2016 Holiday Ornaments (and 2017 Monster Calendar) are on sale now!

[The Giant]

Hey guys. It's that time! The OOTS 2017 Monster Calendar is on pre-sale, like, right now. Wanna see the cover? Sure you do.

http://www.GiantITP.com/Images/gitpkick/OOTSCalendar2017_OokCover.png (https://ookoodook.com/products/2017-order-of-the-stick-monster-calendar)

And here's a page. The first page, in fact:

http://www.GiantITP.com/Images/gitpkick/Calendar2017_UnifiedSample.png (https://ookoodook.com/products/2017-order-of-the-stick-monster-calendar)

As usual, the calendar is an Ookoodook exclusive, for all sorts of logistical reasons that lI won't go into here. But you can pre-order it here (https://ookoodook.com/products/2017-order-of-the-stick-monster-calendar), now.

I will do my best to answer questions in the thread, but here's an FAQ composed of mainly the same questions people ask me every year on this thread:

Q: Where can I order this calendar?
A: Here, at this link: Order of the Stick 2017 Monster Calendar (https://ookoodook.com/products/2017-order-of-the-stick-monster-calendar)

Q: If this is a pre-sale, when do you expect the calendars to ship?
A: We are aiming for all pre-orders to shipped by December 9th. This is the same timeframe we target every year—and miss every year. So we're getting started a few weeks earlier without moving up the expected in-stock date, in the hopes that we can actually meet our intended goal. However, we cannot promise that the calendar will ship before December 9th, and we certainly cannot formally guarantee that everyone will receive their calendar in time for the winter gift-giving holiday of their preference. That's our planned schedule, but if we miss those dates please don't come here and yell at me that I swore a blood oath to deliver them on time.

Q: Will there be a charity donation with this year's calendar?
A: Yes! We'll be donating $2 per calendar pre-ordered to one or more no-kill animal shelters. I haven't nailed down which ones—I have few personal favorites—but they'll be local to here in Philadelphia, or Houston, where the Ookoodook warehouse is located. Last year we were able to donate $1536.00 to MercyCorps (https://www.mercycorps.org/), and I'd love to exceed that this year.

Q: Are those monsters on the cover representative of the monsters that are featured in the calendar?
A: Nope! A few are, but mostly I just drew a bunch of random monsters for the cover.

Q: Hey, I don't see the holiday ornament, does this mean there's not one this year?
A: No, there will definitely be a holiday ornament this year, along with at least a few t-shirts. But I haven't finished the art for them yet, and we have issues every year with the calendar getting printed and shipped. I made a decision to try to sell the calendar earlier this year to maximize the number of people who will get their calendars on time. The holiday ornament will be available probably around November 21st or so. The holiday ornaments are here! Scroll down to the end of the post to see a picture, or head on over to the CafePress shop (http://www.cafepress.com/orderofthestick) to get them.

Q: Should I wait until you put the holiday ornament on sale before ordering the calendar?
A: You certainly can, but there's no real benefit to doing so. The ornament will be sold by CafePress, not Ookoodook, and we can't plausibly combine shipping for items from the two different vendors. You won't save any money on shipping by waiting.

Q: Why are the overseas shipping costs from Ookoodook so high?
A: Because Ookoodook is a very small company that is bringing these to the post office, and that's what the US Postal Service charges for an international package that can be tracked these days. Yes, Amazon charges less for shipping. Ookoodook is not Amazon.

Q: I hate that you waste your comic-drawing time on this stuff and wish you'd spend all of your waking hours producing the next comic and/or Kickstarter story.
A: OK, well, here's the thing: The calendar and CafePress stuff takes me maybe around three weeks of drawing time, total, and generates enough income to let me pay my bills for a few months. During that time, I am free to work on the regular comic or the long-overdue Kickstarter material without having to worry about paying my rent. In fact, this stuff is incredibly efficient in regard to how long they take me to finish versus how much time they give me before I need to figure out where the money for next month's bills are coming from. So even if you don't want the calendar or the ornament, understand that putting them out is what allows me to keep working on the free comic.

Q: OK, but...where's the next comic?
A: There will be a new one up later this morning, after I get all this promo stuff in place.

If there are any other questions about the calendar, feel free to ask them below.

EDITED TO ADD:

The 2016 Holiday Ornaments are now on sale. Here's a look:

http://www.GiantITP.com/Images/Christmas2016_Ornament_ForForum.png (http://www.cafepress.com/orderofthestick)http://www.GiantITP.com/Images/BattleOrnament2016_ForForum.png (http://www.cafepress.com/orderofthestick)

You can get those from the CafePress (http://www.cafepress.com/orderofthestick) shop as usual. In addition, the 12 previous designs in the "snowfall" series are also on sale, so if you missed out on any of those, you can pick them up now. Thanks!

[Yana]

Hey, as long as we get a month dedicated to the flumphs, that's good enough for me!

Ah who am I kidding? I'm buying it anyway.

[Peelee]

Now, if only I can convince my wife to let me get it. She nixed the last two calenders, but I have a good feeling about this year.

Edit: Aaaaaaand I was right. Ordered!

[nogall]

for the third year in a row, ordered! thanks for the great work, Giant.

[Lord Torath]

Woo hoo! Thanks, Giant! Put me down for three!

Yes, I know, that's not really how I order them. I'll do it the right way, I promise!

[Zar Peter]

Just ordered mine.

And since I always use the January of the last year for the next year till the new calender arrives it would be nearly a breach of tradition if this calender is on time here... also, this years January would have much less screen time then.


Not that I'm completely averse about a delivery in December :smalltongue:

[a1chemi]

Q: I hate that you waste your comic-drawing time on this stuff and wish you'd spend all of your waking hours producing the next comic and/or Kickstarter story.
A: OK, well, here's the thing: The calendar and CafePress stuff takes me maybe around three weeks of drawing time, total, and generates enough income to let me pay my bills for a few months. During that time, I am free to work on the regular comic or the long-overdue Kickstarter material without having to worry about paying my rent. In fact, this stuff is incredibly efficient in regard to how long they take me to finish versus how much time they give me before I need to figure out where the money for next month's bills are coming from. So even if you don't want the calendar or the ornament, understand that putting them out is what allows me to keep working on the free comic.

Q: OK, but...where's the next comic?
A: There will be a new one up later this morning, after I get all this promo stuff in place.


You are so kind and patient with people who expect you to not eat or sleep under a roof and still provide a free comic.

[dtilque]

Ordered one and also one for 2016.

