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Messages - Fred

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26
Playing Card Plethora / Re: The Zinfandel Deck - by Eric Mana
« on: November 04, 2013, 06:54:22 PM »
Quote from: Anonymous on November 04, 2013, 01:42:59 PM
Quote from: Don Boyer on November 04, 2013, 10:41:00 AM
Quote from: Fred on November 04, 2013, 10:24:50 AM
Im 90% certain that the other colour will be Blue (:

Nope - if he's going with wine colors, the next will be gold, like a fine champagne...  :))

Hey, the first was silver - it makes sense!

I have to agree with Don. With a name like Zinfandel for red, the other color will most likely cover the white/light side of wine. I don't really like the name Zinfandel though.

I stand behind my original guess. The facebook cover page has a blue seal. Erik's first thought while creating Oracle was to have a BLUE clone to the silver.. I dont think my guess is too out of the 'blue' (pun intended). :)

27
Playing Card Plethora / Re: The Zinfandel Deck - by Eric Mana
« on: November 04, 2013, 10:52:34 AM »
Quote from: Don Boyer on November 04, 2013, 10:41:00 AM

Nope - if he's going with wine colors, the next will be gold, like a fine champagne...  :))

Hey, the first was silver - it makes sense!

Don, you wanna make a bet on that? ;) Would be interesting.

28
Playing Card Plethora / Re: The Zinfandel Deck - by Eric Mana
« on: November 04, 2013, 10:24:50 AM »
Im 90% certain that the other colour will be Blue (:


29
The Pasteboard Bazaar - Sales, Trades & In Search Of (STISO) / Re: For the Aussies
« on: November 02, 2013, 11:43:25 AM »
Joey from theflush.com.au is definitely very reputable. For a fellow Aussie like me that usually gets done over by notorious international shipping rates, his website and service is extremely appreciated. Have delt business and conversed with Joey on multiple occasions and could not recommend his website any more without sounding like a douche bag affiliate!

Competitive prices, numerous Kickstarter decks and FREE SHIPPING within Australia for 1-4 decks! Not much else to say really. Big thumbs up from me.

30
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Golden Bee Ltd. Edition Playing Cards
« on: October 30, 2013, 12:25:50 PM »
Just so you guys know; the retail price is actually roughly $7.50 USD ($80 for a brick). They are a 5,000 print run, NOT limited (meaning they may be printed again depending on demand) and are sold by the Chinese run USPCC directly through a Chinese website similar to Amazon called 'Tian Mao' (tmall.com). I assume this is where Aloys gets her 'limited' stock as tmall.com ships free anywhere in China (Shanghai obviously included).

You're paying a very high premium getting these from Aloys. There's an ebay seller that operates internationally that has these for $14.95 USD a pop. FREE SHIPPING ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. I personally bought two decks from him and he was kind enough to cut me a deal with combined shipping ($24.95 USD for 2 decks all inclusive). I am in no way affiliated with any persons mentioned in this post. I'm simply using my fluency in Chinese Mandarin to help you guys with the information. Your money, your choice (:

31
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Golden Bee Ltd. Edition Playing Cards
« on: October 30, 2013, 12:04:38 PM »
Very curious to see what bullshit she has to say this time.. Probably something along the lines of "Limited to 200. $69.69 per deck, spend $6969 and get 1 free rug for your floor!", except in very broken English.

32
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Red Monarchs confirmed, October 31st release
« on: October 30, 2013, 07:00:44 AM »
Quote from: Don Boyer on October 30, 2013, 06:45:01 AM
Third, Fred - it's not always the case that there's money made on limited decks.  T11 gave away a healthy chunk of their White Centurion supply, though they did sell some.  Ellusionist's first two rare decks didn't actually make a penny for them, at least as far as the cost of production versus what they "sold" for - they were all given away.  I will concede the point immediately that there's usually barriers to be crossed in order to get free decks - like when E used to require a purchase of $350 or more to get a Gold Arcane in a Lucite case.  But they could have simply sold these items if the cash was the only reason to make them.  They were customer loyalty bonuses, things meant to attract customers to spend money at their store as opposed to someone else's - and frankly, they work.


