Hey guys! Everyone who reached out to me regarding shipping their bag out early has been shipped, and those who ordered split shipping have been sent out as well! All I am waiting on now is the plush toys to finish production, and then the bulk shipment of Conpanions to arrive within the next few weeks. I'm hoping they come while I'm still home because I have conventions the next two weekends haha. If you have your bag/will be receiving your bag for Metrocon and Otakon, I have booths at both shows! So if anybody compliments your bag or asks where you got it, you can direct them to my booth! My booth is called Art by Kino and I'll be at Metrocon booth V124 and Otakon booth B404 (My partner Jesse will be proxying for me at Metro but I will be at Otakon myself). I will be taking pre-orders for leftover Conpanions at those shows to be shipped out after all the BackerKit peeps get theirs.
Once you get your bag and deck it out, you can show it off and tag me on Instagram @itskinotastic or Bluesky @kinotastic.bsky.social !! I look forward to seeing your Conpanions all decorated!!
As always, if you have any questions or need anything from me, I will do my best to help you! You can email me at [email protected] with your name and backerkit email and your request.
I calculated that there's about 65 man hours worth of grading for the ~1150 Conpanions being delivered next, so I'm trying to recruit some of my local friends to help me quality control them so it goes by faster. That being said, it's going to take me at least a week to grade all the bags I need to send out, so I'm really hoping I can start shipping the bulk out mid-August. As I mentioned in the previous update, if you need your bag by a certain date, please email me and I'll see what I can do!
That's all for now, I'll update you guys when I have new information for you!
Hey guys! I've begun shipping out bags for those who opted in for split shipping. The enamel pins have been stuck in Memphis customs (why Memphis? I have no idea LOL) for the last week and it's making me super anxious but hopefully they'll be here soon. For anyone who needs their bag by the end of the month for a con like Metrocon, Otakon, Gen con, etc. please email me at [email protected] with your name and your backerkit email address and I'll see what I can do! If you haven't already paid for split shipping but you want your bag asap I'll just send over an invoice via paypal so I can get your bag on its way, and send out your smaller items when they arrive.
I ordered over 900 boxes to be picked up locally at a warehouse but some of the boxes were the wrong size?? And I'm still waiting on larger boxes so I can send out the packages for those who ordered double bags or a conpanion + a coffin bag. The thing about bulk boxes is if the store doesn't have the size in stock they have to order it in, and that can take longer than I'm willing to wait so I am just as antsy as you guys haha.
Sending out the first 80 or so bags for the split shipping orders will take me a couple of days to pack up, and that's making me realize just how large of an undertaking sending out another 800+ backpacks will be. I'm going to try to have my local friends help me pack so it goes by faster, but what I'm most worried about is when the rest of the 169 boxes of Conpanions will get here--ETA is the end of the month, but since I have Metro/Ota from July 30-Aug 3rd, and then immediately after that I have Fan Expo Boston from August 6-10th, I REALLY hope the shipment gets here before I leave. Shipments will mostly likely start when I get back from Boston.
Anyway, I just wanted to let y'all know the state of things! If you have any questions or need anything, like I mentioned earlier please send me an email at [email protected] and I will do my best!! Thank you everyone for your awesome support and for your patience!
Hey guys! I'm happy to announce the first batch of backpacks are here! Well... 33 boxes out of 202 haha. The other 169 boxes are being sent out now, so they'll hopefully be here in 3-4 weeks. I'm quality controlling what I can so I can start sending out backpacks to those who paid for split shipping. Also, the alien backpack inserts were printed at a really low quality for some reason so those inserts have to be remade. I won't be able to send out any alien backpacks for that reason until I get the new inserts in. The enamel pins haven't come in yet, so I can't start sending out backpacks to anyone else. I have a convention next weekend (Anime Blues Con for anyone around the Memphis area), so after that is probably when I can start sending out Conpanions! In the meantime, I'm going to lock addresses so we can start getting ready to ship. You will have 48 hours to update your address, after which the address you submitted will be locked and that's what I will be mailing to!
33 boxes
One more thing, I think I forgot to mention that we decided to go with a white handle for the unicorn backpacks so it better matches the trimming! I think it looks nice!
Hey guys! I wanted to reach out and let everyone know first that tomorrow (June 9th EDIT: JUNE 10TH) I will be charging the cards on file for your shipping fees and any other add-on fees. I won't be locking addresses until probably sometime in July, as I get ready to ship out rewards. As a reminder, if you have plush in your pledge, you're welcome to add split shipping if you want me to ship out your backpack as soon as possible once I get them in while we wait for the plush to arrive at a later date. Also, I should have clarified earlier (and that is entirely my bad), but this is only for domestic shipments (within the US). Any international shipments WITH PLUSH will not go out until I receive the plush so you only have to pay customs/duties on just one shipment.
QUICK EDIT: I have locked orders with a 48 hour notice, so you have 48 hours to make any changes to your pledge. After that, it will automatically lock your orders, after which I will charge the cards on file on June 10th!
That's all for now, keep an eye out on June 10th for your cards to be charged for shipping costs and whatever you added onto your pledge. Thanks guys!
Hey guys! I have another update for you. My manufacturer just told me that they have nearly their whole production team working on the backpacks, but because they're a very complicated product and this is their first time making them (plus the fact that I'm making nearly 1400 backpacks), it's going to take a little longer than they anticipated. She originally gave me the date of June 9th, but when I asked her about it this evening she said they're going to need more time. I don't know if this means a week, a month, or what, but it sounds like they're doing their best and I don't want to rush them and deliver an inferior product to you. I'm still hoping to get them sometime in July, but I will let you know the moment I know more details.
Thanks again for your patience, and if you have any questions or concerns, please email me!
