Saphira, Queen of the Skies, as imagined by Christopher Paolini himself!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Extra Shipping Charge for Backers - We Come Bearing Refunds!
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Dec 17, 2024 at 11:04:48 AM
Hi all! Bryce here, coming with an apology, an explanation, a solution, and refunds!
If you already know what's going on and you just want to get to claiming your refund, you can skip to HOW TO CLAIM YOUR REFUND below!
THE PROBLEM:
When we launched full surveys yesterday, a problem occurred in some carts on final checkout: About 10% of you were charged extra shipping when you should not have been.
While this is normal IF you purchased additional add-ons during checkout, this is NOT normal if you didn't make any additional purchases before finalizing your rewards.
AN EXPLANATION:
TLDR: Bundled items that were supposed to get discounted shipping had their shipping instead calculated per the shipping of each individual item as though you had bought them individually instead of bundled.
Slightly longer version: Wraithmarked made a mistake while compiling our item lists in BackerKit. Three of our Add-Ons included more than one item (for example, the "All The Pins" bundle included 1) the Pin Pack and 2) the Oversized Saphira pin). When putting together the BackerKit, instead of creating a separate SKU (identification number) with unique discounted shipping for each of those three Add-Ons, we simply added the individual items together into those bundles.
This resulted in shipping being calculated as the total of the shipping for each individual item, rather than the discounted shipping for buying the bundle being applied.
Again, for example, the difference in the discounted shipping for the "All The Pins" bundle vs the individual shipping for the Pin Pack plus the Oversized Saphira pin was $2, which is why so many of you found yourselves with a surprise $2 charge.
THE SOLUTION:
The first part of the solution has already been applied. We corrected the issue yesterday, so any new surveys will not have this problem.
The second part of the solution is REFUNDS, which is the major reason why I am here. No one (who did not purchase additional Add-Ons on BackerKit) should have been charged an extra shipping fee! If you were charged an extra shipping fee (and did not purchase additional Add-Ons on BackerKit), we are here to get that back to you!
HOW TO CLAIM YOUR REFUND:
Send an email to [email protected]with the Subject "SAPHIRA SHIPPING REFUND REQUEST".
Please do the following:
Copy the following template
Fill out your name (as per your shipping information), your Kickstarter account email, and the amount you were charged.
Attach any screenshots you have of the overcharge. We understand not everyone will have screenshots, it just saves us from having to go and manually check that the overcharge amount is correct.
Again, please make sure the email Subject is "SAPHIRA SHIPPING REFUND REQUEST". Failure to use this subject may result in significant delay getting you your refund, as we will be using this subject line to sort and prioritize requests.
TEMPLATE:
Hi Wraithmarked Creative! I'm requesting a refund for excess shipping costs on my recent survey for the COLLECTIBLE SAPHIRA STATUE:
My name: XXXXX XXXXX
My Kickstarter account email: YYYYY @ YYYYY . YYY
The amount overcharged: $YY
OUR APOLOGY:
Ya'll, I am SO sorry about this. The smoke test surveys went out last week to almost 500 of you, but even with that many and 72hrs to test for issues, this one went completely under the radar. Bundled items in Add-Ons was a first to be done in this way by us, and combining that with the fact that it was my call to add so much during the campaign has me feeling awful.
We have already implemented two changes to our campaigns and post-campaign management that will help mitigate this in the future, but that doesn't change the fact that this happened here, and I'm very sorry.
The good news:
If you've ever been privy to a Wraithmarked screw-up before, though (and they DO happen, try as we might not to), you know I rarely come empty-handed. As an extra apology, all Backers who pledged for one or more statues (during the campaign or after) will be getting a small bonus illustration in their boxes! It will be on the backside of the Certificate of Authenticity, and feature amazing art from the incredible Joshua Raphael, who has done some incredible dragons like Magic: The Gathering's Moonveil Regent and my own Black Dragon for an older project.
Again, you have my sincerest apologies, as well as the apologies of those team members whose duty it was to ensure this kind of thing does not happen. At the end of the day, though, it's on me to make sure the final project is perfect, so this is on my shoulders. I hope the refunds and the bonus illustration will help alleviate the sting of this issue for those affected.
Thank you all - please send us those support requests as soon as you can. With the holiday season approaching, responses may be slightly delayed as we're running on a tight crew, but rest assured, we'll make this right! Happy Holidays to those who celebrate, and be safe!
