The-Con-Artist.com

[Evan]

Hey guys, I found this new playing card company on Facebook and now I have found their website. They have not release any products yet but will be launching some products "within the next couple months."
They have contests on their Facebook page to win decks so get over there!
The decks are very limited and they think that they will be rare.

Here is the website: http://The-Con-Artist.com/
Here is their Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Con-ArtistCom/330147213678457

[dmbaggs]

hmmm... it's hard to tell what I think about this company from what little they have to show. They could be one of the next greats or they could be just another wanna be hopping on playing card bandwagon. I'd like to entertain the thought that they could be great though We'll see.

[Paul Carpenter]

Yay, let's all cheer for incredible vagueness and abstract promises of incredibleness!

I really hate contests where you have to put someone else's cheesy and vague text as if it's coming from your own mouth. Hate it enough that while I'd love a free deck I just can't participate.

I do hope that the glaringly obvious Matrix+Apple Computer theme is not indicative of their deck as that's about 6 years late on the design spectrum...

[JimmyJohns]

I'm sick of this "Skulkor Type" marketing shenanigans, ..."Like" us, follow us on Twitter, blah, blah...But wait there's more , you need to change that and that, maybe even your last name , or post  things like this, quote from their FB page:
"OK the first 150 people to like this page and update their status to these exact words "Holy Cripes you guys need to look at and like this page. It has some wicked awesome things coming that have never ever been touched or thought about in the magic communuty".He He, you need to post the exact words, they say, so don't even think to correct the misspelling in bold
If you have good content to show, advertise wise, in the end people would follow you and yes would "Like" you.
But the only thing you can see there is a one page website that can be done better than that in less than five minutes.

[loldudex2]

Although the incredible vagueness, I entered myself.  Figued for a free deck of cards why not. Heck, I'd do this for a pack of bikes! Thank you Evan for showing this to us!

[xela]

I had to work day and night to get my fans by showing teasers, concepts, etc. It's much, much easier to get people to like you when you show them what they should be liking.

I think this site can go one of two ways, either very awesome or very terrible.

The all-caps status updates don't look good though. My advice to the owner of the site, if he or she should end up reading this, is to give people something to look forward to, and not keep it vague and "underground." When you are first arriving on the scene, you can't create hype by acting like the hype is predetermined. At the end of the day, are you selling me hype or products?

Also, transparency does wonders. I've liked a lot of the pages that I do because I enjoy having a more personal connection with the page owner. I have yet to give Skulkor a bother, for example, because I have absolute no idea what their staff consists of.

Also, when I see statuses spammed with your marketing campaign, I tend to get annoyed, and I feel like most people do. I'm sure if I give away tons of decks I can go get people to post "CHECK OUT THE HARLEQUIN DECK!!!" on their updates, but won't everyone see past the ruse as soon as they see the same thing copy+pasted over and over?

And since when is growing your Facebook fan page about giving away goods?! They're tossing out 150 decks and getting what, maybe 100 likes? Damn, for that amount of money I can grab myself 1K fans via advertising.

Regardless, 150 is a darn admirable number. Kudos to whoever there is dropping the dough on that.

[sinsandman]

I actually like the marketing style of Skulkor. Everyone started sticking to the same routine, Skulkor at least mixed it up a little with a healthy heap of mystery. I'm down with that...kinda like before Slipknot unmasked, great music without faces. I regard Skulkor in the same.

[shutupdangit]

Am I the only one that doesn't like the background of their website? Just seems way too much.

I also don't buy into the "copy paste this into your status" style of marketing, especially if it's to get a deck I haven't seen yet.

[Paul Carpenter]

And since when is growing your Facebook fan page about giving away goods?! They're tossing out 150 decks and getting what, maybe 100 likes? Damn, for that amount of money I can grab myself 1K fans via advertising.

150 decks for 150 likes is a pretty poor ROI. Perhaps by being a bit more personable they could get 150 likes by giving away 1 item.

I'm stingy with my Facebook Liking, so they have to show me something cool before they get it.

[Gunshy1]

I actually like the marketing style of Skulkor. Everyone started sticking to the same routine, Skulkor at least mixed it up a little with a healthy heap of mystery. I'm down with that...kinda like before Slipknot unmasked, great music without faces. I regard Skulkor in the same.

Being an iowa boy i always knew who everyone was in slipknot; knida made their music even more personal to me. (they are SICK live)

Maybe they are just testing the waters seeing how many people are interested. i personally have always hated facebook marketing campaigns; which is one of the reasons i got rid of my facebook.

[Kanped]

//off-topic

I always found Slipknot to be 2 talented musicians (Mick Thomson, Corey) 2 mostly competent musicians (Joey and Paul Grey) and 5 backing dancers

//off-topic

[Linguist_]

Maybe I'm just getting old and moody, but I really dislike Facebook marketing. I think it's fine for sharing developments and new products, but the whole competition thing just seems really disorganised and annoying. It mostly consists of fake accounts/people who probably aren't even old enough to be allowed on Facebook spamming comments with poorly executed English, ending in a bicker about who got in the first x number of replies or whatever.

If it is something easy like 'What is the answer to this hypothetical question that has a definitive answer that is not abstract in any way?' then I'd participate. But the whole 'tag yourself and some buddies' or 'show a video of you liking this page as you jump off a building' don't tend to appeal to me.

Nevertheless, I 'liked' their Facebook page. I'll try my best to wade through the 90% nonsense to find the stuff that actually informs me about a product that I may purchase.

And don't even get me started on Twitter. That is like a foreign language to me.

[xela]

Maybe I'm just getting old and moody, but I really dislike Facebook marketing. I think it's fine for sharing developments and new products, but the whole competition thing just seems really disorganised and annoying. It mostly consists of fake accounts/people who probably aren't even old enough to be allowed on Facebook spamming comments with poorly executed English, ending in a bicker about who got in the first x number of replies or whatever.

If it is something easy like 'What is the answer to this hypothetical question that has a definitive answer that is not abstract in any way?' then I'd participate. But the whole 'tag yourself and some buddies' or 'show a video of you liking this page as you jump off a building' don't tend to appeal to me.

Nevertheless, I 'liked' their Facebook page. I'll try my best to wade through the 90% nonsense to find the stuff that actually informs me about a product that I may purchase.

And don't even get me started on Twitter. That is like a foreign language to me.

Twitter is baffling to me. I have one, but my Twitter following pales immensely in comparison to the Facebook folk.

I try to do a mix of "tag yourself" and actually posting content for people to partake in. I spent quite a bit of time talking with Marcus from E, who deals with their social media stuff, and he taught me a lot about how to work it. He brought in thousands and thousands of new fans to the E page. None of the tips included giving away vast amounts of goods. Even for fans, that may seem cool in the short-run, but in the long-run it leads to the business taking huge losses and not being able to dish out quality products.

Skulkor had a mix of good and bad marketing. Spamming YouTube accounts with messages was bad marketing. Getting people to change their profile pictures was good marketing in the sense that it makes people remember them. As much as it annoyed me, I know exactly what their logo looks like now.

[Kanped]

https://twitter.com/#!/xdelamuertex

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ5yIZZgv8c&feature=plcp&context=C42b2bf9VDvjVQa1PpcFNDKbgpME_anZyinsxQ_HUanyetS5eP5Io%3D

5 mins research suggests that it's this guy's site.

[Lara Krystle "Lane"]

I guess I will have to wait till a few hours before I can view facebook or whatever blocked site because my VPN only works in the morning... meh. But yeah I'm going to have a look at this New THING. ***sigh*** I tried the skulkor thing once... the whole "change your profile photo" thing... but after that I stopped.

Facebook has a great number of people and its practically almost free advertising.

Twitter.... well I'm not sure on that but I'm on it anyway for future sake... but I'm not entirely sure on how to touch base on twitter marketing.
but anyway once I wake up tomorrow morning I will have a look at this site.

[Belk]

Sadly I have trouble getting into this sort of marketing, so while I'm Sure they can round up a following, I don't see them becoming much as of right now.

[AceGambit]

Powered by InstantPage® from GoDaddy.com

This inspires so little confidence, I'm not sure I can find the words to describe.

[RandyButterfield]

https://twitter.com/#!/xdelamuertex

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ5yIZZgv8c&feature=plcp&context=C42b2bf9VDvjVQa1PpcFNDKbgpME_anZyinsxQ_HUanyetS5eP5Io%3D

5 mins research suggests that it's this guy's site.

If it is that guy, his Twitter feed promotes a Kickstarter game project a bunch of times (with 0 pledges!).
It only has one image, a horrible looking logo! It looks like the same guy in the Kickstarter project creater bio.

http://kck.st/zb6fBQ

thanks, Randy

[Kanped]

The site was registered at go daddy by someone calling themselves 'Hidden One', but using the email address xdelamuertex@hotmail.com

I don't see anyone else calling themselves xdelamuertex anywhere online, and the guy is apparently a magician of sorts, so add 2 and 2 together, I think this is the guy.

There's an xdelamuertex eBay account that has prior purchases from playing card and body building suppliers (i.e. looks very much like the same guy) that was closed shortly after selling a bunch of jewellery that was apparently fake and 'smelt badly'.

It looks very much like he's behind the kickstarter games.  It also very much looks like he isn't a programmer, graphics designer, musician etc. etc. and nobody else is involved.  It looks very much like his choice of website name is not intended to be ironic.

It also looks like he has a habit of going on forums and advertising his sites as if he's just stumbled across them and thought they seemed interesting.  How exactly did you find this poorly search optimized site, Addictz?

I'm not accusing you of anything here, just wondering if you know the guy.  As far as I can tell, the only forum on which you're both members is T11 and you've only posted in the same thread once and never spoken to or about each other.  You just seem overly excited about what is, pretty obviously, at best a really poor product and at worst a balls-out scam.

[Paul Carpenter]

I just LOVE statements like this one: "Currently here at Snow Dart Studios, there has been quite a bit of buzz about what we are doing. "

Where is this buzz, exactly? Certainly not in popular media. I never heard of you until someone happened to Google your project because you seem to be a moron trying to run some con. Oh wait, I know, it's huge buzz amongst the guys you drink beer with! And your mom! That's right, i forgot. So much buzz. It's overwhelming.

If you asking for $85,000 on Kickstarter you need one HELL of a lot more than wishes and dreams. Jeepers. I'm totally for creative people making things a reality but fer crying out loud you can't just toss a bunch of poorly written and formatted things from your "when I grow up wish journal" and have people give you money.

It does appear to be the same fellow, which at this point has nicely reset my "Confidence-o-meter" in the con-artist to a solid and steady 0.

Sad? Or hilarious? I can't decide.

[Evan]

I don't think it is him because this is what he posted on Facebook for their contest, "I guess if I post this link and get two friends to like them, I get a free deck of killer playing cards. Help me get a free pack before anyone else. Please anyone?

http://m.facebook.com/pages/The-Con-ArtistCom/330147213678457?id=330147213678457&_rdr "


Doesn't sound like he works for them. And on their Facebook page, he participated in their other contests.

[Kanped]

Err... to me that sounds exactly like he is running the show.  'killer playing cards'?  He's trying to drum up hype and start a like-for-like thing to bring in more people, I reckon.

We have had an overwhelming 398 emails, we will get back to you as soon as possible. Make sure you post the phrase in our previous post to your wall and get 2 friends to like this page and check your privacy settings and allow us to view your wall to verify. YES the first 150 to do this correct and let us know will get the SWEETEST cards you have ever seen when we launch!

Dear god, why doesn't everyone else think this sounds shady as hell?!

EDIT:

Went ahead and posted this picture on his FB wall.  Just thought people may be curious.

[Linguist_]

Dear god, why doesn't everyone else think this sounds shady as hell?!

The whole thing is shady as hell. I don't mean to sound like an old fart, but it really seems like these marketing ploys are geared towards young teenagers. I don't see how anyone with even minimal life experience can get excited over empty words that emphatically talk about a deck of cards that for all intents and purposes does not even exist.

I've noticed that the same demographic is much more readily inclined to jump on the freebie competitions bandwagon. While I understand everyone likes something for free, it's starting to become expected. Skulkor giving away $500 worth of products, and now this company giving away free decks for a few likes.

Not to mention the fact they're called The-Con-Artist.

Well, speculation is speculation. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what becomes of this brand.

Went ahead and posted this picture on his FB wall.  Just thought people may be curious.

Hey, he talks to himself too!

[Kanped]

I'm convinced this is a balls-out con job.  I dunno how he thinks he's getting paid at the end of it.  His last few Kickstarter campaigns have failed miserably; maybe he saw the success people were having with playing cards on there and decided to take a punt at that and then disappear with the money or something?
He must have a method to screw over Amazon payments or the bank somehow so they can't track him.  Hmm... wonder if he has an Amazon account I can find, then?

Here's more;

Just in case anybody was still in doubt, this is taken from an (utterly failing and almost certainly bogus) Kickstarter project to make a video game.  There's no mention of anyone with any coding experience or other useful skills being involved.  Note the location; it's the same as the registrar for the con-artist website.  He's apparently also tried making a clothing line and television.  This guy's a joke.

[JimmyJohns]

Wow Kanped, you are really good at digging the web, 10++++ for that.

When I first saw this I was thinking that is another cheesy marketing stunt, but looks like it can be more...not in the good way.

Thanks for the info.

[Paul Carpenter]

I think this guy is a character from a tv show. You know, the slick con man that jumps on anything and everything, always the expert and there with amazing offers, insights and products.

Except is guy has no writing talent, very little marketing skill and seemingly no real abilities relevant to the many projects he's trying to start.

I'm almost tempted to email up my contacts at USPCC and ask if they've heard of this guy.

[Linguist_]

I never understood why people would try and con magicians. Don't they realise that magicians make money by fooling people?

I hope that this misendeavour will act as a lesson to other independent playing card creators; social media marketing has its positives and can garner you a great deal of people willing to bite your bait. But such people are mostly blind and couldn't care whether the bait was any good, or even poisoned in some cases. While it may seem easy to dupe people, it will do nothing for your reputation. And your reputation is what lasts after the contests are done and the initial influx of 'thumbs up' has died down.

[Evan]

I'm almost tempted to email up my contacts at USPCC and ask if they've heard of this guy.

I think you should do that. It could help us out a lot... It could save us from being scammed.

[Linguist_]

I'm almost tempted to email up my contacts at USPCC and ask if they've heard of this guy.

I think you should do that. It could help us out a lot... It could save us from being scammed.

Well according to the Facebook page USPCC are 'blown away'! So, they must be talking about it at the office like it's the next best thing. And it's all in uppercase, so we know it's important.

[Kanped]

I will give away a Steamboat deck to the first person who asks for it if this guy has made any progress with the USPCC.

nb. I didn't define what 'progress' means

re: my web-sleuthing; this guy was easy and there's probably a bunch of stuff still to find if I could be bothered looking.  I've had much trickier endeavours tracking people online before but I've caused a good few trolls to get banned from forums from doing it (proved they were lying/someone else etc.). 

UPDATE:

http://www.webspawner.com/users/xdelamuertexaolcom/index.html

Lol... so Bushido teacher, clothing, video games, playing cards and now board games!  Is there nothing this man won't fail at?

[loldudex2]

If that board game shows the quality of his work, then I have a feeling that the USPCC is blown away for all the wrong reasons.

[Kanped]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/921928561/blockbuster-movie-wonder-woman-origins/comments

Now, this might NOT be him but the location and level of utter bullshit make me think it probably is (BTW, this is HILARIOUS).  Apparently he's also script-writer

Also, promotions agency;

http://www.manta.com/c/mr5yrv2/mayhem-promotions

I forgot his clothing range; apparently, you have to prove that you're a 'real fighter' before he'll let you buy anything.  What a wab.

http://www.sagurafightwear.com/how-to-order.php

[Aaron]

LOL $2 pledged, how is that possible LOL

[Kanped]

I think somebody just wanted a Wonder Woman sticker...

http://www.ratemymuaythaiinstructor.com/index.php?instructor_detail&instructor_id=000796

Wow; the one thing he does that is is any way legitimate and even then he has to go screw it up.  Read those reviews and ask yourself; who do YOU think wrote them?

[loldudex2]

Wow. I am utterly stunned at this guy.

Although it is ridiculous that you need to prove you are a fighter, and it is weird that you need to give him all of that info, I think that this equipment actually looks pretty nice, and like he put effort into it.

[Kanped]

I'm pretty sure, judging by the design of the actual website (it has totally random flash games in it!) that he did not design the gear and is either reselling it or just taking the money.

EDIT: On closer inspection, you're just wrong, loldude.  Those designs suck.  It's just clip-art/random pics found online or text made with free online apps pasted onto a template and then made up by some company somewhere.  That blows.

[xela]

Moral of the story: Don't buy into hype from a company who's only contribution and showcase is an all-caps status.

[ReaganM]

Hmmmm, well according to his facebook, he said this is a hint as to the release date of the decks 8x6-1, which equals 47 (4/7?). Is there a reason to try and decipher this? Anywho, in that same post he talked to himself, tellinghimslef that he cracks himself up. A guess would be instead of a con artist, hes just an idiot who thinks he will have the next "great idea".

[Paul Carpenter]

I'm almost tempted to email up my contacts at USPCC and ask if they've heard of this guy.

I think you should do that. It could help us out a lot... It could save us from being scammed.

I did. I'm really curious about this guy and want to save people some hassle if possible. We could all be wrong, but he doesn't seem legit.

