Oracle card deck featuring 44 gemstones and their meanings with beautifully illustrated original dragons by fantasy artist Nina Bolen
The decks have made it to customs so they are officially in the US. I should know more by the end of the week so I’ll update as soon as I know everything!
So I’m sure you're all aware (or maybe not, maybe you don't watch the news) of the tariff situation here in the US. So what does this all mean for the Kickstarter? To be completed honest I have no clue yet.
From what Ive been told because the decks shipped before the tariffs where issued everything should be fine. So the decks are still on the way to customs, I have no update other than that. I won't have anymore information until they get to customs. Once they get to customs I’ll have the full picture. I've had some people I know tell me they owed tariffs once their items hit customs, others did not. So everything is so confusing right now and a complete nightmare. I spent the first day when the 100% tariffs was announced panicking and by the time the tariffs for China climbed to 145% I had a full blown panic attack. I've been in contact back and forth with the publishing company and with them reassuring me that the ship date from China is what matters and not when it hits US customs I’ve calmed down some.
What do tariffs me for international customs? Sadly again I don't know. Now those in the UK and Canada always had to pay VAT and some taxes on international shipments so that's nothing new, but I don't know how much those will go up. I can offset those some by putting a lower value on the customs forms, for example putting the wholesale value vs retail value. But if the package gets lost you run the risk of only being refunded the wholesale value because that would be all that was covered. If you're an international customer before everything ships I’ll be reaching out to see what you would like to do. As stated in the Kickstarter there may be additional shipping fees also.
So yeah sadly that's where everything is. I’m just waiting for a message from customs to find out if I have a tracking number or an insane bill. If I have a tariff bill I won’t be able to pay it right away. In the worst case scenario I don't know what to do. I might run a 2nd campaign to pay for the tariff bill? Take out a small business loan? I’ve been trying to come up with ideas just in case this happens. I’m just trying to stay positive right now. But I will figure out a way to get these decks! I’ll update as soon as I know more.
These tariffs have destroyed a large part of my art business which is selling enamel pins which can not be manufacturer in the US.
So now I’m also pivoting my entire art business to something different.
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Deck is getting all wrapped up! Getting close to having the deck in hand. I’ll update as soon as the deck is on the way to me.
So the holiday did slow things down and then there were a few minor details that needed to be worked out but nothing bad or too crazy. Just things like the pull ribbon inside the box, etc. But the factory was nice enough to seen over a couple of pictures. Enjoy!
So the factory is closed until February 7th for the Lunar New Year so not much of an update but just wanted to let everyone know that I’m just waiting for them to get back. Once they get back and everything is finished and shipped from the factory to me I’ll update again. Then once I have everything in hand I’ll update again.