Each Kickstarter creator thinks about how they’re going to succeed in their objective. However essentially the most profitable ones take into consideration what comes afterward.
The minute you are taking even a greenback of marketing campaign funds, you’re on the hook to ship. And transport prices could make or break your marketing campaign’s profitability.
If you happen to’ve backed your fair proportion of campaigns, you’ve in all probability seen it: creators who lose 1000’s as a result of they underestimated prices. Others will attempt to make up for the shortfall by charging backers shock transport charges—one thing which mainly by no means goes over nicely.
However the excellent news is that every one of this bother is avoidable, so long as you do correct planning upfront.
On this information, we’ll stroll you thru every part it is advisable to estimate, price range, and talk transport prices to your backers.
The Fundamental Elements of Kickstarter Delivery Prices
Let’s begin with what you’re really paying for if you ship a package deal to a backer.
Postage is the massive one. That is what USPS, UPS, FedEx, or DHL prices to maneuver your package deal from level A to level B. Prices differ based mostly on weight, dimensions, vacation spot, and pace. A small package deal going throughout city will finally value approach lower than a cumbersome package deal crossing the nation.
Packaging supplies embody containers, bubble wrap, tape, and any branded inserts you need to embody. Normal corrugated containers are low-cost. Customized branded packaging with tissue paper and thank-you playing cards are costlier.
Many creators underestimate how a lot safety their merchandise want. After which they find yourself coping with broken items and upset backers.
Choose and pack labor is the human value of getting every part able to ship. If you happen to’re doing it your self, that’s your time. If you happen to’re utilizing a success heart, they’ll cost round $2-4 per order for fundamental decide and pack, plus additional charges for every further merchandise within the package deal.
Storage charges come into play when you’re utilizing a success heart or warehouse. Month-to-month storage prices are based mostly on how a lot area your stock takes up. In case your producer delivers early or manufacturing will get delayed, these storage charges preserve ticking.
Keep away from These Widespread Errors to Decrease Kickstarter Delivery Prices
Nearly each crowdfunding marketing campaign prices transport to its backers. What will get creators in bother, then, just isn’t precisely estimating prices.
We’ll speak about find out how to construct a price range for Kickstarter transport additional into the submit. However for now, pay attention to two frequent errors that, if prevented, will enable you preserve prices down.
Delivery to improper addresses prices cash each time it occurs. As a result of one in every of two issues will occur: the merchandise will get returned to you, or it gained’t. Both approach, it’s important to ship twice, probably dropping twice as a lot stock within the course of (relying on whether or not you obtain a returned cargo).
This may occur to a point, however you possibly can scale back the danger by ensuring you could have backers replace their addresses shortly earlier than transport, not months earlier than. That stops the danger of individuals transferring after which forgetting to inform you.
Delivery with out enough padding causes issues too, just because it will increase damages and it’s important to ship extra models. You’ll be able to keep away from this by ensuring your gadgets are correctly padded with paper or bubble wrap. An inch of safety on all sides is often enough besides in instances of extremely fragile gadgets.
The Distinction Between Native & Worldwide Delivery
Home transport is your baseline. For many merchandise transport inside the US, you’re $5-15 per package deal relying on measurement and weight.
Carriers use zone-based pricing, which implies transport throughout the nation prices greater than transport to a neighboring state. That’s why success heart location issues. If most of your backers are on the East Coast and also you’re transport from California, you’ll pay greater than when you shipped from New Jersey.
USPS is mostly cheaper however slower. UPS and FedEx are sooner however costlier. For small, light-weight gadgets below a pound, USPS often wins. For heavier packages the place pace issues, UPS or FedEx may make extra sense.
Then there’s worldwide transport, the place your fastidiously deliberate price range could very nicely collide with a unique actuality. That’s as a result of worldwide transport sometimes prices 3-5 instances greater than home.
A package deal that prices $8 to ship inside the US may cost a little $25 to Canada, $35 to the UK, $40 to Australia, and $50+ to Asia. It’s not simply the postage. There’s additionally the customs paperwork, which provides time and complexity to each cargo.
The dimensional weight lure hits particularly onerous internationally. Carriers cost based mostly on each precise weight and dimensional weight (size × width × peak ÷ 166 for many carriers). Meaning your light-weight however cumbersome board recreation might value as a lot to ship as one thing twice as heavy.
Right here’s the place sensible creators use regional success networks. As an alternative of transport each package deal from the US, you ship merchandise in bulk to warehouses within the US, EU, and UK. Then you definately ship domestically from every area. A US backer will get their package deal from New Jersey. A UK backer will get theirs from a warehouse in England.
The mathematics works like this: transport 500 models through freight to a UK warehouse may cost a little $2,000. However you save $15-25 per package deal on transport to UK backers. If in case you have 100 UK backers, that’s $1,500-2,500 in financial savings. The freight value pays for itself.