[Paul Carpenter]

Update: USPCC gave him a basic quote and templates but are not doing any current project with him. I'd say it's highly unlikely he has anything real at all.

I'm going to start subtly hassling this guy on Facebook to see what he says. It will amuse me.

[Linguist_]

Update: USPCC gave him a basic quote and templates but are not doing any current project with him. I'd say it's highly unlikely he has anything real at all.

I'm going to start subtly hassling this guy on Facebook to see what he says. It will amuse me.

Well, at least he isn't a complete rip-off. I can't really fathom what exactly he gets from doing such things. Nevertheless, I still think the fact he is having contests for a deck that isn't even at the design stage is bad news. What exactly are the people winning?
Maybe this?

FREE TUCK BOXES FOR ALL!

Seriously though, I can't see how he will make any money from this. Several people are already expressing concern on the Facebook page and as the days go on and people realise there are no further updates then the numbers will just increase.
He seems pretty adamant that everyone needs to change their privacy settings to allow him to see their 'wall'. I wonder if it's some sort of targeted marketing thing? Everyone already knows that Facebook targets its advertisements to people's likes already. Who knows, really.

[Paul Carpenter]

Well, he's lying. Straight up. He doesn't have 150 decks to give away. There is no way i'm aware of to even get 150 decks from USPCC. You can get a prototype at $250 a piece, or you can get 2500+.

USPCC is not "blown away" by anything, because there is nothing to be blown away by.

Anyone on this forum can ask for a quote and they will send you a standard Word doc, and the templates are available on their website. Going beyond that stage is where you actually might have something.

This guy is 100% vapor and is continuing to gather people's personal info. And he's targeting a group of people that he's identified as being willing to join in for the promise of free things. Very dangerous, honestly.

Here's his "graphic design" skills at work, Btw. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D6rz9FTKFQo/Tbk7gIUR_rI/AAAAAAAAAEw/j_f0I3ECG_c/s1600/Ab_blue_matrix.jpg

[Paul Carpenter]

Mr. Shane is a sharp guy.   If you check the Facebook you can see that he investigated me (saw I was connected to Encarded) after I made a comment and knew what I was getting at, and just so happened to toss in the name of the custom coordinator at USPCC. Slick.

[NathanCanadas]

He keeps on mentioning "Tiffany Mahan". Do you think she is in on this?
Here is another comment he has made:

[Kanped]

He PM'd me saying he designed the Arcane gaffs and was totally unconnected to any of the other projects (despite hi face being on them!).  Turns out he did get a credit for the Arcane gaffs but there's a post on FB of him begging for 1 uncut sheet in exchange for his help, which didn't get a reply from E; I think it's same to say his input was minimal (probably said 'it would be cool if...' on a forum somewhere).

Oh, FYI, guys; I linked him to this thread so if you're planning on playing it cute, I'd give that up at this point.  Spread the word; the guy is not to be trusted.

[ReaganM]

He keeps on mentioning "Tiffany Mahan". Do you think she is in on this?
Here is another comment he has made:

I still dont think that he has any deck, however that last post was very convincing.

[Paul Carpenter]

I have been dealing with Tiffany on a regular basis for months, and am about to give her company tens of thousands of dollars. I asked her simply if they worked with him. She said they have no project with this guy. I think Tiffany has been "handling" one thing for him, sending him a quote and templates, which any person on the internet can get from her with a simple email.

If he is going to deliver a deck in 2 months, it would be nearing production.

Someone is lying, and I'm confident I know who. He is playing a game, he is accessing people's personal Facebook info and I don't think he has anything at all to deliver. He'd better put up some goods real quick. Right now, he is taking advantage of the card community. His requiring access to people's Facebook Wall for a contest is suspect in the extreme.

I would seriously unlike and revoke access because I honestly do not feel he's truthful at all.

[Kanped]

PM log thus far;


Chris Wilson
I'm kinda disappointed you didn't react to my pictures calling you out over on your 'con-artist' page. Maybe you missed that? Maybe just hoping it would go away? Anyway, here's a thread over at Aether Cards (premier forum for card collectors etc.) about that project http://aethercards.com/discourse/index.php?topic=2077.0

You'll notice it details your other failed attempts at scamming via Kickstarter and if you look at the Aether Cards Facebook group, you'll notice many of the people who have already showed interest in your Facebook campaign are members there and will probably read it.

Seriously, man; of all the people to try to fool, magicians have got to be about the worst choice you could make. Wouldn't you like to make money by actually DOING something instead of putting all this effort into bullshitting? You seem to be at least competent in the whole MMA thing, maybe stick to that or do something with it? Not designer gear; you aren't good at that; maybe focus on being the best instructor you can be, or train and compete more rather than wasting all your time with this nonsense- it's never going to work.

Stay free.

Shane Carter
Chris, do I know you? Haha nope thanks for this incredibly sweet email. Nothing I am doing is a scam! Have nothing to do with the above man. I'm just the guy that designed The Arcane Gaffed deck for E if you go to their website click on Arcane Gaffs and then other that's me Shane Carter.

Shane Carter
Unless you are talking about the Arcane Gaffs on E being a failed design?

Chris Wilson
The only mention of Shane Carter on that page is a product review for a completely different product. If you look at the google search result, I can see why that would be misleading "56 outrageous gaff cards feature the artwork of ace Ellusionist designer .... by Shane Carter ..." but the '...' indicates missing text.

Come on, you have the same, unique handle as the guy who set up the con-artist page. You have your name AND FACE on a bunch of Kickstarter pages that are totally bogus, along with many of the other projects I found. I'm studying game design and it's apparent that you don't have a clue. You claim that the USPCC is 'blown away' by these designs but the only contact you've had with them is to request templates and a quote (anyone can do that). Can you explain any of that?

Chris Wilson
Oh, OK, my mistake. A guy called Shane Carter did have a small input on the design. Big Whoop. Saying you designed them is seriously off the mark, though.
..and I just found you kissing ass for an Uncut in exchange for your help. Like, what, $30 value and you're begging for it? Ever get it?

Shane Carter
Chris I am also a playing card collector. It helps showing support. Your negativity accomplishes nothing and I already had an uncut  I wish you the best at everything you do.
Kinda sad that's all you have done is research me. Maybe google Shane Carter Tropfest Tribecca? If you want the help!

Chris Wilson
I wish I could say the same to you but as far as I can tell, most of what you do seems to involve BSing gullible people. I can and do wish you all the best with the MMA instructing. My negativity has already accomplished something; a sizeable portion of the community now being extremely wary of what you're doing. If you're not going to even try to respond to the very clear issues I've raised about previous failed projects and lies you've told, then I guess my job now is to try to tell that story to as many people as will listen. It's obvious that this sin't going to get you to stop directly so I'll just keep trying to educate people about what it is I think you're doing; if you're not going to come clean on your own back, nothing is stopping me jumping to conclusions and being the only party providing any actual evidence to back it up. The reason I researched you was that the whole project was surrounded in such mystery but simple tools exist to unravel the mystery; I wanted to see who was behind the-con-artist because, well, it seemed kinda interesting. Then I found the same guy posting on the page as someone else and a string of shady projects (and selling smelly jewellery on eBay), so I figured everyone should know. You won an award for a film you took on your mobile phone in a short film festival 5 years ago. Again, big whoop, doesn't answer anything.

UPDATE

Shane Carter
Dude seriously I don't know what your talking about!
Have a great day, I have better things to be doing.

Chris Wilson
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=xdelamuertex&ftab=AllFeedback&myworld=true

https://twitter.com/#!/xdelamuertex

http://www.sagurafightwear.com/

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hauntthehated/warped-is-a-new-pc-online-game-that-will-rewrite-h?ref=email

That's what I'm talking about. Looks like funding was cancelled and the account deleted on that Kickstarter about an hour after I sent that first message. Coincidence?

[ReaganM]

Hmmm good job, I bothered to google shane carter tropfest tribecca, and I found some press releases ( about 2 ) I looked at the posts but I cant seem to find his name anywhere, I didnt bother to really read it though and Im sure hes on there, so maybe he did win some sort of film award. However, based on your investigations I still wouldnt trust him, as you did pretty much prove he didnt make any cards.

[NathanCanadas]

PM log thus far;


Chris Wilson
I'm kinda disappointed you didn't react to my pictures calling you out over on your 'con-artist' page. Maybe you missed that? Maybe just hoping it would go away? Anyway, here's a thread over at Aether Cards (premier forum for card collectors etc.) about that project http://aethercards.com/discourse/index.php?topic=2077.0

You'll notice it details your other failed attempts at scamming via Kickstarter and if you look at the Aether Cards Facebook group, you'll notice many of the people who have already showed interest in your Facebook campaign are members there and will probably read it.

Seriously, man; of all the people to try to fool, magicians have got to be about the worst choice you could make. Wouldn't you like to make money by actually DOING something instead of putting all this effort into bullshitting? You seem to be at least competent in the whole MMA thing, maybe stick to that or do something with it? Not designer gear; you aren't good at that; maybe focus on being the best instructor you can be, or train and compete more rather than wasting all your time with this nonsense- it's never going to work.

Stay free.

Shane Carter
Chris, do I know you? Haha nope thanks for this incredibly sweet email. Nothing I am doing is a scam! Have nothing to do with the above man. I'm just the guy that designed The Arcane Gaffed deck for E if you go to their website click on Arcane Gaffs and then other that's me Shane Carter.

Shane Carter
Unless you are talking about the Arcane Gaffs on E being a failed design?

Chris Wilson
The only mention of Shane Carter on that page is a product review for a completely different product. If you look at the google search result, I can see why that would be misleading "56 outrageous gaff cards feature the artwork of ace Ellusionist designer .... by Shane Carter ..." but the '...' indicates missing text.

Come on, you have the same, unique handle as the guy who set up the con-artist page. You have your name AND FACE on a bunch of Kickstarter pages that are totally bogus, along with many of the other projects I found. I'm studying game design and it's apparent that you don't have a clue. You claim that the USPCC is 'blown away' by these designs but the only contact you've had with them is to request templates and a quote (anyone can do that). Can you explain any of that?

Chris Wilson
Oh, OK, my mistake. A guy called Shane Carter did have a small input on the design. Big Whoop. Saying you designed them is seriously off the mark, though.
..and I just found you kissing ass for an Uncut in exchange for your help. Like, what, $30 value and you're begging for it? Ever get it?

Shane Carter
Chris I am also a playing card collector. It helps showing support. Your negativity accomplishes nothing and I already had an uncut  I wish you the best at everything you do.
Kinda sad that's all you have done is research me. Maybe google Shane Carter Tropfest Tribecca? If you want the help!

Chris Wilson
I wish I could say the same to you but as far as I can tell, most of what you do seems to involve BSing gullible people. I can and do wish you all the best with the MMA instructing. My negativity has already accomplished something; a sizeable portion of the community now being extremely wary of what you're doing. If you're not going to even try to respond to the very clear issues I've raised about previous failed projects and lies you've told, then I guess my job now is to try to tell that story to as many people as will listen. It's obvious that this sin't going to get you to stop directly so I'll just keep trying to educate people about what it is I think you're doing; if you're not going to come clean on your own back, nothing is stopping me jumping to conclusions and being the only party providing any actual evidence to back it up. The reason I researched you was that the whole project was surrounded in such mystery but simple tools exist to unravel the mystery; I wanted to see who was behind the-con-artist because, well, it seemed kinda interesting. Then I found the same guy posting on the page as someone else and a string of shady projects (and selling smelly jewellery on eBay), so I figured everyone should know. You won an award for a film you took on your mobile phone in a short film festival 5 years ago. Again, big whoop, doesn't answer anything.

UPDATE

Shane Carter
Dude seriously I don't know what your talking about!
Have a great day, I have better things to be doing.

Chris Wilson
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=xdelamuertex&ftab=AllFeedback&myworld=true

https://twitter.com/#!/xdelamuertex

http://www.sagurafightwear.com/

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hauntthehated/warped-is-a-new-pc-online-game-that-will-rewrite-h?ref=email

That's what I'm talking about. Looks like funding was cancelled and the account deleted on that Kickstarter about an hour after I sent that first message. Coincidence?

Of course he is hiding more than one thing and shouldn't be trusted, but he seemed pretty convincing. Being the devil's advocate, he possibly has a design...

[Kanped]

He DID win a film award, for a trick he filmed on his mobile phone (in the "film shot on a mobile phone award" category- fierce competition, surely).

Hell, maybe he even does have a design but the funds to get it made?  NAH.

Here's more hilarity courtesy of Shane Carter (also cancelled when I pointed out his face was on the page and his FB was linked to it.  Picture earlier in this thread of his FB profile image on the other Kickstarter page if you're in doubt);

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hauntthehated/haunt-the-hated-television-show?ref=city

I'm actually kinda proud of myself for getting him to shut down his Kickstarter and throw a spanner in that particular work.  Given it had no support whatsoever, I guess it is a bit like kicking a wounded dog but a win's a win, right?

Few other things; the MMA stuff that was actually verifiable and looked legit?  I didn't read it very closely but the site hasn't been updated in a long time and all it says is "Shane comes in when he can on thursdays to help with the conditioning of the kickboxers to get them ready to compete."  That could mean just about anything.  He has a tattoo on his arm visible in the MMA stuff and the magic stuff on youtube.  One last ditch effort to give him a chance to prove he's not lying.  This will be my last message to him unless he writes back;

"I've had an idea.  If you are who I think you are, then you have a tattoo, like an Ace of Spades on the inside of your right forearm.  Make a video (you've won awards for that, so it shouldn't be hard) that shows your face and the inside of both forearms.  If there's no tattoo, that throws serious doubt on my suspicions and regains a lot of faith in your project.  If you refuse, it looks very suspicious".

[Evan]

Thats disappointing... I was hoping that it would be a legit company but I guess not. The fact that he just cancelled the kickstarter 3 hours ago, just shows us that he is running all of this. I haven't given him any info and I won't until he "releases" the products that he is talking about and someone actually receives them.




Also, here is something that he posted:

[Paul Carpenter]

Evan,

Shane Carter = Xdelamuertex on Twitter and lives in Spokane, WA.
Xdelamuertex@hotmail.com registered the-con-artist.com on Nov 11, 2011 and lives in Spokane, WA.

So yes, he is behind it. Liar liar pants on fire! This stuff is not hard to figure out, it's all public knowledge.

[Linguist_]

Playing card enthusiasts - a force to be reckoned with. 

[Kanped]

It's nice to see everyone deciding that an insurmountable plethora of evidence is worth more than some guy's word. 
Now if only more people would apply that to other aspects of their life

Anyway; chalk it up, guys.  One dead scammer. Nice work everybody.

[xela]

Oh bother, I can't imagine what was going on in his mind when he did all this. "Let me just throw out a name from the USPCC and make it sound official!" What he fails to realize is that all of us here know who Tiffany is, any of us can contact her, and a few of us regularly do.

Kudos to Paul and Chris for unravelling this scam. I don't think this guy was doing anything other than marketing a deck that was absolutely awful as something that the USPCC was "blown away" by.

If you look at his website, the only designs aspect of it is the background which is actually not made by him at all. Here is the background: http://www.pptbackgrounds.net/blue-matrix-backgrounds.html

I have no tolerance for people who rip artwork. =_=

[Billywiz]

Great job exposing this scam Kanped, you saved alot of people from being ripped-off...

Warning..Never mess with the card community

[zaganh]

i havent read this properly but i clicked the twitter and thats the guy who said dan and dave stole his ace of spades for chinatown deck

[Evan]

The Con Artist posted this pic on Facebook with a caption on, "YEAH For proofs."

What do you guys think? I'm still skeptical and will not order from them until we know for sure it is legit. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=404889199537591&set=a.404889196204258.117737.330147213678457&type=1&theater

[Evan]

Also, I posted in a magic and playing cards group on fecebook that Shane Carter is also a part of. I posted the link that Alex supplied where they downloaded their pic from.




They immediately changed the pic to this one which can also be found on google 

[jmrock]

You all seem to be infatuated with this guy, but I'd get off his D!*# already... you proved your point... You are great detectives just like Batman...

On a more serious note, I doubt Tiffany or anyone else who had their email posted would appreciate it very much.  Tiffany's phone numbers and private company email do not belong posted on this forum for all the world to see.  It's inappropriate and its immature.  You need to censor the numbers and email or take it down... Again, these are the numbers and email she uses to do business and it's nobody else's business... Please do the right thing... Thanks, J.

[Paul Carpenter]

jmrock, we are taking it serious because he's tossing around names, getting people's info, lying about things and doesn't have a shred of real proof that he's actually done anything other than jerk people around. If he would stop his shenanigans or put up some artwork, or ANYTHING then we'd be happy to leave him alone.

[JimmyJohns]

You all seem to be infatuated with this guy, but I'd get off his D!*# already... you proved your point... You are great detectives just like Batman...

On a more serious note, I doubt Tiffany or anyone else who had their email posted would appreciate it very much.  Tiffany's phone numbers and private company email do not belong posted on this forum for all the world to see.  It's inappropriate and its immature.  You need to censor the numbers and email or take it down... Again, these are the numbers and email she uses to do business and it's nobody else's business... Please do the right thing... Thanks, J.

Nobody here posted her phone number and e-mail.The dude behind the Con-Artist, posted that on his FB page, which probably a lot of people can see.

[Evan]

You all seem to be infatuated with this guy, but I'd get off his D!*# already... you proved your point... You are great detectives just like Batman...

