The creator's right - it's a good deck for cardmen. But at that price? Too high.
More and more people asking higher and higher amounts for decks. If it was some kind of full-custom job, maybe. But this is standard faces with a recolor and an elegant but very simple back. It's nice, but not $15-a-pack nice. He compares his deck to NOCs - those are five bucks plus shipping!
Thanks for your comment! This playing cards is printed and shipped from Taiwan, so that 1) I can set the goal in low, and 2) I have to include the worldwide shipping fee in each pledges. I understand this project looks a little bit pricey, but however when you back this project, I will bother you if you make sure the country and check the fee and add on the pledge blah blah blah...
To tell the truth I can't make any money with this project. Hope it makes sense to you
Actually, you can - in the ballpark of US$5 a pack, in fact.
I estimate that a simple deck like this would cost under $3 a pack - there no real extras like embossing, metallic ink, custom seal, etc. It's a ballpark figure based on USPC pricing - the actual cost would likely be less, as Legends and Expert both manage to charge less than USPC. Both of those two companies share a common print shop located in Taipei. And these are high-end estimates, based on a short print run. I'll round this to $3 anyway.
The deck would likely ship in a small pouch or box - boxes tend to offer better protection, vital for an overseas mail delivery. Doing a little conversion, I estimated a box size for a single deck at 12.7 x 12.7 x 6.3 cm. The typical poker deck is 8.8 cm x 6.35 cm, with thickness being variable depending on stock used. I estimated a generous 2 cm for thickness, larger than even a pack of casino-grade Bee from USPC. With packing material, I came up with a weight estimate of just below 0.15 kg - this assumes a typical 2.3-ounce deck with the weight of bubble wrap and the box. Chungwa Post increased this to 0.169 kg based on box dimensions. The cost to ship one deck to the US as an International Air Parcel is 220 New Taiwan Dollars (NT$), or US$7.19 at the current exchange rate.
So, the estimated cost to you to make and ship a single deck to the US is a little more than US$10. There's not a soul on this forum who would deny you a profit margin - only interns work for free! But to charge $15 and say you're going to lose money is a serious stretch, as I see it. It's either that or your printer is seriously overcharging you. People can and do lose money on small orders of one or two decks - but in this scenario, that's simply not the case. Even at 125% of my estimates - a piratical price, indeed - you're making over US$2 per deck.
The NOC decks, with which you compared your deck, still manage to make it to the Blue Crown in New York from a printer in Taipei (they switched away from USPC recently, citing increased costs and design restrictions) and they only charge US$4.95 plus domestic shipping to US customers - less if purchased in larger quantities. Delivery for a single deck by First Class mail is US$3.61. Total charge to customer is under US$8 for a deck that was printed in Taipei (slightly higher if the buyer is in New York State due to sales taxes).
In short, it's a great deck, especially for a magician, but it's a bit too expensive. I really do like the design, but as a magician myself I'm interested in finding inexpensive decks of decent quality and easy availability - something that will continue to be printed, as opposed to a limited edition.
