Last week it finally happened. A set of our out-of-stock dice went up on eBay at the speculative price of $100. I'll admit it, at first I was flattered that someone thought they might be worth that price. I'll also admit that when Dice Envy started I thought a limited edition collectors economy would be cool. Now I’ve seen that though the rush to get a limited set can be fun for a time, it eventually turns frustrating. It can eventually discourage people from collecting all together.
We are a company for dice enthusiasts by dice enthusiasts. I don't like my dice on eBay for ten times the price. I don't like seeing people who want our dice not get them. Our primary goal as a company is to get you cool dice with as little hassle as possible. We want to get you those sweet goblin click-clacks.
With that in mind, we are distancing ourselves from a FOMO economy of limited releases and promises (or threats) of a single run of our most popular dice sets. Instead, we are committed to getting you the dice you want in a timely and friendly manner.
So how will this change how we do business?
Most things will not change. Here’s a reminder of a few systems in place that work well for releasing new dice sets:
1. We use Kickstarter for a lot of our new product lines. This gives everyone a chance to get what they want on a flexible timeline, and allows us to accurately gauge interest in innovative materials and structural designs.
2. For some of the new designs we’re most excited by, we put out a pre-order to make sure we have enough product to cover the initial wave of interest. In most cases, these pre-orders ship within a month, and we always restock them on the site.
3. Our subscription box is accessible to everyone at prices ranging from $5 to $22 dollars. Most of our new product is available to all through that service.
What is new?
1. Customers now have the option to sign up for updates on out of stock products. If any particular set has 400+ people interested in a revival we will start a new print run.
2. I believe in our product. They are great dice! It doesn't matter if there are 5 or 5,000 of them out in the world. So we are eliminating limited editions. I'm aware some people bought dice in the past from us and we have labeled them limited edition. Maybe that was even a selling point for you. So I am opening up a buyback. For the month of June, if you bought a set of dice because we marketed them to you in the past as "limited" or "exclusive" you can mail it back to us and we will exchange it or return your money. It doesn't matter if you bought them yesterday or two years ago.
We hope this will help you trust us as a company, give you less anxiety, and help you love collecting dice.
David,
Founder and CEO of Dice Envy
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