Schlock Mercenary: The Teraport Wars is now available for pre-order. This book fits between The Tub of Happiness and Under New Management, and with it you can now own the first 1000 strips in a complete print collection.
The book is $25.00, plus shipping and handling. If you want a numbered, customer-choice sketch edition it’s $35.00+s&h, but those are only available until 8:00am on Friday (GMT-7).
This 228-page volume is in full color on glossy paper, and contains all the strips and footnotes from November 12th of 2001 through March 8th of 2003. It also features some new footnotes, commentary, guest art, eleven pages of all-new bonus story, and an introduction by Brandon Sanderson.
Customers pre-ordering the book will be treated to a page full of desktop wallpapers featuring the full, wrap-around cover art at multiple resolutions and aspect ratios.
Sketch editions will only be available through Friday morning at 8:00am Mountain time, or until we’ve sold 1,000 of them… whichever comes SECOND. Over 150 have already been spoken for by Comic-Con and WorldCon attendees, so don’t delay! If past experience is any indicator, we’ll probably end up selling around 1100 of these by Friday morning, and then they’re gone. (In the unlikely event that we don’t hit 1,000 by Friday, we’ll keep the item available until we do.)
We expect to take delivery of 5,000 books around September 25th, at which point I’ll start signing and sketching. We plan to start shipping books out on October 9th, which gives me two full weeks to finish up those sketches (resting my hand a bit more than I have in the past.)
In the exceedingly unlikely event that you folks buy more than 5,000 books during the pre-order period, there will be a slight shipping delay as we throw more money at our printer and demand a second run. Know, however, that this is just the sort of problem I’d love to have.
And now, the FAQ:
Q: Can I buy other stuff from the store, and have you ship it all at once?
A: Absolutely. We have the popular warning-sign magnets back in stock, as well as mousemats, Tagon logo pins, Rule 37 shirts, Rule 1 shirts, and if there are impressionable children in your life, grab a copy of Hold On To Your Horses, the children’s book by Sandra Tayler and illustrated by Angela Call.
Q: Where do you ship?
A: Everywhere.
Q: What does the desktop background look like?
A: This.
Q: What if my order gets damaged, or I’m just not happy with it?
A: We’ll make it right at no additional expense to you. Ask anybody who has shopped with us before — if your book is damaged, or you’re otherwise displeased with your purchase, we’ll fix it. Usually it means sending out a replacement. We’ve upgraded our shipping materials so that there are fewer damaged packages, but it still happens.
Q: I don’t like credit cards or Paypal. Can I pay with a cheque?
A: It’s slower, but yes. The instructions for that are on the store.
Q: I’ve got a question that is not on this list. Why can’t you read my mind?
A: I actually can read your mind. I ran out of steam typing the list in. Email schlockmercenary@gmail.com with your question and we’ll answer it for you.
Orders
18 Minutes in, and I’m #6409.
1 Elf, 1 Artist Choice, 1 set of Warning magnets = $90
Calculated orders/hr for the first 18 minutes: 143
Re: Orders
Not bad. We actually did 151 orders in the first hour. We haven’t broken even yet, but we don’t expect to break even until at least noon.
(Of course since we need to be able to pay the bills for the next six months with sales during the next 30 days, breaking even by noon is “a fair start,” rather than a triumph.)
Orders
18 Minutes in, and I’m #6409.
1 Elf, 1 Artist Choice, 1 set of Warning magnets = $90
Calculated orders/hr for the first 18 minutes: 143
Re: Orders
Not bad. We actually did 151 orders in the first hour. We haven’t broken even yet, but we don’t expect to break even until at least noon.
(Of course since we need to be able to pay the bills for the next six months with sales during the next 30 days, breaking even by noon is “a fair start,” rather than a triumph.)
Ordered!
(I obviously got the time zones wrong, because I thought it was only two minutes ago it was becoming available.)
Ordered!
(I obviously got the time zones wrong, because I thought it was only two minutes ago it was becoming available.)
I put in an order for a sketch edition — for Sea Wasp.
[I’ll order my own separately, as they will be going to a different address.]
I put in an order for a sketch edition — for Sea Wasp.
[I’ll order my own separately, as they will be going to a different address.]
22 minutes in, number 6414. Two sketch editions (Elf and a Unioc), four more copies.
22 minutes in, number 6414. Two sketch editions (Elf and a Unioc), four more copies.
Stop. Reading. My. Mind.
Seriously, it’s only going to embarrass us both.
Stop. Reading. My. Mind.
Seriously, it’s only going to embarrass us both.
Even though I’m still reeling from the move, I managed to put in an order 🙂
Even though I’m still reeling from the move, I managed to put in an order 🙂
Got my order in for the sketch edition. (Apologies to Sandra for additional abuse to Howard’s hand, but remember, one must suffer for one’s art. Particularly if people are willing to pay extra for the suffering. 🙂 )
Got my order in for the sketch edition. (Apologies to Sandra for additional abuse to Howard’s hand, but remember, one must suffer for one’s art. Particularly if people are willing to pay extra for the suffering. 🙂 )
At 8:06 I placed my order, number 6395.
