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Kickstarter and Crowdfunding Fulfillment, From Container to Backer

KSP receives your container, builds every reward tier and add-on, and ships to backers in planned batches from one US building, then keeps running your web store and retail orders after the campaign. Tell us roughly how many backers you have and when freight lands, and we'll plan the dates with you.
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Carrier trailers backed into KSP's dock doors
countries we ship backer orders to
220+
dock doors for inbound containers
29
to stage a full reward wave
225,000sq ft
kits built on our kitting floor
20.9M

What Is Crowdfunding Fulfillment?

Crowdfunding fulfillment is receiving a campaign's manufactured rewards, building each backer's pledge from its tier and add-ons, and shipping every backer from the pledge manager's address file. Most of it happens in one push after the freight lands, so the whole campaign's orders release together instead of arriving one by one like store orders.

Three conditions make it harder than running a web store. The orders exist months before the stock does. They release together, so the warehouse has to receive a container and ship most of it in the same window. And backers have already paid and waited, so a wrong edition or a crushed box becomes a comment on your campaign page that every other backer reads.

Whether you funded on Kickstarter, Gamefound or Indiegogo, the warehouse ships from one thing: the backer export from your pledge manager, whether that's BackerKit, Pledgebox or Gamefound's own.

Before Launch: Price Real Shipping Into Your Tiers

Backers pay for shipping before your final box exists, so the charge on each tier is a guess until someone prices it from real dimensions and weight. Send us the reward box size and packed weight before launch, and price shipping from those numbers, region by region.

Shipping budgets usually break on add-ons and stretch goals, not the base tier: one extra expansion or a playmat pushes the box over a weight break or into a bigger carton, and the shipping you charged no longer covers the label. Price the heaviest pledge you expect to sell, not just the base game.

Carriers bill a large, light carton by its size, so a game box with air around it costs more to ship than its weight suggests. At pack-out, every carton crosses a certified scale and dimensioner before its label prints, which means the box you price with us is the box we measure and ship.

Set international shipping per region. Duties and paperwork depend on the destination country, and if you want overseas backers to pay nothing at the door, build prepaid duties (DDP) into those tiers. Our international and LTL options cover every lane we ship.

Pledge Manager Lock and the Backer File

A wrong export ships the wrong box. A tier name that matches no SKU, or an add-on column the import skips, sends the wrong box to every backer it touches. This is the export we ship from.

ColumnExampleWhy we need it
Backer ID

10482

Ties each parcel and its tracking number back to the pledge, so you can answer a backer by ID.

Pledge tier

Deluxe All-In

Maps to the kit SKU we build ahead or pick at pack-out.

Add-on SKUs and quantities

Playmat x1, Expansion B x2

Picked against the backer's line items, one by one.

Full address and country

Street, city, region, postal code, country

Sets the carrier, the service and which batch the backer ships in.

Phone and email

+44 20 7946 0000, backer@example.com

International carriers ask for both on customs paperwork and delivery notices.

Survey status

Complete or open

Completed surveys ship in the first batches, so stragglers don't hold up everyone else.

Before import, every tier and add-on is mapped to a warehouse SKU, and we send that map back for your sign-off. BackerKit, Gamefound or any other pledge manager connects through Logiwa or our custom API, and we build a new connection in as little as a week. Address changes after lock follow one cut-off date per batch, set in the calendar we agree on.

When the Container Lands

Your whole print run arrives in one container, and the backer update you promised depends on how fast it gets counted and put away. We plan receiving before it sails.

  1. Before It Sails

    Send the packing list by SKU, the carton labels and the pallet configuration while the goods are still at the factory. Labeled master cartons keep a container from sitting at the dock while someone works out what's inside. Late inventory heads our list of launch delays and how to plan for them.

  2. Trucking and Customs

    We book the inbound container trucking from the port and handle customs, so the freight comes to one building with one team tracking it.

  3. At the Dock

    Our 29 dock doors take container and pallet deliveries. Inbound cartons are inspected for transit damage and counted against your packing list. Damaged cartons are held and reported instead of put away, so you know your usable count before you promise backers a date.

  4. Into Climate-Controlled Storage

    Stock waits for release in climate-controlled storage, which keeps printed boards, card stock and box art dry after weeks at sea.

Reward Tiers, Add-Ons and Editions

One board game campaign might carry a base game, a deluxe edition, two expansions, a playmat and a metal coin set, several of them in look-alike boxes. Each one gets its own SKU and barcode before the first pledge is built.

  • Tier Kits Built Ahead

    A tier that ships to hundreds of backers becomes a kit with its own SKU, assembled before release on our 50,000 sq ft kitting floor. The pack line then pulls one finished kit per backer. See how reward tiers built as kits move through the floor.

  • Add-Ons Picked at Pack-Out

    Add-ons and small tiers are picked at pack-out against each backer's line items, so a pledge with three extras gets exactly those three.

  • Editions That Don't Swap

    Base, deluxe, retail and Kickstarter editions each carry a separate SKU and barcode. The location barcode and the item barcode both have to match before a pick counts, so a retail copy doesn't go out in a deluxe pledge.

  • First Build Approved by You

    Before a tier batch starts, we build one and photograph it for your approval. You sign off on exactly what backers will open.

  • Limited Collectibles Counted

    Pins, playmats, metal coins and numbered prints are stored as their own SKUs, and the client portal shows stock for each in real time, so you know how many limited pieces are left before you offer more.

Shipping Backers in Batches

Planned batches give you dates to post in backer updates, and they catch mistakes while they're still small.

  1. Test Batch

    A small first batch ships and gets checked before the full release, so a mapping error shows up on a few parcels instead of thousands.

