Good posts, Don! Thank you :-)

Received this earlier today: -

"...Hello Raymond,

Your order without Black Lions has been shipped. Sorry about the confusion regarding the Black Lions delay. Your tracking number for order #***** has already been shipped and should be there any day.
Your Black Lions order is shipping this week.

Sincerely,

Customer Service
dborders@davidblaine.com ..."

Tracking numbers ALL show as 'Not Found' on USPS's website, as of typing this post.

I also know Madison is the KOD, yet again along with a couple of other court changes.

I received my Gold Monarch deck a few days ago.  The gold MetalLuxe treatment on the Monarch back looks FABULOUS.  It's super shiny and reflective.  However the registration on the backs and faces leaves a lot to be desired.

HI PT

That looks beautiful! Are they similar to the Bicycle Luxe decks? If so, I hope they improved the T11 GM. I really don't like the Bicycle Luxe 'gimmick', personally.

T11 did a beautiful 'gold' Monarch deck that Geraint Clarke was lucky to receive. It's plain or metallic gold, instead of the Luxe. I believe that version was never released, for some obscure reason. They would have made a killing, if they sold that version..

Would you mind posting another picture showing the gold 'reflecting', please. Similar to my picture of the aforementioned Bicycle Luxe. It would 'showcase' it a bit better 😉

Thank you!

30% off all* the items in the store...

Still nothing about the Black Lions price...


The * stands for itesm that are not already on sale.

IRO the 30% OFF ENTIRE STORE* DB 'probably' won't include the SS and WL autographed uncut sheets. He only put those on the site, when it was resurrected, so I can't really see him reducing those bad boys.

However, if has has, I'll be furious, as I've just taken delivery of all 3 SS uncut sheets    Then again, who knows what goes through/on in that mind of his 

I say, the BL's will be by the brick for a bare minimum of $60, as he's done before.

Good news!  Gambler's Warehouse is taking over ALL shipping/fullfillment for the David Blaine website/store.


So your Black Friday orders will be packed safe and securely!





..

Jay

Cool. But does that mean reasonable international shipping costs? I live in the UK and have, unfortunately, spent a small fortune of inflated costs over the last few years.

Quote from: fenderdemon on November 21, 2015, 10:39:24 PM

I realise this thread is over a year old, however, has any decision been made into making this a 'Tapatalk enabled forum', for want of a better expression?

It's so much easier for members who enjoy multiple forums, under one roof, so to speak.

Tapatalk sounds great, but there's a few hurdles that need to be crossed first.

1) We're a volunteer organization - we work for no pay here.  Someone has to perform the installation, someone with just a little more technical expertise than I have.  Our tech guy isn't always available - he probably would be more available if the pay was better.  So, unless you're volunteering to join the tech staff (and you have the necessary expertise), we have to work with the limited resources we have.

2) The branding might be an issue.  Free setups for Tapatalk co-brand with Tapatalk, while removing their branding costs money - a monthly fee.  Not a lot, granted, but the money has to come from somewhere and we don't charge membership fees.  We already have the operating expenses of the forum to consider, which are coming out of the owner's pocket at the moment.  We have some income from the sales of advertisements, but it's not a lot.  The owner of the forum, Tom Dawson, would have to be on board with either the co-branding or paying the cash to eliminate co-branding.

3) Of our ten-thousand-plus member accounts, less than one-twentieth of one percent (<0.05%) have requested this feature.  Other features have a higher demand and in some cases can potentially generate income for the forum, i.e., the capability to run auctions in a similar manner to eBay, an updated layout/interface, etc.  We have to put our limited resources where the demand is greatest.

4) At the pace at which mobile technology is improving, in just a short time, Tapatalk will become redundant because mobile devices will have larger screens, higher screen resolution, more memory, faster data connections, better browsers and more powerful processors.  I access the forum occasionally by using a two-year-old phone and while the experience is hardly perfect, it is surprisingly functional.

I would say that #3 is the biggest stumbling block, with #1 running a close second.  #4 renders all of the other hurdles moot.  If you know of ways to overcome these hurdles - or at least the first three, for now - by all means, let us know.

Thanks for the comprehensive answer, Don.

Unfortunately, I have no idea of the 'behind-the-scenes' running of a website with respect to Tapatalk, so that rules me out! 😉

I appreciate everything you've mentioned!

You're allowed to say "Google" - as long as you don't say it five times in a row while looking in the bathroom mirror... 

Welcome to the forum.  You're in good company here and we'd love to hear from you about magic and gambling!

Hahaha... 😂

Many thanks, Don.

We've already had a discussion or two, so here's looking forward to many more.

@fenderdemon: You really, really like briks! 

Only decks that are truly (IMHO) worth it. And they are few and far between...

Quote from: fenderdemon on August 26, 2015, 08:28:35 PM

When DB opened the window for his Metallic Green Gatorback deck, I kind of went over the top. Just a little, mind you. Hahaha 😂 😂 😂 I now have 10 bricks left.

I was also lucky with the Red Metallic Gatorback deck, as well.

WOw a little you say?? 

Just a tad!!!