On a more serious note, I doubt Tiffany or anyone else who had their email posted would appreciate it very much.  Tiffany's phone numbers and private company email do not belong posted on this forum for all the world to see.  It's inappropriate and its immature.  You need to censor the numbers and email or take it down... Again, these are the numbers and email she uses to do business and it's nobody else's business... Please do the right thing... Thanks, J.

Nobody here posted her phone number and e-mail.The dude behind the Con-Artist, posted that on his FB page, which probably a lot of people can see.

I posted the pic that was on their page, here. That is what he was talking about but I took down the pic.

[jmrock]

Please pardon me... I read a little more in depth... Didn't mean to offend anyone... Just didn't like that her personal info was put out there, but yes, it appears as though it was he who posted it in order to prove he was talking to her... I'll read a little more in depth next time... He does sound a bit shady and it was not appropriate for him to post her info... I'm sure she wouldn't be happy to know that her personal conversation with him was posted on the internet for everyone to see... Again, please excuse me...

[xela]

I don't think it is her personal info, seeing as how that's how she will sign her emails if you send her anything at all via the USPCC email. Regardless, throwing around private emails is in very poor decorum.

I'll be contacting Tiffany and seeing what can be done.

[Kanped]

I emailed her pointing it out.  Asked if it was genuine and said I thought she might like to know it was posted but by all means, contact her because I'm sure it will be better coming from someone she's dealt with before rather than some complete unknown (i.e., me)

[SpadedQueen]

I followed the link from The-Con-Artist's Facebook page. I'm brand new here, so please don't rip me apart! I just had a few things to add to all this thought provoking thread. Does anyone else find it interesting that the link to get here is still up on their page? If you guys are wrong, and there is a design near production, all this will do is make you guys look like assholes for trying to defame someone. Not trying to defend The-Con-Artist, but I'm also not interested in talking crap about someone before all the cards are on the table. (pun intended) Honestly, I am being wary, but I haven't been hurt by liking the page or getting my friends to like it. Has someone here been scammed by these people/person. Is that why everyone is out to make a fool of them? Looking at all of the links that were posted about this guy, I haven't seen anyone scammed out of anything. I see someone who has posted a ton of ideas, but do you know where they are at with these projects? Does anyone have personal knowledge or is this all Internet research?
You guys keep on doing your thing and tearing someone apart, but my guess is that they left the link up to this site intentionally. I will wait it out and see what happens. If they start showing artwork as promissed, I wonder how many will suddenly switch sides. I'm not going to jump to conclusions on this one. I haven't been asked for any personal info or money, so I'm not feeling scammed at all. I have not lost anything. If you guys are right...well then I guess you can say I told you so! If you are wrong, well then I feel sorry for you because you just made yourself look really bad!

[NathanCanadas]

I followed the link from The-Con-Artist's Facebook page. I'm brand new here, so please don't rip me apart! I just had a few things to add to all this thought provoking thread. Does anyone else find it interesting that the link to get here is still up on their page? If you guys are wrong, and there is a design near production, all this will do is make you guys look like assholes for trying to defame someone. Not trying to defend The-Con-Artist, but I'm also not interested in talking crap about someone before all the cards are on the table. (pun intended) Honestly, I am being wary, but I haven't been hurt by liking the page or getting my friends to like it. Has someone here been scammed by these people/person. Is that why everyone is out to make a fool of them? Looking at all of the links that were posted about this guy, I haven't seen anyone scammed out of anything. I see someone who has posted a ton of ideas, but do you know where they are at with these projects? Does anyone have personal knowledge or is this all Internet research?
You guys keep on doing your thing and tearing someone apart, but my guess is that they left the link up to this site intentionally. I will wait it out and see what happens. If they start showing artwork as promissed, I wonder how many will suddenly switch sides. I'm not going to jump to conclusions on this one. I haven't been asked for any personal info or money, so I'm not feeling scammed at all. I have not lost anything. If you guys are right...well then I guess you can say I told you so! If you are wrong, well then I feel sorry for you because you just made yourself look really bad!

The fact of the matter is he has lied. We aren't making any irrational assumptions. I don't know why he left the link up, but it's probably because we would have flooded his facebook page. He lied to us about USPCC liking the project since he didn't even put anything forward. And the project isn't near production since he hasn't announced anything to USPCC.

[Linguist_]

I followed the link from The-Con-Artist's Facebook page. I'm brand new here, so please don't rip me apart! I just had a few things to add to all this thought provoking thread. Does anyone else find it interesting that the link to get here is still up on their page? If you guys are wrong, and there is a design near production, all this will do is make you guys look like assholes for trying to defame someone. Not trying to defend The-Con-Artist, but I'm also not interested in talking crap about someone before all the cards are on the table. (pun intended) Honestly, I am being wary, but I haven't been hurt by liking the page or getting my friends to like it. Has someone here been scammed by these people/person. Is that why everyone is out to make a fool of them? Looking at all of the links that were posted about this guy, I haven't seen anyone scammed out of anything. I see someone who has posted a ton of ideas, but do you know where they are at with these projects? Does anyone have personal knowledge or is this all Internet research?
You guys keep on doing your thing and tearing someone apart, but my guess is that they left the link up to this site intentionally. I will wait it out and see what happens. If they start showing artwork as promissed, I wonder how many will suddenly switch sides. I'm not going to jump to conclusions on this one. I haven't been asked for any personal info or money, so I'm not feeling scammed at all. I have not lost anything. If you guys are right...well then I guess you can say I told you so! If you are wrong, well then I feel sorry for you because you just made yourself look really bad!

You make some fair points, but I don't think just because there is no monetary value to what is going on doesn't make it okay. The reason why decks sell is through good design and good marketing. If I brand wants to be a one-hit-wonder then it can go ahead and create a great deck and have it printed. But if a brand wants to be successful then they need a good reputation to do that. This brand is not creating a good reputation by having zero evidence of a deck being produced.
While his actions won't negatively affect any individual person if it does turn out to be a scam, it will affect the custom card industry. An industry that is quickly getting saturated and that relies on communities such as here or United Cardist. If that wasn't the case then the companies wouldn't have representatives who communicate on these fora and spread the word here to gather interest. If people start coming along and scamming, then people will start mistrusting new brands that pop up. People are already quite skeptical with new custom cards from the outset, it won't take much for people to lose interest in custom brands altogether.

Objectively, I suppose this thread has been a bit pejorative. Many, indeed most, people look at the evidence (or lack thereof from The-Con-Artist.com's side) and just say 'well, we can wait and see'. Other people choose to just go for it anyway and trust the brand. Still others choose to act on the lack of evidence the company is putting out and the evidence of the background such as Kanped came upon. I don't think people who fall into the last category are doing anything wrong. We are acting on the evidence that exists. If he wants our respect then he can quite easily earn it by giving us evidence of his product. I don't think anyone would object to that in favour of this 'all in due time' attitude. Similarly, I don't see anything hypocritical if we do change sides on the basis of evidence that it isn't a scam. If it isn't a scam, then it isn't a scam and we can apologise for calling it such. However, none of us has to apologise for calling his marketing strategies diabolical and damaging to his brand image.

[Paul Carpenter]

SpadedQueen, thank you for joining us here and speaking your views. That is always appreciated and I hope you find other good resources here. There are some super knowledgeable and great folks on here.

I think Linguist summed it up well. To make it simple, we don't like people that lie, blatantly, about things we care about. The fellow running the Con-Artist is lying, in a variety of ways, and keep compounding his lies. That is wrong and no one should be ok with that. This could also be easily fixed by simply showing us anything at all about his actual product. If it existed, it would take but a moment to put some little piece of it up, or describe some little detail. The fact that this hasn't happened speaks volumes. If I was in his boat I'd be putting up stuff instantly to help reverse the negative reactions, not let days go by and just lie some more. As a designer, I cannot fathom launching a marketing effort for such a project without a decent logo, or a picture, or a mockup of my work, or some quality written descriptions, or a sketch, or ANYTHING at all. That is truly, 100%, mind-boggling insane and a misstep the size of the Grand Canyon.

So either we are right, or we are wrong and this fellow is the poorest marketeer ever, neither of which are good outcomes for the consumer.

Detailing some issues:

- He (Shane Carter) says he's not affiliated with the con artist. Lie. He registered the domain name.
- He says that USPCC is amazed by his work. Lie. They have no project going with him. Remember that some of us on here DO have projects with USPCC and know the people there. I asked specifically if they knew him. I could have gotten two answers: 1.) yes we have a project but I can't talk about it or 2.) no, we have nothing going on. USPCC has no reason to lie to me, an existing customer.
- He says he is giving away 150 decks in a few months. This is 99% a lie. If I handed over a fully complete design to USPCC tomorrow, I could MAYBE have it done in 2 months. Maybe, but not likely. He almost certainly has no product to give away at a launch and is using the promise of it as a lure. Not nice.
- He talks up his project like it's the second coming and wants everyone to jump through hoops to spread his work, but all he has shown so far is two stolen PC wallpapers. If that is the design skill at work, then that's another lie.
- We found several other Kickstarter projects of his that are so poorly thought out that they are laughable, and they do not speak well of his ability to manage a project. And he denies being a part of though he's listed as the project owner.

If you think that your personal Facebook info isn't worth anything, and your lists of friends aren't worth anything, and the knowledge of things you like isn't worth anything, and your mailing address isn't worth anything, then Google/Facebook/Twitter and countless other businesses must be doing it all wrong. Your personal info, no matter how mundane it seems is extremely valuable and handing it out any ol' slick talker that dangles a carrot is a poor decision.

[xela]

You need to know only one thing about this guy:

He stole the designs for his shoddy website from a site that gives free desktop wallpapers but does not entitle the user to claim the work as their own or for use in commercial work. This is his design work on something as simple as a website.

A deck of cards from him will arguably be worse than flinging dog crap on a canvas.

On the off chance, by some stroke of luck, he produces an exceptionally good deck, then I would still not apologize or retract a single statement. And neither should you. I don't care how awesome something is when the business practices are sketchy, greedy and ask you to do a ton in return for nothing.

Please, people, if you really want to support start-ups, support those of us who actually have something to show for it. On this forum alone there is Paul, Lance, Russell, Adam, Sean, Reagan, Randy, myself and several others all of whom don't ask for your personal info and claim we have done something that we have not.

To give this guy a single shred of credibility is an insult to the card community. The only people I expect to mindlessly adore this "company" already are the same people that actually bought the Merz decks.

Those of you that are indifferent, kudos, but keep in mind that you should be very careful who you give personal information to (changing your FB privacy settings is not a good idea, and I would never ask that form my fans despite how much it inconveniences me). You should also evaluate your sense of self worth, because proclamations of what you like and dislike to all of your real life friends shapes how they view you.

So let me ask you guys this, how do you view the blokes on you Facebook that actually "like" and share those "FREE IPAD GIVEAWAY IF WE GET 100,000 LIKES!" as fools? Well, that's how they will view you.

[SpadedQueen]

Thnks for welcoming me! I do see that most people here have major issues with this guy. I guess I'm just the type of person that tries not to judge people before I have all of the information. There is a lot of info that has been found, but not all of it is damning. Saw that Mike the Greek was wearing his fight wear brand in a televised event. Also, did anyone check out the pic that The-Con-Artist just posted? Looks like artwork to me. Thanks for all the info you guys dug around for. Interesting stuff! I agree about not putting personal info out there for the world to see.  I googled my name and a ton of stuff came up that I didn't know about! It's definitely not hard to find! Thanks again!

[JimmyJohns]

Thnks for welcoming me! I do see that most people here have major issues with this guy. I guess I'm just the type of person that tries not to judge people before I have all of the information. There is a lot of info that has been found, but not all of it is damning. Saw that Mike the Greek was wearing his fight wear brand in a televised event. Also, did anyone check out the pic that The-Con-Artist just posted? Looks like artwork to me. Thanks for all the info you guys dug around for. Interesting stuff! I agree about not putting personal info out there for the world to see.  I googled my name and a ton of stuff came up that I didn't know about! It's definitely not hard to find! Thanks again!

Dude, what the f**k are you trying to say/prove?? Quote:"I guess I'm just the type of person that tries not to judge people before I have all of the information."
What more information do you need Kanped put a lot of information regarding this fella...
That guy even cancelled his Kickstarters projects and deleted his account there, within hours of being exposed...
Everything about this Con-Artist  project is fishy!!!!!

By the way can I have your Social Security Number, address, date of birth, credit card info,
because if so I can send you a free deck of a project that is ready to be launched....

[SpadedQueen]

Thnks for welcoming me! I do see that most people here have major issues with this guy. I guess I'm just the type of person that tries not to judge people before I have all of the information. There is a lot of info that has been found, but not all of it is damning. Saw that Mike the Greek was wearing his fight wear brand in a televised event. Also, did anyone check out the pic that The-Con-Artist just posted? Looks like artwork to me. Thanks for all the info you guys dug around for. Interesting stuff! I agree about not putting personal info out there for the world to see.  I googled my name and a ton of stuff came up that I didn't know about! It's definitely not hard to find! Thanks again!

Dude, what the f**k are you trying to say/prove?? Quote:"I guess I'm just the type of person that tries not to judge people before I have all of the information."
What more information do you need Kanped put a lot of information regarding this fella...
That guy even cancelled his Kickstarters projects and deleted his account there, within hours of being exposed...
Everything about this Con-Artist  project is fishy!!!!!

By the way can I have your Social Security Number, address, date of birth, credit card info,
because if so I can send you a free deck of a project that is ready to be launched....

Sorry love, but I am missing a few body parts to be a "dude".  Lol. I am not out to prove anything. You have made up your mind and I respect that. And, no I won't give you any of that information, but thanks for asking! I would never give it to anyone, but then again, The-Con-Artist has yet to ask me for any personal info. I made only that post visible to the public on Facebook. All other information is still private. If they do ask for personal info before showing proof of a deck, I will unlike them and move on. Simple as that. So far, it hasn't happened, so I'm still hanging in there. I would be sorely disappointed if there were no deck, don't get me wrong! But, I'm not convinced that there isn't a deck either, regardless of all posts about contacting USPCC. What if someone else in his company was contacting USPCC and not using the company name? I will wait and see.

[JimmyJohns]

[/quote]
SpadedQueen
Sorry love, but I am missing a few body parts to be a "dude".  Lol.
[/quote]
Sorry, I didn't look and think about your handle....
Cheers and love back

[SpadedQueen]

No worries! 

[xela]

@SQ: First off, I forgot to say welcome to the forums. Let not your first impression be that of a hateful community, we are very welcoming and the good people here are very kind to the card community. They have helped several projects go from nothing to a full-blown Kickstarter project that gets major funding, mine included.

We are also very, very card obsessed. We know the in's and out's of the industry, and while none of us are single-handedly geniuses on the matter, as a collective we have the power to check each other's claims.

However, you said in your post that "not all of the evidence is damning." There need be but one shred of damning evidence and no matter what excuse you can come up with for the other stuff, nothing excuses blatant ripping of artwork for use on a commercial site (or any site, technically). Would you pay for a pirated CD? Would you buy a stolen car? So why in the world would you spend a single minute of your time supporting this hack?

I mean, it's not like the selection of quality products is hard to find in the card world, and the selection of mediocre and terrible products is certainly easy to horde.

[SpadedQueen]

@SQ: First off, I forgot to say welcome to the forums. Let not your first impression be that of a hateful community, we are very welcoming and the good people here are very kind to the card community. They have helped several projects go from nothing to a full-blown Kickstarter project that gets major funding, mine included.

We are also very, very card obsessed. We know the in's and out's of the industry, and while none of us are single-handedly geniuses on the matter, as a collective we have the power to check each other's claims.

However, you said in your post that "not all of the evidence is damning." There need be but one shred of damning evidence and no matter what excuse you can come up with for the other stuff, nothing excuses blatant ripping of artwork for use on a commercial site (or any site, technically). Would you pay for a pirated CD? Would you buy a stolen car? So why in the world would you spend a single minute of your time supporting this hack?

I mean, it's not like the selection of quality products is hard to find in the card world, and the selection of mediocre and terrible products is certainly easy to horde.

Thanks for the belated welcome alex!  I do not feel like this is a hateful cummunity, and I applaud the fact that many out there are being wary of this guy. Maybe you can help me out with this (about the artwork), but my understanding was that the picture in question came from this site: http://www.pptbackgrounds.net/blue-matrix-backgrounds.html, which The-Con-Artist admitted to. I checked out the site, and they are free downloads for you to use as you wish, including websites. I am not seeing how he stole any artwork, and supposedly there is a different website that will be launching. Does anyone know when or what it will look like? Was there another picture that you meant? The other cover picture was researched and found to have no duplicates on the web. Supposedly it is an original taken by TCA. Please understand, that I am not trying to make excuses, this is just information that I found. So again, if there was a picture that I am missing that was ripped off from somewhere, please slap me upside the head and bring me in to reality!

Aside from all of the other stuff, where does he stand in the cardistry/magic community? I think I saw a few posts on here about him winning something at a film festival? Is the movie out there somewhere? Also that his name is on the Arcane Gaff Cards? I would be interested to know what he contributed. I have a few decks of those myself, and love giving credit where it is due. For those that do know the ins and outs of the business, do you have connections to find out or are willing to find out? Then maybe we can see what some of his designs actually look like. I would rather look at what he has actually done rather than what he may or may not have done. Everything else has been speculation...unless someone on here was standing next to him when these things happened, how can anyone say this is 100% why he did this? When it all comes out in to the light, I will be happy to say either one of two things: "I'm glad I waited it out so I didn't get scammed," or "I'm glad I waited and didn't judge. And the free deck of cards was a nice touch." Either way, I know you guys will make your minds up on your own about what you think.