  2. US Batches by Region

    Domestic backers ship in regional batches, each with a date you can post. Labels are rate-shopped across carriers, and ground delivery reaches any US address in 1 to 3 days.

  3. International Batches

    Backers outside the US ship from Brooklyn Park to 220+ countries, with duties prepaid (DDP) when you've priced them in. KSP has no warehouses outside the US, so EU and UK backers ship cross-border.

  4. Tracking Back to You

    Tracking for every parcel posts back to your pledge manager or store, so when a backer asks where their pledge is, the answer is one lookup away.

Crushed Corners and Collector Condition

How each game is packed

  1. Packing Spec per Tier

    Carton size and protective inserts are set tier by tier, so a deluxe pledge gets more protection than a base pledge without you paying for it on every parcel.

  2. Snug Cartons

    A carton matched to the game box holds it still, so its corners don't take the knocks they would sliding around an oversized carton, and the billable size stays down.

  3. Damage Stopped at Receiving

    Units that arrive damaged are held and reported at the dock, so a crushed copy from the container doesn't get packed for a backer.

Late Pledges, Replacement Parts and Missing Pieces

The main batches end, and the campaign keeps going: late pledges, backers who paid for an add-on after lock, and the backer who opened the box to find a card missing.

  • Late Pledges Ship Daily

    Late pledges and late add-on payments ship as regular daily orders once the main batches are out. Orders in by 2 PM CST ship the same day.

  • Replacement Parts as SKUs

    Spare cards, tokens, minis and rulebooks are received as their own SKUs, so a missing-piece claim ships one part instead of a whole game.

  • You Approve, We Ship

    Backer claims come to you. Once you approve one, we ship the part. Your account manager works on our floor and responds to any issue within 2 hours.

KSP is efficient and professional in every way: orders are filled correctly, efficiently, quickly, and with top service. They find the best and most cost effective way to ship.

Denise B.Google review, 5 stars

After the Campaign: Your Store, Retail and the Next Print Run

Leftover rewards become store inventory in the same building, so you never move your stock twice.

Whatever didn't ship to backers becomes the stock behind your web store after the campaign, with Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce connectors plus Amazon and Walmart. Any other platform connects through Logiwa or our custom API.

Distributor and retail orders after the campaign ship by carton or pallet from that same inventory. Pre-orders for the next print run or expansion are held until their release date, then go out on their own batch calendar.

One CPG brand credits KSP with helping them "launch and scale both our direct-to-consumer and retail businesses."

KSP's building in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
Campaign stock and store inventory share one 225,000 sq ft building in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

What Goes Into a Per-Backer Quote

Creators budget per backer, so we quote per backer, and we walk you through the quote and every invoice line by line. Three things move the number most: how many tiers and add-ons you offer, the share of backers outside the US, and the size of the reward box.

A long aisle of pallet racking in KSP's warehouse
Receiving

Unloading the container or pallets and counting master cartons against your packing list.

Storage Until Release

Holding stock from the day it lands until the last batch ships.

Tier Builds

Kits assembled ahead for the tiers most backers chose.

Pick and Pack per Backer

Each pledge picked with its add-ons and packed to its tier's packing spec.

Packaging

Cartons and protective inserts, set per tier.

Postage

Priced on measured weight, carton size and destination, rate-shopped across carriers.

What we'll talk through

  • Backer counts by tier and by country
  • Add-on list with expected quantities
  • Reward box dimensions and packed weight
  • Freight ETA and arrival port
  • Campaign stage: pre-launch, funded, pledge manager open or freight booked

Crowdfunding Fulfillment FAQ

When should a creator talk to a fulfillment warehouse?

Before the campaign launches, while you can still set shipping charges from a real box size and weight. At the latest, before the pledge manager locks.

What do you need from our pledge manager?

A backer export with tier, add-on SKUs and quantities, full address, country, phone and email. We map each tier and add-on to a warehouse SKU and send the mapping back for your sign-off before import.

Do you import from BackerKit or Gamefound?

Yes. BackerKit, Gamefound and any other pledge manager connect through Logiwa or our custom API, and we build a new connection in as little as a week.

Can our factory ship the container straight to you?

Yes. Send the packing list by SKU and the carton labels before it sails. We book the inbound trucking, handle customs, count master cartons against the list at the dock and set aside anything damaged.

How do you keep deluxe and retail editions apart?

Every edition, expansion and add-on gets its own SKU and barcode, and both the location and item barcode have to match before a pick counts.

Can you ship to backers outside the US?

Yes, from Minnesota to 220+ countries, with duties prepaid (DDP) if you price them in. KSP has no warehouses outside the US, so EU and UK backers ship cross-border.

Can late pledges ship after the main batches?

Yes. Late pledges and add-ons ship as daily orders after the main release, and orders in by 2 PM CST ship the same day.

What happens when a backer reports a missing piece?

You approve the claim and we ship the part from replacement stock held as its own SKU, so one missing card doesn't cost a whole game.

What happens to leftover rewards after the campaign?

They become stock for your web store, marketplaces and retail orders, shipped from the same inventory.

Did You Charge Backers Enough for Shipping?

Tell us roughly how many backers you have and when your freight lands. We'll plan the batches with you before your pledge manager locks and show you what shipping your rewards would cost.

  1. Answer five quick questions about what you ship and where you sell, with rough numbers.
  2. A KSP rep gets in touch within 1 business day to set up a short call and hear what you need.
  3. We build a fulfillment plan and a quote around your operation, then walk you through both line by line.

KSP ships backer orders to 220+ countries from one building in Brooklyn Park.

No obligation, and nothing to send or prepare.

Not ready to talk yet? Get the Fulfillment Fee Checklist: the 14 lines a 3PL can bill you for, with the question to ask about each one.

Step 1 of 5

Who do you ship to?

Pick one or both.