The shipping fee seemed to be a bit on the high side, over $10. Is that because they going to be shipping them separately or has the post office raised their rates? I don't need the 2016 one soon; it can be shipped with the new one and possibly save postage. I only buy them for the artwork and humor. If I need a calendar, I look at the one on my computer.

[ti'esar]

"No Remorhaz, No Regret"

:smallbiggrin:

[The Giant]

The shipping fee seemed to be a bit on the high side, over $10. Is that because they going to be shipping them separately or has the post office raised their rates? I don't need the 2016 one soon; it can be shipped with the new one and possibly save postage.

Things you order with the calendar pre-order are not shipped separately; all of your stuff will arrive at once. If the shipping cost is over $10, then that's because that's what it costs them to ship. I'm not sure what size box Ookoodook uses for the calendars, but a Medium flat-rate Priority Mail box costs $11.95 domestic (https://www.usps.com/ship/priority-mail.htm) and $43.65 international (https://www.usps.com/international/priority-mail-international.htm). Yes, that international shipping price is utterly ridiculous; USPS overseas rates have been jumping up by leaps and bounds every year.

[Peelee]

For what it's worth, my shipping (domestic, cheapest option) was $3.50, but it was also calendar-only. Not bad at all, especially since I know what USPS charges my work for the occasional shipping we do.

[Tom Lehmann]

Thanks, Rich, for trying to get the Calendar in our hands earlier this year. I appreciate the effort.

[dtilque]

I'm not sure what size box Ookoodook uses for the calendars, but a Medium flat-rate Priority Mail box costs $11.95 domestic (https://www.usps.com/ship/priority-mail.htm)

This Priority Mail may be part of the problem. Ordinary mail would have been just fine. I didn't see an option for that and possibly they can't use it for some reason.

Perhaps I should contact them directly via the email address they included with the order confirmation.

[Lord Torath]

Oddly, shipping gets worse as you add more. Shipping on one calendar is $3.60. On two, it's $8.79 ($4.40 each), and on three it's $11.30 ($3.77 each). Fifty cents is probably not worth the extra hassle of preparing three separate orders for the poor Ookoodook staff, though.

[The Giant]

OK, well, I'm not really going to get involved in shipping issues since I have no hand in that part of the process. If you want to discuss shipping concerns, you probably are better contacting Ookoodook directly, where at least you can discuss the particulars of your location or what have you.

[ZMiles]

I'm both overseas and in somewhat cramped living conditions at the moment and so can't get the physical calendar. Will you be selling digital files of the calendar artwork, like how you sold digital files of the first couple OotS books and how you distributed the Kickstarter stories? (For that matter--any chance of selling digital copies of previous year calendar artwork?)

[Bragolgirith]

And to add to the question, is there maybe an official distributor in Europe - seeing how at Ookoodook the calender's costs are negligible compared to the shipping costs. :)

[ChristianSt]

:smallbiggrin: / :smallsigh:

on one hand awesome calendar is awesome, on the other hand the international shipping is getting ridiculous...

(not that it prevents me from ordering one, but since the shipping now costs more than the calendar itself, it would be really nice to find a way to make it somewhat easier for folks outside the USA)

[MikelaC1]

And since I always use the January of the last year for the next year till the new calender arrives

You obviously have not seen the Arthur episode that shows the dangers of not changing the calendar to the new year calendar precisely at midnight....

[Mazlynn]

Oddly, shipping gets worse as you add more. Shipping on one calendar is $3.60. On two, it's $8.79 ($4.40 each), and on three it's $11.30 ($3.77 each). Fifty cents is probably not worth the extra hassle of preparing three separate orders for the poor Ookoodook staff, though.

Yeah, unfortunately that may inadvertently end up costing an order. I was going to order two at once to save on shipping, figuring I'd find someone to give the second one to. But since it's going to cost MORE to order two I'll just order one and wait to figure out who I'm giving the second one to so I can ship it directly to them. But that increases the chance that I'll forget about it by gift giving season. :(

[Lord Torath]

And to add to the question, is there maybe an official distributor in Europe - seeing how at Ookoodook the calender's costs are negligible compared to the shipping costs. :)I seem to recall that last year a bunch of German Oots fans combined their orders. Maybe try to set something like that up again?

[Unregistered]

Ordered, as always. And as always, international shipping is crazy expensive, but oh well, what can you do. I thoroughly enjoyed the calendars thus far and I certainly don't want to miss one.

[Dr. Gamera]

Ordered! My Oookoodook order number is just a little away from the magic numbers of 2016 and 2017, so I think some people are hitting those today.

[factotum]

Add me to the list of people who can't really justify buying a $38 calendar, which is what it'd be when shipping is taken into account. Sorry. :smallfrown:

[Hazelnut]

Add me to the list of people who can't really justify buying a $38 calendar, which is what it'd be when shipping is taken into account. Sorry. :smallfrown:

Me too, especially since $1 is almost £1 these days, although I have never really wanted a calendar so my threshold is much lower than that and I have never ordered one. Always wanted to see the artwork and character parts though, and would happily pay for a PDF that collects all the calendar strips & art (minus the useless day tracking bits, I have an absent minded nerd cred to uphold you know - being aware of what day it is would ruin that :smallyuk:) Books on the other hand must have physical copy! non-negotiable. :biggrin:

So, Giant, now you've dipped your toe in the sale of PDFs, any chance you would consider doing this for those who don't want calendars or pay shipping but would like to see the art you spend a couple of weeks on because we love OOTS?

[jdb-44]

Just ordered mine. Looking forward to getting it--I'll probably hang it in my cube at work!

[Henk]

Me too, especially since $1 is almost £1 these days, although I have never really wanted a calendar so my threshold is much lower than that and I have never ordered one. Always wanted to see the artwork and character parts though, and would happily pay for a PDF that collects all the calendar strips & art (minus the useless day tracking bits, I have an absent minded nerd cred to uphold you know - being aware of what day it is would ruin that :smallyuk:) Books on the other hand must have physical copy! non-negotiable. :biggrin:

So, Giant, now you've dipped your toe in the sale of PDFs, any chance you would consider doing this for those who don't want calendars or pay shipping but would like to see the art you spend a couple of weeks on because we love OOTS?

+1 for the PDF version. I'd pay the normal retail price for a PDF version of the calendar and get it printed locally in the UK.

[The Giant]

Hey guys, here are some updates:

First, the calendar is set to finish being printed on Monday, December 5th. From there, it will take 2-3 days to ship to Ookoodook's warehouse, after which they will start shipping them out to customers. In the past, they were able to blast through all the pre-orders in a two days, so there's a good chance all calendars will be in the mail by the end of the day Friday, the 9th. If these facts change, I'll let you know.