At 8:06 I placed my order, number 6395.
I don’t think I’ll be able to order my copy of the book right now, but maybe I can get my husband to buy me a copy for my birthday in Nov.
Ona
If you’re at Anime Banzai I’ll have books there.
Sadly I won’t be at Mountain-Con.
I don’t think I’ll be able to order my copy of the book right now, but maybe I can get my husband to buy me a copy for my birthday in Nov.
Ona
If you’re at Anime Banzai I’ll have books there.
Sadly I won’t be at Mountain-Con.
Order ID 6689 chiming in. Sketch, plus the pin and magnets I kept meaning to get.
Order ID 6689 chiming in. Sketch, plus the pin and magnets I kept meaning to get.
6741. Is that more than 5000?
Shipping to Australia is more than the book, unless I go for the “You’ll get it when we feel like it” option. Poop.
6741. Is that more than 5000?
Shipping to Australia is more than the book, unless I go for the “You’ll get it when we feel like it” option. Poop.
Shipping malarky
Is the store right about shipping prices to the UK? It seems to have changed since this morning (also losing the USPS international option). Saw that you’ve switched to boxes in the Blogunder; just some kind of update latency?
(Yikes. FedEx “economy” is some kind of sick joke.)
Re: Shipping malarky
Shipping options to the UK should include:
First Class International (only up to 4 lbs) ranges from $16-$30.
Priority Mail International (up to 40 lbs) ranges from $25 on up depending on weight.
Priority Mail International Flat Rate (up to 40 lbs) $39
Fed Ex International Economy (pay per pound) Way too expensive, but we offer it because a few people like to pay for quick Schlock.
Both of the Priority Mail options include insurance and tracking. If you added something to your order, thus taking it over 4 lbs, that would explain why the First Class option disappeared. We’ve been using boxes for over a year, so that should not affect the store today. So far I have been unable to sweet talk the post office into sending packages for free, but I’m still working on it. 😉
Re: Shipping malarky
Weird. When I tried it at 11:00 GMT, I had these options (five books):
International Flat Rate Box $39.00
FedEx International Economy $104.36
USPS First-Class Mail International $22.25
International Priority Mail (insured & tracked) $32.50
By 14:40, that had changed to these (five books again):
International Flat Rate Box $39.00
FedEx International Economy $192.56
International Priority Mail (insured & tracked) $63.50
Well, anyway. If we can fit six books and a set of magnets in
Re: Shipping malarky
(Oh great. Keyboard slips that bash ‘submit’, how I love thee.)
… If you can fit six books and a set of hazard magnets into a flat-rate box (the store thinks so), all is well. 🙂
Re: Shipping malarky
That is very odd. With five books, First Class should never have shown up as an option for you. Your best bet is the Flat Rate Box. Six books and a magnet set will fit in that box with no problem. Now I need to go poke the store and see if I can figure out where the error was.
Shipping malarky
Is the store right about shipping prices to the UK? It seems to have changed since this morning (also losing the USPS international option). Saw that you’ve switched to boxes in the Blogunder; just some kind of update latency?
(Yikes. FedEx “economy” is some kind of sick joke.)
Re: Shipping malarky
Shipping options to the UK should include:
First Class International (only up to 4 lbs) ranges from $16-$30.
Priority Mail International (up to 40 lbs) ranges from $25 on up depending on weight.
Priority Mail International Flat Rate (up to 40 lbs) $39
Fed Ex International Economy (pay per pound) Way too expensive, but we offer it because a few people like to pay for quick Schlock.
Both of the Priority Mail options include insurance and tracking. If you added something to your order, thus taking it over 4 lbs, that would explain why the First Class option disappeared. We’ve been using boxes for over a year, so that should not affect the store today. So far I have been unable to sweet talk the post office into sending packages for free, but I’m still working on it. 😉
Re: Shipping malarky
Weird. When I tried it at 11:00 GMT, I had these options (five books):
International Flat Rate Box $39.00
FedEx International Economy $104.36
USPS First-Class Mail International $22.25
International Priority Mail (insured & tracked) $32.50
By 14:40, that had changed to these (five books again):
International Flat Rate Box $39.00
FedEx International Economy $192.56
International Priority Mail (insured & tracked) $63.50
Well, anyway. If we can fit six books and a set of magnets in
Re: Shipping malarky
(Oh great. Keyboard slips that bash ‘submit’, how I love thee.)
… If you can fit six books and a set of hazard magnets into a flat-rate box (the store thinks so), all is well. 🙂
Re: Shipping malarky
That is very odd. With five books, First Class should never have shown up as an option for you. Your best bet is the Flat Rate Box. Six books and a magnet set will fit in that box with no problem. Now I need to go poke the store and see if I can figure out where the error was.