Pre-orders have gone exceptionally well, and for this I again thank you. We're out of numbered sketch editions, right on schedule. You can still get a Scrapyard without the sketch, though, and it will be signed. We still have plenty of boxed sets and slipcases left, too... but when I say "plenty" what I really mean is "exactly the wrong amount." (I'll get to that in a minute.) Some stats, just so you know how things are going: - The first day's sales were our second-best day ever, beaten only by first-day sales of The Tub of Happiness in late 2007, and then only by a sub-1% margin.
- In just three-and-a-half days we beat the six-day totals of both The Tub of Happiness and The Teraport Wars (by 15% and 9% respectively)
- As of right now we've got eight months of "The Taylers can pay the bills" socked away in the bank. That includes expenses like printing and shipping all of these books and slipcases. I'm pretty sure that's the "sigh of relief" point.
- Sandra wrote me two paychecks today. Apparently she'd been holding off on paying me in March until we actually had some money in the bank again. And I think that means one of the eight months in the bank was March.
Now, on to "exactly the wrong amount." We have ordered 2000 slip-cases, and have sold almost 800 of them. We have roughly 350 copies of Under New Management left from which to build boxed sets. Since I'm planning to attend GenCon Indy and WorldCon, it would make sense for me to have plenty of boxed sets on hand for those events. Unfortunately I might need to re-print Under New Management, and if enough slip-cases sell individually I might need to order more of those, too. This means getting the order to the printer by April 30th, which is just a month away. It would also mean taking our "sigh of relief" money and spending almost a third of it on inventory. If we'd already sold out it would be a no-brainer. The problem would have arrived with its solution (money!) in tow. If we sell out in mid-April it's also a no-brainer. But right now it's really hard to tell. The last thing we want to do is overspend on inventory. But the next-to-the-last thing we want to do is not have inventory when we need it. Decisions, decisions. Will enough boxed sets have sold by July for us to be able to justify spending almost $15,000 on reprints in April? What if the economy tanks between now and then? (HA! I kid.) In related news, I need to tell you about the project that is eating April alive. But I'll save that for tomorrow. HINT: GenCon Indy. Also, I mentioned it in a recent podcast...