Second, the OOTS holiday ornaments are on sale now at CafePress. We have two this year, as in previous years: a "snowfall" ornament and a "battle" ornament. The snowfall one features the entire Order, because it's the last one I'll be doing in that design series. Next year, I'll either start a new design or I'll just have the battle ornament available. This year's battle ornament features Belkar ambushing a pair of hobgoblins. You can see (and buy) both of the designs here (http://www.cafepress.com/orderofthestick/14130037).

Also, because this is the last year for the snowfall series, I'm putting all of the retired designs from 2004 to 2015 back up on the site for the month of December. That way, anyone who missed a year or accidentally broke one can complete their whole set. This will be the last time these ornaments are offered, so if you need one or two to fill out your collection, now's the time. You can get all twelve previous ornaments here (http://www.cafepress.com/orderofthestick/7504784).

Normally, these ornaments would be accompanied by a slew of new t-shirt designs, but not this year. A pair of back-to-back family emergencies has kept me largely away from my work desk for the last 2 months or so (as I'm sure you've noticed). One of the many projects I need to keep spinning needed to fall by the wayside, and I chose the t-shirts. Maybe I'll do a run of designs mid-year 2017, but there won't be any right now, so no need to wait and see if they're coming.

I would also normally do a big announcement on the News page and tweet and update banners and such for the ornaments. And I will do that, but not until I manage to finish the next comic update. Consider this more of a Sneak Preview announcement, mostly because I know people who will want to get them on their tree for Christmas and every shipping day counts.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Thanks for the update, and I hope everything's okay with your family.

[The Giant]

Wow. So, CafePress has actually suspended my new ornament designs because they say that they need proof that I am the owner of the Order of the Stick trademark. I need to somehow prove that I'm me, even though I have been selling the same content on their site for twelve years—and the trademark type on the bottom of the ornament has literally been unchanged through all 12 previous ornaments (which are all still unsuspended). So, I guess it's good that I went ahead with that sneak preview, or else this would be a lot messier than it already is.

I have no idea how long this will take to resolve, but apparently no one will be able to buy the new ornaments until someone at CafePress fixes it. The old ornaments seem like they're still available, though I suppose anyone interested in buying the old ornaments will want to wait to buy the current ones, too.

Every year, CafePress gets a little bit more unfriendly to people who are trying to use it to maintain a brand rather than just randomly throwing up a slew of indiscriminate designs that the company can aggregate and sell cheap. I have strongly debated closing my shop there every year for the past few years, this might well be the last straw to get me off my butt to find an alternative after Jan 1.

Stay tuned, everybody.

[factotum]

Wow. So, CafePress has actually suspended my new ornament designs because they say that they need proof that I am the owner of the Order of the Stick trademark.

Wow, that's insane. Even more insane that they'll apparently allow you to keep selling the *old* stuff with the same trademarks on it while blocking the new ones!

[The Giant]

OK, it looks like they've been reinstated. If anyone notices any other issues, feel free to let me know.

[Griffincat]

I just got my shipping notice and tracking number. Hopefully by the end of the week, I will have my 3rd OOTS calendar.

[The Giant]

I updated the first post in this thread with info on the ornaments, including pictures if you want to see the text on the Belkar one. Check it out.


I just got my shipping notice and tracking number. Hopefully by the end of the week, I will have my 3rd OOTS calendar.

Huh, that's weird, because the calendars are still at the printer. I guess Ookoodook has pre-assigned tracking numbers so that when the calendars come in, they can just slip them in the addressed envelopes and send them out right away.

[gooddragon1]

I updated the first post in this thread with info on the ornaments, including pictures if you want to see the text on the Belkar one. Check it out.



Huh, that's weird, because the calendars are still at the printer. I guess Ookoodook has pre-assigned tracking numbers so that when the calendars come in, they can just slip them in the addressed envelopes and send them out right away.

Was there some other time the oots was in a cold/snowing environment? Cuz Durkon doesn't look like a vampire here ;P
http://www.giantitp.com/Images/Christmas2016_Ornament_ForForum.png

[The Giant]

Merchandise exists outside the time/space continuum. Everyone knows that. :smalltongue:

[Keltest]

Merchandise exists outside the time/space continuum. Everyone knows that. :smalltongue:

What was it the Demon Roaches said? All the merchandise stuff is in a timeline where characters exist in their most marketable state?

[Ceaon]

(T)his year I've been drawn away from my desk more than normal by a pair of back-to-back family emergencies.

I hope everything turned out all right or at least calmed down again.
In any case the ornament design clearly didn't suffer from your away-from-deskness; it looks gorgeous.

[Hazelnut]

Wow. So, CafePress has actually suspended my new ornament designs because they say that they need proof that I am the owner of the Order of the Stick trademark. I need to somehow prove that I'm me, even though I have been selling the same content on their site for twelve years—and the trademark type on the bottom of the ornament has literally been unchanged through all 12 previous ornaments (which are all still unsuspended). So, I guess it's good that I went ahead with that sneak preview, or else this would be a lot messier than it already is.

I have no idea how long this will take to resolve, but apparently no one will be able to buy the new ornaments until someone at CafePress fixes it. The old ornaments seem like they're still available, though I suppose anyone interested in buying the old ornaments will want to wait to buy the current ones, too.

Every year, CafePress gets a little bit more unfriendly to people who are trying to use it to maintain a brand rather than just randomly throwing up a slew of indiscriminate designs that the company can aggregate and sell cheap. I have strongly debated closing my shop there every year for the past few years, this might well be the last straw to get me off my butt to find an alternative after Jan 1.

Stay tuned, everybody.

Goodness, that's laughably ridiculous - but only because you found it in time to have it fixed in time.

I've never ordered any of your merch off CafePress before today, mostly because I didn't have much spare/OOTS cash and it was solely buying books + kickstarter. (also not really much of a merch buyer) I loved this years' ornament design though, so decided to get one. (would be even better IMHO if it didn't have the cursed numerals of 2016 on it.. but what can ya do eh? ;-)) The whole series would be nice, but thanks to my wife the tree always groans from the weight of decorations anyway... so happy with just one now the whole crew is on there. Also got a grow up princess unicorn for my daughter who loves OOTS, although it's sad to me she's now too old to want her old man to read to her, I have many hours of great memories of us reading OOTS together and I think this design will delight her. Never seen it before, but for all I know it's been there for years.

Anyway, rambling on a bit now but my point is that CafePress website was a little kooky, and had to re-do the whole order once but I thought the shipping was very reasonable indeed. It would be good if you do look for an alternative that the shipping rates for us non-yanks remain reasonable. :D

Thanks for OOTS Rich, it has given me & my family much enjoyment over the years. Have a great xmas!

