"Odyssey"

[Diorm]

I just cant support this cause I live in Canada/Quebec and the shipping allready was waaay too much for me.
I hate my Country for this shipping bull****...

[rich]

Originally Posted by Diorm

I just cant support this cause I live in Canada/Quebec and the shipping allready was waaay too much for me.
I hate my Country for this shipping bull****...

So, given the Indiegogo page is long gone now, help me recall what it was that we all paid initially for shipping in the first place. Was it a flat cost per book in the US or a flat International rate? I thought it was just a flat cost per tier of support which already included shipping costs. I paid a flat $35 but don't see any additional shipping charge. Your comments seem to indicate you were charged extra for shipping and that it was costly. Can you share what you paid?

[Diorm]

Sent PM.
When i pay for stuff on amazon.com (not .ca) people just dont want to calculate actual shipping and just charge double price. Like if I want a DVD for 20$, it will cost me 40$.

[rich]

Originally Posted by Diorm

Sent PM.
When i pay for stuff on amazon.com (not .ca) people just dont want to calculate actual shipping and just charge double price. Like if I want a DVD for 20$, it will cost me 40$.

That's crazy. I ship to Canada sometimes and it's more expensive but all international shipping is kind of expensive.

I suppose to make this work it will have to be up to the person's individual choice and if they want the copy now or want to continue waiting. If Andrew is willing to let me take this on, I'd ship to those that pay the shipping and then just ship back the remainder to Andrew for him to ship out when he can.

[Toitlefan]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

You guys are NEVER going to get another Modeen TMNT volume. EVER.

Just stating a fact. If there had been an open discussion as to what the hold up was then I'm willing to bet there would be zero animosity. As far as burning bridges...the bridge was already toasty.

[Peter Palmer]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

Oh, I agree. But the way you guys are phrasing your criticisms and frustrations, while understandable, is also more than likely burning all bridges.

Unless Andrew is a really REALLY forgiving fellow.

About a year ago, I was singing the same tune you are. I'm a very forgiving guy...I even posted before that despite the huge delays and lack of communication, I would still support Origin should it ever get made. I understand that coming to this site and giving people an update that was essentially "no news, just waiting for the printers" for months at a time would be tedious and frustrating even for him. Back then, I could at least convince myself that he was doing everything he could behind the scenes to keep things moving forward.

However, now that the books have been confirmed to be complete and just awaiting shipment and Andrew STILL isn't giving any updates, it just tells me that he either A) doesn't care about the project anymore or B) doesn't care about the supporters who helped make the project possible. I can no longer convince myself that he's working hard because someone who was working hard would come here regularly and give the supporters the updates they deserve and have been politely asking for. As I said before, the lack of communication is coming off as disrespectful to those who have (and still) support him.

For a long time, I was baffled as to why several people seemed so patient and forgiving to the point where they'd jump on anyone who asked for an update. Now I see that some people are walking on eggshells because they're afraid that if they upset Andrew, he won't put out any more material. What a sad state of affairs. Let's see if he can get the first project out the door before we start worrying about whether or not future projects are forthcoming, shall we?

You can be a fan of a creator, but that creator needs to have some level of accountability if he's going to interact this directly with the fans. People can tell horror stories about commissioning artists who could never seem to get a commission out the door. If said artist has a rep, said rep can usually apply pressure to keep things moving, but those without reps generally end up alienating their would-be fanbase. Andrew certainly wouldn't have a problem coming up with the funds to create Origin if he so desired based on how many patient people there are in this thread. However, he is slowly turning his supporters into detractors through his own actions (or inactions).

This is becoming a little more personal for two reasons:

1) I am currently going through something similar for something else TMNT-related. Infrequent updates followed by frequent excuses raised some red flags. Through some prodding, it finally came about that this person has been stringing others along and in total, about $100k of goods & services are owed to people and this guy is just walking away and letting others deal with his mess. In all, I'm waiting on a refund of about $1,000 for that one. Patience was getting people nowhere. Only through more direct questions did this come to light.