[xela]

Personal websites are not commercial websites. He was promoting a product that he intended to sell on his site. This is directly from that site's TOS:

"Use of any resources offered for commercial purposes is prohibited."

Most free resource sites have a similar clause. The sheer fact that someone who can't design a website and uses Go-Daddy insta-pages as well as ripped artwork is marketing a deck is scary.

As for his contribution to the Arcane Gaff deck, people here have mentioned that he probably posted a cool idea on the forums and was then seen begging for free swag for his "help."

Someone, I won't mention who yet, suggested a nifty feature for the Harlequin deck that I may be implementing. That person will get their name hidden in the deck and no further credit. If that person then goes around saying that he designed the Harlequin deck, he will get a swift kick in the nads (this guy originally claimed he designed the Arcane Gaff until that was debunked).

On an unrelated note, SQ, go make an intro thread in the intro board if you'd like. To my knowledge we have three or four active women on this board... maybe five? We have insane diversity across every field except gender.

[Kanped]

Saw that Mike the Greek was wearing his fight wear brand in a televised event. Also, did anyone check out the pic that The-Con-Artist just posted? Looks like artwork to me.

Wow, really?  I missed that video; where is it?

Also, he just posted a small grey blob.  I can't really be bothered finding out exactly where it's from; that would be very time consuming but I seriously doubt he made it himself because nothing else was made himself and that little pic could be anything (no, the carbon fibre paper was not a photo he took himself).

[xela]

Ohaithur.

Kanped gave me the location of that moron that owns TCA, and so I tracked the IP of SpadedQueen - guess who it is? The owner of TCA. They're from the same city.

Now either SpadedQueen is his little sister or it's him making fraudulent accounts.

Let me be the first to say this:

The-Con-Artist is a giant sack of turds.

[Billywiz]

Ohaithur.

Kanped gave me the location of that moron that owns TCA, and so I tracked the IP of SpadedQueen - guess who it is? The owner of TCA. They're from the same city.

Now either SpadedQueen is his little sister or it's him making fraudulent accounts.

Let me be the first to say this:

The-Con-Artist is a giant sack of turds.


WOW lol this just keeps getting better and better. They certainly live up to the name THE CON-ARTIST.

[SpadedQueen]

Ohaithur.

Kanped gave me the location of that moron that owns TCA, and so I tracked the IP of SpadedQueen - guess who it is? The owner of TCA. They're from the same city.

Now either SpadedQueen is his little sister or it's him making fraudulent accounts.

Let me be the first to say this:

The-Con-Artist is a giant sack of turds.

Sorry, but I am not TCA, nor do I know him or where he is from. The fact that you are tracking me makes you a stalkerish type person. Please back off creapo...worst welcome ever. If you want to know something, just ask. Don't stalk. I don't put up with it.

[NathanCanadas]

Ohaithur.

Kanped gave me the location of that moron that owns TCA, and so I tracked the IP of SpadedQueen - guess who it is? The owner of TCA. They're from the same city.

Now either SpadedQueen is his little sister or it's him making fraudulent accounts.

Let me be the first to say this:

The-Con-Artist is a giant sack of turds.

Sorry, but I am not TCA, nor do I know him or where he is from. The fact that you are tracking me makes you a stalkerish type person. Please back off creapo...worst welcome ever. If you want to know something, just ask. Don't stalk. I don't put up with it.

I think it's too late. By signing up on this website you signed a contract. As owner of AC, it is in Alex's rights to do what he did. And you are a liar.

[xela]

I'm not stalking you - I am ensuring that the members of this site are provided with a good experience, and none of that involves impostors.

This is just hilarious now. Pretending to not own your own site is funny, but posing as a woman? New low. XD

[Aaron]

HAHA! I just read through the last couple pages and suspected that it was TCA from his first post I like how you told us we are all going to look like A$$holes

EDIT: His name is acctually changed to The Con Artist now 

[NathanCanadas]

I'm not stalking you - I am ensuring that the members of this site are provided with a good experience, and none of that involves impostors.

This is just hilarious now. Pretending to not own your own site is funny, but posing as a woman? New low. XD

Quite honestly I had suspected it since the beginning. I seriously doubted that with all the evidence we showed, no one would have contradicted us except for him. Also, the way he declared he wasn't a woman wasn't how a true woman would have said it "I'm lacking a few parts"...
But I wasn't completely sure about this.

[SpadedQueen]

Your research skills are astounding. I am a woman and not TCA, nor am I affiliated or related to TCA. Now that you have proven to me how quick you are to judge people based on very little info, I hold no weight in anything you have said thus far. You have embarrassed and humiliated an innocent person, so thanks for that.  I will be spending the rest of the night with my family snuggled up on the couch watching a movie instead of wasting it here with people who I believed were "knowledgeable". Obviously not. You have lost a newcomer. Maybe you should get your facts straight before you accuse someone of something they are not.

[Linguist_]

Your research skills are astounding. I am a woman and not TCA, nor am I affiliated or related to TCA. Now that you have proven to me how quick you are to judge people based on very little info, I hold no weight in anything you have said thus far. You have embarrassed and humiliated an innocent person, so thanks for that.  I will be spending the rest of the night with my family snuggled up on the couch watching a movie instead of wasting it here with people who I believed were "knowledgeable". Obviously not. You have lost a newcomer. Maybe you should get your facts straight before you accuse someone of something they are not.

Enjoy your evening.

[xZEROx]

So you're not affiliated to TCA, but decide to change your name to TCA? o.O

[Linguist_]

So you're not affiliated to TCA, but decide to change your name to TCA? o.O

I'm assuming alex. did that.

What do you guys think of the teeny-weeny icon that The-Con-Artist.com posted on their Facebook. As Lance Miller said there, it looks like a section of an Ace of Spade with carbon fibre texture and some barbed wire.

[xela]

So you're not affiliated with TCA yet you are living at the address where the owner of the TCA domain lives? Obvious troll is obvious.

[Kanped]

I'd just like to point out that I sent that PM to Alex before I posted the reply.  I'd also like to point out the fact that SpadedQueen posted about it being scary how much you could find out by searching a username on google.  There is a woman who uses the moniker SpadedQueen but she lives in Pennsylvania and there is no mention of anyone from Spokane using that alias anywhere online.  Now, searching real names of people usually yields very few useful results so I doubt you'd find much unless you were searching for a username.  Basically, one of these things is true;

1.  A woman who lives in the same city as Shane Carter (Spokane, WA; population 472,147) has 2 usernames she uses, one of them being SpadedQueen that she has never used before, anywhere, the other she googled and found that there was a lot of info online about her.

2.  Shane Carter dug around on dating websites trying to find the identity of a woman he could use so we'd find a real woman with the username he was using when we inevitably checked it out.

I'll leave the decision as to which one of those is true up to you.  I know which one seems (much) more likely to me.

[DeckOfCards]

I'd just like to point out that I sent that PM to Alex before I posted the reply.  I'd also like to point out the fact that SpadedQueen posted about it being scary how much you could find out by searching a username on google.  There is a woman who uses the moniker SpadedQueen but she lives in Pennsylvania and there is no mention of anyone from Spokane using that alias anywhere online.  Now, searching real names of people usually yields very few useful results so I doubt you'd find much unless you were searching for a username.  Basically, one of these things is true;

1.  A woman who lives in the same city as Shane Carter (Spokane, WA; population 472,147) has 2 usernames she uses, one of them being SpadedQueen that she has never used before, anywhere, the other she googled and found that there was a lot of info online about her.

2.  Shane Carter dug around on dating websites trying to find the identity of a woman he could use so we'd find a real woman with the username he was using when we inevitably checked it out.

I'll leave the decision as to which one of those is true up to you.  I know which one seems (much) more likely to me.

Are you an undercover for FBI? CIA? INTERPOL? NSA? MI7?

[Aaron]

I'd just like to point out that I sent that PM to Alex before I posted the reply.  I'd also like to point out the fact that SpadedQueen posted about it being scary how much you could find out by searching a username on google.  There is a woman who uses the moniker SpadedQueen but she lives in Pennsylvania and there is no mention of anyone from Spokane using that alias anywhere online.  Now, searching real names of people usually yields very few useful results so I doubt you'd find much unless you were searching for a username.  Basically, one of these things is true;

1.  A woman who lives in the same city as Shane Carter (Spokane, WA; population 472,147) has 2 usernames she uses, one of them being SpadedQueen that she has never used before, anywhere, the other she googled and found that there was a lot of info online about her.

2.  Shane Carter dug around on dating websites trying to find the identity of a woman he could use so we'd find a real woman with the username he was using when we inevitably checked it out.

I'll leave the decision as to which one of those is true up to you.  I know which one seems (much) more likely to me.

I think #2, /1 just seems too unlikely

[Kanped]

Are you an undercover for FBI? CIA? INTERPOL? NSA? MI7?

Well, I'm British and MI7 hasn't existed in nearly 100 years.  Simple answer; no.  Long answer; NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

[John B.]

lol, so i have only got to read bits and pieces of these but I find it really funny. I will say if the con-artist and was trying to be one, and having 2 accounts he/she is doing very bad. It really is not that hard to keep it hidden. I have done it multiply times and was going to try it here and see if alex could catch it like he did here but I dont want to be a troll.

Also its really not that hard to search people and find out info. So I doubt Kanped has anything to do with goverment. lol

[Don Boyer]

Wow, leave the Discourse for just a few hours and see what happens around here without me! 

Am I mistaken in thinking that IP addresses are unique identifiers of all the machines on the Internet?

If SpadedQueen has the same IP as the founder of The-Con-Artist.com, it's simple - same machine, probably the same person.

And since he's already stated he doesn't have the right parts to be a dude, I guess SpayedQueen would be a little more accurate!  So, SQ - are you going for the full conversion or did you want to simply remain transgendered?  The hormone therapy alone would probably do wonders for your inflated ego...

[Kanped]

Well, yes IP addresses work exactly like real life street addresses but your machine routes through a large number of machines, each with different IP addresses to get online.  You can trace it back through all those machines quite easily but really, all you can find out is the city from which the IP address originates (without a database of users on the entry-level ISP).

[AceGambit]

Well, yes IP addresses work exactly like real life street addresses but your machine routes through a large number of machines, each with different IP addresses to get online.  You can trace it back through all those machines quite easily but really, all you can find out is the city from which the IP address originates (without a database of users on the entry-level ISP).

This is mostly true.  Unfortunately there are ways of averting accurate detection of people without proper tools or clearance.  For example, if you work for a company with many different offices and choose to make your posts on the discourse via your work computer, depending on the sophistication and setup of your company's infrastructure, your post could end up reporting an IP from the other side of the country.  Theoretically, a woman living in PA could go into work, log into her remote terminal or Citrix box, having the server farm actually living in Spokane, WA, and make a post on the discourse.  You're not going to be able to trace and RDP or TS session with simple tools.

So while possible, it's unlikely.

[Kanped]

Any of the trace tools I've seen would report that the WA server was not a user terminal, whether it could go any further or not.  You basically type in the IP you're looking for and it traces the connection until it either hits that IP or can't go any further.  I'm totally willing to accept that that situation could easily come up, though.

I mean, let's be honest here; computers just work off 1s and 0s; if you're skilled enough, or circumstances present themselves, you can forge any result of any test.

'Unlikely' is an understatement; let's remember that before the test was made, I specifically said that I thought it would show up as Spokane, WA (the phrase I used was '80% sure').  Of all the possible locations of a proxy server, 'unlikely' doesn't cover it.  I'm not psychic (although Shane Carter is so transparent, there really isn't any need to be).

[whoami]

I ... was going to try it here and see if alex could catch it

I was thinking the same thing.

[NathanCanadas]

Well, yes IP addresses work exactly like real life street addresses but your machine routes through a large number of machines, each with different IP addresses to get online.  You can trace it back through all those machines quite easily but really, all you can find out is the city from which the IP address originates (without a database of users on the entry-level ISP).

Actually 2 computers connected on the same internet have the same IP address, even if they live in two different houses accross from each other.

[Kanped]

Actually 2 computers connected on the same internet have the same IP address, even if they live in two different houses accross from each other.

No.  The router they're using has an IP address, which is what you'll probably find if you try to trace the IP but on that network, every machine will have its own IP address.

lol @ 'connected on the same internet'... there only is one.

[Linguist_]

Wow, this topic is still going stong, eh? Although it seems to be more a discussion about how IP tracing works rather than about this company. If there's nothing more to say about the 'company' then wait until there are some developments to comment on.

[AceGambit]

I think what he was getting at is that two houses in the same neighborhood using the same ISP will have the same IP address, but this is only true for the last hop, there's still one more jump beyond that to get to the house.  For all intents and purposes, every internet service BILL/Invoice has an IP assigned to it.  Two computers in the same house that are not paying independently for internet will report to be feeding from the same IP.  While their external IP (the one provided by Comcast, Verizon, RCN, etc will be the same, they have an internal IP (192.168.x.x) that their personal router provides them.


EDIT:  Sorry, Linguist is right, if we want to continue the IP tracing conversation, we should take it to another thread.

[Daniel]

hahaa  this thread is sooo cool!!! makes me kinda scared to join forums now though. haha. but yeah if these people suddenly shit out a great design from somewhere, it'll be kinda embarrassing. don't you think. i liked their page anyway just to see updates. seems like they're posting random pics. like the newest one. wonder what that is.

[Kanped]

if these people suddenly shit out a great design from somewhere, it'll be kinda embarrassing. don't you think.

Questions have question marks and it's 'this person', not 'these people'.

No, I don't think it would be embarrassing at all.  I have reacted, arguably, more strongly than anyone else here and frankly, I'm quite proud of my restraint and humility based on the available evidence.  We have proven, excepting extreme coincidences. that Shane Carter is behind TCA, that he is a compulsive liar, possibly delusional, with no provable talent for anything at all (including design work).  Anyone capable of critical thinking, which should be anyone at all, will see that doubting and trying to spread the word about the fraudulence of TCA is the only reasonable course of action.

[Daniel]

if these people suddenly shit out a great design from somewhere, it'll be kinda embarrassing. don't you think.

Questions have question marks and it's 'this person', not 'these people'.

No, I don't think it would be embarrassing at all.  I have reacted, arguably, more strongly than anyone else here and frankly, I'm quite proud of my restraint and humility based on the available evidence.  We have proven, excepting extreme coincidences. that Shane Carter is behind TCA, that he is a compulsive liar, possibly delusional, with no provable talent for anything at all (including design work).  Anyone capable of critical thinking, which should be anyone at all, will see that doubting and trying to spread the word about the fraudulence of TCA is the only reasonable course of action.

I just thought that he might be working with some people you know. It's a con, it's fun to work on a con with friends. Not saying it's a good thing.
And yeah i guess it won't be embarrassing. haha. you seem to have proven everything you've stated and that's pretty solid. I've skimmed through this thread and their page and they've not come up with any proper, solid defense, so yeah, it should be what it looks like, a con.

[xela]

Daniel, there is no reason to be afraid of joining forums now. IP addresses are logged everywhere you join, including Facebook and even emails. SMF software comes with an IP tracking feature that lets me see every action a certain IP does on a forum, regardless of account. Yes, I could hypothetically use the feature to stalk people, but I have better things to do with my time. In reality, I've used the feature to figure out who that troll sxephil is, and now with the help of Kanped, figured out that TCA is creating fake accounts to boost PR.

As for TCA pumping out an amazing product, I wouldn't care. Would you buy a Porsche for $10,000 (a steal) from someone who has a track record of scamming, lying, cheating, stealing identities, making fake claims and violating copyright laws?

[Aaron]

Daniel, there is no reason to be afraid of joining forums now. IP addresses are logged everywhere you join, including Facebook and even emails. SMF software comes with an IP tracking feature that lets me see every action a certain IP does on a forum, regardless of account. Yes, I could hypothetically use the feature to stalk people, but I have better things to do with my time. In reality, I've used the feature to figure out who that troll sxephil is, and now with the help of Kanped, figured out that TCA is creating fake accounts to boost PR.

As for TCA pumping out an amazing product, I wouldn't care. Would you buy a Porsche for $10,000 (a steal) from someone who has a track record of scamming, lying, cheating, stealing identities, making fake claims and violating copyright laws?

Can you see everything someone does from an IP or only things the person does on your site? and I agree with the not purchasing from him thing.

[Kanped]

There's no way he could see everything an IP does.  Only when that IP accesses the server this site is based from.

[Aaron]

There's no way he could see everything an IP does.  Only when that IP accesses the server this site is based from.

So would this example work:

Someone is on Aethercards.com, I have other tabs open and om using those sites as well. Can alex see it?

That is pretty awesome if he can.

[Linguist_]

There's no way he could see everything an IP does.  Only when that IP accesses the server this site is based from.

So would this example work:

Someone is on Aethercards.com, I have other tabs open and om using those sites as well. Can alex see it?

That is pretty awesome if he can.

I'm not exactly sure you understand what an IP is or is used for. Every device connected to the internet has an IP; and every website you visit - whether simultaneously or not - uses your IP. You can't tell much from an IP except the user's Internet Service Provider and their general location. The location can be traced to around their street with a great deal of innaccuracy, but will likely get the correct town/city. If you want to see the information your own IP reveals about you then check here If someone needed you exact address and had the authority to get it (i.e. from a court) then they can contact your ISP and get your details from your IP.