However right here’s the catch: regional success will make it extra complicated to ship your marketing campaign. You must handle stock throughout a number of places, coordinate with a number of success companions, and deal with customs paperwork to get merchandise into every nation.
If in case you have a small marketing campaign with solely a handful of worldwide backers, you’re in all probability greatest off transport from one place solely. However when you have a giant marketing campaign and lots of worldwide backers, it’s a good suggestion to no less than contact some success facilities in different areas and begin pricing issues out in spreadsheets.
Tariffs & Kickstarter Achievement
Tariffs are import taxes which are paid when merchandise go into a rustic. They’re separate from transport prices (from a warehouse to a backer), however they have an effect on your backside line earlier than you even ship to backers.
The 2025 Reciprocal Tariffs made a giant distinction in how tariffs are dealt with by crowdfunding creators. Merchandise manufactured abroad now face considerably larger import prices when coming into the US. This impacts your landed value, which is the entire value to get merchandise out of your producer to your warehouse, together with manufacturing, freight transport, and tariffs.
Let’s say you’re manufacturing a board recreation in China. Your per-unit value is $8. Freight provides $1 per unit. Beneath the brand new tariff construction, you may pay an extra $2-3 per unit in tariffs. Out of the blue your landed value is $11-12 as an alternative of $9.
Evaluate that to manufacturing in Mexico at $14 per unit with no tariffs (due to USMCA) and decrease freight prices. The hole is narrower than it was.
This isn’t simply a tutorial train. These tariffs come out of your funding objective. If you happen to budgeted for $9 landed prices and truly pay $12, that’s $3 per unit that would have gone to product enhancements, advertising, or your revenue margin.
Even when you find yourself transport from the EU, for instance, on to US backers, tariffs would nonetheless have to be paid. Solely on this case, the backers themselves would probably be on the hook to pay for them as a result of they hadn’t been imported right into a warehouse within the US beforehand.
Due to the speedy rollout of recent tariffs, creators and backers are nonetheless coming to phrases with find out how to deal with them. Your job, proper now, is to be very clear about who pays the tariffs, to speak this to the backers, and to get correct estimates to assist predict prices.
You should utilize instruments like Freightos to estimate freight transport prices out of your producer to your success heart. Likewise, you should utilize SimplyDuty to calculate customs duties and tariffs based mostly in your product’s HS code. Each are free calculators that offer you actual numbers to work with.
The right way to Use a Kickstarter Pledge Supervisor
A pledge supervisor is crucial for dealing with transport correctly. These platforms allow you to gather correct addresses after the marketing campaign ends, calculate actual transport prices by area, and handle add-ons that change your package deal specs.
The preferred choices are BackerKit, Gamefound (for video games), and—lately—Kickstarter’s personal built-in pledge supervisor. Most cost 2-4% of cash collected plus transaction charges.
Establishing transport accurately means creating regional transport zones. At minimal, you need: US, Canada, EU, UK, Australia/NZ, Asia, and Remainder of World. Some creators get extra granular, however these zones cowl the main value variations.
You’ll must resolve between charging precise calculated transport or tiered flat charges. Precise transport is fairer and extra correct—backers in Texas don’t subsidize backers in Taiwan. Flat charges are easier however riskier. If you happen to cost a flat $15 for worldwide transport and it really prices $40 to Australia, you’re consuming $25 per package deal.
For first-time creators, we suggest tiered flat charges by zone. It’s easier than precise value calculations, simpler to speak to backers, and extra correct than one international flat fee.
No matter you do, don’t promise free transport. “Free transport” means you’re masking prices out of your funding objective. That may work for $5 home gadgets, nevertheless it’s tremendously costly for worldwide shipments. Backers perceive transport prices when you’re clear about them.
The largest errors occur with add-ons. A backer pledges on your base product, then provides three expansions within the pledge supervisor. Out of the blue your 2-pound package deal turns into 6 kilos and doesn’t slot in your customary field. Your fastidiously calculated $8 transport value turns into $18. Be sure that your pledge supervisor accounts for elevated transport prices when backers add gadgets.
The right way to Create a Kickstarter Delivery Finances
Right here’s the method for estimating your complete transport prices.
Step 1: Get your actual package deal specs.
Weigh your precise product with all packaging supplies. Measure size, width, and peak. Do that with samples, not CAD information or producer estimates. Bodily merchandise are all the time heavier and bulkier than you anticipate. Add a ten% buffer as a result of packages all the time find yourself heavier than your first estimate.
Step 2: Estimate backer geography.
US-based campaigns sometimes see about 70% home and 30% worldwide backers. That ratio shifts based mostly in your product and advertising, nevertheless it’s an inexpensive start line. Examine the backer geography of comparable campaigns to see in case your area of interest skews in a different way.
Be conservative right here. Assume extra worldwide backers than you hope for, as a result of worldwide transport prices way more.
Step 3: Get actual transport quotes.
Use the USPS, UPS, and FedEx calculators together with your precise package deal dimensions and weight. If you happen to’re planning to make use of a success heart, request quotes from 2-3 suppliers. They typically get discounted transport charges you could’t entry as a person.
