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ares_digital_update [2016/06/07 14:08] – [Axanar Scrambles to Ship Perks] Carlos Pedrazaares_digital_update [2018/09/21 16:39] (current) – [Perk Problems] edits to clarify Carlos Pedraza
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 ====== Axanar Scrambles to Ship Perks ====== ====== Axanar Scrambles to Ship Perks ======
 <wrap lo>//Main article: [[perks|What's Up With the Perks?]]// \\ <wrap lo>//Main article: [[perks|What's Up With the Perks?]]// \\
-//See also: [[terry_mcintosh|Terry McIntosh Resigns]]//</wrap>+//See also: [[axanar_finances|In Wake of Perk Problems, Peters Claims Axanar is Broke]] and [[terry_mcintosh|Terry McIntosh Resigns]]//</wrap> 
 + 
 +<WRAP> 
 +//**__ __**// <wrap lo>**By [[user>cpedraza|Carlos Pedraza]]**</wrap> 
 +</WRAP>
  
 Under [[perks|increased scrutiny]] for perks ready to ship but stymied by incomplete software, Axanar tried in early June 2016 to reassure donors it's taking steps to shore up its fulfillment operations. Under [[perks|increased scrutiny]] for perks ready to ship but stymied by incomplete software, Axanar tried in early June 2016 to reassure donors it's taking steps to shore up its fulfillment operations.
  
-The resignation in May 2016 by chief technologist, [[terry_mcintosh|Terry McIntosh]], amid growing donor complaints of its fulfillment capabilities. McIntosh's departure left Axanar's perk delivery in a state of disarray.+The resignation in May 2016 by chief technologist, [[terry_mcintosh|Terry McIntosh]], amid growing donor complaints of its fulfillment capabilities, left Axanar's perk delivery in a state of disarray.
  
 ===== Perk Problems ===== ===== Perk Problems =====
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 An **AxaMonitor** report, "[[perks|What's Up with the Perks?]]", explored the reasons behind Axanar's: An **AxaMonitor** report, "[[perks|What's Up with the Perks?]]", explored the reasons behind Axanar's:
  
-<WRAP right box 50%>+<WRAP right round box 50%>
 //**__« People are gonna have the Kickstarter patches, and people are gonna be excited about it. »__**// — //Axanar producer Alec Peters// //**__« People are gonna have the Kickstarter patches, and people are gonna be excited about it. »__**// — //Axanar producer Alec Peters//
 +
 </WRAP> </WRAP>
  
   * [[perks#no perks have shipped|Failure to ship]] any perks to //Axanar//'s Kickstarter and Indiegogo donors.   * [[perks#no perks have shipped|Failure to ship]] any perks to //Axanar//'s Kickstarter and Indiegogo donors.
   * Specific [[perks#donor complaints|inability to deliver patches]] that were manufactured.   * Specific [[perks#donor complaints|inability to deliver patches]] that were manufactured.
-  * Spending of [[perks#reported spending|up to $37,258]] on [[merchandise]] manufacturing and shipment, but not to its [[crowdfunding_platforms|crowdfunding]] donors.+  * Spending of [[perks#reported spending|up to $37,258]] on [[merchandise]] manufacturing and shipment, but not on behalf of the [[crowdfunding_platforms|crowdfunding]] donors who funded those expenses.
   * Placing a higher priority on fulfilling new merchandise orders from its online store than old Kickstarter rewards.   * Placing a higher priority on fulfilling new merchandise orders from its online store than old Kickstarter rewards.
   * [[perks#Undisclosed proceeds]] from a PayPal link added to its Kickstarter page after the campaign closed, via direct donations solicited on its own website and from purchases of Axanar merchandise made on its online store.   * [[perks#Undisclosed proceeds]] from a PayPal link added to its Kickstarter page after the campaign closed, via direct donations solicited on its own website and from purchases of Axanar merchandise made on its online store.
 +
 +=====   =====
  
 ==== Acknowledging the Problem ==== ==== Acknowledging the Problem ====
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 > I haven't heard anything from Alec or anyone else at Axanar that Ares Digital is in play — meaning I haven't received a formal offer to buy the technology. That said, I'm open to it and my terms are modest. I don't know if they have the means to buy it, because I'm going to want a check and not a promissory note.(([[https://www.facebook.com/groups/CBSvsAxanar/permalink/1225585727452795/?comment_id=1226554220689279&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D|Terry McIntosh post to CBS/Paramount vs. Axanar Facebook page]], 5/29/16.)) > I haven't heard anything from Alec or anyone else at Axanar that Ares Digital is in play — meaning I haven't received a formal offer to buy the technology. That said, I'm open to it and my terms are modest. I don't know if they have the means to buy it, because I'm going to want a check and not a promissory note.(([[https://www.facebook.com/groups/CBSvsAxanar/permalink/1225585727452795/?comment_id=1226554220689279&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D|Terry McIntosh post to CBS/Paramount vs. Axanar Facebook page]], 5/29/16.))
 +
 +== More Than a Mail-Merge ==
 +
 +While many critics have asked why Axanar can't simply do a mail-merge to create shipping labels for waiting donors, McIntosh explained on Facebook that the complexity of the data Axanar has to manage makes fulfillment far more complicated than that:
 +
 +--> Terry McIntosh Explains ‘More Than a Mail-Merge’#
 +> There are eight or so spreadsheets that I can remember off of the top of my head -- I've deleted them from my files, since I have no reason to keep them after departing the production -- and that isn't counting live data from things like retro packages and the donor store which evolve over time organically. \\ \\ On top of that there are two years of email and Facebook messages from donors with updates to their info that were manually processed (hundreds of them), such as email and shipping address changes, that have to be factored in, too. \\ \\ And, as the cherry on top, the original spreadsheets are a mess as they were provided to the production from Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and the bane of my past which is the BackerKit spreadsheet -- the latter is a cluster fuck of galactic proportions for technical reasons. \\ \\ Then, as a P.S., there is a spreadsheet for things like installment plans from the Indiegogo. \\ \\ So... maybe 20 different data sources and each one has its own unique challenges to not only import in to a database intact, but then it all has to be sanitized, verified as correct individually, and then setup in tables so that each source can be searched against using geeky methods called "joins" which allow say a table of Indiegogo data to be cross sorted with something like PayPal donations and/or the retro packages. \\ \\ Please believe me when I say that using something basic like a mail merge would be a proper nightmare for everyone... especially the donors... and that was when the data was fresh. After two years... I don't envy their new geek.(([[https://www.facebook.com/groups/CBSvsAxanar/permalink/1231806190164082/?comment_id=1232136160131085&reply_comment_id=1232233163454718&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D|Terry McIntosh post on CBS/Paramount v. Axanar Facebook page]], 6/7/16.))
 +
 +<--
  
 === Shipping Patches === === Shipping Patches ===