Bryce O'Connor, CEO Wraithmarked Creative, LLC
Remaining Surveys Going Out!
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Dec 16, 2024 at 07:16:39 AM
Hello and good morning (afternoon, evening, and goodnight) everyone!
With our backer survey smoke test successful, we're now ready to send out the remaining surveys! :)
Just to reiterate a couple of the tips from our last update, if you don't see your invite email show up by the end of the day today, please take a look at the following:
Spam Folder: Survey emails can occasionally find their way to your spam folder. If you don't see anything come through from Backerkit check your spam folder first.
Apple ID Email Addresses: If the email address tied to your Kickstarter account is a secure Apple ID address, the survey email may be blocked entirely. The email addresses look something like this: "[email protected]". If you're not seeing the email from Backerkit, check to see if your email address looks like one of these.
If after checking everything, you can't find your survey, please send an email to [email protected] and we'll help you get access to your survey!
Going forward, here is what you can expect in the coming months as we work on fulfilling this project.
First, please remember that we operate on a 12-14 month production and fulfillment schedule.
As we get all of the products made, you can expect to see an update from us 1-2 times a month. So stay tuned here for all the latest!
Once we have the products and are ready to start fulfillment, we will post an update and send an email giving everyone 48 hours to update their addresses if needed. Once that window closes, you will not be able to update your address yourself and will need to contact us directly to make those changes.
With addresses locked, we will start packing and shipping. This final step will take some time. We appreciate your patience. ❤️
And... an incredible piece of art from a fellow Eragon lover!
Illustration by u/StarryScotch
Originally posted as a headshot, Bryce liked this style so much he asked StarryScotch to complete the image specifically so he could show it off to you guys! This was the first fan art piece based on the statues design that we saw, and it’s SO cool!
See y'all in the next Update!
PLEASE NOTE: Hey all! We are aware a percentage of people are being charged an extra $2 at the end of their survey. Had a number of messages about it.
This is NOT normal, and we ARE absolutely looking into it as we speak! We'll have answers and solutions for you as soon as we get them in hand!
Sorry for the trouble and confusion!
First Batch of Surveys Going Out! And Shouting Out Our Current Campaign!
over 1 year ago
– Fri, Dec 13, 2024 at 01:35:30 PM
Hey there folks!
Thank you again for joining us on this awesome campaign - every step of the way, we here at Wraithmarked get more and more excited. We hope you do, too!
We're just about ready to start sending out surveys, and for those new to Kickstarter, the survey is how we'll collect all of your shipping information, and it will also give you a chance to pick up last minute goodies! The last piece of that process is what's called a smoke test. To do this, we send out surveys to about 5% of backers to make sure everything in Backerkit (our fulfillment platform) is working as it should and that we haven't broken anything. We'll be conducting this test over the next 24-48 hours. If you don't receive a survey during this time, don't fret! If everything goes well, you can expect the rest of the surveys to go out by Monday at the latest.
While we do that, here are a couple of things to keep in mind:
Spam Folder: Survey emails can occasionally find their way to your spam folder. Once we announce that all surveys have gone out, if you don't see anything come through from Backerkit check your spam folder first.
Apple ID Email Addresses: If the email address tied to your Kickstarter account is a secure Apple ID address, the survey email may be blocked entirely. The email addresses look something like this: "[email protected]".Again, once all surveys go out, if you're not seeing the email from Backerkit, check to see if your email looks like one of these. You can try contacting Kickstarter support to change that, though we've seen backers have mixed results.
If either of the above situations is the case, or you can't find your email invite at all, either message us here on Kickstarter or send an email to [email protected] to let us know and we'll get that straightened out for you.
A Note on our Support Availability...
There are a couple of us that monitor support emails and messages on Kickstarter. We'll introduce ourselves in a future update, but for the moment we want to fill y'all in on our availability.
We work 8am-4pm EST, Monday-Friday, excluding all US Holidays. If you contact us here on Kickstarter or via email you can expect us to reply in no more than 3-5 business days at the absolute latest— though typically much sooner than that.
In regards to our Update earlier today...
We wanted to take a second to remind folks that the survey from earlier is still LIVE. For those that may have missed it, the update is in regards to how long you all think we should keep the Late-Pledge store open for this campaign.
Please check out the hyperlinks above and let us know what you think!
