Updates
Check out the latest news and keep up with progress
PROJECT UPDATE
Swamphy
CREATOR
11 days ago
Project Update: JULY MINI UPDATE (PART 2) | Update to tariff costs in the US - effective July 24th
Hello everyone!
As I've been working to ship out as many pins as possible over the month, everyone in Portugal (and likely the rest of the world) recently got notified of the new, updated tariffs that are going into effect on July 24th. This came as wholly unexpected, especially so shortly after we finally became able to ship to the USA again.
The new tariff rules coming into effect will have increased costs. What would usually cost me around €3-4 for pre-paid duties will now cost me around €6-8 (around $7-9 USD) to send only one enamel pin. Considering that some pledges were initially paid for with just standard shipping and that the USA now requires not only pre-paid duties but also for it to be sent with tracked shipping, this is a lot of extra expenses on my end considering the bulk of the pledges are going to the USA.
As I've been working to ship out as many pins as possible over the month, everyone in Portugal (and likely the rest of the world) recently got notified of the new, updated tariffs that are going into effect on July 24th. This came as wholly unexpected, especially so shortly after we finally became able to ship to the USA again.
The new tariff rules coming into effect will have increased costs. What would usually cost me around €3-4 for pre-paid duties will now cost me around €6-8 (around $7-9 USD) to send only one enamel pin. Considering that some pledges were initially paid for with just standard shipping and that the USA now requires not only pre-paid duties but also for it to be sent with tracked shipping, this is a lot of extra expenses on my end considering the bulk of the pledges are going to the USA.
What does this mean?
This put a massive dent in my fulfillment plans since I mentioned in previous updates that I'll be paying for the tariffs out of pocket on top of also compensating for the upgraded shipping costs that is mandatory in order to be able to ship out the pledges. This means that shipping will take much longer than anticipated for USA backers, so unless you're fine with covering these extra expenses so you can get your rewards sooner, unfortunately I'm going to have to ask you to wait a bit longer since I cannot guarantee when I'll be able to ship them out. 🥲If you don't mind covering the tariff costs, send me an email to [email protected] and I'll send a screenshot with the exact amount that needs to be paid. We can discuss it further from there.
I'm really bummed about this and I'm frankly so done with the ridiculous laws and rules that keep being added. All I want is to get everyone their pins as soon as possible but it's one obstacle after the other... 🫠 Thank you again for your patience, and I'll see you all in the next update. 💚
PROJECT UPDATE
Swamphy
CREATOR
26 days ago
Project Update: JULY MINI UPDATE | Remade Funfetti pins are on the way!
Hello everyone!
It took a little while longer to post this update since my manufacturer told me that the screenprints on the remade Funfetti pins took more time than they expected (on top of having another holiday during the production process), but they finished the plating for the pins and will ship it out in the upcoming days! 🎉
I expect the pins to arrive here by the end of this month or begin August at its very latest. Shipping times from China has taken a bit longer than what I'm used to in the past year due to all these new changes and rules, but I'm hoping to get them earlier than anticipated so I can get everyone's pins on the way ASAP.
I've also shipped out a couple of test pledges and will ship out a couple more over the next few days, although I'm a bit wary now with the upcoming changes on July 8th and how it could affect Europe (if it does). Needless to say I'll of course keep everyone updated!
It took a little while longer to post this update since my manufacturer told me that the screenprints on the remade Funfetti pins took more time than they expected (on top of having another holiday during the production process), but they finished the plating for the pins and will ship it out in the upcoming days! 🎉
I expect the pins to arrive here by the end of this month or begin August at its very latest. Shipping times from China has taken a bit longer than what I'm used to in the past year due to all these new changes and rules, but I'm hoping to get them earlier than anticipated so I can get everyone's pins on the way ASAP.
I've also shipped out a couple of test pledges and will ship out a couple more over the next few days, although I'm a bit wary now with the upcoming changes on July 8th and how it could affect Europe (if it does). Needless to say I'll of course keep everyone updated!
A kind reminder if you want your pledge sooner (USA backers)
As mentioned in previous updates, I'll be paying the customs and import fees out of pocket due to the long wait because of the new US import laws that took the Portuguese postal carrier (and Europe in general) a lot of time to finally get fixed so we could ship things out again. I feel like this is the right thing to do considering everything, and I do not expect the people who supported me to pay more than what was expected.
This means that fulfillment of your pledge can take longer than initially anticipated since the import costs ended up being higher than the estimate that was communicated with us. Please feel free to email me ([email protected]) if you don't mind covering these costs (which, depending on the volume and contents on your pledge, should be within a range of around €2 minimum to €10+) so you can get your order shipped out sooner. I'll provide a screenshot of the actual calculated costs and we can arrange the payment via PayPal.