People are much more likely to gather information you submit overtly - i.e. from posting in these forums; your facebook pages - rather than covertly through tracking IPs.

Still not sure why there isn't a thread about IP addresses if everuone's so keen on talking about it, but whatever.

[Evan]

I'm starting to think that The Con Artist may not be a scam after all....
I'm done saying that its fake and a scam because we can't be 100% sure until they actually scam someone... It's sad that, that is pretty much the only way but it is.

[Linguist_]

6 months of scripting has gone into their plan to get all the negative publicity as possible to keep everyone talking and waiting to see what's next

Jeez, which university did their marketing adviser get their marketing degree from. "You must get as many people to mistrust you as possible when trying to create a new brand. Mistrust, lies, deceit and lack of transparency is the key to a good company."

As alex. alluded to above, it is not a case of whether the company is a scam (that is, takes people's money on a basis of pretence). Even if this company produces the most wonderful deck that has ever been created and sold it for $0.99, I'd never give them my money for it, nor publicise them to win a competition for a free gross of them.

If a company wishes to keep developments secret, it does not say to its designer, "go forth and comment on our deck and lie when people ask if you are affiliated to us; create fake accounts; pretend you do not know us". It just shuts up and gives sneak peeks.

[Kanped]

If he's just the designer, why is the site registered with his email address?  If his other company has started the design on a computer game, why were they asking for that (in regards to making a computer game) paltry sum on Kickstarter and then continue production without receiving a single cent?  If 6 months of planning went ito this, why was the website only registered 3 1/2 months ago?  Surely, that's the FIRST thing you do. Come on, people.

He seems to be getting kinda upset now.  I really can't be happy about that but I have no regrets, either.

[Aaron]

I think we should all just lay off and give him a chance, lets see where he goes with this. If he pakes a nice deck of cards that is sold for a decent price through Paypal, I will buy it.

[NathanCanadas]

I just don't understand if he isn't a scam, why would he have created a fake account here, registered his FB page, pretended to be different from the company owner, made tons of failed kickstarter projects... I just don't understand.

[Kanped]

He's obviously lying and just sitting back is only going to make it harder on genuine start-up designers when everyone discovers this.  I mean, I guess, best case scenario, he was trying to build up an impossible amount of hype with ridiculous stories and had (and has) every intention of releasing a deck but he can't keep the 150 deck promises and the cards were doomed, ultimately, to be a disappointment if it weren't for the fact that myself and others have been so negative about it.  It could be that he's just seriously egotistical, possibly deluded, a compulsive liar but isn't trying to rip people off; that's very much a possibility but it still muddies the waters for up-and-coming designers.  Like linguist said, I wouldn't buy these things if they were the greatest cards ever made, cost nothing and had free international shipping; I will not support a company who conducts business in this way and for some reason, people are starting to buy into his BS again.

Basically, I'd rather stop the timebomb than say 'I told you so' to the smouldering crater.  In saying that, this thread exists, there's a link to it on his page and I'm done researching him; I think we should have enough here to convince anyone that his stories will not add up, so in that respect, yes; I'm leaving it alone.

[Aaron]

I just don't understand if he isn't a scam, why would he have created a fake account here, registered his FB page, pretended to be different from the company owner, made tons of failed kickstarter projects... I just don't understand.

Who knows! Just because he has created fake accounts and has failed KS projects doesn`t mean he is a scam. I do know he has BAD PR though, I just think we shpuld wait and see what comes of this company.

[Don Boyer]

I just don't understand if he isn't a scam, why would he have created a fake account here, registered his FB page, pretended to be different from the company owner, made tons of failed kickstarter projects... I just don't understand.

Who knows! Just because he has created fake accounts and has failed KS projects doesn`t mean he is a scam. I do know he has BAD PR though, I just think we shpuld wait and see what comes of this company.

Think about what you just said for a moment, if you would.  Failed KS projects come and go, but his were sketchy and shady right off the bat.  And have you known ANYONE from ANY card design house to run around making false accounts in a lame attempt to redirect a negative conversation about them or their products?  Well, besides this dingbat, anyway...

Whether he's a fraud and scam artist remains to be seen, but it's very clear that his ego appears to be writing checks for him that he can't cover.  Some people delude themselves into thinking that the sizzle really is the steak and that if they can convince themselves of a desired version of reality, everyone else will believe it, too.

To put this in the simplest terms, no individual designer or company deserving of respect in the marketplace does the things that this person has done.  They let their products do the talking and don't stretch hyperbole into outright lies.  Honestly, that FB message Evan posted - it was marginally readable at best and didn't make a lot of sense; it was barely more than semi-coherent ramblings of the type I'm used to hearing from mentally-unbalanced people.  Either he's got terrible communication skills or a serious deficiency.

I don't think any things he may or may not produce, no matter how great, are worth a fraction of the attention we're giving them here.  We busted him, and life goes on.  I have no further interest in letting him rent real estate in my head.

[Kanped]

Here's some new PMs (Facebook);

Shane Carter
Chris no offense bro, but your pretty much a loser aren't you, trying to drag my name through the mud is pretty screwed for someone you dont know. I gotta say though you seem like a pretty tough guy with those 1980 pants and the grandma dog photos you post all over your page, but hey I'm not judging! So what my ex wife gets 1 bad feedback on eBay, who cares! Is that all you can scrounge up on me hahahah oh don't you think it's weird that both those kickstarter accounts were launched 1 week before The-Con-Artist.com? Don't you also think its weird how my fight wear is worn by people on live televised events in front of millions and how I helped create the Arcane Gaffed deck, dont you think it's weird how I was at battery park for Tropfest Tribecca, yet I help a company with some cards to help toss you around and you think your a tough guy singing in your little school band, or is this about hating me for something that you could never EVER achieve in your lifetime? Most millionaires including Trump try things if they don't work, they move onto the next! I have a ton of ideas for artwork in my head, why is it a problem if I try them all until one fits? Magic is my life and it has been since I was 4 years old, so Creating cards with E and now The-Con-Artist.com is a wicked awesome achievement for me, yet you try to bring my name through the mud? It's pointless and only proves how much of a childish ass you are!

Chris Wilson
"Your" indicates ownership. "You're" is short for 'you are'. You always do that. You also seem to be oblivious to what the term 'offence' means.

If I was worried about people seeing any of that stuff, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to see that stuff, it isn't difficult.

You haven't had a single piece of success in your life. I wonder if you believe that you do? The way you act, the things you've done; people draw their own conclusions. All I did was point out what was available on you online. Then you started lying about it.
I'm not a tough guy; I hate fighting. I am, however, smart and you're not. I'll always have that on you and I value that more than anything you could possibly achieve. I don't need fucking fame because I have good people, people I respect who already love me. I guess you don't.
Everything I've seen from you is based on the same, pathetic get-rich-quick premise where because you want something SO bad, you must get it if you try, right? No, you need luck and talent. Even if I was wrong, I fucked up the luck aspect for you, buddy; lots of people don't trust you. As for talent; in everything you have ever done, I have seen no evidence of any talent in any aspect of it. The best I can say about you is that you're photogenic. If you wanted to be a model, fair play, that'd probably go well for you. You want to be a designer? I've seen your website. That will not go well.

Let's cut the BS (if you can), here. I caught you lying and you tried and failed to adapt the lie to the truths that I found and failed. You're now getting desperate and this message is just 1 more attempt at getting me to back off. It spurs me on, you know. I felt I'd done enough, really but after this message? I could probably do more, really. The fact that you didn't mention the hacking is pretty suspicious here. Hoping I'd forget? I still don't think you're good enough to hack an account, unless there was some ridiculous security flaw but like I said, you're getting really desperate. Awww, c'mon; this one I'm not sure on and can't check out. Did you do it?

Shane Carter
Listen I did nothing to you man, you contacted me! If your implying that I'm a dumb jock, I never claimed to be smart nor do I, I am however extremely creative and you will see that in the coming months. However if you think you are some brilliant master, then I am afraid you are mistaking, I believe you think you are smart and will argue with a fence post if it was standing in front of you to see who is gonna move first. I did think you were hitting on me for a minute there as well, but don't worry, I won't post that in all the forums as what your into is your thing and not my business, just don't touch me and we will be fine. If your so smart then I assume you already figured out the last photo that TCAC posted? I'm sure they appreciate your brilliant self not giving it away. If your smart then you know your band will never make it, yet you still do it why? Like I though you have a dream and don't judge others for living theirs. I feel sorry for you as you have nothing better to do in your life then try and hurt innocent people. Your a hack good luck living at home with your mom the rest of your life!

Chris Wilson
My band 'making it'? Dude, we play weddings and stuff, all the time. We do covers; that's all we do, all we ever will do and it's good. We're making money and having fun. Seriously, though "your" and "you're" are different words. I will argue with a fence post if it is blatantly wrong, sure. I have absolutely no interest in solving your asinine little puzzles. I zoomed in and read it, if that's what you mean.

Shane Carter
Haha exactly how I feel, just drawing a couple packs of cards and making some money on the side and I am good at that, so stop judging me when you do basically the same things, only in a different aspect in life!

Chris Wilson
Bullshit. You've been lying, constantly; talking crap about building negative publicity. I don't screw with people to market the band. I don't know why you're still doing it. Why not just come clean about everything if you actually intend on selling a product? Are you actually mentally ill?

Shane Carter
Chris there is a deck being produced at USPCC that The-Con-Artist.com is printing. geesh you just don't get it Brotha! Seriously though stop talking your crap about me when You know nothing about me man it's childish and for someone that says they are as smart as you, you look like a fuckin idiot to me!
I'm done with you and have nothing to prove to you and I owe you nothing! Just wait and see and look like a clown! Shakes head and walks away!

Chris Wilson
Maybe there is a deck being printed. That's beside the point. You lied about being involved, you lied about the MMA and Kickstarter projects, you lied about WHY you lied about being involved. If you actually intended to sell something, then WHAT WAS THE POINT IN ALL THE LIES? You really can't see that if a new company comes along making a bunch of claims (the kind we hear a lot from brash young upstarts that go nowhere) about how impossibly great the cards are, and then find out that their biggest support is themselves under a different name, and all the other shit, that it's reasonable for everyone to be seriously suspicious of that company? If someone on eBay said they were in Washington but you discovered they were in fact in Michigan, regardless of the legitimacy of the product, surely you would avoid them like the plague? Isn't that reasonable? Why did you lie so much, what was the point? What were you hoping to achieve?

[Paul Carpenter]

To put this in the simplest terms, no individual designer or company deserving of respect in the marketplace does the things that this person has done.  They let their products do the talking and don't stretch hyperbole into outright lies. 

Amen. Products or not, the "marketing strategy" (term used very lightly) employed here is beyond bizarre and I can only assume this person fiercely believes the worn out old dogma of "any PR is good PR."

I would hang my head in shame if I got into the situation he finds himself in and didn't comport myself with some honesty, kindness and helpfulness. I guess the pervasive attitude in society of "whatever I want to do is fine, who needs consequences" rears it's ugly head once again. I even contemplate and craft posts on forums like this because I know it reflects on me and my work.

(As an aside I find it interesting that Shane now says he's helping this company design cards when previously he stated he had nothing to do with it. Lies compound lies, and suddenly the hole is large.)

[dmbaggs]

I've been sitting back just watching this whole thing unfold and I have to say that it is quite entertaining. I thought it seemed fishy from the start, but kudos to Kanped and the others for really reveling the truth. I wonder how long this guy will keep this whole thing up...

[Kanped]

Not going to bother replying to this one;

Shane Carter
Chris, hate to say it man I have not lied about 1 thing! Lie about the MMA the proof is out there, maybe you should try to prove my actions true instead of trying to make them look false as you will find everything I have said 100 percent accurate, you said it yourself "ok maybe you did help with Es Arcane deck" oh you were at Tropfest Tribecca for a film on your cell phone. YES I was, I didn't lie bout that shit. eBay ha that was my ex wife years ago man jewelry get serious 1 negative feedback hahaha there's people out there with hundreds and just like you, it was probably that one person that can never be happy no matter how hard they try. I'm a great guy man, I do everything I say and always have TKD taught me a strict discipline and in which I have also been in since a child, not that it matters cause you don't believe anything. All I ask is please just give me a chance before you judge me and if you See that TCAC is not coming out with anything and what I have helped them accomplish, then feel free to bash me into the ground. I've worked hard concept and design was over six months. What's so bad about that? What's so bad about filming a TV show on the side and asking for funding? So what if my studio doesn't get the funding for it, we will still do it, we just won't travel very far to film in different locations, SFCC is allowing us to use their equipment for the whole shebang and costs us nothing but tape and cable it's the travel expenses that get you! We are still doing it because it's a passion, not to make Money bro, just like you sing as a wedding singer, you do it cause you enjoy it, I design Sagura Fight Wear and it is on fighters which is why I have not updated the site in a while, big whoop, so what if I purchased the layouts, who cares? I work full time as well as have two small children and I do so by myself hence the divorce, so when I can design a deck of cards and make a little extra coin for my family, hell yes I am stoked about it and I think it is brilliant marketing for TCAC to give away that many decks to the people that are there since day 1 and it gets their name out there. It's a shame that you have talked a lot of people out of the free deck, when all and all it kinda makes you look like the con. The tuck case is only 2.50 automatically while using the Bicycle logo, a small price to pay I would think for a start up company that needs to get word out, but anyhow. Thanks for judging me when you really have no clue what's really going on. If your as smart as you say you are, then you will know I am 100 percent genuine! I am beginning to think your hating on me whether it's jealousy or what?
Am I mentally I'll, depends on your definition of it lol, I do take a few shots to the dome lol

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Look, everyone has seen him blatantly lying about his involvement with TCA and the other projects; he's obviously avoiding the issue so I'm just going to drop it.  It's all here; make up your own mind.

[jmrock]

It would be nice to know who is who...

1. Kanped, do you design decks?  Are you part of a company?

2. This guy Shane looks pretty tough, I wouldn't mess with him... As he shook his head and walked away from you, I heard the kung fu movie music playing...

3. Robert Butler why did you tweet me that you suck balls?  I don't care what you do, but I don't have to hear about it... In addition you keep talking about how the Con Artist Rules... I thought you weren't a fan of his...

4. This is great, I can't wait to buy some decks... This one is right on my list, just under the gray gorilla and banana deck...

[Russell CircleCityCards]

fuck word count

[Kanped]

1. Kanped, do you design decks?  Are you part of a company?

err...




'The worthy dead of 1997 deck'.  It never got made...

[Lara Krystle "Lane"]

It would be nice to know who is who...

 As he shook his head and walked away from you, I heard the kung fu movie music playing...

3. Robert Butler why did you tweet me that you suck balls?  I don't care what you do, but I don't have to hear about it... In addition you keep talking about how the Con Artist Rules... I thought you weren't a fan of his...

4. This is great, I can't wait to buy some decks... This one is right on my list, just under the gray gorilla and banana deck...

I LOLed At this. Hahahah.

Well I managed to read EVERYTHING on this thread. Yeap and that was no easy task LoL!
Anyway,

From SpadedQueen's very first post I knew it was TCA-dude. because... COME ON he is just so predictable!!!!!
I have to admit, in my earlier years I did something like this before. (not scamming) but I was trying to make a point to some friends in the past (long and old story) but yeah. This is very predictable.

It can only be 1 of3 things.

1. He could be suffering a mental illness multiple/split personality disorder (SYBIL).
2. He could be suffering from REALITY DISTORTION
 or
3. He could be suffering from ScammerTROLLities.

@Kanped - you remind me a lot of myself with the online sleuthing. GREAT JOB!!

anyway just like Rebecca Black and Justin BEAVER, we make them famous because we hate them.
So yeah

[NathanCanadas]

anyway just like Rebecca Black and Justin BEAVER, we make them famous because we hate them.
So yeah

Yes. And not everyone on his fb page hates him. When he gets a deck out (IF he does), many of us will probably buy it.

[Aaron]

anyway just like Rebecca Black and Justin BEAVER, we make them famous because we hate them.
So yeah

Yes. And not everyone on his fb page hates him. When he gets a deck out (IF he does), many of us will probably buy it.

I would not buy anything this guy ever puts out, I said I would earlier but now I will not, after he hacks accounts and posts stuff like that, there is no way I ever will. Even if it is the best looking best handling deck ever, I won`t support him.

[Lara Krystle "Lane"]

I agree with Aaron.
Even if all this rukus is a marketing stunt... its not very impressive because it is also a reflection as to what kind of company they run and the people who run it. Its just bad bad marketing. Bad PR... and I feel really disappointed to the people who "believe" in them. Goes to show how far people will go for free decks of cards or whatever.
I mean after the whole Skulkor thing I was pretty much beat.
At least skulkor had a great brick case ^_^

With what I've gathered so far from this thread and what I've been seeing online in regards to The-Con-Shitheads, they've painted a very vivid picture of lies and deceit. Therefore I am not interested in anything that is based on this shameful tactic.

Such a shame.

[Kanped]

If this has served as nothing more than to make more people comfortable with swearing on the boards, then this was a worthwhile endeavour.

[NathanCanadas]

I think we should lock this thread and wait for more updates before judging him anymore. JMO

[Don Boyer]

For me, it's simple.  The guy's as shady as a dense forest near dusk.  I've seen bullshit artists like this all my life.  Don't even bother giving him any more thought than you already have.  If he creates a new deck, fine, whatever - I still wouldn't buy it even if it was the greatest deck known to mankind and responsible for curing cancer and stopping wars.  Let him do his own thing in his own little world, and ignore him.

