Some RPG publishers are talking about a thorny issue again – supporting international backers on Kickstarter projects. It’s an expensive challenge and some are asking whether it makes any sense to accept international backers at all.
Editor’s Note (October 2026): This article was originally published in July 2017 when international crowdfunding logistics primarily involved postal rate hikes and courier delays. Nine years later, cross-border shipping from the US has shifted from a margin problem to a regulatory minefield. We have preserved the original reporting below, alongside updated analysis on modern fulfilment realities.
The catalyst for the latest round of discussions is artist Bambi Wendt’s $70,700 “A Field Guide to: Dragons, Wyrms, and Serpents of the World”.
In an update to backers, Bambi apologises for the radio silence and then goes on to explain the challenges.
I was fretting and overwhelmed by this HUGE amount of money I had to somehow come up with, as well as the logistics of something as “foreign” as international shipping, when I started to vent to a pair of friends of mine who own a candle company:( https://www.frostbeardstudio.com ) and they turned me on to the company that does their shipping. In the space of a couple of weeks, they’ve gotten our shipping costs down from the estimated $25 to $18.68 which is a HUGE break when you’re dealing with 500+ packages. We’re meeting Monday to discuss the transfer, sign the contract, and logistics. I never, ever, should have attempted to ship out these books without professional help, and I never will again.
Bambi promises that absolutely nothing will keep these dragons from their homes.
Some good news has come out of her challenges. She’s created a Society6 store where the rest of us can buy prints. Those purchases will help fund Bambi’s shipping challenge.
Some will say that Bambi should have done more research and better understood both the logistical challenge and the cost of international shipping. However, the fact remains that shipping from the US to elsewhere in the world seems to be a recurring bugbear on RPG, art and cosplay Kickstarters. It seems frightfully hard to calculate the costs.
2026 Reality Check: Why US Creators Face a Fulfilment Impasse
In 2017, an independent creator shipping an art book or an RPG sourcebook abroad had to absorb packaging surcharges and rising postal rates. In 2026, the entire architecture of global trade has tightened around small presses.
The Death of Customs Simplicity: Global customs agencies, led by the EU and UK, now strictly enforce digital pre-clearance, automated VAT collection via IOSS, and carrier handling fees that frequently dwarf the value of an indie rulebook.
The US Tariff Environment: Volatile tariff disputes and retaliatory customs schedules mean physical components imported into the US (such as dice, cloth maps, or hardcovers printed overseas) incur heavy ad valorem surcharges before creators even attempt to ship them out to international backers. Absorbing customs duties on incoming freight, alongside postal rate hikes, creates a compounding tax burden.
The Minimum Viable Volume Trap: Unless an American tabletop project achieves the scale required to hire regional fulfilment hubs (such as ShipQuest in the UK, Spiral Galaxy, or GamesQuest in Europe), direct postal delivery from a garage or local depot is no longer viable. An indie creator who tries to ship directly to Europe or Australia often faces packages rejected by customs, returned at creator expense, or hit with unexpected fees charged directly to confused backers.
In 2017, refusing international shipping was often seen as laziness or isolationism. In 2026, opting out of international physical tiers, or restricting international backers to digital PDFs, is basic financial survival for small creators who lack a dedicated logistics department.
Operational Comparison
| Factor | 2017 Landscape | 2026 Landscape |
| Primary Friction | Rising USPS First-Class International base rates | Complex VAT collection (IOSS), digital HS customs coding, carrier processing fees |
| Import/Component Costs | Predictable overseas offset printing with basic freight | Compounding import tariffs and surcharges on foreign-manufactured physical components |
| Cross-Border Viability | Small creators can pack and post parcel boxes individually | Direct parcel shipping leads to customs rejections; requires dedicated regional third-party hubs |
| Creator Solution | Flat-rate subsidised shipping | Restricting international tiers to PDF-only or using post-campaign pledge managers for exact freight quotes |