Again, this is entirely optional and it's only if you wish to get your pledge shipped out sooner. If you're fine with waiting a bit longer due to the above mentioned reason (me paying it out of pocket), then there's nothing you need to do, however I - for full transparency - cannot give an estimate as to when I'll ship out your pledge since the fees all piled together can be quite costly as you can imagine, so I'm trying my best to things shipped it out as soon as I can since this is also an unexpected added expense for me. 😅
Thank you for reading and stay hydrated during these extremely hot days!
With lots of love,
Swamphy
PROJECT UPDATE
Swamphy
CREATOR
about 1 month ago
Project Update: JUNE MINI UPDATE | Funfetti Sheep pins status
Hello everyone! A quick mini update regarding the Funfetti pins because I completely forgot to mention it in the last update, so here it is.
It was brought to my attention that I haven't mentioned anything yet regarding it in the past few updates, which is totally on me, and I'm very sorry for that! It completely slipped my mind since I - for some reason - thought I had mentioned it at least once.
It was brought to my attention that I haven't mentioned anything yet regarding it in the past few updates, which is totally on me, and I'm very sorry for that! It completely slipped my mind since I - for some reason - thought I had mentioned it at least once.
What's the status?
As you know, it's been quite a long while since I first pointed out the misprint. I first want to let everyone know that it is still being remade, but due to several factors it got immensely delayed (longer than I would've liked and anticipated for that matter, please see the reasons below!)
My manufacturer assured me that the pins will be done by the end of this month (so in a coupe of days) and they'll be shipped out ASAP.
- Around January spanning all the way to around late February, we got hit with a massive, back-to-back storm in Portugal that led to catastrophic damage all across the country (unstable electricity, massive town floodings, and more). This caused a lot of damage and issues to buildings, roads, and houses which made access to a lot of areas extremely hard while also having to make sure that we sustained no damage to our home (which was susceptible to floodings).
- The factory my manufacturer works with has been very inconsistent with updates which caused me to chase for answers multiple times. For me this was unheard of since I've always had a very reliable and smooth experience with them ever since I started my business, so this led to a lot of frustration and more time loss on my end.
- There are a number of Chinese holidays near the start of the year where a lot of factories close, sometimes for a whole week or longer. This inevitably caused more delays, some of them unforeseen to me.
My sincerest apologies it's been taking so long, genuinely. A lot of my focus was on the USA shipment since I've been fixating on that for a long time ever since it's sudden shutdown in August 2025 since the bulk of the pledges are headed towards them which has been a major source of anxiety. Regardless, it's absolutely no excuse that I failed to communicate the status of the Funfetti sheep pins and I cannot express enough apologies for that, so I hope this provided a bit more insight as to why it's been taking a lot longer than initially expected.
A lot of things are happening in the world that's been an absolute nightmare for small businesses in the past year since the costs (and potentially more paperwork in July all of a sudden) have also been increasing due to all the new rules and laws that are being thrown left and right regarding international shipments.
As one person running the whole thing and trying to keep up with all the logistics and such, it's been a lot of things to keep track of and put into motion which caused me to not properly communicate the Funfetti sheep when I thought I did. 😵💫 Again, I'm so sorry for this. I fully understand any frustrations or concerns surrounding the Funfetti pins.
I'll be posting another update once the pins are on the way and when I expect to get them. In the meantime, I'll be proceeding with some test orders as mentioned in the previous update due to the new USA customs regulations.
That's all for now, thank you so much for your time.
With lots of love,
Swamphy
PROJECT UPDATE
Swamphy
CREATOR
about 1 month ago
Project Update: JUNE UPDATE | USA shipping re-opened! Commencing test shipments soon.
Hello hello!
I have some good things to share! Shipping towards the US has finally resumed, meaning that I can work on getting to know the procedures to getting all eligible pledges out to the USA.
However, I can only ship them with tracked shipping with pre-paid duties and import fees that are a lot higher than I (and others) had been anticipating, meaning it'll cost me a lot more out of pocket than I thought which will lead to fulfillment taking longer than I had hoped for. 😭
Not only that, but right as shipments have finally been reopened, I've gotten a notice that there'll be possibly additional paperwork needed if a package is headed towards the USA starting July 8th. It's not wholly clear to me what this exactly is and if this even applies to me, but right now I'm waiting to see what is going to happen. I already contacted my postal carrier about this for more information, so hopefully I'll have proper answers for this soon.
This is incredibly frustrating especially since I've been waiting anxiously to ship to the US again, only to get hit with this. 🫠 I'm so sorry about this, it's outside of my control but I'm keeping a close eye on everything to the best of my abilities.