2) About 18 months ago, I reached out to Andrew. It sounded like financial strain was keeping things grounded. In an attempt to move things along, I offered to buy the unclaimed top-tier reward (AC Farley splash) in order to provide a sudden influx of cash to cross the finish line. I tell you this because I want it to be known that not terribly long ago, I believed in this project too. Since the original campaign was successful even without selling the $1,000 top tier claim, I figured the cash could be used to easily finish up everything. At the very least, it seemed to get the books printed and shipped to Andrew.



The frustrating part now is that people have offered to pay additional money to have the books shipped and finally close this out. Those offers have been met with crickets. Patience doesn't seem to be working as he's been given plenty of time and there are still many with no books to speak of. Maybe throwing gasoline on those burning bridges will help get his attention.

[Danakin]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

You guys are NEVER going to get another Modeen TMNT volume. EVER.

Based on how this has all transpired I would imagine that's a foregone conclusion. Anyone that would support a similar project after seeing how this has played out would frankly be insane.

[Jay $tarkiller]

Peter Palmer, imho you've nailed it! Very patient myself, but the non-communication really pisses me off. It does come across very disrespectful. Communication is key in this kinda situation

[Nortock Diab]

Originally Posted by Danakin

Based on how this has all transpired I would imagine that's a foregone conclusion. Anyone that would support a similar project after seeing how this has played out would frankly be insane.

I do not agree with you.
All of us had the opportunity to at least read the digital version and Odyssey is a well-crafted story written by a dedicated knowledgeable fan and drawn, among others, by legendary Jim Lawson. That has to count for something.
Of course I can't wait to have my hands on a physical copy but reading the story already pleased me.

I'm in for Origin no matter what.

[mrmaczaps]

Originally Posted by Nortock Diab

I do not agree with you.
All of us had the opportunity to at least read the digital version and Odyssey is a well-crafted story written by a dedicated knowledgeable fan and drawn, among others, by legendary Jim Lawson. That has to count for something.
Of course I can't wait to have my hands on a physical copy but reading the story already pleased me.

I'm in for Origin no matter what.

And that's all fine and dandy. This bridge isn't being burned from the end of still waiting fans, its totally the opposite. All of those things are nice but if he can't be bothered to just update folks or allow someone else to help out where he (supposedly) has the printed books... I can't and won't support at least upfront, paying good money (not that I have any at this point) to get his next project (or future ones) off the ground. With that said, if his next one runs smoother and he were to make copies of the final finished product available once in hand, that I might consider (again, if I had money).

There are people willing to help. Let Rich help... Let someone here know and allow them to update us... Whatever. Just keep us informed.

[Shedder]

Originally Posted by Diorm

I just cant support this cause I live in Canada/Quebec and the shipping allready was waaay too much for me.
I hate my Country for this shipping bull****...

I too ordered and am From Canada and I believe it was an additional $20 US shipping. Thats a significant amount more then the US backers so to take an additional loss on shipping is hard to swallow especially at the current exchange rate. If something coud be figured out and I get my book sooner that would be the best of both worlds but I continue to wait

[rich]

Originally Posted by Shedder

I too ordered and am From Canada and I believe it was an additional $20 US shipping. Thats a significant amount more then the US backers so to take an additional loss on shipping is hard to swallow especially at the current exchange rate. If something coud be figured out and I get my book sooner that would be the best of both worlds but I continue to wait

Yeah, if Andrew agrees to this it's likely going to be tough for International backers. I checked international rates and it's going to be anywhere from $13-$25 for shipping outside the US. So, like I said, it's pretty much going to come down to who wants to pay extra to get this in-hand...or just continue waiting for some miracle money to appear that will allow Andrew to pay $20 shipping per book internationally. I think, outside of Andrew allow me to take this on, no one else is ever going to receive their book.

[Peter Palmer]

Originally Posted by rich

Yeah, if Andrew agrees to this it's likely going to be tough for International backers. I checked international rates and it's going to be anywhere from $13-$25 for shipping outside the US. So, like I said, it's pretty much going to come down to who wants to pay extra to get this in-hand...or just continue waiting for some miracle money to appear that will allow Andrew to pay $20 shipping per book internationally. I think, outside of Andrew allow me to take this on, no one else is ever going to receive their book.

