Takes the guesswork out of it and charges shipping more accurately, making all parties happier.
Kickstarter campaigns can be a great way to get your product off the ground, but managing orders and shipping after the campaign can be a challenge. Pledge managers are designed to help you manage your orders and shipping efficiently after your Kickstarter campaign has ended.
More and more creators of Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns are making the decision to charge shipping fees after their campaign has ended, instead of before.
This shift in approach is due to the difficulties associated with estimating shipping costs before the campaign is completed. Creators often have to guess the weight of the product and this can lead to incorrect estimates, which may result in having to charge additional shipping fees. These unexpected charges make you concerned about how backers will react. As a result, charging for shipping after the campaign is finished is becoming a more popular option.
PledgeBox helps you manage backers' information and pledges, making it easier to keep track of orders and send out rewards.
Post-Campaign Shipping Charges allow you to accurately calculate charges based on the total weight of each backer's order and any additional costs. This eliminates the risk of having to bear the shipping expenses if the pre-campaign estimate was incorrect. Making it easier to budget and plan for your campaign.
Shipping costs can change dramatically between the time a backer pledges and when rewards are actually shipped. It provides you with enough time to consult with third-party logistics providers and fulfillment companies to obtain accurate cost estimates. In this case, you can ensure that you are collecting the correct amount for shipping, rather than overcharging or undercharging your backers.
By collecting shipping information after the campaign, you can ensure that each backer is charged the correct amount for shipping, providing a better customer experience and reducing the risk of complaints or disputes.
PledgeBox integrates with shipping vendors, making it easier to send out rewards and keep track of your backer's packages. Moreover, you can avoid having to deal with the challenges of collecting shipping information during the campaign, such as collecting shipping addresses or dealing with backers who change their minds about their rewards.
PledgeBox allows you to send surveys, shipping tracking, and other messages to your backers, keeping them informed and engaged throughout the process.
PledgeBox helps you collect the right information from your backers, such as shipping addresses and reward preferences, ensuring that your campaign runs smoothly and efficiently.
When setting up shipping on Kickstarter, you can choose to exclude certain countries. Then select the countries you plan to ship to and set the shipping fee to $0. This information will be useful when talking to fulfillment partners about shipping costs.
To avoid confusion or disappointment among your backers, clearly communicate your plans to charge for shipping post-campaign using a pledge manager. Provide information about shipping in your pledge level descriptions and the "shipping" section of your campaign. For example, you can include shipping details and estimates for different countries, as well as shipping restrictions.
Offer shipping estimates and mention whether your campaign will be EU-friendly. Maintain open and honest communication with your backers to keep them informed and build trust. Although you don't need to have everything set in stone, transparency is crucial.
If you choose to charge your backers for VAT/Customs taxes before shipping, you can do so by using a percentage-based tax in PledgeBox. However, before implementing this, it is recommended to discuss it with your fulfillment partner as not all fulfillment services enable pre-payment of VAT for backers.
When the campaign has ended, and you’ve had a chance to research shipping costs, you can add shipping fees to your post-campaign survey via PledgeBox. PledgeBox supports 4 calculation methods to charge shipping, item-based, SKU-weight-based, package-weight-based, and amount-based. You can make it as detailed or straightforward as you want. Your backers will be charged the correct amount based on the rules you set up.
PledgeBox can greatly benefit your Kickstarter campaign and make the process of fulfilling it much easier. By improving backer management, increasing flexibility, streamlining shipping and fulfillment, improving communication, and accurately collecting data, you'll be able to run a successful and stress-free campaign.
