Hey All, wanted to provide a brief update thats also a bit behind the hood on the business end of things (as i do like to share about this stuff to anybody whos interested)

Essentially we got quantity quotes for the accessory packs and they're way more expensive than i was expecting (still doable, they're about $10 per pack), but that puts it about the same cost as producing an owlbear from this manufacturer.

Ive mentioned this in a few other places, but as we've been selling more owlbears over the years, we've come to notice that our owlbear plush costs are quite high.  We picked a reputable (pass-through) manufacturer and got good service...problem is, it comes at the cost of them having to make money as well. Which essentially double to tripled our manufacturing costs.

Over the past months Ive been shopping around our owlbear to see what direct manufacturing would charge us to produce the plush and ultimately, it comes at around $2-3/plush (as opposed to the $10 i was paying).
This is something that we're increasingly sensitive to as a large volume of our orders are increasingly retail (and so selling a $35 plush for 17.5 into retail, after freight, shipping and manufacturing, we're only getting about $5/plush.), which is a positive number yes, but we're also trying to recover from $85k that was stolen from us back in 2021.)

I am getting the accessories cost estimated as we speak with the current keychain plush manufacturer. I am hoping to get a better sense of our way forward this month.

Also I put in a bulk order for our pins! so we'll be showcasing them as they're being produced 

All the best, 
Andreas

Hey, I hope you all had a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Just a very quick update on the Owlbear Accessories Project .
(edit, i thought this would be a quick update, but i was very wrong.., just wanted to include the big picture on whats going on)

I should be getting updated costs today from the manufacturer, which helps finalize our counts,

This unfortunately means that timing-wise wise we won't have production of the accessories done until March-April, which means they won't arrive at warehouses until June-Aug (which is way later than I want).

One thing to note is that I am getting a little annoyed at how long updates are taking without communication from this manufacturer (technically, it's a middleman, not direct to manufacturer. They do some creative work on their own, like translating accessory drawings into plushes, and they also led to the innovation of the toe beans and such.) I know it goes through a process, but the lack of hearing updates and timing is a bit frustrating, as I have to wait longer and I am unable to update you for the updates either. They're also seemingly more expensive than other manufacturers out there (part of the nature of being a passthrough), but it's gotten us to start looking around now that we've gotten our feet wet in plush production.  

I am in talks with another manufacturer that has been courting us for awhile.
Instead of doing a production replacement with them (esp since so much work has already been done with this current manufacturer, and we cant really move over innovations they've done). We're looking to start with a wholly new product.
 So, for Backerkit's 2025 Pintopia|Pins and Plushes, which will launch on Jan 23rd 2025, we'll be launching a mini plush campaign, for Baby Bestiary Keychains, we've gone through prototyping already with the new manufacturer, and this prototype was actually their design (they showed off to us at GenCon 2024).

       Follow the KeyChain project here
*currently working through prototypes with the new manufacturer, but we should also potentially get dragon turtle and phoenix keychains to include as goals for the campaign, more on them below..

So I was originally anticipating on launching the Pheonix and Dragon Turtle as a single Owlbear and Friends campaign in Feb/March 2025, thinking that this accessories project would be further along. 
Since we don't know which manufacturer we're using, we actually have both manufacturers working on their own production prototype for the Pheonix and Dragon Turtle. Since those prototypes are still being refined, we're gonna hold off launching the campaign for these two potentially later in the year (depending on when fulfillment of the keychains and accessories go).
Also, we're working on getting prototypes of keychain versions of the dragon turtle and phoenix, since we can introduce those plushes before the their larger friends join the fray, which might help drum up excitement for them as we get closer to their eventual launch.



Anyways...I know that was a lot, there's a lot going on, as aways. 
I try my best to make myself available to answer questions to the best of my ability and happy to further discuss as we try to make more cute companions.
Hope everyone had a good holiday season,  
 Caretaker Andreas

Hey all, Just a quick update before the holidays (which is literally upon us). 
I've finished our production counts, and finalizing our production quotes. (something like 2500 of all three kits, 3000 of owlbears, and lots and lots of pins over 2000!)

I recently just spoke to our manufacturer, and I am expecting that the samples are on their way for me to check out and review (likely hat, and fishing kit, and hopefully new shield, as well as the purple colors, finally). 
From there, it seems like we'd confirm and production would happen in Janurary, which would then put fulfillment probably out to march/april (we'll confirm that as production gets scheduled for freight). 
When I get the samples I'll post them right away!
Thank you all for the support, and patience as we work through the manufacturers, and get these owlbears underway!

Merry Christmas and hope everyone has a jolly happy season, 
Andreas