[Ted The Bug]

Goodness, that's laughably ridiculous - but only because you found it in time to have it fixed in time.

I've never ordered any of your merch off CafePress before today, mostly because I didn't have much spare/OOTS cash and it was solely buying books + kickstarter. (also not really much of a merch buyer) I loved this years' ornament design though, so decided to get one. (would be even better IMHO if it didn't have the cursed numerals of 2016 on it.. but what can ya do eh? ;-)) The whole series would be nice, but thanks to my wife the tree always groans from the weight of decorations anyway... so happy with just one now the whole crew is on there. Also got a grow up princess unicorn for my daughter who loves OOTS, although it's sad to me she's now too old to want her old man to read to her, I have many hours of great memories of us reading OOTS together and I think this design will delight her. Never seen it before, but for all I know it's been there for years.

Anyway, rambling on a bit now but my point is that CafePress website was a little kooky, and had to re-do the whole order once but I thought the shipping was very reasonable indeed. It would be good if you do look for an alternative that the shipping rates for us non-yanks remain reasonable. :D

Thanks for OOTS Rich, it has given me & my family much enjoyment over the years. Have a great xmas!

This whole post made me extremely happy.

[gooddragon1]

Wow. So, CafePress has actually suspended my new ornament designs because they say that they need proof that I am the owner of the Order of the Stick trademark. I need to somehow prove that I'm me, even though I have been selling the same content on their site for twelve years—and the trademark type on the bottom of the ornament has literally been unchanged through all 12 previous ornaments (which are all still unsuspended). So, I guess it's good that I went ahead with that sneak preview, or else this would be a lot messier than it already is.

I have no idea how long this will take to resolve, but apparently no one will be able to buy the new ornaments until someone at CafePress fixes it. The old ornaments seem like they're still available, though I suppose anyone interested in buying the old ornaments will want to wait to buy the current ones, too.

Every year, CafePress gets a little bit more unfriendly to people who are trying to use it to maintain a brand rather than just randomly throwing up a slew of indiscriminate designs that the company can aggregate and sell cheap. I have strongly debated closing my shop there every year for the past few years, this might well be the last straw to get me off my butt to find an alternative after Jan 1.

Stay tuned, everybody.

My Reaction
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/4b/63/94/4b639488103bd284605b0eb94999571f.jpg

[The Giant]

Just an update on the calendars:

The shipment arrived on Friday at the Ookoodook warehouse and the staff has been packing up pre-orders all weekend. I have been informed that they expect all pre-orders to be in the mail by end of business on Monday, so any orders placed from now on will ship out the following day.

Also, there are only about 160 left to sell! Every year it's a guessing game on how many to get printed, and this year, more sales than usual came in after I had already placed order. Maybe it's because we got started early and more people weren't thinking about calendars yet back in October. Who knows? Also, some of which will probably be classified as Scratch & Dent after the team finishes looking through every box and seeing whether any got scratched or dented. Bottom line, 160 calendars left.

Oh, and everything worked out with CafePress. Ornaments are on sale, no problems.

[NerdyKris]

Ah! I forgot to order! Got it in just in time.

[Almanro_De_Nerossa]

I forgot to place my pre-order thinking I would have time to order it, but it sold out (also "Scratch and Dent" section is empty) in less than 2 hours from when I got the email from Ookoodook that they had it in stock (and I didn't open my PC in those couple of hours!)... Been a follower from strip #23 (or around there) and it's the first time that I'm not getting an OOTS calendar, board game, book, etc. Very sad at the moment... :smallfrown:

Didn't expect that it would have been a "only pre-order" calendar, more clarity on the News post would have been better... sad end of the day for me... :(

PS: I'll still support the comic buying the next book/specials whenever the pre-order post will be out, without delays next time...

[VaarsuviusFan#1]

Nooooooo! Ookoodook are out of stock on the calendars! Are you guys going to be printing anymore? :smallfrown:

[Almanro_De_Nerossa]

I have a question: would it be possible to buy a digital version of the calendar at the same price (or higher) of the now out-of-stock printed one? So that I can then go to a copy center and print a copy for myself (better than nothing at all!)

[The Giant]

OK, yeah, wow, that sold out quickly. There are a couple things going on.

First, obviously, once we announced there were only a 160 left, there was a rush to order. But second, once Ookoodook started opening all the boxes, it turned out some boxes were a few calendars short, for a total shortage of around 40 calendars. I'm going to call the printer and find out what happened; if there's another box sitting on a loading dock somewhere, then we'll have a few more to sell. If they just didn't print enough, then I doubt they'll set up the whole printing press for 40 copies. More likely I'll just get a partial refund for what I paid. So, keep an eye on this thread because I'll let you know either way.

As far as reprinting, that's not really an option financially. The press has a minimum print run size, and it's roughly 75% of the quantity we actually ordered. While sales were obviously a little strong this year, there's no way we're going to sell through another 3/4s of the same number again. Reprinting that many would turn this into a money-losing project for me fairly quickly, considering the short shelf life of a calendar.

Also, given how quickly this snuck up on everyone (myself included), I am going to look into the digital PDF release that people have been asking for. I didn't want to undercut sales of the paper calendar because in previous years we ended up with hundreds extra that have to be marked down at a loss just to make room in the warehouse. But seeing as that is irrelevant now, I'm more inclined to give it a try.

All in all, sorry this worked out this way, but it's really impossible to predict how many sales there are going to be. I try to estimate based on previous years, but it never works. We printed the same number we printed last year, based on the fact that the first week of pre-orders now was about the same as the first week of pre-orders then, and last year the calendars lasted all year; we still had about 20 left when this year's went on sale. The year before, we printed more, and we still have 200 sitting in our warehouse gathering dust. I'd rather sell out than be left with hundreds, but selling out this early was never the plan.

Anyway, more announcements to come as I learn more. Stay tuned, and thanks for your patience.

[Agnostik]

Also, given how quickly this snuck up on everyone (myself included), I am going to look into the digital PDF release that people have been asking for.
That would be great, I can't afford international shipping anymore anyway, but I'd happily buy a digital version.

[Keltest]

Is it strange that ive learned more about managing a business (or I guess brand) from these forums and the various holiday misadventures that seem to inevitably occur than I have from my actual job at a store?

[rushl]

Hello! I'm a long-time reader, and occasional forum reader. But I've registered today just so I could post here. PLEASE make the 2017 calendar available in PDF form! I was not in a position to get the physical copy until later in the month, and the popularity this year has worked against me in that respect. However, I would love to still read the comics and jokes on the calendar - and a PDF version would be just the thing!

