For better or worse, and really better and worse, crowdfunding is really hard for small creators. Bigger ones are even running into issues. But for small creators, it’s hard to get noticed. That means, for better, that people with ideas that have been done before or reskins of Monopoly can’t get their game made. On the downside, creators who really have put a lot of passion into a game and turned out something great are having a harder go of it.

But that’s got nothing to do with the question for today.

Which Is Better For Crowdfunding – Cheaper Game or Shipping

I know there might be some who disagree, but for a lot of games it’s just not possible to get the price down. Or the game would not be the same without those nicer components, minis, custom meeples, or metal coins. Does it mean that companies shouldn’t be looking to save money, no, they should be. But as consumers backing on Crowdfunding, there is a certain level that is expected.

However, those expectations now might not match up to what the consumer expects. Linen finish cards, I generally expect that. But more so, good card thickness, an insert that makes sense, stuff that really isn’t that common place in retail board games. It might be getting more common, but it’s not common place. So costs are going to go up for games.

Cheaper Shipping

Costs can go up in two areas. The first being that the game can cost more. The additional cost of a game, all of it, from materials to shipping can be added to the cost of the game. This will keep the shipping price more stable.

And in fact, this way can help cover more general variability in pricing. And it makes the most sense, between the two, for a business. But it’s less ideal for the consumer. Mainly because once a price goes up, rarely will it come back down. So even if shipping costs go down, or material costs go down, the price is still going to stay higher. But from a business side of things, it allows them to “hide” the costs more or the buffer more.

And I don’t mean this in a bad way, but being able to hide your margin somewhat means that people won’t complain about shipping costs. What I’m not talking about is taking on an extra $20 that would never get used to the cost. Something that would just purely be profit.

Cheaper Game

On the flip side, you could keep the price of the game lower. This means splitting out the costs over two things. First the cost of the game, which would go up slightly no matter what because of material costs and inflation. The other part would be the shipping costs.

From a consumer side of things this is a bit nicer. You aren’t actually paying less, but the payment is split over two. You pay once on the crowdfunding platform and then again with shipping. It also allows the companies to get the most accurate estimate for their shipping. If shipping goes up, they can add to the cost, if it goes down, they can reduce the cost.

But there is a downside for the consumer. If a company completely misestimates a the cost of shipping a game, now the new shipping estimate is higher. And that can erode consumer confidence. It shouldn’t, every company, new and established are needing to ask for more funds to help cover shipping differences. I do think that will become less common, but we still have early 2020 or even 2019 crowdfunded games shipping. Those estimates are no where near right.

So What’s the Best Answer?

Honestly, I do not believe that there is a best answer. I would be curious to know what people thing on it? If I had to guess, I think that more people would prefer a more expensive game and cheaper shipping. Mainly because they don’t get that big hit twice. Even though, in the long run, I think that methodology might be worse for the consumer. It locks in prices potentially more so.

But it’s an easier pill to swallow when it’s one bigger hit and a smaller hit to the wallet. And I think people are more apt to overlook that it might not be quite the same value as before. People should know that inflation and shipping crisis are a thing, though some lessening, and know to expect to pay more. It seems like a lot of people don’t though, so hiding that cost, might be best.

Final Thoughts

I know I cover the cost of things and shipping pretty often. Mainly because it’s a topic that keeps on coming up. And I get why it does. Inflation hits everything. That means the cost of everything is going up, and all those lousy things you need for your life are costing more. I run into the same issue.

And the desire is that board games stay at the same price. The things that we want to make us feel better should stay cheap so that we can indulge once in a while. Now, is that reasonable, no, but I get wanting it to be the case. I want to back more games than I do, I want to buy more games than I do. But sometimes things take a back burner. The people I feel worst for with it are the small creators who have a great project that is harder to get scene because of everything.

Do you find yourself buying or backing fewer games now?

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There are a few things to notice that might be different there now. And for the consumer, not all of them are for the better. Or at least not changes that we wanted to happen. And honestly, it’s not going to go back to the way it was before the pandemic even as more and more things are opening up. So, let’s talk about the changes.

More Companies Going to Crowdfunding

This is one of the maybe better things that happened. Now, for some, they might see this as a negative, but companies going to crowdfunding means that those companies survived. There were certainly companies that went under during the pandemic. I don’t know how much that played into TMG going under, or getting out of board gaming, but that sucks to have a bigger company no longer there. And other game companies as well did.

