Shipping Update
almost 3 years ago – Sat, May 08, 2021 at 11:52:35 PM

SHIPPING UPDATE

We looked into every possible option for the books and in the end the only affordable option was to have the books shipped here then ship them out.  That cost is $5,000 + taxes/duties.  It would be approximately $80 per book to have even a small portion of them air shipped here or approximately $21,000 (yes, twenty one thousand dollars) to get the presale orders here early.

SHIPPING TPB BOOKS NOW - USA

If you are in the US, ordered a TPB and would like it shipped ahead we can do that via Media Mail.  To request early shipping please email us at [email protected].  This can be read and processed by my shipper.  

SHIPPING TPB BOOKS NOW - INTERNATIONAL

Based on our current shipping of just the TPB and a few extras without add ons, the cost of shipping has been $30-35 per book.    With the additional $5,000 for postage and already over budget for Gourmando, we are unable to absorb the cost of preshipping.  We will, however, offer discounted shipping of $25 if you would like us to ship just the TPB and your hardcover separately when it arrives.

SINCERE APOLOGIES

While this situation is directly due to COVID 19 and out of our control we realize that it is still frustrating.  We will keep you updated on shipment progress as we hear about it.  Currently, our forwarder is searching for space for our 7 pallets on a cargo ship.  Once the space is reserved we will have another update.  

The printer is airmailing us 1 copy of each book at their expense so we will be able to showcase them for you via video. 

Shipping: Current Situation in Hong Kong
almost 3 years ago – Tue, May 04, 2021 at 08:22:54 PM

Just a quick update - I just received this message and am awaiting a quote on getting our hardcover books from Hong Kong to the US.   Even though I had requested shipping to Arizona, the printer only quoted me to Hong Kong.

CURRENT CARGO SHIPPING SITUATION

Dear Customer,

I am sorry to inform you that over the past week,  the situation in China & Hong Kong has worsened dramatically and we  are now facing severe space issues and highly restricted vessel  availability. You may have heard already that there are  container equipment shortages and increased freight rates, but we are  now also informed that there will be several ‘blank sailings’ issued by  the shipping lines over the next few weeks. This is on both Far East –  UK and Far East – USA services.

What this means is that shipping lines are not  offering any options at all on selected routes on certain weeks, even  for the premium service which is sometimes offered at a considerably  inflated cost in situations where space becomes tight.

Overview

Hong Kong / Shenzhen – USA service

• For  LCL cargo via our consolidation – we will be seeing increases on the  freight adjustment cost. Previous weeks have dropped down to $59 / per  cbm, but will now be looking at $146  - $180 / per cbm over the next few weeks.

*Note – if you do not wish to continue loading at this rate, please contact  the customer service team and we can discuss options for holding at the  printers or at Scanwell warehouse if required.

• There  is very limited space for Baltimore schedules which is our usual  preferred port on entry on our consolidations. This may mean that we  have to utilize a New York service if this  is the only space available.
• FCL  container movements – we will need to quote based on space available at  the time of cargo availability. Although current pricing between $11K -  $13 per 40’ from HK to US East Coast  ports (NY & BALTIMORE).
• FCL  Services to West coast may be available, but will be subject to long  delays caused by severe ongoing congestion issues at Los Angeles / Long  Beach.
• FCL  Services to inland destinations & Railyards (i.e. Chicago /  Cleveland / Dallas etc) are extremely restricted and many carriers are  not currently accepting intermodal bookings.

*PLEASE NOTE* - Even if the current inflated  pricing is accepted by Magnum / our clients, there is no guarantee that  space will be granted on the desired vessel service. We are  continuously working towards getting as much of our  clients cargo loaded and shipped as possible, although there may be  some occasions where no space is available so please be prepared for  potential delays of up to 2-3 weeks between bookings being available and  goods being loaded into containers. We will do  our best to minimize this where we can.

HOW THIS AFFECTS US

Even though our books will be ready to ship by the end of May we may not be able to get them to the United States for several more months  We are working hard to get books here and possibly finding someone to distribute international books for us.  