Seriously though, they are such beautiful decks to play/practice with.

One thing you can be absolutely certain of, when DB releases a deck, it's going to be as near perfect, as you can possibly get, at the time he releases it, naturally, IMHO.

Although, I still maintain, my favourite deck of his to handle, is the White Lions Black Label. There's just something about that deck (that handles like a dream) and tuck that oozes class, once again, IMHO.

I also have a 'couple' of WL Series B bricks of each colour. Just a 'couple' of bricks, mind you. I'll leave that to your imagination 😜😎♠️

When DB opened the window for his Metallic Green Gatorback deck, I kind of went over the top. Just a little, mind you. Hahaha 😂 😂 😂 I now have 10 bricks left.

I was also lucky with the Red Metallic Gatorback deck, as well.

Quote from: fenderdemon on July 15, 2015, 08:42:53 PM

Sorry for yet another late reply.

I'm disabled (housebound, actually) and am on a LOT of morphine sulfate for pain relief. As a result, it's affected my short-term memory. Putting it bluntly, I forget! A lot!! I forgot to remember to forget, rings a bell! Haha... 😂

Yes. I concur. It's insane, to be perfectly honest. Surely, someone at their HQ has heard that there's a market for Studs. It beggars belief, really.

Talking of Play Rights, I purchased a brick from a dealer on eBay recently and thought they were okay to handle. That was until they started to clump. I'd only used them for 2 days of moderate use.

Plus, the back design (if you can call it a design) is atrocious. What with todays technology, Photoshop, Illustrator, et al, you would have thought they could come up with something half decent. No imagination at all. And the tuck box! Good grief!!!

Anyway, enough of my carping. That's all I seem to do, nowadays ;-)

Believe it or not, there are some people who like the plain, simple back design of the Play Rights.  That "lack of imagination" factor makes the deck look plain vanilla but also completely innocuous - good for magic.  But they're still a terrible deck compared to Studs.?

Better to get packs of Bikes.  Family Dollar has a specially-printed package with the store's price on the tuck box - $3 - for Standards in red and blue as well as the current "Breast Cancer Research" deck.  They also have the same arrangement for their $1 Mavericks, but only the most desperate or the most frugal use Mavericks.  Or magicians who specialize in Torn-and-Restored (or Torn-and-Destroyed) tricks!  I wouldn't even buy Mavericks for children...

Plainest deck I'm using right now are the Signature Series White NOCs.  The marking system is on the level of an evil genius.  The entire back design consists of a single black pinstripe line forming a border a short distance from the edge of the card - and yet the entire deck is marked for suit and value!  Not a practical marking system for games, but there's no way on Earth someone who doesn't know about the cards in advance will suss out the markings.  Excellent for magic.

Wait, what topic is this?   

Oops. I did it again. I'm ever so sorry, Don. The expression, "...I forgot to remember to forget...", springs to mind with me.

I still hate Playrights, or Play Rights, whatever they're called. *LOL* 😜 Horrid, absolutely horrid.

I concur. Bikes are the way to go. Even if you were to purchase a brick, at a slightly subsidised price, you can't go wrong. Period. Even though they're a tad dearer, I also really like The Blue Crown basic decks. A good all round deck, with a pleasant design and tradition (older style) courts, which I love.

I love the white NOC's. They're simplie and yet stylish in a purely geometrical way. And, yes, the marking system is 'Evil Genius'. Very cleverly done...

Quote from: fenderdemon on July 11, 2015, 12:27:41 PM

On a side note, I had the pleasure of seeing him at a Laura London Presents at the Hippodrome Casino toward the end of last year. An intimate evening with him performing Twisting the Aces, The Reformation and Once Upon a Time, amongst others, and a candid Q&A. A splendid evening!

One of the questions a member of the audience threw at him, was his choice of cards. Naturally, he's a Studs man and regular blue and red Bicycles. Not once did he mention his decks. He opened his briefcase and three were just red decks of Studs and Bicycles.

Studs aren't so easily found these days - he must have stocked up, big time.  It still boggles my mind that Walgreens stopped making Studs in favor of Play-Rights.  You can't even make a proper poker pair out of Play-Rights unless you custom-build your own deck in the second color by splitting and re-gluing two entire decks, one for the faces and the other for the backs!

Sorry for yet another late reply.

I'm disabled (housebound, actually) and am on a LOT of morphine sulfate for pain relief. As a result, it's affected my short-term memory. Putting it bluntly, I forget! A lot!! I forgot to remember to forget, rings a bell! Haha... 😂

Yes. I concur. It's insane, to be perfectly honest. Surely, someone at their HQ has heard that there's a market for Studs. It beggars belief, really.

Talking of Play Rights, I purchased a brick from a dealer on eBay recently and thought they were okay to handle. That was until they started to clump. I'd only used them for 2 days of moderate use.

Plus, the back design (if you can call it a design) is atrocious. What with todays technology, Photoshop, Illustrator, et al, you would have thought they could come up with something half decent. No imagination at all. And the tuck box! Good grief!!!

Anyway, enough of my carping. That's all I seem to do, nowadays ;-)