As far as the recent hacking, take it to the police and let them have at him.  The Secret Service covers Internet security cases and the FBI has a cyber division as well - they'd have a grand old time with this assclown.  Hacking across state lines puts it squarely in the Federal Government's jurisdiction.

[Daniel]

Daniel, there is no reason to be afraid of joining forums now. IP addresses are logged everywhere you join, including Facebook and even emails. SMF software comes with an IP tracking feature that lets me see every action a certain IP does on a forum, regardless of account. Yes, I could hypothetically use the feature to stalk people, but I have better things to do with my time. In reality, I've used the feature to figure out who that troll sxephil is, and now with the help of Kanped, figured out that TCA is creating fake accounts to boost PR.

As for TCA pumping out an amazing product, I wouldn't care. Would you buy a Porsche for $10,000 (a steal) from someone who has a track record of scamming, lying, cheating, stealing identities, making fake claims and violating copyright laws?

Haha, I'm sure you do. It's great that you're using it to 'protect' us. and honestly, a porsche, for $10k? i wouldn't mind that. haha

[xZEROx]

Posted on FB:
"USPCC legal approved Bicycle logo placement for The-Con-Artist.com custom high end playing card boxes "

[Don Boyer]

Posted on FB:
"USPCC legal approved Bicycle logo placement for The-Con-Artist.com custom high end playing card boxes "

Believe it when you see it on sale.  Until then, it's just talk from someone with a track record of lying.

Logo placement on the boxes?  What about the deck?  I never heard of a deck designer promoting the box before a single card was on view for the public.

[Evan]

Here's the pic of the Bicycle logo for the box that they were talking about.

@Don, maybe it's easier to design a box 

[JimmyJohns]

anyway just like Rebecca Black and Justin BEAVER, we make them famous because we hate them.
So yeah

Yes. And not everyone on his fb page hates him. When he gets a deck out (IF he does), many of us will probably buy it.

You need to grow up...this is another good reason to don't let kids having credit cards...
BTW, your posts are in between useless and...well... useless.

Cheers, JJ.

[NathanCanadas]

anyway just like Rebecca Black and Justin BEAVER, we make them famous because we hate them.
So yeah

Yes. And not everyone on his fb page hates him. When he gets a deck out (IF he does), many of us will probably buy it.

You need to grow up...this is another good reason to don't let kids having credit cards...
BTW, your posts are in between useless and...well... useless.

Cheers, JJ.

Trust me, I won't buy a deck he gets out. And I also refused to buy the Skulkor deck. I am responsible and careful with my credit card.

[Don Boyer]

Here's the pic of the Bicycle logo for the box that they were talking about.

@Don, maybe it's easier to design a box 

I can barely see that image, and what little I can see wouldn't pass muster with USPC Legal for the same reason that the logo on the original Americana deck had to be altered.


Show me the box!  Better yet, show me the deck!  Until then, it's STILL just talk from an unreliable source.

[xela]

What little of that box I see looks like complete crud.

It's not art and it is not a design. USPCC provides a the logo, and all I see is an outline of the logo on a black background.

Crud. Crud. Crud.

[Don Boyer]

I looked at his Facebook page.  I do feel sorry for the people still supporting this guy (much as I feel sorry for people who buy silly crap like wearable blankets, commemorative plates that don't commemorate much and foreign gold-clad coins subtly advertised to convince fools it's solid gold US currency), but am I mistaken or did his likes total actually go down?

[Aaron]

I looked at his Facebook page.  I do feel sorry for the people still supporting this guy (much as I feel sorry for people who buy silly crap like wearable blankets, commemorative plates that don't commemorate much and foreign gold-clad coins subtly advertised to convince fools it's solid gold US currency), but am I mistaken or did his likes total actually go down?

No his likes have gone up, and if you look at his FB page he has alot of loyal supporters.

[Don Boyer]

I looked at his Facebook page.  I do feel sorry for the people still supporting this guy (much as I feel sorry for people who buy silly crap like wearable blankets, commemorative plates that don't commemorate much and foreign gold-clad coins subtly advertised to convince fools it's solid gold US currency), but am I mistaken or did his likes total actually go down?

No his likes have gone up, and if you look at his FB page he has alot of loyal supporters.

Are you a supporter?  If so, please - be careful.  Perhaps I was mistaken, but the like count seemed low.  And there's a lot of detractors as well as supporters now, especially after the hijinks he's been involved in recently.  I wouldn't trust his as far as I could throw his car, since I probably could throw him a good distance.

[Evan]

They posted this on Facebook.

Its... so... ugly! 
I don't think the USPCC was "blown away" by that.

[Aaron]

I looked at his Facebook page.  I do feel sorry for the people still supporting this guy (much as I feel sorry for people who buy silly crap like wearable blankets, commemorative plates that don't commemorate much and foreign gold-clad coins subtly advertised to convince fools it's solid gold US currency), but am I mistaken or did his likes total actually go down?

No his likes have gone up, and if you look at his FB page he has alot of loyal supporters.

Are you a supporter?  If so, please - be careful.  Perhaps I was mistaken, but the like count seemed low.  And there's a lot of detractors as well as supporters now, especially after the hijinks he's been involved in recently.  I wouldn't trust his as far as I could throw his car, since I probably could throw him a good distance.

No I am not a supported, never will be, I absolutely hate him. I was just saying that for some reason there are people who support him, probably because they havn`t seen this thread.

They posted this on Facebook.

Its... so... ugly! 
I don't think the USPCC was "blown away" by that.

That looks like he made it in 2 minutes, absolutely horrible. Now we don`t have to worry about many people getting scammed.

[Evan]

And the award for fattest king on a deck of cards goes to..... The Con Artist!!!

[Kanped]

Wow... needed have bothered pointing out how shady the guy was; his own work should keep people away by itself.  Anyone know where he got the images from?

[Pentagear]

I'd like to better clearly review this here, so a rather lengthy edit is in order...

MATT’S REVIEW
“Yet to Be Named” Deck from The-Con-Artist.com

A: Borrowed original court linework from USPC, slapped new mouth and an eye patch over it without keeping line weight consistent.

B: Carbon fiber isn’t viable as garment material. Creative license aside, it would not even look like carbon fiber being printed at this scale.

C: The trigger guard is not a solid object. Why don’t we see blue showing through?

D: Borrowed original court linework from USPC, and slapped some vienna sausages on the other side as a poor attempt at hand anatomy. Oh yeah, either the hand is backwards or he has spaghetti elbows.

E: The most wobbly circular object to date.

F: Clip art doesn’t make you an artist. This shotgun is so poorly rendered I can’t even determine a starting point for critique.

G: Borrowed original court linework from USPC, KING OF HEARTS. Whoops, probably just an oversight.

H: The king seems to be a fan of hot dogs and has spilled mustard upon his vestments!

I and J were skipped for the lolz.

K: The font has no place in this slap-hazzard design. Just because you have used an “elegant” font in your design, does not make it elegant.

Here's the graphical representation of the critique.

[NathanCanadas]

I wrote a brief review on this design here:

Haha welcome to the forums! Great review. Either this guy is a scam or he is just a terrible artist.

[Pentagear]

Haha welcome to the forums! Great review. Either this guy is a scam or he is just a terrible artist.

Thanks . I'll try to be more regular around here. I lurk mostly but I felt compelled in this scenario...

[NathanCanadas]

Getting off topic here but I looked at your website and you are such an amazing artist!
You might want to create a thread and introduce yourself formally.
Don't forget to also check out our group-made deck of cards:
http://aethercards.com/discourse/index.php?topic=1595.msg24882#msg24882
I know there is a lot to read through. Might take you an hour. But there's a lot of cool stuff. Pretty much many of the members of Aether Cards are working on making a deck altogether. We are still in the designing phase. If you don't have a lot of time, just read the last 5 pages. One post by me has a picture of all of the cards designed so far, and the other posts just have some cool info.
Anyways, getting back on track, TCA guy SUCKS SO BAD!

[MDCasino]

i almost died at the mustard comment!

The cards look pretty bad. I feel like no matter what he finally put out it would have been interpreted badly given his past but this is really bad. Who wants court cards with guns? (besides the americana deck which looks awesome )

[NathanCanadas]

Who wants court cards with guns? (besides the americana deck which looks awesome )

Apparently he does. Maybe (probably not) it'll fit the theme of the deck... :-/

[Billywiz]

Who wants court cards with guns? (besides the americana deck which looks awesome )

Apparently he does. Maybe (probably not) it'll fit the theme of the deck... :-/

If the theme of the deck is poorly thought out, terribly designed art-work...then I think he nailed it.

[Kanped]

It also completely is NOT symmetrical.  Anybody with Photoshop or Gimp or whatever; open it in that, flip 180 degrees, undo and redo,  laugh profusely. If he actually gets funding for this, I'll be amazed.  If this is card design... so is this;





I might actually just try to design the worst deck imaginable and see if I can get it funded if these make it through.  Anyone willing to part with cash for that, deserves it.

[Paul Carpenter]

Good luck printing the border that close to the (uniquely square cornered) cards. Guess he didnt feel it was necessary to use the official USPCC templates that his best friend in the world Tiffany already provided to him.

[Pentagear]

So for those of you that missed out on the fairly lengthy session that was just held over the tubes of the interwebs on that place with all the faces and books, here's the recap in all of it's glory. I've left last names out for privacy reasons. I've only left names in where appropriate.

The-Con-Artist.com
You asked for it, you got it! Personally the suicide king is killer, but this is a WIKID design as well. With the standard concept of original court cards, blended with a modern twist and new age look and feel. The King of Spades is not the court card with the full reveal of the projects name, but everyone gave it a good try. The name is actually hidden within the Queen of Hearts gown. So when you get your pack, be on the look out for all the hidden details and sayings as they might just lead you to something amazing!~TCAC

Moony
Wow. Looks very nice. Can't wait to get my hands on the deck ;P

Matthew Lee Keith
WTF... This thing keeps sliding off the wall. Need better glue!
http://matthewleekeith.com/random/ytbn_deck_theconartist.png

Robert
Hey, Con Artist, I hope your not paying for this art because my 6 year old son and 3 year old daughter are even laughing. They might be willing to pull out there markers and give you a hand with this if you ask nicely. LMFAO

Nathan
Wow. Ridiculous design.

Cody
I think the criticism that has come out is overlooking the fact that this is much larger than the actual cards, which will minimize most of matts criticisms.... I think the blue is the only that will really stand and some line weights.... I...See More

Cody
I did notice the card wasn't symetrical, the upside down gun touches the line while the rightside up shotgun does not.... I kind of like this, while I think others will get bent about that too.

Shane Carter
I also think its funny that the people posting the negative stuff is actually Lance Millers friends. Hmmmm his deck looks an awful lot like an iPhone settings button, but who am I to judge?

Lance T. Miller
Shane, many people that are my friends are here because of my supporting The-Con-Artist when it was just a name. It therefore, is completely possible that many of my "Facebook Friends" do not see eye to eye with you on your design. Does that mean you should pull shots with me? I think you may want to re-consider.

Cody
I love lance miller's design, and I found this page because of his liking it.... I don't hate this design either.

Matthew Lee Keith
Actually the iphone Settings button looks nothing like what lance designed other than the fact that it's a similar object. Next!
http://markystar.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/tumblr_lp46bj5z071qhuqgx.jpg

Robert
Shane, it has nothing to do with anyone knowing Lance T. Miller. It does have a lot to do with your inability to deal with your traffic & work seriously. I honestly doubt any of you guys have taken a look in the mirror and asked “yes I ca...See More

Stephen
Who ate all the pies?

Matthew Lee Keith
I'd also like to address the "friends of Lance" comment. I call bullshit on that because this is a COMMUNITY. Anyone worth the time of day knows each other. Lance has many friends because he's worked for those friends and gained those frien...See More

Cody
I may have missed all the hoopla, but to be fair Matt there is a right way to offer criticism to others... I mean obviously this deck has a few flaws but if I were as knowledgeable and skilled as you I would have gone about it in a more constructive way.... Not sure if there was already some bad blood... just saying...

Cody
But I personally was offended by the Lance Miller comment because his decks are amazing, and I think anyone who looks into starting a new custom deck should have the ability to appreciate those who have done so successfully.

Jay
i am sorry to interject but if lance miller decks have grown to make a following the way the have then good for them i think it is sad that most of you guys are downgrading the fact that they have proved to u all that they have stuff in the ...See More

Mike
This is horrible...just my opinion...I'm not buying these at all lol..."Worlds best deck of cards!"? I disagree, lmfao

Matthew Lee Keith
I've been watching like a hawk for a first look at art from this deck since TCAC claimed it would be better than the Actuators. I was the one who won the contest for coming up with the name for the Actuators deck, and I've been very interes...See More

Lance T. Miller
Jay, you bring up a very valid point. When my Gargoyles first hit the community scene, they were trashed and ill-regarded. Instead of lashing out at possible culprits, I thanked the community for it's feedback and went back to the drawing board. I have had many people tear up my design work and try to make me feel like crap. It's how you deal with criticism that counts.

Shane Carter
Lance it just looks weird that all the negative comments come from people saying they are good friends of yours. I myself have followed you from day 1. I feel most of the comments here are unjust and meant to hurt your possible competition and weird right after they posted it you said you can't stop laughing...really you support TCAC or is your ego that large?

Robert
Jay? You say lets let the deck speak for its self? Well thats what this is all about. They posted a court card and its hardly been given the time it deserves. Read everything and stop being bias.

Cody
I agree 100% with you matt... you just could have been a little more constructive with the offering...

Lance T. Miller
Wow bro, I was laughing at the youtube videos I was watching, go look at my thread. If you have a bad conscience because of it, that's yours to deal with bro.

Lance T. Miller
P.S. to Cody, Matt doesn't hold back. He does that to my designs all the time. He is one of my most go-to guys when I think I've done something viable. He tears it down, breaks it apart, and hands it back to me. That's the type of dude he is.

Matthew Lee Keith
In all seriousness, as brash as it may have been, I gave my review the same amount of time I felt that had been given to the design of the card.
Please take my suggestions seriously. Make the changes and repost. I have no problem stating that improvements are made and that the new version is better. Just do the work :)

Cody
I can dig that matt... I would agree 100% if the designer takes your criticism to heart and makes the changes this deck would be phenomenal... and I suppose I was trying to spare some feelings, but I know its not personal.... I am just the kind of guy that tries to avoid creating conflicts that aren't needed

Matthew Lee Keith
It's true, I did offer Lance the same level of criticism. If you can separate yourself from the design and not take it personally, you could benefit from this greatly.
I've trained my eye to find and scrutinize important details. If I really wanted to be an asshold, I could have done far worse, trust me.

Lance T. Miller
asshole*

Matthew Lee Keith
...

Matthew Lee Keith
So much for that "scrutinize important details" bit... Gawldammut!

Cody
but I like the carbon fiber...... fits the theme more than the font.

Elsewhere in the tubes this appeared on Lance's Deck page on facebook. Now to be fair, the post was made from a company page that did not link to the actual The-Con-Artist.com page on facebook, this one was clearly made for this post alone, as when the post was made from this account it said the page was created 10 minutes prior. I'll let the public scrutinize over what that means and I'll provide no bias in either direction other than provide the words that were written...

Real Page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Con-ArtistCom/330147213678457

Page That Made The Posts:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Con-ArtistCom/352348668145023

The-Con-Artist.Com
FUCK YOU LANCE T MILLER! YOU WILL GET YOURS! JUST WAIT, OUR CARDS WILL PUT YOU OUT IN THE COLD AND ALL YOU WILL HAVE IS US TO FALL BACK ON! BITCH! FUCK YOU AND YOUR FAN BASE!

Matthew Lee Keith
Wow... So this was really professional. Forget it. Don't take my help. You've damned yourself and anyone associated with the TCAC name. Good luck with your future endeavors TCAC. You'll need it, because without professionalism, you've got nothing else.

The-Con-Artist.Com
FUCK YOU

So, that's been pretty much the highlights of tonight, I'll return you to your regularly scheduled forum threads. Adieu!

[Paul Carpenter]

I wasn't online at the time and missed all the hoopla. All I have to say is that someday, the card collector market will look back on this as a case study for everything that could possibly happen to botch a marketing effort. Tragic.

- Claim that you will change the world, and then inevitably fail to meet your own monstrous hype = horrible fate
- Humbly, quietly submit your best, and simply hope that people enjoy it = high likelihood of great joy

It's not hard to see which path works better.

[Kanped]

Has Amber read this thread?  Don't people get how full of shit this guy is and that it's just this one guy, not a team of people?  I mean, he's a big enough asshole that I wouldn't buy them even if they were GOOD but come on, there's obviously no hope for anything worthwhile here.  If it cold be proven, I would bet he didn't even draw that awful shotgun, let alone the design of the king.  In fact, you can tell what he added because the bits he copy-pasted are symmetrical.  All he has ever done in the past is taken other work, hurriedly and inexpertly modified it and tried to pass it off as his own.  I don't see why he'd stop now.

[Linguist_]

Stephen
Who ate all the pies?

*bows* Yes, this was me.

