Why we've increased our prices
Hi guys, With 100 fresh Portal Boxes on their way to our warehouse and the Ceremonybox to be unveiled this year, we'd like to share some news about the business side of Portier. We have been thinking about this difficult decision, and as supporters, you deserve a full explanation. It fills us with joy to provide you with our products and receive all of your loving responses. We care deeply about giving home use the space it deserves, and there is still much work for psychedelics in the coming future.
We are in the process of evolving from a small group of friends into a strong force that will last for decades. We have been thinking about the question, "where can Portier stand 10 years from now?". That's a question we are answering together with you. We designed our Portalboxes to be beacons of light in an industry with crack pipes on one side and pharmaceutical patent-grabbers on the other. We are showing the world that things can be different for conscious explorers of reality. And you (our community) highlighted the importance for Portier to keep hammering, and growing out to become a pinnacle business for psychedelics: doing things the right way. We are far from perfect, however. After a deep-dive into the numbers, we found out that some boxes cost up to $300 to make (not including salaries) when we sold them for less than that. We thought we could keep our box prices low and affordable, while providing the highest quality, integrity, and care - all while supporting other foundations and artists. However, too many struggles have come afloat. We stand in the mirror and see ourselves for who we truly are; makers of very high-quality products. We spend insane amounts of efforts to make this work, and we need to be more realistic in order to survive the business landscape.
A blast from the past, sending out our first boxes.
Challenges
We believe that money is merely stored energy. And with Portier, unfortunately, we're giving away more than is coming in. We loved doing this as we created something never seen before. But now it has us working corporate jobs on the side to fuel Portier.
No salary
Though we have been able to bring on one of our first customers (Chandler) as an employee and provide him compensation, we worked without salaries. Income goes straight back into building boxes and is donated to charity. Support for psychedelic foundations
We still send a portion of our income to organizations that fight for the legalization and protection of your rights to use psychedelic medicines. We believe it's important not to turn away from this. We want to be able to continue to do that, but not be a charity. This has become increasingly difficult when we are not able to pay ourselves. Thousands of hours of manual labor For something that requires a lot of handwork, our boxes priced rather moderately, as we want to offer a product that is affordable for most people. We do not want to compromise on quality or product design, because our main mission is to build the best tributes to psychedelics. When we see designer furniture go for thousands of dollars, we can not help but give ourselves a major facepalm for not realizing the immense amount of energy it takes to make each box. Sustainable goods We work hand-in-hand with our wood processors, who do a great job sourcing sustainable materials for us. We want to source only certified wood to minimize any damage to forests. The reality is that wood prices have gone up significantly - we could use cheaper wood, but that would completely ruin the experience. We want you to have something that will last generations. Rising costs around the world With rapid inflation around the world, and rising transportation and energy costs, we're hit extra hard due to the small operation we run. Although we have gotten very far on the love and support of the community, we have to adapt to these changes for the longevity of our mission. Banned, banned, banned. We are not able to do online marketing. Word-of-mouth is still our biggest marketing tool, as platforms like Facebook and Kickstarter still seem to be stuck in the 90's - banning us because of our "tobacco/cannabis paraphernalia". We suck at sales. Let's face it. We love to talk about psychedelics and believe strongly in what we do, but aside from some discounts, we do not have a sales-oriented approach. We have a firm rule at Portier, which is that we are not predators towards customers, but we all see ourselves as a huge community of co-creators. No investment. Now you might be thinking 'Why not just find an angel investor?' Well, we believe that the mission of protecting psychedelic consumption and raising standards takes precedence over financial gain (no kidding, or we would not have this email). Having a financial hawk on our shoulders pushing us for "profit margins" is not in line with our vision.
What does this mean for you?
Nothing, for now. As our long-time supporter, we want to give you until October 31st to still enjoy our old prices. After that, we’re raising the price of our Portalbox.
We want our products to be approachable by anyone, but we can't sell them at a loss. If you genuinely can’t afford a box, you can always reach out to set up a call and we can see what we can do.
We know you are critical of every step we take, and we love you for it. We want you to stay skeptical to protect psychedelics as a whole. As always we would love to hear your thoughts.
A stronger future
Raising the price will enable us to look into a brighter future.
• Portalboxes will arrive at the end of next month, and sent out to those who have pre-ordered the second batch.
• We’ll be able to keep supporting psychedelic foundations and invest in environmentally positive products without being in our own financial stress.
• We'll create a global business that delivers the most beautiful psychedelic products the world has ever seen, a co-creative phenomenon to create a reputation of sacred in-home use for decades to come.
• We will have the means to increase our time spent with you, the community, during calls and in person at events.
• We will be able to provide fair pay, and increase the size of our team, while giving the artists we work with better compensation for the work they provide.
• We'll have more time to spend designing and developing the products, rather than taking on other jobs to pay for Portier.
• We will build up a larger product line, supplemented by online services to enable you - the explorer - to get the absolutely most out of your psychedelic journey. Who knows, maybe we’ll build an LSD travel case? A sacred cannabis ritual? A changa-kit? An app? The future looks bright.
So what do you think? Are we doing the right thing? Keep steering us in the right direction. We love to connect, and need your voice. We try to do things with the best intent, and hope to keep welcoming you through our journey. Thanks for your trust.
Much love,
Sebastian
We support MAPS, Erowid, Amazon Frontlines, and OneTreePlanted.