If you've read the comments of our most recent post, you know basically how I screwed up the post on The Galleons. And, yes, its on me.
Two key elements of the screw-up I actually figured out before hearing from the group, once my brain fog had lifted. That's shipping and the currency conversion rate. The American dollar is weak against the British Pound. It varies, but I think it's currently about a buck and a half to the Pound. When I occasionally purchase albums from the UK, they're listed in Pounds and the conversion takes place at checkout. I think I got a bit confused since the pledge packages were already listed in dollars; the conversion was built in. And shipping, well, that should be obvious. Shipping to the states is obviously more expensive than shipping within the UK. If you think about it, the pledge tiers are in line with import prices. And the Christmas CD tier does include a download of the other album, so its still a 2 for one (unless I'm still foggy).
A third factor had not occurred to me--that it actually costs more per unit when you make fewer of them. I mean, you know, I've certainly bought things in bulk before and I know how that works, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time. Which brings me to the factor The Galleons didn't mention because it's all me.
See, about the only block of time I have to write for the web site is long after I should've been in bed (and I need a block; stealing minutes here and there doesn't work for me). I am a night person but, if I'm on schedule, I should be in bed no later than 4:00 AM. But that's about when I get to start on a piece for the site. Right now, its about quarter after 5 in the morning and I just now have the time to get back to this. At least this one is just an apology; a regular piece requires a lot of web surfing and searching, research, lots of typing (track lists are a royal pain to have to type out but sometimes you gotta), formatting (with the web host's "upgrades" making that more difficult than it should be)...it's a whole thing, even if it doesn't seem like it. Sometimes it takes me until 9 to finish up. Then I have to get up by 12:30, 1 at the latest. Which is one reason you haven't seen many consecutive day posts. As it is, the brain is foggy and the eyelids are desperate to call it a day. I actually had less time in a few of the years passed, but those time blocks were mid-day (well, mid-my-day). As with pretty much any crowd funding project that I post, here, I had already made my pledge/purchase and, I dunno...I did read the receipt and all, but it just wasn't penetrating the fog I guess.
It's not that anyone should feel sorry for me. Its a labor of love and its something I could stop doing entirely any time I want to. But I feel bad about this one because, who knows, I may have cost the group a sale or two and I did cost at least Kevin more than a few dollars if he, indeed, pledged for both CDs (or, at the absolute very least, gave him some serious sticker shock). And I know that the regulars, here, trust me as I frequently hear from artists that they get referrals from us and that those referrals purchase their CDs as often as not (or it could be they're just being polite and saying so). Yesterday, I was not worthy of that trust and I do sincerely apologize...both to you and to The Galleons. The worst part of it is that I know that I'll still be sleep typing going forward. Because this is where the time is, right now.
I do still think "Merry Bloomin Christmas" is a good deal and I do still believe The Galleons have an awesome sound. And, btw, if you didn't read the comment from The Galleons, the Christmas CDs will be coming this Christmas (I know I was unsure of that before).
I will continue to try to give you the information you need to evaluate a potential purchase. Just, you know, check my math before you press the purchase button. Because the guy who was trying to give you the information you need was, more than likely, asleep when he did so.
The Galleon's PledgeMusic campaign is here.
Peace.
Stubby
Two key elements of the screw-up I actually figured out before hearing from the group, once my brain fog had lifted. That's shipping and the currency conversion rate. The American dollar is weak against the British Pound. It varies, but I think it's currently about a buck and a half to the Pound. When I occasionally purchase albums from the UK, they're listed in Pounds and the conversion takes place at checkout. I think I got a bit confused since the pledge packages were already listed in dollars; the conversion was built in. And shipping, well, that should be obvious. Shipping to the states is obviously more expensive than shipping within the UK. If you think about it, the pledge tiers are in line with import prices. And the Christmas CD tier does include a download of the other album, so its still a 2 for one (unless I'm still foggy).
A third factor had not occurred to me--that it actually costs more per unit when you make fewer of them. I mean, you know, I've certainly bought things in bulk before and I know how that works, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time. Which brings me to the factor The Galleons didn't mention because it's all me.
See, about the only block of time I have to write for the web site is long after I should've been in bed (and I need a block; stealing minutes here and there doesn't work for me). I am a night person but, if I'm on schedule, I should be in bed no later than 4:00 AM. But that's about when I get to start on a piece for the site. Right now, its about quarter after 5 in the morning and I just now have the time to get back to this. At least this one is just an apology; a regular piece requires a lot of web surfing and searching, research, lots of typing (track lists are a royal pain to have to type out but sometimes you gotta), formatting (with the web host's "upgrades" making that more difficult than it should be)...it's a whole thing, even if it doesn't seem like it. Sometimes it takes me until 9 to finish up. Then I have to get up by 12:30, 1 at the latest. Which is one reason you haven't seen many consecutive day posts. As it is, the brain is foggy and the eyelids are desperate to call it a day. I actually had less time in a few of the years passed, but those time blocks were mid-day (well, mid-my-day). As with pretty much any crowd funding project that I post, here, I had already made my pledge/purchase and, I dunno...I did read the receipt and all, but it just wasn't penetrating the fog I guess.
It's not that anyone should feel sorry for me. Its a labor of love and its something I could stop doing entirely any time I want to. But I feel bad about this one because, who knows, I may have cost the group a sale or two and I did cost at least Kevin more than a few dollars if he, indeed, pledged for both CDs (or, at the absolute very least, gave him some serious sticker shock). And I know that the regulars, here, trust me as I frequently hear from artists that they get referrals from us and that those referrals purchase their CDs as often as not (or it could be they're just being polite and saying so). Yesterday, I was not worthy of that trust and I do sincerely apologize...both to you and to The Galleons. The worst part of it is that I know that I'll still be sleep typing going forward. Because this is where the time is, right now.
I do still think "Merry Bloomin Christmas" is a good deal and I do still believe The Galleons have an awesome sound. And, btw, if you didn't read the comment from The Galleons, the Christmas CDs will be coming this Christmas (I know I was unsure of that before).
I will continue to try to give you the information you need to evaluate a potential purchase. Just, you know, check my math before you press the purchase button. Because the guy who was trying to give you the information you need was, more than likely, asleep when he did so.
The Galleon's PledgeMusic campaign is here.
Peace.
Stubby
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