The Fox's Wedding: a Compendium of Japanese Folklore

April Shipping Update
about 4 years ago – Wed, Apr 06, 2022 at 04:42:25 AM

Greetings yokai lovers!

Last month was a roller coaster ride, with packages going out to Europe and the mail system shutting down on the very next day, causing half of the sent packages to be returned and the remaining packages to be canceled. In the interest of communication and clarification, I'm sending out a new update so everyone is aware of the current situation.

Global Shipping

Currently new shipments are stalled. East Asia, Australia, Japan, and some other countries have been successfully fulfilled, while most of Europe and several other locations are in a bit of a limbo. If you have a tracking number and it says your package has been returned, you have been affected by the Ukraine war, and your parcel is waiting at the Japan post office for global shipping lanes to open up once again. If you have not yet received your tracking number, your parcel is waiting at the fulfilment center for the post office to begin shipping again. After that happens, you'll receive a tracking number.

Right now, nobody can say when things will clear up. Mail services to Europe have already resumed, but parcels are still on hold. Hopefully this will change soon, and I'm sure the post office is working hard on it, but right now they are unable to give any hints about when that might be corrected.

Please continue to hold tight!

US/Canada Shipping

Finally some good news on this front! The last of the pallets are being picked up next week and schedule to leave Japan at the end of the month. From then, it takes almost a full month to complete the sea journey, clear customs, then local delivery to fulfilment center (assuming no new snags). From then, the packages will need to be sorted at the LA fulfilment center and sent out via USPS. I'm wary to give a date for fear that it will jinx things, but my best guess is that the first packages may start arriving in June.

Because of this, I am making a last call for address changes! If you've already requested an address change from me, I've passed on your changes to the LA fulfilment center. If you haven't done so yet and you need to, please do so immediately. I won't accept any more address changes after 4/13!

Ebook Release this Month

Lastly, I want to announce that because we're getting closer to delivery, I will soon be releasing The Fox's Wedding on Amazon in ebook format only. It's always been my intention to wait until backers have their books before releasing the book for sale to mass markets as a way of thanking everyone for believing in the project. However, because of the delays and shipping-crisis surge pricing, the costs of not shipping has really been adding up. Since ebooks were delivered some time ago,  releasing the book in ebook format only will provide me with some relief without going against my original intentions.

Once again, thank you everybody for your continued patience and understanding. It's been stressful to say the least, and I'm aware of how frustrating it is to have to keep waiting for your rewards due to delay after delay. But now the last of the pieces is in set motion, and the end will soon be in sight!

I'll post another update when I have further information.

- Matt

New Update on Global Shipping
about 4 years ago – Thu, Mar 10, 2022 at 10:44:31 PM

Greetings yokai lovers.

Several backers have noticed that their tracking status changed from "shipped" to "returned to sender" yesterday. I've just heard back from the fulfilment center that this is because while packages were mid-transit, Japan Post decided to shut down all airmail service to Europe and other locations due to the war in Ukraine.

Japan's airmail normally travels over Russia. With airspace over Russia now closed, they can no longer use those routes. Meanwhile, due to Covid, the mail system is already under heavy strain. We've reached a sort of "perfect storm" of issues.

The fulfilment center has everything ready to go and is keeping a close eye on the system. Right now, I don't think anyone anywhere knows what is going on, so all we can do is wait at this stage. I realize it's incredibly frustrating when we were so close to having everything go out. 

I'm sorry for the bad news. I will update again as soon as I hear something more. For now, please hang tight and be patient. Hopefully a solution will appear soon.

- Matt

Shipping Update
about 4 years ago – Thu, Mar 10, 2022 at 04:51:51 PM

Greetings backers!

Here is a quick update on the shipping status.

Global (Asia/Africa/Australia/Europe/Central America/South America)

Books are shipping! Most of you should have received your tracking numbers by now. A few more of you will get them within the next couple of days.

However, since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, international shipping has slowed down considerably. There are very strict quotas on parcels right now due to the limited amount of planes flying and restricted airspace that they can travel in. Because of that, there are about 450 orders that cannot be shipped at this time. Mostly this affects Europe, but a few other international parcels are affected as well. If you haven't received your tracking number via email by the end of this week, that means your package is at the fulfilment center and is waiting to go out at a later date. It's not can't say when that will be at this time, but my fingers are crossed that it will be soon.

