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Playing Card Chat ♠ ♥ ♣ ♦ => Playing Card Plethora => Topic started by: WKalush on February 25, 2014, 10:57:32 PM
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Hi Guys,
I hope this is the correct place to post this because I want to give the users of The Discourse a heads up on a little promotion we are offering at 1pm tomorrow.
Conjuring Arts will offer a Luxury variety box of 12 great, pristine unopened decks that will include a deck of Jerry's Nugget!
In addition to this each buyer can choose one of 3 versions of the variety box. The difference is that each version contains a Pre-Release deck that hasn't been sold or even announced before today!
The three choices of pre-release decks are Version:
A ) Smith No. 3 by The Expert Playing Card Co. This is our latest and final installment of our Erdnase 1902 series. This deck has the Smith hands pattern (by Guy Hollingworth) with two casino style ovals that have M.D. Smith's signature on them. This signature was taken from a copy of Erdnase we have in our library. The Ace of spades has a rendering of Mr. Smith's face (like Willis Russel used to do) and the tuck has a die cut hole so you can see Mr. Smith while the deck is closed. These decks won't be released for at least another Month.
B) Owl Eyes by George Hage. This is a deck that we have an exclusive U.S. supply of (but not yet here, won't actually release until April) produced by our friend, cardman George Hage. It's available in 3 colors and these will be randomly chosen for each buyer of version B.
C) Sharps by Lawrence Sullivan. This great deck won't actually ever be released for sale in this form. Lawrence produced them to show off a new paper that will soon be available from Legends Playing Card Company and also from The Expert Playing Card Company. Getting variety box C might be your only chance to get a Sharps deck. It's available in 3 colors and these will be randomly chosen for each buyer of version C.
In addition to the Jerry's and a pre-release deck each brick contains:
Shooting Star (1980s casino, rare!)
Special Edition "Black Box" Skull & Bones (never sold)
Bicycle Tall Stacks (rare!)
Erdnase 1902 Red Acorn
Erdnase 1902 Green Acorn
Erdnase 1902 Blue Smith No. 2
Erdnase 1902 Red Smith
Erdnaseum
Global Titan
Pr1me No1r
We have chosen to sell the boxes at $399 which we think, although expensive, is a great value and will allow new collectors to start out with some really great and rare decks.
bk
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And how many of these will actually be available? And 1pm eastern?
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My wife is gonna kill me for this..... :mindf-ck: :mindf-ck: :mindf-ck:
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And how many of these will actually be available? And 1pm eastern?
Great questions and sorry I didn't answer them in the first place.
There will only be 12 of each version available.
The offer starts at 1pm Eastern time.
bk
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And how many of these will actually be available? And 1pm eastern?
Great questions and sorry I didn't answer them in the first place.
There will only be 12 of each version available.
The offer starts at 1pm Eastern time.
bk
So 36 Variety Boxes in total, correct?
Darn, I wish I had the cash to buy these.
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How can a thing be so gorgeous and so terrible at the same time????? :(
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So many opportunities so little money....damn priorities,lol. Great opportunity if you have the cash, nice offer Mr. Kalush 8)
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ONE JN would not be enough for me. I would need at least two of each color and would obviously pay more. A nice deal for those that want ONE.
Looking forward to seeing the Smith No. 3.
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Can't quite afford it at this time, but I would love every deck in this box, curious to see what the "Sharp" deck looks like. Any pictures?
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Can't afford the whole box but I would love to get my hands on Owl Eyes (all colors). I have both Altruism decks.
A little off topic, but I have an affinity for owls. For the past 4 years, the same great horned owl comes to lay eggs outside my office window at work. She usually lays eggs around Presidents' Day. We're currently waiting for our little owlets to hatch. Some pics from the first year that owl decided to nest outside my office:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15542444@N04/sets/72157626805993466/
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Just got a big fat yearly bonus today but probably will not pick this box up. I already have 8 of the 12 decks offered, so will probably stay away
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Can't afford the whole box but I would love to get my hands on Owl Eyes (all colors). I have both Altruism decks.
A little off topic, but I have an affinity for owls. For the past 4 years, the same great horned owl comes to lay eggs outside my office window at work. She usually lays eggs around Presidents' Day. We're currently waiting for our little owlets to hatch. Some pics from the first year that owl decided to nest outside my office:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15542444@N04/sets/72157626805993466/
Thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed those photos.