I have some good things to share! Shipping towards the US has finally resumed, meaning that I can work on getting to know the procedures to getting all eligible pledges out to the USA.
However, I can only ship them with tracked shipping with pre-paid duties and import fees that are a lot higher than I (and others) had been anticipating, meaning it'll cost me a lot more out of pocket than I thought which will lead to fulfillment taking longer than I had hoped for. 😭
Not only that, but right as shipments have finally been reopened, I've gotten a notice that there'll be possibly additional paperwork needed if a package is headed towards the USA starting July 8th. It's not wholly clear to me what this exactly is and if this even applies to me, but right now I'm waiting to see what is going to happen. I already contacted my postal carrier about this for more information, so hopefully I'll have proper answers for this soon.
This is incredibly frustrating especially since I've been waiting anxiously to ship to the US again, only to get hit with this. 🫠 I'm so sorry about this, it's outside of my control but I'm keeping a close eye on everything to the best of my abilities.
What's the plan now?
I will try and ship everything out as soon as I can, but like I said, please note that it might take longer than expected due to the pre-paid duties and import fees.
I'll try some test shipments first to try and understand how the system works and to keep an eye out on whether everything goes smoothly, then I'll slowly start building up the volume of shipments over time, so please keep an eye out for your inbox if your pledge got shipped out!
Is there a way for me to get my order sooner?
If you want your order to get shipped out sooner, the only way possible at this moment is that you email me to [email protected] with your backer or pledge number and I'll let you know the extra import fees shown to me so it can be sent over via, for example, PayPal.
Thank you so much again for your patience, I'm excited to finally get these lil sheep on the way! Please stay cool during these hotter months and don't forget to hydrate as much as possible.
With lots of love,
Swamphy
PROJECT UPDATE
Swamphy
CREATOR
2 months ago
Project Update: May Update - USA shipping
Hi everyone!
I just wanted to post a small, quick update regarding the current situation regarding shipments towards the USA, and I have some good news to share (finally)!
I just wanted to post a small, quick update regarding the current situation regarding shipments towards the USA, and I have some good news to share (finally)!
Our postal carrier, CTT, has finally been working on reopening shipments towards the USA! 🎉
However, it's still in the beginning stages and not officially open yet, but I signed up for the service and it's still a waiting game at the moment. It's yet unclear as to when it'll become active, and according to my contract manager, they're still waiting on approval from the US customs clearance offices or some other figure of authority, but I'm happy that things are finally rolling.
Why is this such a big issue? If packages get sent without duties and fees being paid prior, it's going to get sent back to the sender which was one of the major hurdles lots of European countries were facing (and, even to this day, I see packages getting returned for no good reason to France, Germany, Netherlands, etc.). This only applies to packages that aren't flat mail (which is why stickers, prints, and other flat items can be sent without issues, but not enamel pins or bulkier items). It's not even possible to send items marked as gifts, so even if a package is non-transactional (like wanting to send something to a friend in the US), it's not possible to send stuff unless you want to pay a ridiculous amount of money.
By the time I can ship to the USA, I'll likely do a few test shipments first before committing to bulk fulfillment to be on the safe side since it'll be a bit of a learning curve until I'm comfortable with how the system works so that there are no surprises on neither mine nor your end.
That's it for now!
I'll keep you all posted once this service has gone live and I'm ready to ship all the sheep to you, thank you so much for your patience so far!!
With lots of love,
Swamphy
However, it's still in the beginning stages and not officially open yet, but I signed up for the service and it's still a waiting game at the moment. It's yet unclear as to when it'll become active, and according to my contract manager, they're still waiting on approval from the US customs clearance offices or some other figure of authority, but I'm happy that things are finally rolling.
Why is this such a big issue? If packages get sent without duties and fees being paid prior, it's going to get sent back to the sender which was one of the major hurdles lots of European countries were facing (and, even to this day, I see packages getting returned for no good reason to France, Germany, Netherlands, etc.). This only applies to packages that aren't flat mail (which is why stickers, prints, and other flat items can be sent without issues, but not enamel pins or bulkier items). It's not even possible to send items marked as gifts, so even if a package is non-transactional (like wanting to send something to a friend in the US), it's not possible to send stuff unless you want to pay a ridiculous amount of money.
By the time I can ship to the USA, I'll likely do a few test shipments first before committing to bulk fulfillment to be on the safe side since it'll be a bit of a learning curve until I'm comfortable with how the system works so that there are no surprises on neither mine nor your end.
That's it for now!
I'll keep you all posted once this service has gone live and I'm ready to ship all the sheep to you, thank you so much for your patience so far!!
With lots of love,
Swamphy
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