FAQs
Cracks Appearing Distro (CAD) Mission
Cracks Appearing Distro (CAD) is a mostly fun
but also militant project that we run to get awesome stickers, merch and other
rad lefty commo art stuffs to people, so that they can get it up on the streets
and also because sometimes having nice things is… well, really nice, and
communism is not just about having what we need but also being free enough to
have the things we want, and so we have priced our wares so that hopefully most
people can afford to have some of the nice things if they want them, but also
so that we can work towards making a profit; we are currently still operating
in overall deficit (on the items we produce, at least) but once we begin to run
at a profit we will be splitting that between funding further stock and
donations to a range of political campaigns and funds. That is to say we’re not running CAD to line
our pockets or buy beer and skittles.
At CAD we reckon that sustainable projects
that can fund political work and defence is key to building resilient
communities and is thus political work in itself.
Is CAD a political organisation or group?
No.
Also, while we fundraise for various direct
action campaigns and groups, we are not directly affiliated with any
organisation or group.
Will CAD stock your wares?
Maybe :)
We do stock a number of items made/produced
by third parties, either for fundraising purposes or otherwise.
We’re a small operation so everything we
don’t produce ourselves is held on consignment, unless otherwise arranged.
Also we are selective and we unabashedly
reserve that right; stocking other people’s gear is a delicate balance for us
of being into their political perspective down to the fine nuances and also
loving the aesthetic. In this context
there will be plenty of stuff that we reckon is right-on but isn’t right for
CAD. What we’re into though is mostly
militant antifascist, feminist, indigenous, anti-cop, prison-abolitionist hard
anarcho lefty propaganda and merch. We
like stuff in a range of styles and mediums but we definitely want to get a
good idea of your item/s and all the details of your project before we agree to
take it on, so don’t go sending us bulk stock without getting in touch first.
To chat more about the possibility of CAD
stocking your gear, shoot us an email at cracksappearing.distro@riseup.net.
Do CAD collaborate and/or fund production of your lefty merch idea?
Sometimes.
All of the factors noted in the last point
apply – if you want to chat, get in touch at cracksappearing.distro@riseup.net.
Can CAD post orders overseas?
Yeah, we can.
Having said that we haven’t set the online shop up for overseas orders
because the costs are significantly higher; often prohibitively so.
So, we do have a links page over here, and on that
there are a bunch of awesome distros around the world doing similar stuff to
us. That said, if you’d still like to enquire
about an order through us outside of so-called Australia, shoot us an email at cracksappearing.distro@riseup.net and let us know what you’d be interested in ordering and where
you’d want it shipped to – we’ll get back to you with a quote and we can make
arrangements from there.
Do CAD do bulk orders?
Yes.
If you’re interested in ordering bulk quantities of any of our stock for
your own distro, for your group to do some mass stickering, for Crapmas
presents or otherwise, get in touch and we can chat about our bulk discount
options.
How long will my CAD order take to arrive?
CAD will dispatch your order within 48 hours
of receiving payment or notify you if this isn’t possible.
Orders are sent by ordinary post and will
take up to 6 business days to be delivered across so-called Australia after
being mailed, as per Australia Post guidelines.
How do CAD calculate postage?
Using Australia Post rates - https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/post-guides/post-charges-guide-ms11.pdf.
Isn’t an “anarchist/anti-capitalist business” an oxymoron?
The anarchist publishing company AK Press
answered this perfectly and we couldn't say it better ourselves:
"There’s definitely something strange and contradictory about the concept
of an anarchist business. We work hard to destroy and move beyond capitalism,
toward a non-exploitative, sustainable, and just economy. However, like it or not, capitalism is the
only game in town at the moment. The
building we work in, the packages we send and receive, the computers we use—all
are the result of the exploited labor of the working class. Until we take power away from private economic
tyrannies like corporations and investment groups, until we’re in control of
our creative energies, almost every good or service we use or provide is
administered by capitalism. AK Press doesn’t
exist to enrich its members at the expense of consumers. We’re here to provide
much needed tools for intellectual self-defense. When we call ourselves an “anarchist business”
it’s with the full knowledge that the economy is not in our hands. Yet."
Accountability on fundraising
Cracks Appearing Distro takes fundraising for
campaigns and third party projects really seriously. CAD offers special deals on consignment where
our suppliers are donating all or the majority of their proceeds to posi projects.
If you believe that CAD have been fundraising
for a project you’re involved in, either directly or that we’ve stated that a
third party stock item is raising funds for your project, feel free to get in
touch. So long as we can verify your
connection with the project, we will always be happy to share transparent
records of sales, funds raised and where they’ve been directed to.
Got other questions?
Hit us up at cracksappearing.distro@riseup.net.