[alethea]

Has Amber read this thread?  Don't people get how full of shit this guy is and that it's just this one guy, not a team of people?  I mean, he's a big enough asshole that I wouldn't buy them even if they were GOOD but come on, there's obviously no hope for anything worthwhile here.  If it cold be proven, I would bet he didn't even draw that awful shotgun, let alone the design of the king.  In fact, you can tell what he added because the bits he copy-pasted are symmetrical.  All he has ever done in the past is taken other work, hurriedly and inexpertly modified it and tried to pass it off as his own.  I don't see why he'd stop now.

Hi Kanped! This is Amber. My darling husband didn't want to reply on here for me, so here I am now with my fancy own account!

I am only on page three of the thread you all have going here, but I tend to stay current on the magic/cardist/illusionist drama via Lance and all his chattering around the house.

In replying to Shawn/et all. I was simply trying to lend a voice of reason and logic to the haterade he was receiving. I was incredibly curious how he would reply to logic, given his response to dissent is "Delete post!". Also, while my advice may fall on deaf ears to anyone and everyone doing work at The Con Artist, it may be advice that is taken by another person who happens to read it and decides to pursue some form of art within this community.

I am trying to play nice, despite repeated attacks towards Lance saying things such as "fuck you" and other drivel that Matthew has posted previously. He can claim all he wants that his account keeps getting hacked, but at some point even being hacked isn't an excuse, as you obviously need to improve your security. If you can't be bothered to keep you facebook secure, why the hell would I give you my credit card info or mailing address for product (that looks like garbage no less).

So yes, I am aware. I am being nice. Eventually though, I will go one of two routes: Full out ignore or full out (respectful) attack. Obviously, ignoring him is the best path as it will be less painful than running repeatedly into a brick wall.

Cheers!

[Don Boyer]

Has Amber read this thread?  Don't people get how full of shit this guy is and that it's just this one guy, not a team of people?  I mean, he's a big enough asshole that I wouldn't buy them even if they were GOOD but come on, there's obviously no hope for anything worthwhile here.  If it cold be proven, I would bet he didn't even draw that awful shotgun, let alone the design of the king.  In fact, you can tell what he added because the bits he copy-pasted are symmetrical.  All he has ever done in the past is taken other work, hurriedly and inexpertly modified it and tried to pass it off as his own.  I don't see why he'd stop now.

Hi Kanped! This is Amber. My darling husband didn't want to reply on here for me, so here I am now with my fancy own account!

I am only on page three of the thread you all have going here, but I tend to stay current on the magic/cardist/illusionist drama via Lance and all his chattering around the house.

In replying to Shawn/et all. I was simply trying to lend a voice of reason and logic to the haterade he was receiving. I was incredibly curious how he would reply to logic, given his response to dissent is "Delete post!". Also, while my advice may fall on deaf ears to anyone and everyone doing work at The Con Artist, it may be advice that is taken by another person who happens to read it and decides to pursue some form of art within this community.

I am trying to play nice, despite repeated attacks towards Lance saying things such as "fuck you" and other drivel that Matthew has posted previously. He can claim all he wants that his account keeps getting hacked, but at some point even being hacked isn't an excuse, as you obviously need to improve your security. If you can't be bothered to keep you facebook secure, why the hell would I give you my credit card info or mailing address for product (that looks like garbage no less).

So yes, I am aware. I am being nice. Eventually though, I will go one of two routes: Full out ignore or full out (respectful) attack. Obviously, ignoring him is the best path as it will be less painful than running repeatedly into a brick wall.

Cheers!

I see this is your first post!  Welcome aboard, Amber, and I wish I could say it was under more pleasant circumstances...

TCAC...  That "card"...

When I saw it, it was all I could do to keep from wetting my pants, I was laughing so hard!  I didn't think I was even capable of laughing that hard, but apparently I was.

There's a fine line between being a dreamer and being delusional - and this chucklehead crossed it at Mach 3 without looking back even once!

No one, and I mean NO ONE, in their right mind would give this fool and his cards a second thought at this point.  He's a freakin' laughingstock!  In the future, when people commit something even worse than an epic fail, they'll call it "pulling a Shane Carter!"

This guy's got some pretty lofty aspirations, but no skills or brains to pull it off.  His first real time at bat, he trips and lands face first in the dirt before even making it to the plate!

I never in a million years thought I'd say this, but yes - there is a deck designer on this Earth who is WORSE than Merz67, and he "works" (if that's what you can call it) for TCAC...  I sure as hell hope he didn't quit his day job for this.

The bigger issue, however, has nothing to do with my outrageously terrible comments about that card and TCAC.  It's the fact that people are out there, willing to offer at least some guidance on how to better conduct a business and design a deck.  And he just keeps believing his own hype with the volume turned to 11, deleting posts he doesn't like.

 Real Page:
 http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Con-ArtistCom/330147213678457
 
 Page That Made The Posts:
 http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Con-ArtistCom/352348668145023
 

The first one (unfortunately) still exists.  The second one doesn't, not any longer.

[Kanped]

I don't get why everyone keeps saying Shane 'works for TCAC'.  He IS TCAC, in its entirety.  Every post is made in that same broken English and lets be honest, here; who would work with him?  There's been no evidence of any project he has ever tried to create being anything but a 1 man show and there's certainly no evidence of involvement from anybody else in this case.

@Amber, welcome to the forums; hope you stick around for the more fun/interesting stuff!  I'm thinking ignoring him is the best thing to do now, as well.  I was planning on doing that since I figured there was enough info here to make people wary but when I saw his design, I knew I needn't have bothered.  I was expecting him to post a load of stolen images that could have taken a lifetime to find but may have looked good enough to get funded.  I still think a lot of that was stolen and would take a lifetime to find but there's no need because they look terrible.

[NathanCanadas]

So for those of you that missed out on the fairly lengthy session that was just held over the tubes of the interwebs on that place with all the faces and books, here's the recap in all of it's glory. I've left last names out for privacy reasons. I've only left names in where appropriate.

The-Con-Artist.com
You asked for it, you got it! Personally the suicide king is killer, but this is a WIKID design as well. With the standard concept of original court cards, blended with a modern twist and new age look and feel. The King of Spades is not the court card with the full reveal of the projects name, but everyone gave it a good try. The name is actually hidden within the Queen of Hearts gown. So when you get your pack, be on the look out for all the hidden details and sayings as they might just lead you to something amazing!~TCAC

Moony
Wow. Looks very nice. Can't wait to get my hands on the deck ;P

Matthew Lee Keith
WTF... This thing keeps sliding off the wall. Need better glue!
http://matthewleekeith.com/random/ytbn_deck_theconartist.png

Robert
Hey, Con Artist, I hope your not paying for this art because my 6 year old son and 3 year old daughter are even laughing. They might be willing to pull out there markers and give you a hand with this if you ask nicely. LMFAO

Nathan
Wow. Ridiculous design.

Cody
I think the criticism that has come out is overlooking the fact that this is much larger than the actual cards, which will minimize most of matts criticisms.... I think the blue is the only that will really stand and some line weights.... I...See More

Cody
I did notice the card wasn't symetrical, the upside down gun touches the line while the rightside up shotgun does not.... I kind of like this, while I think others will get bent about that too.

Shane Carter
I also think its funny that the people posting the negative stuff is actually Lance Millers friends. Hmmmm his deck looks an awful lot like an iPhone settings button, but who am I to judge?

Lance T. Miller
Shane, many people that are my friends are here because of my supporting The-Con-Artist when it was just a name. It therefore, is completely possible that many of my "Facebook Friends" do not see eye to eye with you on your design. Does that mean you should pull shots with me? I think you may want to re-consider.

Cody
I love lance miller's design, and I found this page because of his liking it.... I don't hate this design either.

Matthew Lee Keith
Actually the iphone Settings button looks nothing like what lance designed other than the fact that it's a similar object. Next!
http://markystar.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/tumblr_lp46bj5z071qhuqgx.jpg

Robert
Shane, it has nothing to do with anyone knowing Lance T. Miller. It does have a lot to do with your inability to deal with your traffic & work seriously. I honestly doubt any of you guys have taken a look in the mirror and asked “yes I ca...See More

Stephen
Who ate all the pies?

Matthew Lee Keith
I'd also like to address the "friends of Lance" comment. I call bullshit on that because this is a COMMUNITY. Anyone worth the time of day knows each other. Lance has many friends because he's worked for those friends and gained those frien...See More

Cody
I may have missed all the hoopla, but to be fair Matt there is a right way to offer criticism to others... I mean obviously this deck has a few flaws but if I were as knowledgeable and skilled as you I would have gone about it in a more constructive way.... Not sure if there was already some bad blood... just saying...

Cody
But I personally was offended by the Lance Miller comment because his decks are amazing, and I think anyone who looks into starting a new custom deck should have the ability to appreciate those who have done so successfully.

Jay
i am sorry to interject but if lance miller decks have grown to make a following the way the have then good for them i think it is sad that most of you guys are downgrading the fact that they have proved to u all that they have stuff in the ...See More

Mike
This is horrible...just my opinion...I'm not buying these at all lol..."Worlds best deck of cards!"? I disagree, lmfao

Matthew Lee Keith
I've been watching like a hawk for a first look at art from this deck since TCAC claimed it would be better than the Actuators. I was the one who won the contest for coming up with the name for the Actuators deck, and I've been very interes...See More

Lance T. Miller
Jay, you bring up a very valid point. When my Gargoyles first hit the community scene, they were trashed and ill-regarded. Instead of lashing out at possible culprits, I thanked the community for it's feedback and went back to the drawing board. I have had many people tear up my design work and try to make me feel like crap. It's how you deal with criticism that counts.

Shane Carter
Lance it just looks weird that all the negative comments come from people saying they are good friends of yours. I myself have followed you from day 1. I feel most of the comments here are unjust and meant to hurt your possible competition and weird right after they posted it you said you can't stop laughing...really you support TCAC or is your ego that large?

Robert
Jay? You say lets let the deck speak for its self? Well thats what this is all about. They posted a court card and its hardly been given the time it deserves. Read everything and stop being bias.

Cody
I agree 100% with you matt... you just could have been a little more constructive with the offering...

Lance T. Miller
Wow bro, I was laughing at the youtube videos I was watching, go look at my thread. If you have a bad conscience because of it, that's yours to deal with bro.

Lance T. Miller
P.S. to Cody, Matt doesn't hold back. He does that to my designs all the time. He is one of my most go-to guys when I think I've done something viable. He tears it down, breaks it apart, and hands it back to me. That's the type of dude he is.

Matthew Lee Keith
In all seriousness, as brash as it may have been, I gave my review the same amount of time I felt that had been given to the design of the card.
Please take my suggestions seriously. Make the changes and repost. I have no problem stating that improvements are made and that the new version is better. Just do the work

Cody
I can dig that matt... I would agree 100% if the designer takes your criticism to heart and makes the changes this deck would be phenomenal... and I suppose I was trying to spare some feelings, but I know its not personal.... I am just the kind of guy that tries to avoid creating conflicts that aren't needed

Matthew Lee Keith
It's true, I did offer Lance the same level of criticism. If you can separate yourself from the design and not take it personally, you could benefit from this greatly.
I've trained my eye to find and scrutinize important details. If I really wanted to be an asshold, I could have done far worse, trust me.

Lance T. Miller
asshole*

Matthew Lee Keith
...

Matthew Lee Keith
So much for that "scrutinize important details" bit... Gawldammut!

Cody
but I like the carbon fiber...... fits the theme more than the font.

Elsewhere in the tubes this appeared on Lance's Deck page on facebook. Now to be fair, the post was made from a company page that did not link to the actual The-Con-Artist.com page on facebook, this one was clearly made for this post alone, as when the post was made from this account it said the page was created 10 minutes prior. I'll let the public scrutinize over what that means and I'll provide no bias in either direction other than provide the words that were written...

Real Page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Con-ArtistCom/330147213678457

Page That Made The Posts:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Con-ArtistCom/352348668145023

The-Con-Artist.Com
FUCK YOU LANCE T MILLER! YOU WILL GET YOURS! JUST WAIT, OUR CARDS WILL PUT YOU OUT IN THE COLD AND ALL YOU WILL HAVE IS US TO FALL BACK ON! BITCH! FUCK YOU AND YOUR FAN BASE!

Matthew Lee Keith
Wow... So this was really professional. Forget it. Don't take my help. You've damned yourself and anyone associated with the TCAC name. Good luck with your future endeavors TCAC. You'll need it, because without professionalism, you've got nothing else.

The-Con-Artist.Com
FUCK YOU

So, that's been pretty much the highlights of tonight, I'll return you to your regularly scheduled forum threads. Adieu!

Thx for that. I only saw the beginning of the convo and posted only once. Not only is this guy a liar, a scammer, a faker, but he is also a crappy artist who doesn't accept criticism, hacks the accounts of those who disagree with him, and insult the supporters of other card artists.

[Russell CircleCityCards]

So I lined up the image and flipped it... it looks like a pirate escaped from the movie 'Night at the Roxbury"







To be fair (why?) not even USPCC's own cards are perfect, they are VERY close, but not perfectly symmetrical.  This, on the other hand, is not even close.  THIS was submitted to rave reviews at USPCC?  Oy vey!

[Pentagear]

Ouch Russel, very ouch! I needed that laugh today LOL!

[Evan]

I think its better than the King but don't get me wrong, I'm not even close to saying I like it. It's one of the worst designed decks I've ever seen. There is way too much going on, the barbed wire is just out of place with the deck, its so oddly shaped, the roses are in a bad place, the Q in the corners isn't overlapping the club like the King did, and its just ugly!

[NathanCanadas]

And the awards for the most sideways queen and altogether ugliest court cards goes to... TCA! Wow. He has done it again.

[Aaron]

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS DECK!! The non-fitting themes and the terrible artwork, smashed together in Paint. Mixed with off-center art = AN AMAZING DECK!! I think this deck has real potential... to be the worst deck ever designed.

[Don Boyer]

So I lined up the image and flipped it... it looks like a pirate escaped from the movie 'Night at the Roxbury"







To be fair (why?) not even USPCC's own cards are perfect, they are VERY close, but not perfectly symmetrical.  This, on the other hand, is not even close.  THIS was submitted to rave reviews at USPCC?  Oy vey!

You should put that up on a meme board somewhere!  It's hysterical!  My face hurts from laughing and grinning!

Those "rave reviews"?  They probably came from the janitor he met in the men's room there...  He probably figured they look better than a lot of what he has to pull out of severely clogged toilets...but not by much.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS DECK!! The non-fitting themes and the terrible artwork, smashed together in Paint. Mixed with off-center art = AN AMAZING DECK!! I think this deck has real potential... to be the worst deck ever designed.

What still escapes me is how he has ANYONE interested in these designs?

I noticed that for the queen, he's saying this is the part that will be inside the inner frame, as if to say he'll have standard indices, borders and card shapes in the finished product.  But I still find myself scratching my bald head and asking, "Why?"  There are so many Whys about this deck...

I asked him politely who it was at USPC that gave his deck the rave reviews - and mentioned that since I know the Sales Director, he'll probably know who that person is...  Let's see what BS answer he comes up with.

[xela]

This guy has to be a troll. What he is doing is a clever satire on the industry proving to us that certain people will buy even the most vile junk in the world if it's simply marketed as the greatest treasure.

[Pentagear]

This guy has to be a troll. What he is doing is a clever satire on the industry proving to us that certain people will buy even the most vile junk in the world if it's simply marketed as the greatest treasure.

100% this.

I provided critique on the Queen of Clubs on the facebook thread, I'll repost it here for preservation since they like to remove ANYTHING that may be construed as being "negative" or "unprofessional", something I personally feel they are very experienced in performing themselves.

As quoted from facebook:

Some friendly critique this time i suppose, no meme-level picture...
1. There is a spade in the center of her gown.
2. The barb wire in the background seems very out of place.
3. The light weight on the hands seems a bit flimsy, needs thickening (has better anatomy this time).
4. The gown over all seems empty. Possibly could be due to the over exaggerated pose.
5. Idealistically, the amount of red in this card would lead me to believe its a red queen and not a black queen.
6. The guns seem really out of place with the traditional appeal courts. You may try re-approaching this idea.
7. The rose is a nice touch but seems weak comparative to the rest of the piece. Maybe incorporate the barbed wire with the roses since they both have "thorns".

Now that's just the amount of changes that I think would make it acceptable as a first draft, or rough concept, and does nothing to provide any unique or outstanding appeal to the deck. The appeal is so traditional yet skewed and guns poorly pasted in that it just looks like a rush job. Even putting creative license off the table, there is no artistry here. These cards will not pass for "custom high end" as they suggest they are on their facebook page.

That's not me being cruel, that's me being a critical consumer reviewing a yet-to-be-released product.

[Paul Carpenter]

and AGAIN, if he is so good at this, this is the best deck ever, and he's bestest friends with USPCC, WHY IS THIS ART NOT ON THEIR EASILY PROVIDED TEMPLATES!?

This is beyond a joke, it makes no logical sense whatsoever. You are "designing" cards to be printed by the biggest maker in the world and yet you continue to not lay them out in the actual format needed to print them? There are like 10 things he'd have to move and rearrange to get these cards to properly fit within a real card.

This hurts my brainz.

[IAmTheChin]

Wow. Disappeared and came back to Days of Our Lives: Card Edition.

Honestly I wouldn't be bashing this deck...if he didn't claim the world and lose his courtesy. I'm a bit troubled at how negative the feedback is getting in comparison to how supportive it used to be back in the day. Have fun designing a deck but keep a level head. Back in the day before kickstarter was a known option people would post pictures like this and get applause for the shits and giggles of having some fun on UC and decknique.