I very well know that unlimited decks (assuming they are attractive of course..) generate more revenue. My point was that limited decks may serve a different purpose than short term profit. Besides the business model to drive sales (e.g. Buy 1 brick get 1 free), they are also mainly for hype/exposure/obtaining customer loyalty and for greater FUTURE prospects. Everything done is always for the benefit of the company. They do that by trying to please their customers (thus generating sales) but always remember that their primary goal is for the sole purpose of generating revenue. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this. However, I do not appreciate companies trying to make it seem as if pleasing customers is their paramount priority.

I'm more excited about the additional secret Monarch release along with the red one. Hopefully it wont be a let down!

33
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Golden Bee Ltd. Edition Playing Cards
« on: October 30, 2013, 03:59:50 AM »
Pictures for y'all. I'm gonna grab 2 myself.

EDIT: People have swooped all 12 of those available on the ebay link provided by Jmrock within an hour. Jesus.

34
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Bicycle Dark Templar (KS)
« on: October 30, 2013, 03:07:10 AM »
Definitely another way of saying Magic finish.

Basically a useless stretch goal targeted for the unaware.

35
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Red Monarchs confirmed, October 31st release
« on: October 30, 2013, 03:01:35 AM »
Lyle, i won't quote you for the sake of excessive walls of text. But that was a great read. Thanks for taking the time. I appreciate that.

With that being said, please don't try to justify limited releases as 'bonuses' that are 'something extra for the consumer'. Most companies (such as yours included) are entirely profit based and not 'for the sake of us'. Limited runs, contests, giveaways etc are all aimed for exposure and long term profit to keep in business. ALL of us understand that. Please don't pretend that you're doing us a favour as you don't make more profit with limited decks relative to unlimited decks. We are not stupid, and there is no need for you to stress this point.

I am very much looking forward to this release and will judge for myself on the deck. Once again, thank you for the input/insight and i hope you'll stick around after the release/in future discussions.

36
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Clockwork Bicycle® Playing Cards
« on: October 30, 2013, 02:39:35 AM »
Quote from: Don Boyer on October 30, 2013, 12:14:08 AM

Well, that, and the fact that the deck is butt-ugly...

From their "Who Are We?" section:
Two graphic designing graduates have banded together to bring our dreams to reality.
In other words, two unemployed n00bs who didn't get grades good enough to get jobs straight out of school...  No one who's ever designed a deck and knows what they're doing would make this pile of dreck and call it a deck.

From their "Risks and Challenges" section:
The only risk that can come about is those that do not like our designs.
If THIS is the only potential risk they can see, they're both blind.  I may be right, judging from their designs.  Anyone who honestly thinks they can make a Bicycle deck on just GB£1,000 (barely more than US$1,600) is completely oblivious to the realities of deck design work.  Their deck MIGHT stand a chance if they spent 600-800% of their present goal, and I don't see two freshly-minted university grads as having the extra £5,000 to £7,000 needed to get this thing made if they barely cross the goal line.

In summary, I don't care if you think the design is the greatest thing since fried ice cream and naked women - DO NOT TOUCH THIS PROJECT WITH A TEN-FOOT POLE.  In its present state, if this thing makes its goal, it's got "successful failure" written all over it.  They'll simply be unable to deliver, period, end of story, unless they do go that high over their goal - which is about as likely as dealing four royal flushes in the same poker game...

Yeah the deck is absolutely terrible and whoever backs it should be well aware of the potential red flags. However, Don, your statement: "In other words, two unemployed n00bs who didn't get grades good enough to get jobs straight out of school..." could not be more inaccurate and insensitive. Art and design graduates in nature are are a hit or miss in terms of finding employment, especially straight out of University. Im not sure what it was back in your time, but in this generation, grades in most courses except maybe engineering/mathematical related courses do not play even a substantial part in finding employment; especially in an area such as Visual Art/Design. Even in my Law course, grades are secondary to many other skills necessary that employers find attractive. I don't appreciate such blatant and frankly, wrong statements.

Sorry if i got a bit carried away and off topic. It's just that your remark relates a lot to my friends in their final years of University and you could not have made a worse and misguided statement even if you tried. Kinda hit deep, Don. :(

But yeah, back on topic. AVOID THIS DECK.

37
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Red Monarchs confirmed, October 31st release
« on: October 30, 2013, 02:09:58 AM »
Here's what the red Monarchs look like. Photo courtesy of Kete Moon (as usual.. =p)

I am extremely disappointed. The red used is very bland. Though i might be contradicting myself in saying that I love the red on the tuck box. Even though the two colours seem pretty identical, the tuckbox is simply much more elegant as the colours blend in with the gold and makes it look premium/exquisite. I wish T$$ could have changed it up by implementing different shades of Crimson in the different parts of the back design.. or had gone with a darker, more blood-like/premium shade of red.