Thanks!
Tim

[Joerg]

+1 for the PDF calendar. I'm also one of those who didn't order the physical calendar this year because of the shipping costs and the cumbersome import procedures (somehow, Oookodook packages always end up at the customs office).

[ChristianSt]

I'm just glad I randomly decided to just bite the shipping bullet and order the calendar last week instead of waiting longer. I really did not expect that it would sell out this quickly (especially remembering the last years).

I hope not too much people miss out due to this. :smallfrown:

[Cozzer]

Another not-American fan here, I usually buy the books but couldn't pay the international shipping price for just a calendar, so I hope the PDF idea becomes a reality! I'm always happy to throw money at OOTS whenever I have a good excuse for doing so. :smalltongue:

[littlebum2002]

Also, given how quickly this snuck up on everyone (myself included), I am going to look into the digital PDF release that people have been asking for. I didn't want to undercut sales of the paper calendar because in previous years we ended up with hundreds extra that have to be marked down at a loss just to make room in the warehouse. But seeing as that is irrelevant now, I'm more inclined to give it a try.

I mean, to be honest this seems like a fair deal for everyone. You want PDFs? Well, then make sure all the paper copies are bought first so I don't lose money. Kinda like blacking out a football game on TV unless the stadium sells out.

[Dr. Gamera]

I'm in the USA, and signed up for tracking updates when Ookoodook sent me the tracking number. So far, the USPS has alerted me that the package was picked up yesterday in Houston, Texas; departed the Post Office that night; and arrived at an "origin facility" in Houston, Texas this morning.

[Porthos]

Guess whose calendars arrived a day early. :smallcool::smallcool::smallcool::smallcool:

[Peelee]

Guess whose calendars arrived a day early. :smallcool::smallcool::smallcool::smallcool:

Meanwhile, I don't even have a tracking number....

[Crod]

NoooOOooOOoooo! The calendar sold out. Is there any chance there will be more of these? Pleeaaaassee Giant

[The Giant]

Some updates:

We are definitely sold out. Looks like the printer just didn't print enough, for whatever reason. We're exactly 50 short from what we ordered, and there's no extra box sitting somewhere as far as I know. I'm getting a nice credit toward next year's calendar order, but reprinting those last 50 was not even offered.

The PDFs are happening. I just need to get them converted and put up on Gumroad. In fact, since people have been asking for this for a few years, I'm going to go ahead and put all 4 calendars that we've done so far up on Gumroad. Look for them later tonight; I'll make another announcement in this thread when they're available.

[rushl]

The PDFs are happening.

Yay! I can't wait to grab these.

Thanks!
Tim

[Edna]

Phooey--I got behind schedule in holiday prep this year and didn't start my shopping until now. I've had an OotS calendar at my office every single year since they first started coming out, and now I'm going to have to find something else for next year. :smallannoyed:

[thatSeniorGuy]

The PDFs are happening.

Awesome! Thanks Rich. I've bought the previous calendars, but couldn't justify the shipping price this year, so this makes me very happy!

[Almanro_De_Nerossa]

Some updates:

We are definitely sold out. Looks like the printer just didn't print enough, for whatever reason. We're exactly 50 short from what we ordered, and there's no extra box sitting somewhere as far as I know. I'm getting a nice credit toward next year's calendar order, but reprinting those last 50 was not even offered.

The PDFs are happening. I just need to get them converted and put up on Gumroad. In fact, since people have been asking for this for a few years, I'm going to go ahead and put all 4 calendars that we've done so far up on Gumroad. Look for them later tonight; I'll make another announcement in this thread when they're available.

Pity for the missing box but I'm glad that we are getting the possibility to have the PDF! :)

Thanks!

[Rogar Demonblud]

Some updates:

We are definitely sold out. Sucks they shorted you, but at least you don't have storage issues this time.


The PDFs are happening. W00T, I'll rebuy the lot.:smallcool:

[NerdyKris]

Phooey--I got behind schedule in holiday prep this year and didn't start my shopping until now. I've had an OotS calendar at my office every single year since they first started coming out, and now I'm going to have to find something else for next year. :smallannoyed:

You could always print the PDF on nice paper at a Kinkos or something.

[littlebum2002]

I'm going to go ahead and put all 4 calendars that we've done so far up on Gumroad.

:smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbi ggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin:


You could always print the PDF on nice paper at a Kinkos or something.

Kinko's (or, more accurately, FedEx Office) actually specifically has the ability to make calendars (http://wwwtest.fedex.com/us/office/marketing/gifts/). Now while these are simply calendars with photos on the top half, I am aware that these guys are very versatile, and I would be amazed if they didn't have the ability to print the PDF in calendar form.

[Peelee]

Wouldn't they need a release? I have no idea about the legal aspects of this, but I'd imagine they'd treat it like professional photos. I'd advise looking into the legalities before trying anything.

[Keltest]

Wouldn't they need a release? I have no idea about the legal aspects of this, but I'd imagine they'd treat it like professional photos. I'd advise looking into the legalities before trying anything.

Indeed, making a bootleg calendar out of the released PDFs strikes me as one of those things you shouldn't do. I wont speculate on the legality, but it seems... crass. And I suspect the Giant will be coming in with his Red Voice to comment on the idea soon too.

Edit: well never mind then.

[NerdyKris]

Then print it on your home printer on nice paper. They sell paper in that size.

This isn't really a copyright issue, why else would you purchase a PDF of a calendar other than to print it out, same as the monster minis PDFs.

[The Giant]

The PDF versions of the calendars are now live and available to buy on Gumroad:

Here are links:
2017 Monster Calendar (https://gum.co/ootscal2017)
2016 Villains Calendar (https://gum.co/ootscal2016)
2015 Heroes Calendar (https://gum.co/ootscal2015)
2014 Tenth Anniversary Calendar (https://gum.co/ootscal2014)
Discount Calendar Bundle (https://gum.co/calbundle): Buy all 4 calendars together and get 30% off the total price
The calendars have a specific notice on the back granting permission to print them for personal usage. That should be enough so that your local copyright-fearing print shop will be willing to print one out for you, if you want to hang it up and use it as an actual calendar. It will still have a watermark on the front cover.
The art on these calendars is high-res (300 dpi) but it is NOT the infinitely scalable vector art I use for the book PDFs. The reasons are complex and technical but amount to, "The transparency I use doing the shading just wasn't working when converted to PDF." I may someday figure out how to troubleshoot it, but I've tried every trick I know already. However, the good news about this is that a really complex transparency-laden PDF was likely to get messed up being printed out anyway, whereas this format should sail through a printer with no problems at all.
Full announcements on the News page and Twitter are coming, eventually.