Due to the size of the book we have been unable to find a printer in the USA that can do the print run for under $60,000 which was more than our entire Kickstarter raised last time so that is not even an option.  

OTHER BOOKS IN PROGRESS

The 2021 Sketchbook is printed in the USA with a quick turnaround.  We expect the Nexus booklet to be a quick turn around as well.  We are pricing out 9x12 books which is what the Nexus Compendium will be.   We will not Kickstart Thuneworld until the shipping situation has been resolved or we find a stateside or Canadian printer with affordable pricing without sacrificing quality.

Gourmando Shipping Updates
almost 3 years ago – Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 08:48:36 AM

GOURMANDO TPB UPDATES

We are down to what should be the last 50 books.  We sent 100 more out today and should have the balance done by the end of the week.  If you ordered a TPB ONLY (no hardcover book) and you do not receive a tracking number by the end of the week please contact us and we will look at your order.

GOURMANDO HARDCOVER UPDATE

We received a timeline on the hardcovers for Gourmando just last night.  They will be finished printing by the end of May.  After that it's approximately 3 weeks on boat then 1-2 weeks between customs and US ground shipping, so ETA is around June 28th in house.

NEXUS BOOKLET

If you were following the 2021 sketchbook Kickstarter that just ended you know we were offering a Nexus booklet as a stretch goal which was not met.  The extra funds were earmarked to keep Steve working on Thuneworld and to be able to pay the colorist and designers to do their part so the next edition doesn't take another 5 years to come out.

The actual cost of creating, printing, and shipping the oversized hardcover is around $65k for preproduction, $40k for actual production and another $6-10k for shipping including international.  That includes the trade paperback, hardcovers for both the deluxe and signed limited editions.

To keep Thuneworld going, we are going to run a separate kickstarter for the Nexus booklet, likely mid June into July.  This will overlap both the 2021 sketchbook and gourmando books heading out the door!

2021 PUBLISHING PLANS

• 2021 SKETCHBOOK (Printed in the USA with quick turnaround)
• NEXUS: GOURMANDO HARDCOVER (Printing now!) (SteveRude.com/gourmando)
• NEXUS Booklet - Thuneworld Preview / Nexus Sketchbook & Drawing Guide
• 40th ANNIVERSARY COMPENDIUM (Will only go to Kickstarter when fully completed)

2022 PUBLISHING PLANS

• 2022 SKETCHBOOK
• NEXUS: THUNEWORLD (NEXUS NEWSPAPER V2)
• STEVE RUDE: ARTIST IN MOTION REMASTERED

Deluxe / Limited Edition Printing Approved
about 3 years ago – Sun, Apr 25, 2021 at 03:25:01 AM

We finally received color accurate proofs from the printer and Steve says the pages are beautiful so we approved the printing.  The increased size is going to be amazing!  The book is big with a nice thick covering on it.

I have an email in with the printer to determine when the book will be arriving in house.  I'll pass that along when I have it.

Gourmando Digital Deluxe Updated / TPB Update
about 3 years ago – Tue, Apr 13, 2021 at 08:26:29 PM

GOURMANDO DIGITAL DELUXE DOWNLOAD

If you are receiving a DIGITAL copy of the Deluxe Hardcover we have updated the file.  It's still a huge PDF at 74 mb.  To access the PDF please log into Backerkit and you may access all your downloads there.  

Please reference Update #35 for step by step instructions on accessing your digital downloads.  If you need the files broken up into smaller pieces let me know.  We've never done a digital download for a book like this before so it's definitely a learning curve!

Link for Update #35: 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/steverude/nexus-gourmando/posts/3083438

TRADE PAPERBACK SHIPPING TIMELINE UPDATE

We're doing well with the digital downloads.  We have about 12 backers who did not complete checkout and we have contacted them individually via Kickstarter so we can get their mailing addresses.

We are about finished shipping the unsigned TPBs, we have around 60 left to process then we will ship those signed by Steve.  Finally, Baron just arrived in house so watch Patron for exclusive pics of the duo.  We will also be doing a livestream of them signing on Sunday!

We should have all the orders that include only TPB books shipped by the end of next week including International orders.