Add a 10-15% buffer on prime of quoted charges. Delivery prices enhance recurrently, and carriers add surcharges throughout peak seasons.
Step 4: Do the mathematics.
Calculate a weighted common transport value. If in case you have 700 home backers at $8 transport and 300 worldwide backers at $30 transport, your common value is (700 × $8 + 300 × $30) ÷ 1000 = $14.60 per backer.
Multiply that by your complete anticipated backers to get your complete transport price range. For 1,000 backers at $14.60 common, that’s $14,600.
A superb rule of thumb: transport must be 15-25% of your complete funding objective for bodily merchandise. If that quantity appears excessive, you’re not alone. Delivery is pricey. That’s why planning issues.
Step 5: Select your transport technique.
We strongly suggest accumulating transport prices via your pledge supervisor after the marketing campaign ends. This allows you to cost precise prices after you have actual addresses and remaining package deal specs. It’s extra correct than attempting to estimate every part in the course of the marketing campaign.
Be clear about estimated transport prices in your marketing campaign web page. Present particular examples: “Delivery to US backers is estimated at $8. Delivery to UK backers is estimated at $30.” This units expectations and prevents sticker shock later.
Last Ideas
Delivery doesn’t need to be the factor that derails your marketing campaign. 1000’s of creators efficiently fulfill Kickstarter campaigns yearly. Those who do it nicely observe three guidelines:
First, plan transport earlier than you launch. Construct prices into your funding objective. Create a practical price range with buffers for the surprising.
Second, be clear with backers. Present estimated transport prices by area in your marketing campaign web page. Clarify your success timeline truthfully. Set expectations you possibly can really meet.
Third, add buffers to every part. Delivery prices all the time run larger than preliminary estimates. Packages all the time weigh greater than anticipated. Extra backers select worldwide transport than you hope. Construct in that 10-15% cushion.
Your backers imagine in your challenge sufficient to present you cash earlier than you’ve made the product. That’s unbelievable, so don’t let transport logistics injury that relationship. With correct planning and sensible budgeting, you possibly can ship a tremendous backer expertise whereas defending your margins.
Now go ship one thing nice.
Need assistance with Kickstarter success? Fulfillrite makes a speciality of serving to crowdfunding creators ship on-time and at a superb value. Request a quote to find out how we may help you ship your subsequent marketing campaign.
Brandon Rollins, MBA, is the Director of Advertising and marketing at Fulfillrite. He sometimes writes about how eCommerce and crowdfunding manufacturers can manufacture, freight ship, and fulfill merchandise, in addition to scale their companies. You could find his work featured on Kickstarter.com, CrowdCrux, Retailbound, and Launchboom. He has been quoted in CMSWire, Quartz, Whatagraph, and Atlassian.
FAQ
When ought to I begin planning transport prices?
Earlier than you launch. Critically. Delivery prices have to be constructed into your funding objective from day one. The mathematics is straightforward: funding objective = product prices + transport prices + advertising + contingency. If you happen to don’t account for transport, you’re both dropping cash or stunning backers with prices later. Each choices are unhealthy.
Ought to I provide free transport?
No. Free transport means you’re consuming prices that would sink your marketing campaign. A $30 product with “free transport” to Australia means you’re paying $40 in transport prices and conserving nothing. That’s not sustainable. Backers perceive transport when you’re sincere about it. They’d slightly pay truthful transport prices than again a marketing campaign that fails to ship as a result of the creator ran out of cash.
How do I estimate transport with out figuring out actual addresses?
Create regional zones and use common prices for every zone. For small gadgets, most US orders will value $6-10 to ship. Most Canadian orders will value $20-30. Most EU orders will value $25-40. Use these averages to estimate, then add a 10-15% buffer. When backers submit addresses in your pledge supervisor, you’ll cost precise prices based mostly on their area.
How do tariffs have an effect on my backers?
Tariffs have an effect on you when importing merchandise into the international locations (significantly the US) for success. They’re a part of your landed prices. Backers could owe VAT (value-added tax) within the EU or duties in different international locations relying on native legal guidelines. Be clear in your marketing campaign phrases about who pays these charges. Normally, the backer is accountable for any import duties or taxes of their nation.
Ought to I take advantage of a number of success facilities for various areas?
Solely when you have no less than enough worldwide backers and the mathematics works in your favor. Regional success saves on per-backer transport prices however provides freight bills and operational complexity. You can also make a remaining determination on which areas to ship from after you could have particular info on the place your backers are positioned. If you realize you’ll have important worldwide demand, then think about regional success.
What occurs if I underestimate transport prices?
You may have three choices and none are nice. You may take in the prices and lose cash, ask backers to pay extra and injury belief, or discover cheaper transport options that may compromise supply high quality. Avoiding underestimating actually is the most effective answer, so add buffers to each estimate. Delivery prices all the time run larger than your first calculation.