I guess all will be revealed soon!

38
Design & Development / Re: ***NEW*** The Grain Back Card Deck — Printed In The UK
« on: October 29, 2013, 10:06:43 AM »
Here's the youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzeWMhuoihQ

You seem like a nice lad and take opinions pretty nicely. Good on you for that. However, your review and 'testimonials' are very obviously greatly artificial. You oversell the deck on basically every single point (even though the handling does surprisingly seem quite good, except for the inability to faro). The thing that bothered me the most were the reviews by the kiddies at the end. Incredibly unprofessional, artificial, rehearsed and thus are actually detrimental instead of beneficial. I had a quick look at your other reviews and found that you pretty much say the exact same thing just to sell the deck for whatever company you're affiliated with. It doesn't help that you're also quite young and illiterate.

With that being said, a print run of only 100 decks will sell very easily on Kickstarter. Don't think you have to worry about that, especially because if it doesn't look like it will fund, the company you're affiliated with will most likely put in the rest of the money to make it fund. You honestly don't have to make any improvements or changes at all for that matter. Seems to me you have quite a following on youtube. Don't be stupid with pricing, hype up the release and i guarantee you will sell your print run of 100 decks. I doubt any informed, knowledgable person would buy your deck, but with that being said, i doubt we're the demographic you're targeting. There are a lot of 13 year olds nowadays, good luck buddy.

39
Playing Card Plethora / Re: To brick or not to brick?
« on: October 29, 2013, 08:29:40 AM »
Simply put, if you're not rich with infinite moolah and/or do not perform, do NOT buy bricks.

It gets a lot more complicated than that though. I always have a tendency to want to hoard decks that i absolutely LOVE. It's human nature, really. I always reason with myself with shit like "Oh i can just resell them later at a high price" or.. "I can use them for trades" or "Higher quantity= lower price per deck". However, i've come to find that if i do end up getting a higher quantity of a deck, i hesitate to resell because i want to wait for a higher market price.. or in some cases i actually find it hard and troublesome to resell! I have never been marginally 'extra happy' buying greater quantities than 2 (1 to open 1 to add to collection).

Keep in mind though, if you're intending to buy bricks of decks for the purpose of monetary gain.. you have to consider a LOT of factors such as how well the decks will hold their value.. how demanded they are.. how much time are you willing to sacrifice conducting the sales/going to the post.. It's not as simple as "OH LUK DIS DECK RARE 2,5O0 PWINTED I MU$T BYE 10 BRIKZ!" If you're smart AND LUCKY you can get pretty good at determining the right decks to resell.. e.g. Uusi decks, Federal 52s, Oracle etc. I had a discussion last night actually with a mate about how even though the Misc co and goods deck by Pedale was on the same forefront in funding as compared to something like Federal 52, the retained value of the deck post KS is greatly different. We talked about the targeted audience.. design aspects and why the market price post KS was so different.. but i wont bore you with the analysis =p But then again, investing money in Kickstarter projects with a turnover period of roughly 4months isnt exactly the smartest thing to do... so ultimately, my standing on this topic, and advice to you, is still what i said in the opening sentence. Your money can be used and invested in MUCH better things that yield higher profit levels with faster turnover periods and greater consistency. You wouldnt choose $10 profit in 3months over $5 profit in a week.. right?

Look at this picture attached below posted on Facebook from a random customer. He mentions that he doesnt perform and only opens a single deck of every kind. In the comments, he also states that he has accumulated 100 decks by Daniel Madison, 58 Legend decks, 30 Chinatowns and recently the October decks for the sole reason that "i just get bunch becuse im in uk and for the price of shipping its better to make each order worth while haha". What do i think of this? Absolutely stupid. Stupid. Very utterly fooocking stooobid. Something to think about (:

40
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Bicycle Grungeland
« on: October 29, 2013, 08:05:34 AM »
Quote from: JPMiddleton on October 29, 2013, 07:47:47 AM
I've always tried to keep myself away from the UC vs AC nonsense, but the reality is whilst you're entitled to your opinions about the forum, etc - a quick read of the thread on UC looks like most are saying what they think to me - there's definitely some criticism in a few replies.