If you have questions, go ahead and ask.

[Cizak]

The "Gumroad store" (https://gumroad.com/richburlew%22) link in the news article leads me to a Page Not Found.

[The Giant]

Yeah, someone noted in on Twitter, too. Fixed now. Thanks.

[Edna]

You could always print the PDF on nice paper at a Kinkos or something.

I can't get FedEx/Kinkos to show me a price list without starting a project, but I checked Costco Photo Center (where I've had nice 12x12 prints done in the past), and they want $3.99/page for 12x12 prints on photo paper :smallannoyed:

[Porthos]

I can't get FedEx/Kinkos to show me a price list without starting a project, but I checked Costco Photo Center (where I've had nice 12x12 prints done in the past), and they want $3.99/page for 12x12 prints on photo paper :smallannoyed:

Probably just better off buying some glossy paper and making a slightly lower quality print at home and hanging it wherever you want.

A near-professional quality print is gonna be costly for a low amount of pages.

(but, yeah, can't say those prices surprise me; there's a reason why Rich didn't want to do a short print run for the missing copies)

[Edna]

Probably just better off buying some glossy paper and making a slightly lower quality print at home and hanging it wherever you want.

A near-professional quality print is gonna be costly for a low amount of pages.

(but, yeah, can't say those prices surprise me; there's a reason why Rich didn't want to do a short print run for the missing copies)

Yeah, going to have to go that route. But my home printer only takes regular-sized paper, and shrinking the pages to 8.5 inches is going to make the dialogue on the actual calendar pages unreadable for middle-aged eyes.

[littlebum2002]

I can't get FedEx/Kinkos to show me a price list without starting a project, but I checked Costco Photo Center (where I've had nice 12x12 prints done in the past), and they want $3.99/page for 12x12 prints on photo paper :smallannoyed:

Yeouch.

My printer at work can print 11x17's, so if I wanted to I could buy a pack of glossies and print them on it, then staple them all together,

[Porthos]

Yeouch.

My printer at work can print 11x17's, so if I wanted to I could buy a pack of glossies and print them on it, then staple them all together,

Yes, I think finding a printer at work/school/friends is probably the best bet for most.

Also probably not the thread to keep yakking about this, though. :smalltongue:

PS: Bought the set. They're not Vector quality, no, but they're still very very good. Even when blown up at 5x magnification they still look magnificent on my computer screen. :smallsmile:

[Armitage]

Discount Calendar Bundle (https://gum.co/calbundle): Buy all 4 calendars together and get 30% off the total price
The calendars have a specific notice on the back granting permission to print them for personal usage. That should be enough so that your local copyright-fearing print shop will be willing to print one out for you, if you want to hang it up and use it as an actual calendar. It will still have a watermark on the front cover.
Great, bought the bundle.

So... instead of waiting for the print calendar from Ook to arrive here in Germany in mid-January or thereabouts I could just go and print January so I can use the calendar starting on January 1st? That's new :)

[NerdyKris]

I can't get FedEx/Kinkos to show me a price list without starting a project, but I checked Costco Photo Center (where I've had nice 12x12 prints done in the past), and they want $3.99/page for 12x12 prints on photo paper :smallannoyed:

Don't go to a photo center and don't use photo paper, that's too high quality. These are calendars, not photographs. Even the physical ones for sale are just glossy paper. You also want them to be foldable so you can bundle them together. Glancing at Staples real quick, it will cost about $10 total, which brings it in line with what people paid for a physical copy.

[nyjastul69]

Yes, I think finding a printer at work/school/friends is probably the best bet for most.

Also probably not the thread to keep yakking about this, though. :smalltongue:

PS: Bought the set. They're not Vector quality, no, but they're still very very good. Even when blown up at 5x magnification they still look magnificent on my computer screen. :smallsmile:

Thanks, that's excellent info.

[Lissou]

Thank you so much for putting the PDF on sale, Giant. I got overconfident because previous years always had extra calendars and when I went to order mine (later than usual), they were out of stock. I bought the whole bundle even though I already have the first 3, and I'll see if I can get this one printed somehow. Thanks so much for all your effort, even including a notice so that we can print our own calendar :)

[Agnostik]

Lovely, thanks! I picked up the three calendars I didn't already have. :smallbiggrin: In fact, the 2014 calendar was the last thing I ordered from Ookoodook to date, and my shipping fee exceeded the price of the calendar by a hefty margin. :smallfrown:

I bought the latest book from Amazon instead. It didn't feel right, and the book got frayed a bit around the edges during shipping, but it was so much cheaper...

[One Skunk Todd]

Do CafePress promo codes not apply to OotS merchandise?

[gooddragon1]

12/15/2016 - Calendars Now Available as PDFs (Because We Sold Out)

So, Rich admits he's a sellout...? Or he sold out I guess.

[Keltest]

Hmm. A suspiciously calendar shaped package from ookoodook just arrived. I wonder what it could possibly be.

[SaintRidley]

Physical calendar arrived. Delightful! I don't really use it as a calendar (too many calendars at home as is), but as a neat little artbook. It'll go on the shelf next to the other OotS books in short order.

[Dr. Gamera]

I need some monster identification help in May.

[Sylian]

The PDFs are happening.Sweet! For some reason Hotmail thought that the mail from Giant in the Playground was junk mail. No big deal for me, but others might not check their junk mail folder.

[Rogar Demonblud]

I need some monster identification help in May.

In the background, you have a blink dog, a satyr, a lillend and a centaur.

At the table, you have Julio, some elf, a titaness, a pixie and what looks like a red slaad.

I'm still trying to find and ID everything in September. I'm up to ten monsters.

[Peelee]

Meanwhile I'm still waiting for my tracking number.

[Joerg]

Small error: the back page of the 2014 calendar pdf is actually the page of the 2015 calendar.

[Porthos]

Huh, I don't think I ever realized that there were runes in the April 2016 calendar.

*checks thread*

Never came up. As I check the physical calendar, I can see them now, but they were way too tiny to make out. Looks to be that same font Rich has used before.

Now that we can blow it up, anyone want to take a crack at decoding it?

[Armitage]

Hey guys, could we keep the spoilers down, please?
There are people who don't want to know what's on the picture of a given month before the month has come.

[The Giant]

Do CafePress promo codes not apply to OotS merchandise?

Frustratingly, no.