North America (US/Canada)

No news to report just yet. I am still working with my freight contractor to secure a spot on a freight ship as early as possible. I imagine that the Ukraine situation will not help speed things up at all, but I haven't been told explicitly of extra delays. I'll update again as soon as I have any additional information on the port situation. Thanks again for your continued patience. (If you need to change your address, please send me a private message!)

That's all for now!

February (Shipping) Update
about 4 years ago – Tue, Feb 22, 2022 at 07:30:03 PM

Greetings backers!

I know everyone is very eager to receive their books, especially after the last update! I have some news and updates about the shipping process, split into USA/Canada and global orders (everywhere outside of USA/Canada).

Global Orders:

Many of you are wondering where your books are, since I announced last month they would be coming soon. Right now, all rewards are still at the fulfilment center and nearly packed into orders and ready to go. It turns out I was a little over-optimistic in my last update thinking it would take about a week to sort and ship. The fulfilment center is understaffed right now due to pandemic prevention measures, so the sorting and packing has taken longer than normal. I just heard back from them that they'll be done next week, and everything should be shipping out around 3/2, with tracking numbers following that. My initial estimate was overly generous, and I'm sorry for that! Thanks for being so patient - it should only be a little bit longer!

USA/Canada Orders:

The number of USA/Canada-bound orders is massive, which is why they took so much longer than the global orders first. Early this month, we moved several tons of boxes onto pallets for transport to North America. The total came to 11 pallets weighing in at almost 6000 kg! Here's what that look like (and me, with arms and a back like jelly from all the lifting):

So the products are ready to move. That's the good news. The bad news, however, is that I was wrong last month when I thought the global logistics crisis was clearing up. The situation is still quite bad, I'm told. I'm working with several companies to secure the earliest possible transport date, but due to the crisis, global freight is booked solid for months ahead, with costs 3-5x higher than normal. Right now, the earliest date I might be able to get is in April. I am continuing to look for ways to speed that up, however the main options, such as air freight or completing North America fulfilment from Japan, are far too costly given the size & weight of the shipment. I will keep accepting address changes for the time being, until the ship date is closer.

To everyone,

I know you've all been waiting very long and eagerly for your rewards. I appreciate how supportive and patient you've been through the whole process. The size of this Kickstarter project grew so much larger than I ever expected, and it presented many new challenges for me. At the same time, Covid created a perfect storm of problems and frustrations at every level. I'm sorry to ask you to just keep waiting, but right now that's all we can do. I've held back the release of the print-on-demand version of the book until you all have your rewards. And I believe very strongly that when you do finally get your books you'll feel they were worth the wait!

For now, I thank you for your continued patience and understanding. I'll update again in a few weeks when I've got more news.

- Matt

January Update
over 4 years ago – Wed, Jan 26, 2022 at 12:13:52 AM

Greetings yokai fans!

January is growing late, and it's time for a progress update on the packing & shipping of your books.

As of last week, all of the global/Japan (everywhere except for North America) orders are out! They are at the fulfilment center and are shipping out. So if you are in Europe, Asia, South America, or Oceania, your book is on the way or will be shortly. As the fulfilment center passing me tracking numbers, I will input those into Backerkit, which should then send you an email with your order tracking in it. Orders are being shipped out by Japan Post EMS service, which in my experience gets anywhere in the world within 10 days or less. When they arrive in your country they will be transferred over to your own postal service for delivery. Please keep an eye out for any notices from your postal service if they hold your packages for you.

North American (USA & Canada) orders are currently in the final stages of processing. The number of orders for the US & Canada was more than 5x the number of global orders, which is why they require so much more time. The fulfilment center has a warehouse waiting for them and is ready to move them out as soon as they arrive. The freight company expects about one month from door to door for the books to get from the warehouse here in Japan to the fulfilment center in LA, so I am expecting those packages to begin going out at the end of February. However, the port situation in the US is still suffering delays and other problems related to coronavirus and the supply chain crisis, so there is still a possibility that the books might get stuck in dock when they arrive.

If you are in the US/Canada and you need to change your address, please send me a private message. Addresses are locked in Backerkit, but because of the extra delays I can still pass any emergency chances on to the fulfilment center.