.

#3> You can also ship to Happy Shops in Germany and pay them to ship to Europe and other destinations. ASK if you MUST pay VAT taxes upfront. If you do... Don't do it... Do it all from the USA either YOU or Fulfulrite in New Jersey.

At the time of the writing of this note, UK charges VAT taxes upfront and the KS owner must PAY the VAT taxes BEFORE shipping otherwise they will refuse to ship the game (in the UK). Not sure if this is a European Union issue (meaning that NOW you MUST pay the VAT taxes in advance) and if it is... Avoid it like the plague and SHIP from the USA.

In this scenario Backers may have to pay EXTRA VAT taxes when they get their games at their door or when they pickup games from a storage location (like a store or shop nearby).

Don't play the VAT tax game ... You'll lose a lot of money and it will seriously affect the outcome of your project (and profit)... It'll eat it all up if you don't allow for the Backers to pay their OWN VAT taxes.

OR keep it even more simple: don't ship to Europe. Just USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. That also will ensure that you don't need to worry about the VAT taxes because these countries have none.