2021 dec 09 21:21
Okay, so this update is a bit early since I figure out a buncha stuff finally after taking a few mental-health days.
A couple of quick updates:
I've managed to make this member space password protected again. I tried to keep all my website shit on one host site and having my non-shop stuff living in Shopify wasn't doing it for me. So I migrated everything back to its old home and it's so much cleaner and yay password protection! So all updates and announcements that get e-mailed out will live in the gb club! members section.
The shop url is now goatbunny.shop. You shouldn't really notice any differences. This just keeps my shop on Shopify while the rest of my site lives elsewhere. Everything links to where it's supposed to, so no worries. You will get to where you need to be via the navigation. I may miss a few random links here and there but I will be slowly cleaning that up over next month or so. If you do notice anything strange, def let me know!
Tier Changes
Okay, so my ongoing issue was trying to streamline everything and keep everything consistent. Which generally worked, but also sorta failed. I did managed to give myself goals of making one letter set, one notepad and designs I could turn into postcards and stickers. Some months were tough and I couldn't get much real drawing done and some were super productive. My art output was somewhere between 2 - 6 useable illustrations. Which resulted in inconsistent amounts of stuff every month. It wasn't TOO bad, but the 6-illustration months really cost me, literally.
Another recent issue is the paper shortage deal. I tempted to search around Montreal for a print shop that could fulfill my needs this new year, but let's be real... we have no idea what will happen after the holidays, pandemic-wise, and I'm fairly certain most print shops are suffering the same fate as my usual spot. That being said, I've resigned myself to the fact that I will have to outsource all my postcard printing to an online print company. Which is fine. I did love how great the quality was with pro printing with the cryptid postcards so I will keep doing that. The company I will be using now has really premium looking stuff so I'll def keep it affordable (within the $5-7 range per card) and it will help keep my stock consistent. Again, time will tell if larger companies start getting affected (fingers crossed that they don't). Stickers and stationery will still be taken care of at home.
So with that, I'm HOPING costs stay relatively consistent now and I was able to figure out tiers. Time and time again, I also forgot to calculate shipping >_< Despite all that, not much will change. I'm just gonna do my best to stick with my set quantities (yeah, I may cheat and throw it a couple of extra designs here and there) but the breakdown is now:
- SO. MANY. TREATS! : 1 letter set, 1 notepad, 3 postcards & 3 stickers
- Writer's Treats! : 1 letter set, 1 notepad & 3 postcards
- Treat Mix! : 1 notepad, 1 postcard & 2 stickers
- Moar Treats! : 2 postcards & 2 stickers
- A Small Treat! : 1 postcard and 1 sticker
This is a ridiculous learning process. Back when I started all this on Patreon, very few people were offering physical rewards so I really had no point of reference. And I would get super over-zealous with things and totally forget about costs cuz I just wanted to throw fun stuff at you guys but in the end, that really wasn't sustainable either. I just want to offer you all awesome, quality goatbunny merch that doesn't end up putting me in the red every month. I hope everyone is okay with this set up! Again, I have to be stricter with myself to stick with this guide, within reason.
The Online Shop
I'm planning to shut the shop down in January to restructure shipping and deal with remaining stock. My goal is to eventually re-open (officially, I don't know when yet) with new prices which allow for free shipping within the Canada and US and have a clean inventory. I foresee a lot of extra stuff laying around after the end of December but I'm thinking of making clearance/mystery bundles or something so I don't just have stuff being dragged around for years. In the meantime, I made shipping free and cards are still buy 3, get 1 free until after Christmas.
I will be having ANOTHER 50% off sale (which makes me cringe so hard but what can ya do...) for Boxing Day (dec 26th) til the 31st. If i have the energy to start making bundles, I will. Shipping will still be free. I did not include the Cryptid collection since that one is still new and will probably still be around when I reopen. We'll see.
Okay, so that's all the updates I have going on. 2022 is a year I want to spend focusing on more work for the sub rewards, commissions and personal projects. I want to spend less time doing website/shop non-sense and constantly be bombarding social media with pleas to buy my shit cuz it's starting to get exhausting and I'm too old and jaded to care anymore lol.
I don't really have any pictures of WIPs cuz I haven't really done much yet this month except for website nonsense and anything that ISN'T related to work. So I guess you'll hear from me in the new year again? (I'll probably still send out a mass email about the Boxing Day sale closer to that date).
I hope everyone's holidays are relaxing, merry, chill or however you want them to be. Take care of yourselves and each other and we'll meet up again in the new year!