Also, we have a new campaign for Wraithmarked's first omnibus!
Our first venture in combining multiple books from the same series into a single edition, this book comes to you designed from cover to cover by Shawn T. King and features exterior and interior art by Lena Richards! Take a look!
See you folks in the next Update! :)
Survey Regarding Late-Pledge Timeline!
over 1 year ago
– Fri, Dec 13, 2024 at 05:09:41 AM
Hey all! Bryce here, sneaking an Update in while Eira is on vacation so she can't yell at me 😭😭😭
Lol jk. She doesn't yell. Well... Not ever time 🤣
THE QUESTION
I'm reaching out because after chatting with Christopher about a question we had, we decided it was one best posed to you guys for feedback. That is:
How long should we keep the Late-Pledge period open?
We are currently averaging an addition 5-10 orders a day on the Late-Pledge Store on BackerKit (weekends included), leading us to believe there are a LOT of members of the community who missed out on the project while it was running. Their price is the full $110 retail cost (so you guys do still have a big advantage for being campaign backers) but we've had several comments and messages about people being grateful that they could pick the statue up even if they missed the Kickstarter/after they were able to save up for it.
So with that in mind, we are narrowing this Late-Pledge period to 3 options we'd like to hear from you guys on:
One, we keep the Late-Pledge period open for 1 month (ending it at the end of December, 2024). This is the most limiting in terms of access to people getting the statue and income for both Christopher and Wraithmarked, but it keeps the statues the most limited and "rare" of the options.
Two, we keep the Late-Pledge period open for 3 months (ending it at the end of February, 2025). This is the middle road, allowing extended access to the community for people waiting for Christmas money and the like, and allowing WM to access what is likely to be most of the latecomers.
Three, we keep the Late-Pledge period open for until the day we finalize order number. This allows almost anyone who wants a statue to hear about it through the community and grab one, resulting in the most income for Christopher and WM, BUT it means the least "rare" statue of all since it might result in an extra 1000-2000 orders.
PS: A good clarification to make is that none of these options will create any measurable delay in production or fulfillment. Printing and extra 1000-2000 orders probably takes a few days, and shipping might take a few more days. So we're talking like... a week delay IF we get that many orders.
For transparencies sake, as you cast your vote, please keep in mind that WM will be producing a small overprint of the statues for security's sake (to allow for damage, printing mishaps, etc) so anything leftover from that small overprint will eventually go on sale at a future point at at least the $110 retail cost. Just so you guys are aware.
THE SURVEY
With the above in mind, we would be very grateful if you took the time to fire off your opinion on what Late-Pledge period you would be most comfortable with for this statue via the survey link here and below! Your thoughts on this matter to us, and we'll be taking them heavily into account when making a decision before the end of the month! Thanks all!
As always, thank you all, talk soon, and Happy Holidays!
And That's A Wrap!
over 1 year ago
– Fri, Nov 29, 2024 at 03:00:34 PM
Hey there, folks!
It's been an amazing month with y'all, and we hope you feel the same! This is going to be an incredible statue and we're pumped to begin working on it - the excitement is real! In the final hours of the campaign, you've helped us cross the threshold and raise more than $1.6mil! Thank you all so, so much!! <3
NEXT STEPS
Now with the campaign done, here is what you can expect in the coming weeks and months.
First, Kickstarter will process all of your payments. That will take approximately 15 days.
Once the payments have been processed, we will send out surveys to the email addresses you have attached to your Kickstarter account.
Answer your survey questions and grab any extra Add-Ons you want. For those of you asking how to make your tier selections, you'll do that here.
As we get all of the products made, you can expect to see an update from us 1-2 times a month. So stay tuned here for all the latest!
Once we have the products and are ready to start fulfillment, we will post an update and send an email giving everyone 48 hours to update their addresses if needed. Once that window closes, you will not be able to update your address yourself and will need to contact us directly to make those changes.
With addresses locked, we will start packing and shipping. This final step will take some time. We appreciate your patience. ❤️
Please be aware that the times mentioned above are estimates. We try to stick to them as much as possible but sometimes it takes an extra day or two to move on to the next phase of the process.
If you need support at any point, please send an email to [email protected] and we'll do our best to help! :)
That's the end of the canned Update 😆! I'm off to FNM! Talk to you all soon, thanks for the amazing month, and enjoy your weekend, all!