I've kept all personal shenanigans within me and out of my previous reply. Frankly, if it was a good, well rounded deck; I would praise it, like I have with many decks that i find attractive. Personally, I think that while the comments definitely have some criticism (and do not demonstrate total nut-hugging), it's evident that the forum users are being quite careful with their comments, and try to look for the little things rather than stab at the elephant in the room. Bluntly put, i think this deck, along with the UC deck (I love Randy's work on the Imperial and Luxuries) are total garbage. But what do i know, right?

Let's keep it real guys. Love to hear other people's opinions from an objective, non-biased point of view. Again, no disrespect intended whatsoever.

41
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Bicycle Grungeland
« on: October 29, 2013, 05:35:37 AM »
From an artistic point of view, i find this deck very unaesthetic. I have to admit, i roam on UC once in a while and saw when BMPoker posted this. I find it hilarious that everyone holds back from saying how terrible the execution is and instead choose to praise how "small the pips are" and how "it's very unique!". If this was created by anyone else, i wouldnt be surprised to see a very different response.

I do, however, like the Ace of Spades. But, that's about it. In the heavily competitive market right now on Kickstarter, there are many, many better alternatives. I highly doubt this will fund. I mean no disrespect and wish the respective creators/designers all the best.

42
Playing Card Plethora / Bicycle Kingdoms of a New World (KS)
« on: October 24, 2013, 03:35:42 AM »
A fantasy themed custom deck of playing cards by Nathanael Mortensen. Printed by USPCC. Bicycle branded. Kickstarter.

Kickstarter link:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1657065264/kingdoms-of-a-new-world-playing-cards-printed-by-b/comments

1 set of Blue and Red decks along with 1 Limited edition 'dark edition' with colour changed courts/back (Limited to 10,000 decks).

Judge yourself on the art. I don't think i need to stress how elegant and impressive it is. Various pictures attached below.

Goal of $18,000 is going to be absolutely raped. I foresee this project going well above the $100k mark.

Get in quick for the limited deck pledge tiers if you're interested! Prices are very reasonable.

Project description quoted directly from the Kickstarter page.

Quote
The New World playing cards was inspired from my previous work experience with Jonas Akerlund on Dragon's Hoard. I and many others instantly fell in love with the art that came to life because of backers like you through a kickstarter campaign much like this one.

After Dragon's Hoard was sent to the printers, I was ready to start a new project. I contacted Jonas, and asked him what he thought about creating a deck of 54 playing cards together. He was so excited that it became his pride and joy project. A short while later, Jonas sent me a handful of his favorite sketches. I was blown away. Jonas enriched the ideas I sent him and added his own incredible influence to build a playing card deck I'm very proud to be a part of. And now, I'm very excited to be presenting it to all of you.


 

43
Playing Card Plethora / Re: New Deck from Uusi?
« on: October 23, 2013, 11:20:39 AM »
Well, shit.

There goes my life savings.

44
A Cellar of Fine Vintages / Re: The Golden Nugget Survey
« on: October 21, 2013, 09:55:58 AM »
Don't think you'll find much luck looking for information here, Fred. Try actual vintage forums. Good luck Fred.

Hi Fred bye Fred.

Regards,
Fred.

45
Playing Card Plethora / Re: The Most Awesome Poker Set in the World (w/custom cards-KS)
« on: October 14, 2013, 10:19:58 PM »
Legacy is the only one i dislike. All of the others are quite appealing in my opinion. I especially like the Generalssimo and Illuminati. Those two would go nicely as a set of black and white.

PS: You kind of screwed a lot of people by shipping only within US. =(

46
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Playing Arts - A Deck of Poker Cards by 54 Top Artists. Kickstarter
« on: October 12, 2013, 09:51:02 AM »
Quote from: ronyo_faukx on October 12, 2013, 09:40:36 AM
Quote from: Fred on October 12, 2013, 09:33:26 AM
The artwork is absolutely stunning, and in my opinion, far superior in quality than of Stanger Danger/DnD's Ultimate deck.

Was going to say 'like the D&D Ultimate Deck', but OK.

I might wait to see what all the cards look like before pledging.