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How lucky are you to have been able to watch this drama unfolding! I envy you as any owl sighting is rare especially during the day time and you could watch them everyday.
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Can't afford the whole box but I would love to get my hands on Owl Eyes (all colors). I have both Altruism decks.
A little off topic, but I have an affinity for owls. For the past 4 years, the same great horned owl comes to lay eggs outside my office window at work. She usually lays eggs around Presidents' Day. We're currently waiting for our little owlets to hatch. Some pics from the first year that owl decided to nest outside my office:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15542444@N04/sets/72157626805993466/
Very cool!! Thanks for sharing that.
We will offer the three colors of Owl Eyes for sale in limited quantities, and this will most likely happen in April. They are on an interesting, more embossed and somewhat thicker stock than Exquisite.
bk
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We will offer the three colors of Owl Eyes for sale in limited quantities, and this will most likely happen in April.
Any chance there'll be a similar deal for the Sharps?
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We will offer the three colors of Owl Eyes for sale in limited quantities, and this will most likely happen in April.
Any chance there'll be a similar deal for the Sharps?
+1
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24 hours after the release, only the Variety Box version C is sold out.
The others are still available.
(for future reference only)
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We will offer the three colors of Owl Eyes for sale in limited quantities, and this will most likely happen in April.
Any chance there'll be a similar deal for the Sharps?
+1
Make that +2 brother.
I was at work when the e-mail from conjuring arts got sent out, and so I only got to check it out a few hours later... and the Variety box featuring the sharps was already sold out!!
I like the look of the Sharps deck very much like the White Lions deck. A borderless version of that design would probably end up being one of my favourites!
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Yeah I think most really want the Sharps since it seems the other 2 decks will be available soon, I went for it myself.
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We will offer the three colors of Owl Eyes for sale in limited quantities, and this will most likely happen in April. They are on an interesting, more embossed and somewhat thicker stock than Exquisite.
Great news, Bill, thanks! Set aside a mixed brick (4 of each color) for me. :)
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So my variety box came in the mail today. The box is gorgeous. Triple-packaged and looks to be in perfect condition, as with all of CARC's orders are. I've ordered from them 5+ times in the last couple of months and I've always been very happy with the speed and condition of their shipped product. However...
my stomach dropped when I saw this. The main appeal of this box for me was the JN's. Call me a sucker for buying into the hype but I've always wanted to own one and now I finally do. However, I can't claim at all that this deck is in mint condition :/ Do I have a leg to stand on here? Can I possibly get a replacement? These pictures were taken literally 30 seconds after I opened the box.
edit: every other deck is in perfect condition. If this had happened to any of the other decks I would have just chalked it up to "one of those things", but I can't help but be bitter about this.
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Holy crap! My JN's were the exact same condition! I opened my box and my JN's are split in the exact same place!! Argh. I emailed them immediately, only because I couldn't break away from work to call them before they closed.
i feel the same way. Majorly disappointed and very unhappy.
All my other decks were also in perfect condition.
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Glad I'm not alone. I wonder how this could have happened.
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It seems it def happened the same way as they are "damaged" in the same way at the same spot. I would hope they would replace these decks.
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Just received my Variety Box with the Black Owl Eyes deck. I was fortunate that my Jerry's arrived intact, but there was one peculiar thing about them... there appears to be two seals on the deck. Is this something that has been seen on Jerry's before? I searched the forum and online and didn't come up with anything.
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Just received my Variety Box with the Black Owl Eyes deck. I was fortunate that my Jerry's arrived intact, but there was one peculiar thing about them... there appears to be two seals on the deck. Is this something that has been seen on Jerry's before? I searched the forum and online and didn't come up with anything.
I'm not sure about Jerry's Nugget, but I've seen it before on more recent decks. I think since those seals are done by machines, there could be a goof up and a deal has another seal applied over the 1st seal by accident. I'm curious as to whether they ups the value or the deck or not? Either way, it's a pretty thing to get.
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Glad I'm not alone. I wonder how this could have happened.
It's due to the age of the decks and the nature of cellophane. The decks were kept in storage for a number of years by the casino, likely not under climate-controlled conditions, before they started offering them in the casino gift shop. The cellophane shrinks with age and the heat, causing it to either split open or crush the box a bit - or both. It's VERY common to find an unopened, still-sealed deck in this condition.
