Hi,
I've been wanting to by some of your mfc labels for ages but they are always out of stock :roll
How will the sale / new project be any different?
Not meaning to sound derogatory
just want to know how to buy
Hey mate! How's it going? Not sounding derogatory at all my friend - very valid questions you have there.
Firstly, I'm so sorry you've not been able to get an order in, which I know is a major PITA for customers wanting to buy, and I know you'll believe me when I say it's a PITA for me too, as it's obviously in my interest to be able to sell to as many people as want them. I should be clear that I have had zero production issues or delays, so there is nothing really that needs to be 'different' this time, other than an ability to make more (in theory), which is always a balance of putting money into stock and having enough capital to keep a small business going. Until now, I simply have been unable to make enough labels to keep up with demand, and I do not operate a wait-list, as I don't want to disappoint anyone by keeping them hanging on after having parted with money.
However, back to your questions, for which I have answers and also some background, to hopefully fill in some blanks:
1. I moved from one end of the country to the other not long after KickTags Pro launched and then had the fallout of settling my family. Because of this, I was constantly playing 'catchup' with demand - remember, I am a one-man-business (well, technically, one man and Mrs. Sukh who is part of the production process!). The move was due to a significant change in role for the company I work for (my day job), which also meant my time suddenly became more scarce for quite a period while things settled down. At the same time, the new labels were, thankfully, a big hit and I had a ton of people wanting them, but...
2. Because I am anally retentive about quality, I never skimped on making the labels to the best of my ability, so did not take on too many orders or rush them out. So I started releasing labels in 'batches', allowing me to control how many I sold so I could focus on making them perfect for anyone who wanted them
3. Although I don't have a 'wait' system in place (I'm not a fan) I had many people that emailed me asking to be notified when the next batch would available - and I would often sell out before I even got round to sending out the emails to people. For this, I'm truly sorry, but the labels are time-intensive to make (they're all glow-in-the-dark, as you know, all made in-house and multi-layered - lots of hand assembly) and I just couldn't make them fast enough to meet demand, to the quality I want.
4. So.... with 'the thing that's coming next' (which, I'm really excited to say, is the label I've ALWAYS wanted, but could never work out how to do), I am not producing every aspect in-house, and I am not going to release them until I have built up a reasonable stock to enable me to provide them on a continual basis, with a not-too-insane lead time (basically, a rolling supply - in theory). They are still, however, going to be ultra high-quality and hand-assembled by the same anally retentive person that has been doing so all these years (i.e. me!)
5. Man, I so want to share what I've come up with! But I can't... yet...
6. Now that I've worked out production challenges on the newness (it has been a technical and design challenge that has been on my mind for 5 years), I had a decision to make: Either just sell what I had left of the remaining KickTags Pro stock then suddenly announce I had something new (which is the reality of how this kind of thing is generally done, but ends up irking those that ordered the old just before the new comes out), or let everyone KNOW that something new is coming and have a clearance on what's left of the old. I decided on the latter approach, which is what sits best with me. The old stuff is still (in my opinion) fucking awesome - and is still (still in my opinion) the coolest of designs, so the worse thing that can happen is that nobody buys the old stuff as they're waiting for the new (and that's not really a bad thing anyway), and the best thing that could happen is that those waiting for the KickTags Pro's for so long can now get the same awesome labels cheaper than they would have done, with full knowledge that I'm planning to release something new.
7. In terms of the 'KickTags Pro Clearance', I know exactly what I have so will add them to the store (once I have some more magnetic backings cut) in one hit and will put up a post here, with links, and full details, as well as email all those that have asked to be kept informed.
And that's where I'm at. I'm all moved, all settled in the job and house (we moved house last November too, after renting for 14 months after moving North) and my time is stable once again. The new labels will be quicker for me to produce, but at the same (in fact, slightly higher) quality and consistency as before and I cannot wait for them to be in the hands/feet of as many folk as possible.
Thanks for the questions dude - hope life is treating you well and hope to chat to u soon
Sukh.