=) Everyone's entitled to their opinion! I personally love the Ultimate deck's tuckbox; there's nothing quite like it. But in terms of artwork, i think the Ultimate deck is more roughly put together.. like basically art dumped onto a deck of playing cards, whereas this one is more synchronised. In other words, i think the art in this deck is integrated and morphed into the deck rather than dumped on, if that makes sense.

I never really got why people wait for the end product on Kickstarter before they pledge. You do realise that you can retract your pledge any time right? (there are a few exceptions but arent really an issue in a project such as this). Personally, if i like something, or if i want to stick around to see updates/improvements, i always pledge first (and to help the creators with a little boost) to reserve my spot. If i don't like what im seeing near the end 2-3 days, i simply cancel my pledge.

Check out their website http://creativecards.cc/ to see their previous deck. I think this should give you a very clear indication on whether or not you'd like this deck (:

47
Playing Card Plethora / Playing Arts - a Deck of Poker Cards by 54 Artists (KS)
« on: October 12, 2013, 09:33:26 AM »
A new deck on Kickstarter organised by Digital Abstracts, featuring the individual artwork of 54 designers all over the world in one single deck!

Description of the kickstarter page:

Quote
From the two of clubs to the ace of diamonds, each of 54 participants has illustrated a single card in their own individual style.

Hi Kickstarter! We are Digital Abstracts – online magazine where we handpick and thoroughly edit our posts to deliver the best in creativity and innovation to the public. Digital Abstracts brings news, current trends, products, professional opinions and interviews, and design insight. We also take our readers behind the scenes with some of the world's best artists and studios.

At the moment we are working on our new project that will bring together the most talented artists in the field of graphic design – the project is called the Playing Arts.

The project

The idea of the project is to create a deck of uniqueplaying poker cards. From the two of clubs to the ace of diamonds, each of 54 participants has illustrated a single card in their own individual style and technique.

The artists

We've invited 54 world's best designers/painters/illustrators from all over the world. David Mack, Conrad Roset, James White, Agnes-cecile, Joshua Davis and Sara Blake are just a handful of the talented artists involved. The full list of invited artists can be found on the project's website http://playingarts.com/cards/

Doesnt look like a USPCC deck! =( The artwork is absolutely stunning, and in my opinion, far superior in terms of artistic quality than of Stanger Danger/DnD's Ultimate deck.

Their previous deck, as shown at http://creativecards.cc/ , is equally beautiful and is still available for $26 USD shipped worldwide!

The pricing for this deck is as follows:

1 deck: $20 shipped worldwide
2 decks: $36 shipped worldwide
3 decks: $51 shipped worldwide.

For the sheer amount of quality art, the prices are definitely justifiable. I also love that for once, i'll be paying relatively the same as you lucky US buggers ;p

Pictures attached below. Credits in order from top to bottom:

Ace of Clubs by Andreas Preis from Germany.
Eight of Spades by Gary Fernández from USA.
Jack of Diamonds by Newfren from Chile.
Nine of Clubs by Chuck Anderson from USA.
Eight of Hearts by Raul Urias from Mexico.

48
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Seasons V1 & V2 - What's the Diff?
« on: October 10, 2013, 12:45:12 PM »
Don, i would appreciate you removing the previous few posts so that i could have more room to post on the 1st page of my thread (: Cheers.

49
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Oracle - Mystifying Playing Cards by Chris Ovdiyenko
« on: October 10, 2013, 08:33:51 AM »
I never said or implied that they were Government owned. Increase in rates do not equal greater profit for the company. The rate increases are basically mandatory, to keep up with yearly inflation and thus maintain the real income of its employees/revenue of the company, thus the Government wont have to increase its subsidised amount on the basis of inflation. I did IB Economics in High school and am doing a double degree in Law and Commerce in University so i would know (:

Lets get back on topic.

Observation: This deck is a very subtle one way back.

Suggestion: Chris, i would highly suggest making the pips pop a little more. They blend a bit too much into the background and thus loses some of its visibility/practicability. Perhaps maintain the small pip under the number card and fatten the border on the larger pip? Alternatively, you could keep the 'bright' red pip border but darken the inside to a blood red or increase the width of the individual lines inside the pip. 

50
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Oracle - Mystifying Playing Cards by Chris Ovdiyenko
« on: October 10, 2013, 08:03:43 AM »
Correct me if i'm wrong Don, and i'm saying this with no prior research or knowledge. But i am almost certain such sectors are heavily subsidised by the Government.

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