Something similar happened with Ellusionist when they started offering Bicycle Black Ghost, 1st Edition. The cellophane shrank to the point of tearing off in a relatively short time on most of their supply, forcing them to go and reseal the decks in a non-standard shrink-wrap machine before distribution. I can't even recall ever seeing one that wasn't shrink-wrapped, except perhaps one of the first decks in its original metal frame offered on eBay, but even in that case, the deck itself wasn't very visible while encased in all that metal - those frames were THICK, like, I-don't-want-to-drop-that-thing-on-my-foot thick.
It seems it def happened the same way as they are "damaged" in the same way at the same spot. I would hope they would replace these decks.
As I often say, "It couldn't hurt to ask." In fact, Bill will probably see these comments at some point this weekend and weigh in.
Just received my Variety Box with the Black Owl Eyes deck. I was fortunate that my Jerry's arrived intact, but there was one peculiar thing about them... there appears to be two seals on the deck. Is this something that has been seen on Jerry's before? I searched the forum and online and didn't come up with anything.
I'm not sure about Jerry's Nugget, but I've seen it before on more recent decks. I think since those seals are done by machines, there could be a goof up and a deal has another seal applied over the 1st seal by accident. I'm curious as to whether they ups the value or the deck or not? Either way, it's a pretty thing to get.
It's likely just a machine error when the deck was being boxed. There are some collectors who will pay a premium for decks with manufacturing defects such as this. I personally don't see the extra worth, but they consider it to be a more rare item among rare items.
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So my variety box came in the mail today. The box is gorgeous. Triple-packaged and looks to be in perfect condition, as with all of CARC's orders are. I've ordered from them 5+ times in the last couple of months and I've always been very happy with the speed and condition of their shipped product. However...
my stomach dropped when I saw this. The main appeal of this box for me was the JN's. Call me a sucker for buying into the hype but I've always wanted to own one and now I finally do. However, I can't claim at all that this deck is in mint condition :/ Do I have a leg to stand on here? Can I possibly get a replacement? These pictures were taken literally 30 seconds after I opened the box.
edit: every other deck is in perfect condition. If this had happened to any of the other decks I would have just chalked it up to "one of those things", but I can't help but be bitter about this.
I just saw this because I'm traveling a bit this week.
Sorry about the trouble but don't worry, we'll fix it.
We definitely selected and shipped decks with pristine cellophane but I was afraid this might happen in transit.
They often seem to break at the same point due to how the cello was applied in the first place.
As with everything we sell at CA we will completely stand behind these decks. Everyone who has received a deck with broken cellophane can return it (insured and packed well) and we will replace it with another deck of the same color with pristine cellophane.
It's tricky because this 40 year old cellophane breaks extremely easily and even bubble wrapping etc. is a bit risky.
Bottom line is, don't worry, we have your back and will make it right for everyone with any trouble.
bk
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Bill,
I really appreciate you posting here. I'd really hoped you'd say something like what you did. I guess I will hear back from the email I sent to Customer Service next week with instructions to return.
With sincere thanks,
James.
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^ ditto. I sent an email too but I really appreciate the personal response here.
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Just received my Variety Box with the Black Owl Eyes deck. I was fortunate that my Jerry's arrived intact, but there was one peculiar thing about them... there appears to be two seals on the deck. Is this something that has been seen on Jerry's before? I searched the forum and online and didn't come up with anything.
I don't believe a double seal makes your deck worth more but I don't think in this case it devalues your deck either. As I mentioned on the D&D variety thread, most "machine" errors with value are due to being government issued currency. The government destroys most error currency before it ever gets into circulation. This makes any currency with errors a rarity. I don't know what USPCC's policy is on destroying random decks with errors, especially 40 years ago. Most collectors of Non-Currency want items in un-flawed condition as much as possible. There are the rare "human" errors on Non-currency that fetch big money. The rare stamp with an upside down airplane, a first edition book with the authors name misspelled. etc...
I think the people to ask about more double seals being in existence would be Lee Asher, Bill or D&D. Those that have seen or possessed more then a few dozen JN's.
Speaking of "human" errors. Off topic... One from my childhood.
Anyone who used to buy baseball cards remember this classic error? lol
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I think the people to ask about more double seals being in existence would be Lee Asher, Bill or D&D. Those that have seen or possessed more then a few dozen JN's.