CafePress only allows its promo codes to work in the "Marketplace" on the CafePress main website, and I would need to opt in to having my stuff displayed there. The problem is, I would have to agree to give up control of how the artwork is applied to items—meaning they could slap it on items for which a given piece of art isn't properly sized or colored. And they set all the commission rates for stuff in the Marketplace, paying content creators between $0.50 and $1.00 per item sold. It's a terrible deal that basically uses people's artwork as cheap content fodder for their own benefit, which is why OOTS stuff isn't in the Marketplace in the first place. But it does mean that their promo codes won't work on my stuff. Sorry about that.


Hey guys, could we keep the spoilers down, please?
There are people who don't want to know what's on the picture of a given month before the month has come.

Yeah, let's put discussion of the calendar's content into spoiler tags, please. I'll go back and spoil-tag a few posts now, too.

[Lissou]

Thank you so much for putting the PDF on sale, Giant. I got overconfident because previous years always had extra calendars and when I went to order mine (later than usual), they were out of stock. I bought the whole bundle even though I already have the first 3, and I'll see if I can get this one printed somehow. Thanks so much for all your effort, even including a notice so that we can print our own calendar :)

Turns out my husband predicted that I would drop the ball and ordered the calendar for me on time! It arrived today, and I couldn't be happier. I'm still very grateful to you, Giant, and still very glad I got the PDF bundle, but I was wrong about not getting the (officially printed) calendar this year.

[Dr. Gamera]

Huh, I don't think I ever realized that there were runes in the April 2016 calendar.

*checks thread*

Never came up. As I check the physical calendar, I can see them now, but they were way too tiny to make out. Looks to be that same font Rich has used before.

Now that we can blow it up, anyone want to take a crack at decoding it?

Deciphered it back then:

With the help of the solved cryptogram in OOTS #1020 (Scroll Left) (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1020.html), I have solved the cryptogram on the April 2016 calendar page.

For the sake of convenience, here's the solution again, heavily protected by spoiler tags:
The Monster in the Darkness isnota toaster. He is also nota very largeheirloom tomato. But he could be a colossal heirloom tomato!

[Peelee]

Still no tracking number, but it doesn't matter much anymore since it just came in!

Question for the Giant concerning May...


Was the diacritic in "Scoundrél" left out intentionally?

[Unregistered]

Ack, after shelling out the money for international shipping, now there's a dirt cheap pdf version?:smallmad:

Oh well, does not matter, I guess I'd have bought the paper calendar anyway. After all, I bought all 4 pdf calendars, even though I have them all on paper as well. Download is complete, yay, I'll check it out immediately.

[One Skunk Todd]

Frustratingly, no.

CafePress only allows its promo codes to work in the "Marketplace" on the CafePress main website, and I would need to opt in to having my stuff displayed there. The problem is, I would have to agree to give up control of how the artwork is applied to items—meaning they could slap it on items for which a given piece of art isn't properly sized or colored. And they set all the commission rates for stuff in the Marketplace, paying content creators between $0.50 and $1.00 per item sold. It's a terrible deal that basically uses people's artwork as cheap content fodder for their own benefit, which is why OOTS stuff isn't in the Marketplace in the first place. But it does mean that their promo codes won't work on my stuff. Sorry about that.

Appreciate the info, thank you.

[Dr. Gamera]

In the background, you have a blink dog, a satyr, a lillend and a centaur.

At the table, you have Julio, some elf, a titaness, a pixie and what looks like a red slaad.

I'm still trying to find and ID everything in September. I'm up to ten monsters.

Thanks!

Wow, ten in September?! Way ahead of me. I'd be interested in those identifications as well.

[Peelee]

Thanks!

Wow, ten in September?! Way ahead of me. I'd be interested in those identifications as well.

The only ones I could instantly identify were the mimic and darkmantle (well, and invisible stalker, but had to have that pointed out to me by the text)

[Porthos]

The only ones I could instantly identify were the mimic and darkmantle (well, and invisible stalker, but had to have that pointed out to me by the text)

There's a Bag of Devouring as well, as identified by the text

As well as a bonus monster in the calendar month itself! :smalleek:

[Rogar Demonblud]

The only ones I could instantly identify were the mimic and darkmantle (well, and invisible stalker, but had to have that pointed out to me by the text)

There's also a goldbug, a cloaker, a lurker above and what I think is a corpse candle. The thing in the calendar portion would be the aforementioned invisible stalker.

[factotum]

Don't forget:


The Trapper (monster pretending to be the floor).

[jdb-44]

All right! Just got mine in the mail yesterday! It's now hanging in my cube at work.

Great calendar!

[GreyTraveller]

Small error: the back page of the 2014 calendar pdf is actually the page of the 2015 calendar.I noticed this as well. Fortunately, this doesn't really cause any problems.

Also, thank you, Giant, for making these available in pdf.

[One Skunk Todd]

Was there a battle ornament in 2012?

[Random Poster]

I noticed this as well. Fortunately, this doesn't really cause any problems.

Are you sure about that? The current 2014 calendar pdf has a wrong copyright statement, since that's on the back cover, and that could be a problem. Anyway, I'd like to see the contents of the text box of the actual 2014 calendar's back cover.

[littlebum2002]

As well as a bonus monster in the calendar month itself! :smalleek:

The real monsters...ARE HUMANS!

[nogall]

just got my calendar and... it's awesome!!
I think my favorite months are February (CPPD) and September (Haley)

[Spunk115]

Did anyone who ordered this year's battle ornament think it was kind of off?

No fault of Giant - the artwork on the CafePress site looks great - it's why I ordered it. It's just that the entire print on the finished product looks pretty muddy, "There must" got cut off by the hole, and the year is nearly invisible.

I have had some issues with non-OOTS CafePress ornaments in the past, but before I go jumping through the hoops of returning, explaining why the gift isn't here, etc. I wanted to see if it was a one-time bad print, or if all prints of this ornament came out like that and an exchange would be a waste of time.

There is a pic below of the ornament with the CafePress envelope so you can see the muddiness isn't just a crappy picture.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1TgHsQas_uiZXIwNXpPZFRBblk

EDIT: So it doesn't like my Drive link, and I can't post a Photobucket link until I get up to 10 posts. So if you're interested, open that spoiler link in a new tab and that should give you the picture.

[Grey Watcher]

Did anyone who ordered this year's battle ornament think it was kind of off?

No fault of Giant - the artwork on the CafePress site looks great - it's why I ordered it. It's just that the entire print on the finished product looks pretty muddy, "There must" got cut off by the hole, and the year is nearly invisible.

I have had some issues with non-OOTS CafePress ornaments in the past, but before I go jumping through the hoops of returning, explaining why the gift isn't here, etc. I wanted to see if it was a one-time bad print, or if all prints of this ornament came out like that and an exchange would be a waste of time.