Regardless, if there's one lesson to be learned from here ISN'T that you shouldn't try. You should always try. Always dream. The lesson is that you should probably tone down the volume if you don't have the speakers to support it. IMO. (I feel like there was a baseball metaphor could probably have been better used lol)

-Chin

[Pentagear]

Well said Chin. I definitely agree that there has been a lot of hype about this deck. I think a lot of the negativity comes from the way people carry themselves in a professional sense. I haven't been here to see it unfold in it's entirety but I've been brought up to speed for the most part.

When the creator claims that it will rivals decks that are premier quality that have received rave reviews (Such as the Actuators, a personal favorite. Also directly targeted by TCAC in writing as being inferior to their up-coming product.) There's a lot of expectations carried by that kind of claim, and you'd better believe that the criticism that those kind of claims will incite will be brutal at best. It's not about being negative or cruel, it's all about higher standards and a claim that a visibly inferior aesthetic is being touted as better than other designs that have 40+ hours PER CARD invested into a deck.

There's a lot of convincing to be had when claims like that are made, and right now, I feel in this particular case that those claims are falling far shorter than what people expected in terms of what decks TCAC has targeted in their marketing as being inferior to their own.

[xela]

Touting titles like "the best deck ever" is silly. When your goal is to make the best artwork ever created, you will fail miserably. It's a very subjective medium, for one. Most importantly, it is never a medium that demands to have a "best" anything. No art gallery has one piece in it because that piece is simply "the best." No deck collector here owns one deck for the sole purpose that it is "the best" deck.

When I make what I make, I do it because I want to see my vision come to life. If it ends up being one of the greatest things in the world, that's absolutely fantastic. If it ends up being the laughing stock of society, then I will perhaps reevaluate how to do things but will enjoy knowing my work simply exists.

If this deck gets an insane amount of hype, it will only allow the customers to see the vast difference between quality work with hundreds/thousands of hours put into it and this steaming pile of putrid vomit. Of course I use this last term in a relative way, because compared to what TCA is claiming this deck to be (the best) it really is a steaming pile of vomit.

[Kanped]

I completely agree that the criticism should have been much less harsh; IF he had gone about it in a reasonable manner.  If he had come onto here or UC, unannounced and unknown and posted those up asking what people thought, I'm sure most of us would be encouraging and very constructive.  As it is, he made personal attacks on members of the community and was coming off the back of a bunch of laughable and very obviously bogus and thoughtless projects and has outright lied to everyone at pretty much very juncture.  Can't be having it.

[Lara Krystle "Lane"]

Wow that was a mouthful. Lots of new updates I was not up to speed on. LoL! but yeah. That king should be placed in the DANCE OF THE MEME's Thread. .

I may not be a good artist but my cat can make a better design than that. plus my cat wont try to scam you all. ^_^
just saying you know.

I hope he gets his comeuppance. I'm glad that more people are finally realizing that he is a great big scammer.

[Kanped]

His latest pic is a bunch of different, unconnected pencil drawings poorly photoshopped to make one, incoherent image.  I am convinced that he di not draw any of it (maybe the bicycle at the bottom)

[IAmTheChin]

The person who drew it is a tattoo artist. Very Ed Hardy. I love the sketch. Wouldn't buy the deck though as the content is a little too creepy for me.

[NathanCanadas]

His latest pic is a bunch of different, unconnected pencil drawings poorly photoshopped to make one, incoherent image.  I am convinced that he di not draw any of it (maybe the bicycle at the bottom)

This isn't his own. I just can't believe it is. After all he's done and shown, that isn't possible. Plus it is out of place, ridiculously confusing, and WTF is it anyways?

[Pentagear]

It's clearly a cannon mounted on a tricycle firing an eyeball jester with a sinister presence overseeing the whole process... DUH!

[Kanped]

Same artist, anyway.  I wonder if he actually knows someone who can draw or something, this isn't bad.  It's a lot more coherent and seems less cobbled together and photo-shopped than the joker.  Everything Shane has done is very bad.

Thinking about it, Shane has a few tattoos.  If he told his artist he was considering another one and got that artist to draw this up.... while the previous one was cobbled together from different work by the same artist, that would make a lot of sense.

[Russell CircleCityCards]

I've been talking with Shane.  The-Con-Artist.com is 12 people all working together.  Shane helped out with some of the logistics and part of the design (gaffs).  It's not all him.  He said they have been working on the marketing strategy for 6 months and the card design was worked on by "Wikid the kid" for 8 months before being approved by the CEO.  Some features of the deck include: 2 custom Aces, tamperproof box seals, embossing.


I'm still not impressed by the artwork-to-hype ratio... I'm glad Shane (or anybody from TCAC) gave us some real insight to the process.

[rainking187]

He said they have been working on the marketing strategy for 6 months

Seriously?

[Kanped]

I've been talking with Shane.

And you believe him?  Why?

[Paul Carpenter]

12 people? 6 months? Strategy? CEO? That almost makes me feel worse about the entire endeavor. Their stuff has been so cobbled together so poorly that it seems the product of a drunken evening. Well, good luck to them but they won't be getting my money when/if the best deck ever to exist comes out.

[NathanCanadas]

I've been talking with Shane.  The-Con-Artist.com is 12 people all working together.  Shane helped out with some of the logistics and part of the design (gaffs).  It's not all him.  He said they have been working on the marketing strategy for 6 months and the card design was worked on by "Wikid the kid" for 8 months before being approved by the CEO.  Some features of the deck include: 2 custom Aces, tamperproof box seals, embossing.


I'm still not impressed by the artwork-to-hype ratio... I'm glad Shane (or anybody from TCAC) gave us some real insight to the process.

2 questions:
1) Don't you think they've gone a bit too far?
2) Are you sure you haven't been hacked?

[Russell CircleCityCards]

From now on, I'm stepping away from critiquing any deck.  As a card designer in the community, I feel I need to distance myself from either bashing or over-praising other peoples designs.  I'll still be lending my general thoughts and insights on decks that come out, but that's about it.  It's a similar scenario as a news reporter not owning stock in a company they are reviewing, it can lead to a conflict of interest.


That being said; I feel like the people at TCAC with enough support or constructive criticism will make their own decisions on how to procede with the deck design they have now.

[xela]

Kind of sad that this kind of behavior on TCA's part leads to people going "well look, it's not that bad!" when a half-decent drawing is shown.

In reality, I feel like many people would rip me apart at the slightest hint of a mistake, while with garbage like TCA or Merz's decks, it's as if some of you guys are looking for a reason to not completely disregard that company.

Let me summarize why you shouldn't donate a minute of your time or a dollar of your hard earned cash to this guy:

1. He claims to be different people, uses shady marketing tactics and has conversations with himself on his Facebook wall.
2. He blatantly ripped the artwork for everything he has shown so far, and I wouldn't be surprised if the deck art was plagiarized as well.
3. He has made multiple fake accounts on this forum and impersonated people.
4. He is connected with hackings on Facebook & Twitter.
5. He has defaced the work and the walls of various respected people on this board.
6. He continued to impersonate a woman after we caught him in the lie on this board.
7. He is clearly an idiot.

Russell, I am a bit ashamed that you believe that TCA really is 12 people and has a CEO. I will bet anything he does not even have a business license. FYI you cannot randomly appoint yourself as "CEO" unless you establish your company as a corporation first. It's why I use the title "Creative Director." I prefer not to look like an idiot in this case.

Furthermore, if 12 people are involved, what are their jobs and roles? What the hell do you need 12 people for in a start-up deck producing gig? Ellusionist has less than that, last time I checked. And this deck went through 12 months of work? Ha. If what we have seen took 12 months to create, then I'll get a sex change and change my name to Shirley. Take away the recent artwork, and you have yourself a good 20 minutes of work (yes, seriously). Include the artwork and you have two week's worth of work, assuming you spend just one hour a day or less on the actual work.

I'm sorry, but I will reserve my constructive criticism for people who enter the market knowing the basics. This guy just wants to make some fast cash and rip people off.

There is never a reason to be nice or neutral to those who are not good people. This man has consistently cursed others out, created false identities and has done numerous illegal activities in the time span of two weeks. Being nice to a sack of garbage takes energy, and that is energy I would first put into the people that deserve it.

Kudos to Lance for managing to stay nice throughout his abuse, but I don't agree with Lance philosophically. I don't think terrible people should be allowed to be treated nicely.

[Russell CircleCityCards]

I never said I believed any of it... 


With the different artwork though I am wondering if it is a compilation deck maybe?

[Kanped]

The-Con-Artist.com IS 12 people all working together.

You sounded pretty certain...

[Russell CircleCityCards]

I just relayed the words that shane said to me, no spin.

[Robert Butler]

Russell I'm not interested in what he said to you as it means nothing to me.  I’m more or less suppressed that you would stand on a soap box for them in any small effort.  That’s why we’re all looking at you strange.  You’re a good artist & you have a solid product.  These shit heads have stepped on me, Lance T. Miller, Aether Cards and god only knows who else.  Now I know you don’t see eye to eye with me but How about these other guys?  Even if the deck is made, even if it sell and even if they have a small band of fans that are just hitting puberty, I won’t give them a shot until they admit to their wrong doings and try to genuinely improve. 

[Russell CircleCityCards]

Let me be clear... I never said I was standing up for them or that I believe what Shane PM'd me.  I was merely reposting what he said.

I still think they have gone about marketing completely wrong and the tactics used are very unprofessional.

The first King they showed was a mess and can't possibly be the artwork they submitted to USPCC and if that is final artwork and not a gaff/joke card then I think they will have many extra decks left over after nobody buys them.  On the other hand, I do like the artwork for the suicide king, it reminds be of the Rat Fink art by Ed Roth.

[Pentagear]

Here's how I see the situation. Complete speculation, but as a critical thinker, this makes sense to me, and until proven otherwise I reserve my right to have this opinion:

1. TCA claims their deck will be the worlds best deck, and targets various other highly-successful decks as inferior to their own.
2. TCA reveals their first batch of artwork.
3. The playing card community, collectors, artists and produces blowback on TCA highlighting poor craftsmanship, advertising strategy, and general outlook towards their public.
4. TCA decides to remove their initial artwork revealings after writing inflammatory statements and accusations on or about and against the people they originally targeted in the first place's walls or on their own threads where critique was being received.
5. TCA messages a reputable card production entity (CCC) in an attempt to plant the seed that they are bigger and better (CEO's approval bit) than the other groups producing cards right now.
6. TCA releases yet-to-be-determined-legitimate artwork in order to replace their already revealed artwork to spin their own wheels in a different direction and appeal to the masses.

Now mind you this merely my take on the situation and there may be more to this than we know. I tend to agree with Alex more-so, people who are simply out to "prey" on consumers really have no respect in my book. I'm a little late to the game so I didn't get to see first hand all that they've done to garner this distrust from people, and I usually don't like to go off the he-said-she-said bit in terms of judging of character, but if you have enough people who aren't affiliated with one another saying the same thing, at some point you have to listen.

[Paul Carpenter]

On the other hand, I do like the artwork for the suicide king, it reminds be of the Rat Fink art by Ed Roth.

Exactly, it looks like a known type of art that's been in popular culture for years. It also has absolutely zero to do with anything they posted before. So, new concept? An art deck? Just finding things on Google to post? Things have been so disjointed up to now that there hasn't been a single instance of anything looking production ready or even close.

Their own stated timelines and goals are so out of whack with the apparent state of their design I just don't see how they can continue the claims they'll be launching in a few weeks. If I went online and stated that my next deck would be ready to give away in 2 months, USPCC would have it already, it would probably be close to printing and I'd have a huge and cohesive set of highly refined teasers to share.

I think any of the designers on here would do essentially the same. TCA stuff is just...not even close. It's totally vexing.

[Don Boyer]

I keep lobbing him an occasional question about this deck - he's pretty much taken to ignoring me now.  Yay!

[NathanCanadas]

Word from his facebook page:
"Great news! Our designs have been approoved and our decks have now started being printed!"
What should we expect?

http://s7.postimage.org/aswujygt7/harlequin.jpg

[moonexe]

Yeah, he pretty much just copied John. Just sayin'

[Kanped]

Word from his facebook page:
"Great news! Our designs have been approoved and our decks have now started being printed!"
What should we expect?

http://s7.postimage.org/aswujygt7/harlequin.jpg

Yeah, I already read the thread where John posted that same link... you know there's plenty of people who can read URLs, you know.  Why would that be called 'harlequin.jpg'?

[NathanCanadas]

Word from his facebook page:
"Great news! Our designs have been approoved and our decks have now started being printed!"
What should we expect?

http://s7.postimage.org/aswujygt7/harlequin.jpg

Yeah, I already read the thread where John posted that same link... you know there's plenty of people who can read URLs, you know.  Why would that be called 'harlequin.jpg'?

I thought it would be funny, especially for those who wouldn't have read that thread. Anyways, I was wrong.
Anyways, what happened to his "Spade Queen" account on these forums? Was it erased/banned or is it still in existence?

[Don Boyer]

Word from his facebook page:
"Great news! Our designs have been approoved and our decks have now started being printed!"
What should we expect?

http://s7.postimage.org/aswujygt7/harlequin.jpg

Yeah, I already read the thread where John posted that same link... you know there's plenty of people who can read URLs, you know.  Why would that be called 'harlequin.jpg'?

I thought it would be funny, especially for those who wouldn't have read that thread. Anyways, I was wrong.
Anyways, what happened to his "Spade Queen" account on these forums? Was it erased/banned or is it still in existence?

1) Nope - recycled humor is sort of like recycled school lunches: much better the first time around.

2) I'm guessing you didn't look at the "Members" link, just below the fame notifications.  SpadedQueen is still listed as member #671 (listed alphabetically), a newcomer with 7 posts.  For someone who claimed no connection to TCAC, "she" vanished from here pretty quickly.

[loldudex2]

Word from his facebook page:
"Great news! Our designs have been approoved and our decks have now started being printed!"
What should we expect?

http://s7.postimage.org/aswujygt7/harlequin.jpg

Yeah, I already read the thread where John posted that same link... you know there's plenty of people who can read URLs, you know.  Why would that be called 'harlequin.jpg'?

I thought it would be funny, especially for those who wouldn't have read that thread. Anyways, I was wrong.
Anyways, what happened to his "Spade Queen" account on these forums? Was it erased/banned or is it still in existence?

1) Nope - recycled humor is sort of like recycled school lunches: much better the first time around.

2) I'm guessing you didn't look at the "Members" link, just below the fame notifications.  SpadedQueen is still listed as member #671 (listed alphabetically), a newcomer with 7 posts.  For someone who claimed no connection to TCAC, "she" vanished from here pretty quickly.

But then again, so does everyone these days. I bet you for every 20 people that join this site, only one sticks around and contributes, so I'm not sure how strong of a point that is, but it is suspicious how this is I believe the only topic she became part of.

[Lara Krystle "Lane"]

Word from his facebook page:
"Great news! Our designs have been approoved and our decks have now started being printed!"
What should we expect?

http://s7.postimage.org/aswujygt7/harlequin.jpg

Yeah, I already read the thread where John posted that same link... you know there's plenty of people who can read URLs, you know.  Why would that be called 'harlequin.jpg'?

I thought it would be funny, especially for those who wouldn't have read that thread. Anyways, I was wrong.
Anyways, what happened to his "Spade Queen" account on these forums? Was it erased/banned or is it still in existence?

1) Nope - recycled humor is sort of like recycled school lunches: much better the first time around.

2) I'm guessing you didn't look at the "Members" link, just below the fame notifications.  SpadedQueen is still listed as member #671 (listed alphabetically), a newcomer with 7 posts.  For someone who claimed no connection to TCAC, "she" vanished from here pretty quickly.

But then again, so does everyone these days. I bet you for every 20 people that join this site, only one sticks around and contributes, so I'm not sure how strong of a point that is, but it is suspicious how this is I believe the only topic she became part of.

Yeap that is true. That SpadedQueen was so obvious anyway. ***sigh***
Anyway, come-what-may, I just feel so bad for the people who already gave this douche personal information.
I've watched too much CHUCK to know how being CONNED feels like. So yeah.

[NathanCanadas]

I knew they were just going to disappear from one day to another. It's been almost 2 months now.

[Evan]

I knew they were just going to disappear from one day to another. It's been almost 2 months now.

Was there really a need to bring this thread back up?

[Don Boyer]

I knew they were just going to disappear from one day to another. It's been almost 2 months now.

Was there really a need to bring this thread back up?

Yeah - Nathan hasn't read his own thoughts in print enough for one day! 


I think it's rather odd that they haven't posted anything on their FB since April 8, one day after we stopped talking about them, and now Nathan revives the topic two days after they've made a new post, their first since then - a photo of what looks like an uncut sheet...  Coincidence?   

[NathanCanadas]

Wow. Really? Actually I was just thinking about them, so I posted here. I actually saw that picture just after I posted, but thought it was just another camera trick. Didn't actually notice the resemblance until now.

[Don Boyer]

Wow. Really? Actually I was just thinking about them, so I posted here. I actually saw that picture just after I posted, but thought it was just another camera trick. Didn't actually notice the resemblance until now.

Due to the sheet being rolled, however, it's hard to confirm that it's an uncut sheet at all, never mind his uncut sheet (which is REALLY unlikely).

Just another kid with champagne dreams on a domestic beer budget, trying to sound important.