Plus, I think it allows companies to more correctly judge demand. If you’ve ever notice with Stonemaier Games, their games are always impossible to find when they release. The print run isn’t that big. That is something that Kickstarter or Gamefound takes care of. You have a better idea of demand. And if it does well there, you know to order more copies for retail locations. If those companies only stick on Crowdfunding, though, then it can be a bit of a negative. But I think Kickstarter and Gamefound were a lifeline for some companies.

Higher Shipping

Now, to a negative, shipping is higher. And I fully expect that won’t come down. Now, it might fluctuate over time, but it’s going to take years for shipping to sort itself out. With inflation as well, it’s never going to be as cheap as it was.

Now, some of this is the container shortage, or more containers going from one side and not back to the other side of the ocean. So they build up in different spots. Some of it is that it’s been harder to staff positions right now. And some of it is with the pandemic generally people order more for delivery. So that means that there is a higher demand for shipping products and not yet catching up on space and employees for shipping those products.

Higher Production Costs

With that, there is also a higher cost of production right now. That is more that there are fewer resources going around. It’s not an obvious thing, but when a lot of those places that create the resources, farm the trees, things like that, cut back or shut down for a period of time, we’re now at a product shortage.

Things like cardboard, plastic, and wood all cost more than they did before. If you have tried to do a house project or know someone who did in the past couple of years, it’s more expensive now than it was. Will these prices come back down, I feel like it is doubtful. Right now there is inflation happening and that means that prices are going to stay higher.

Long Delays

Finally, there were a lot more delays. And these delays happened for a few reasons. The most obvious would be delays in shipping. Everything takes longer to cross the ocean and unloaded. Now, crossing the ocean, that part is the same amount of time, but getting containers then getting them onto a ship, and unloaded on the other side, and onto trucks or trains, there is a lot of reasons why shipping is delayed.

But it is not just shipping. Production can be delayed if the factories have to work limited hours, or limited capacity due to brownouts or COVID. So production locations are delayed and that takes longer than normal. Though, often times that can be estimated, especially for smaller Kickstarters or Gamefounds with short print runs.

Finally, there are also delays when it comes to things like designing the game. It is much harder to playtest a game these days. I have playtested a few, Rogue Angels which is playtesting and coverage, and it has to be done via Table Top Simulator. That is not as good as in person. And even designing, things are slower when you are working remote. So there have been a lot of big delays.

Crowdfunding Expectations Going Forward

So, what does that mean? Firstly, it means that your Kickstarter and Gamefound games are going to be more expensive. Shipping and production costs might come down a little, but don’t expect pre-pandemic pricing on your games. Even in retail games are going up in price. So no, it won’t get cheaper again, which is a shame, but also necessary at points in time. It probably means that we all can’t back as much so need to pick and choose more.

But I don’t think it’s all negative. I think that delays will lessen over time. And I think that with the delays going on, most new crowdfunding games are pushing their timelines out a bit. Now, that isn’t to say it won’t be much later, it certainly might be. Eventually shipping and staffing and everything is going to even out as things return towards equilibrium.

Finally, I hope that there will be a few things coming from this. Firstly, I’d like to see, eventually, more localized production. I know Rogue Angels was originally looking to do German production but that made the cost point too high. But I’d love to see more productions based in the areas that buy more of the board games to help keep times shorter. I’m not sure it’d be a massive difference in price, but timelines, getting a product from the US to the US is much faster than across the ocean

I also hope we’ll see a pull back on big minis games. Now, don’t get me wrong, I want my campaign games. But the size of those games makes shipping exceedingly expensive. To go with Rogue Angels again here, the game works well with standees and giving optional minis, that’s cool. But I don’t need every game to come with a million minis, minus Marvel games, or something like that where it adds so much to it. Games with minis for minis sake, I hope we see fewer to help keep costs down.

Final Thoughts

It isn’t all good news when it comes to crowdfunding, obviously. We’re still going to be in a world where there are a lot of delays. Factories are going to shutdown for a week or work at limited capacity. It is going to take longer to get your games.

I do hope that there will be some things that can happen to help improve the situation over time. Like I said, I do think shipping will get better, but I don’t expect it to happen over night. And when I say shipping, I mean, shipping times, costs are likely stuck where they are at. So, maybe don’t plan on backing as many games. I might go through and talk about Kickstarter and Gamefound again and what to know about projects.

But what do you think will happen in the world of crowdfunding?

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