There is a pic below of the ornament with the CafePress envelope so you can see the muddiness isn't just a crappy picture.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1TgHsQas_uiZXIwNXpPZFRBblk

EDIT: So it doesn't like my Drive link, and I can't post a Photobucket link until I get up to 10 posts. So if you're interested, open that spoiler link in a new tab and that should give you the picture.

I don't have an issue with the clarity of the print, but my Belkar oval ornament also had the ribbon/hook hole punched through the text, rather than above as in the sample image (do note that I consider this an insignificant flaw, but if Rich is so inclined, prodding CafePress about quality control).

(Funnily enough, my Monster-in-the-Dark and O-Chul round ornament from a few years back has a printing error where it seems to have not printed one of the colors. That color, you ask? Blue. :smalltongue: I should buy a replacement/duplicate tonight in the hopes of getting a correct print.)

[Peelee]

(Funnily enough, my Monster-in-the-Dark and O-Chul round ornament from a few years back has a printing error where it seems to have not printed one of the colors. That color, you ask? Blue. :smalltongue: I should buy a replacement/duplicate tonight in the hopes of getting a correct print.)

It's a rare collector's edition!

[littlebum2002]

EDIT: So it doesn't like my Drive link, and I can't post a Photobucket link until I get up to 10 posts. So if you're interested, open that spoiler link in a new tab and that should give you the picture.

Try this one:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wYqoRoq3qOfm89MweZywIennjuW6ZezLUJ1_fZQVctvvA2R6wT 0EbQvsk3ni3lkWdEULxmTPijMrvEw=w2047-h1062-rw

You were linking to the page that contained the image, not the image itself.

[Keltest]

Try this one:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wYqoRoq3qOfm89MweZywIennjuW6ZezLUJ1_fZQVctvvA2R6wT 0EbQvsk3ni3lkWdEULxmTPijMrvEw=w2047-h1062-rw

You were linking to the page that contained the image, not the image itself.

That one doesn't work for me either.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Likewise for me.

[Porthos]

Try this one:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wYqoRoq3qOfm89MweZywIennjuW6ZezLUJ1_fZQVctvvA2R6wT 0EbQvsk3ni3lkWdEULxmTPijMrvEw=w2047-h1062-rw

You were linking to the page that contained the image, not the image itself.

Looks like Google is making a random link each time we try to access that image, which means it might not show up for everyone as time passes.

Just click on this link to see it: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1TgHsQas_uiZXIwNXpPZFRBblk/view

[littlebum2002]

Huh. Well that's weird.

[Spunk115]

Just click on this link to see it:

Much appreciated...and I can't quote the link. Ha!

[The Giant]

Ugh, that is awful. They have a clear template that shows where the hole is, and I follow it the same every year. And suddenly, the hole is somewhere else. CafePress continues to do themselves no favors in the Should I Take My Business Elsewhere department.

Prodding them about quality control is a wasted effort; you get some vague customer service boilerplates and that's it.

I would not take it personally if you need to return it, that's not really an acceptable product. Sorry about that.

[Gift Jeraff]

Was there a battle ornament in 2012?

No, that was the year of the thumb, but a scrapped Miko ornament from 2007 was used for the original set.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Shouldn't that be Year of the Thumb?

Or would allcaps make for a better presentation of what a watershed event it was?

[littlebum2002]

the year of the thumb

worst Chinese Zodiac symbol ever

[Spunk115]

CafePress continues to do themselves no favors in the Should I Take My Business Elsewhere department.Well you know where my vote lies. I've been on both the consumer and creator side of things and found them to be *at best* more trouble than they were worth. I did better going with a local vendor and shipping by hand, although I doubt I was dealing with anywhere near the same volume as you do.


I would not take it personally if you need to return it, that's not really an acceptable product. Sorry about that. I gave the recipient the option, and he said that he'd rather keep a great idea with sub-par execution instead of tasking me with finding a replacement.

I think everyone involved recognizes that it is CafePress that is at fault here and not you. The apology is appreciated all the same though!

[Grey Watcher]

I think everyone involved recognizes that it is CafePress that is at fault here and not you. The apology is appreciated all the same though!

Seconded! It reflects well on you that you care even about the silly seasonal merch. :smallsmile:

[Unregistered]

Well, my calendar arrived. It's great, as expected but...in spite of the big "DO NOT BEND" sticker on it, the mailman did bend it until he could put it in the mailbox. You can even see the shoe prints where he stepped on it to make it bend sufficiently. The calendar did suffer less than I expected but it still suffered and that sucks.

[Rogar Demonblud]

File a complaint with the Post Office. Show them the packaging to help make the point that they egregiously failed to follow the instructions.

[littlebum2002]

Well, my calendar arrived. It's great, as expected but...in spite of the big "DO NOT BEND" sticker on it, the mailman did bend it until he could put it in the mailbox. You can even see the shoe prints where he stepped on it to make it bend sufficiently. The calendar did suffer less than I expected but it still suffered and that sucks.

I feel extremely sorry for you, having your beautiful calendar bent like that, but that being said, the fact that your mail carrier so adamantly wanted to violate the "do not bend" rule that they stepped on it with their shoe is kinda funny in a dark sense.

[Unregistered]

Thanks for the sympathy. I do plan on complaining but I am not sure which mail carrier was responsible, there's no sticker on the package. But I'll find out.

[Peelee]

Thanks for the sympathy. I do plan on complaining but I am not sure which mail carrier was responsible, there's no sticker on the package. But I'll find out.

I think mine was straight USPS.

[Unregistered]

Thanks, but mine was shipped to Germany, so it should be another one. (That probably gives them the excuse since "Do not bend" is English and their employees are not obligated to understand English).

[Armitage]

Thanks, but mine was shipped to Germany, so it should be another one.
My calendar was shipped within Germany by DHL.

[Meph]

My calendar was shipped to Germany too, and I put my hands on it right today. This time unbent (last year it had been though).

[Unregistered]

My calendar was shipped within Germany by DHL.

Thanks - sadly my three year old sons tore off all the stickers and then someone emptied the trash cans. So I have no more proof of who delivered it.

[The Giant]

Just a heads up: the holiday ornaments and the digital calendars are going off sale tomorrow, so if you wanted either one, now's the last chance to get them.

The digital calendars might be back next year if I do another one (I never know for sure until we get there), the ornaments are definitely going to be gone for good.

[infinityman]

Just a heads up: the holiday ornaments and the digital calendars are going off sale tomorrow, so if you wanted either one, now's the last chance to get them.

The digital calendars might be back next year if I do another one (I never know for sure until we get there), the ornaments are definitely going to be gone for good.

Thanks for the reminder, Giant! Just bought the calendars, as I have been meaning to...