Depending on how many Canadian supporters there are, it may be more cost effective to ship all Canadian books to 1 dromer who would then send them out to the rest at domestic rates.

Just a thought.

[rich]

Originally Posted by Peter Palmer

Depending on how many Canadian supporters there are, it may be more cost effective to ship all Canadian books to 1 dromer who would then send them out to the rest at domestic rates.

Just a thought.

That's actually what I discussed with Diorm via PM last night. It was believed to likely still cost a lot for shipping even from in-country. It would be an option for sure...for any country really...but would require quite a bit of coordination with a lot more people to pull off.

[Jay $tarkiller]

The shipping costs to Germany will kill me..AGAIN. I already paid good money to Andrew for shipping it over the old pond. It's really a messed up situation. To end this fiasco I'm willing to pay double. But I feel like Andrew owes us at least an apology. This is really f'd up

[rich]

Andrew's last activity on the Technodrome Forums was 12-21-2015 (two months ago) and his last post was 12-12-2015. I've tried the Odyssey email address as well...worth a shot. I really want to help get this over the line but it's a long-shot. We'll just need to wait to hear from Andrew if he's willing to have a neutral 3rd party take on the shipping.

I do want to publicly address those who have PM'd me about why I don't just patiently wait for Andrew to send these out, to stop complaining, and stop asking for more money. First of all...seriously? (see more below) Second, I'm not complaining...I'm trying to help. I've had (and have) my criticisms but I'm just moving past that right now and looking for possible solutions. That's kind of my nature...I like to help. I'm trying to work something where we can all (if desired) get these books in our hands. Even if Andrew agrees to this, you can still wait for Andrew to send you the book and you don't have to pay additional money for shipping. And I'm not even asking for money right now...it's just an idea...I haven't even heard back from Andrew so I don't know where the "stop asking for money" criticism comes from. I am just wanting to help; just trying to forge a path to resolution. Andrew's obviously going through a hard time and if I were going through this I'd want partners and not enemies.

Here is my reasoning about waiting. Andrew sent a bunch out and said more would go out every 2 weeks - but that was in July 2015. With only 260 printed copies, we all should have these in-hand by now at the "every 2 weeks" rate (unless it was one book per two weeks). So, if we continue waiting, what is it we're waiting for (besides the book)? What is it that must happen for these to get mailed out? Obviously, it takes time to pack and ship these. But, that's not the main issue. We're waiting for Andrew to get the money to send these out...plain and simple. It's not a small amount of cash we're talking about. Assuming around only 60 copies have been distributed, that leaves approx. 200 copies to be sent. If all copies were going to the USA (which we know they're not because he previously stated "many of them are overseas"), then that's a minimum of $600. Realistically, a better estimate is probably around $1,500 that would be required to get the remaining books all shipped out. Where is this money going to come from? How is waiting going to solve this?

So, there's my reasoning. It's just my reasoning...feel free to disagree. But please don't make this something it isn't...I'm only trying to help. Nothing more. If Andrew doesn't respond or accept...then nothing changes. We all just wait.

[Diorm]

Originally Posted by rich

So, there's my reasoning. It's just my reasoning...feel free to disagree. But please don't make this something it isn't...I'm only trying to help. Nothing more. If Andrew doesn't respond or accept...then nothing changes. We all just wait.

I don't get it. Who would disagree to that in the first place? You're just trying to help... who didnt get that?

[rich]

Originally Posted by Diorm

I don't get it. Who would disagree to that in the first place? You're just trying to help... who didnt get that?

Not my place to publicize who...they can bring their opinions here publicly if they so choose. They are clearly reading this thread.
This whole Odyssey topic is very heated...and I think emotions are leading some to incorrect conclusions/assumptions or their loyalties are simply blinding them to the reality of the situation.

[mrmaczaps]

Thanks for being willing to step in and help Rich. Cowabunga.

[IamtheNorm]

I am still waiting for all the books to go out so I can get a page of art work.