That's not even necessary. If you do enough digging on eBay and around here, you'll find enough cases where a manufacturing error increased the perceived value of a deck and that deck was sold at a premium compared to the standard, "perfect" version. It's not about what an expert collector thinks that determines a deck's value, it's about what all collectors even vaguely interested in owning a deck think that determines value.
The thing that makes such decks valuable is their rarity. An accidental double stamp sealing a deck is not much different from an accidental double-struck coin from the US Mint - it's an accident that occurred which made that double-stamped deck more rare than the others with only one stamp. Something like accidental DAMAGE, on the other hand, is NOT considered valuable in any way by anyone - like a box of cards that fell off the table and has a dented corner.
Personally, I think it's a bit silly, but anything's value is what people are willing to pay for it, and people are willing to pay a premium for decks with manufacturing errors despite the "Q1" quality control employed by USPC for most custom deck designers today.
Another thing to bear in mind - if the error is COMMON, like the smeared ink on the original Fontaine decks' boxes, affecting almost the entire print run, then there's no additional value attached - it's not a rarity, not unique in any way. If a few decks survived the print run without getting smeared, THOSE would be the valuable exceptions.
Here's another way of looking at a similar circumstance without having to compare it to "government made" errors in postage stamps or currency - Three examples from the universe of "Star Wars" memorabilia.
1) When Kenner first started making the action figures, they released a "Jawa" figure that had a cheap-looking vinyl cape on its back with armholes to keep it in place. Shortly into the production run, a decision was made to replace the cape with a sewn-fabric cloak to give then an appearance closer to what they looked like in the film. That Jawa figure with the cheesy vinyl cape, mint in package, now sells in the four figures and many attempts have been made to counterfeit it.
2) During the TV show "The Star Wars Holiday Special", broadcast between Episodes 4 and 5, an animated short was shown with a new character, a bounty hunter now known as "Boba Fett". Around the same time, Kenner held a promotion where you mailed in the proofs of purchase from I think six action figures and you would get a Boba Fett figure in the mail. The original design called for the rocket pack on his back to be equipped with a grenade launcher - in this case, a spring-loaded mechanism for firing a little red missile and launching it across the room. But between the time the offer began and the first shipments were being made, a competing franchise, "Battlestar Galactica", had fighter ships that had pretty much the same firing mechanism - and at least one case of a kid firing the missile down his throat and nearly choking from it was reported. The missile-firing version of Boba Fett never made it out of the prototype stage - the missile was now permanently attached to the jet pack and the spring launcher was removed and replaced with extra plastic to keep the missile from being removed. It has to be one of the most counterfeited pieces of Star Wars memorabilia, but prototypes are worth princely sums each. They were unpainted, never placed in retail packaging and it's estimated that only perhaps a half-dozen genuine figures exist.
3) Topps licensed the rights to manufacture "movie cards" for the Star Wars franchise back in the '70s. They were sold much the same way that sports cards of the period were sold - wrapped in a waxed paper with a handful of randomly-chosen cards and a stick of cheap but tasty bubble gum dusted in starch to keep it from being sticky and adhering to the cards or the wrapper. It's hard to find unopened examples of these packs because time is not very kind to bubble gum that's not sealed airtight! The first Star Wars film generated five series of these collectible cards, each with 72 cards depicting movie scenes and promotional stills, and some were packaged with a sticker in the shape of a letter with a Star Wars character depicted in the letter - the idea was that kids would use the stickers to customize their notebooks, bicycles, bedroom, wherever. I can't recall which series it was, but there was one instance where a card had to be replaced. It depicted See-Threepio walking down a dim staircase into the Lars homestead - but because of the lighting and actor Anthony Daniels' position, it looks like there's a shiny golden phallus protruding from the droid's codpiece! The replacement card is of the same scene, but taken either a few frames before or after that pose, where the lighting didn't create such an effect. I don't know how many "phallus pose" cards were made, but they do catch a slight premium over the replacement card in the after-market.
I'm coming back from my tangent now, but my point is that yes, such rarities exist in the collecting world, and not just those who collect coins, bills and stamps. The people who collect such items do actually put a premium on things made in error, particularly if they're scarce.
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Just received my Variety Box with the Black Owl Eyes deck. I was fortunate that my Jerry's arrived intact, but there was one peculiar thing about them... there appears to be two seals on the deck. Is this something that has been seen on Jerry's before? I searched the forum and online and didn't come up with anything.
I don't believe a double seal makes your deck worth more but I don't think in this case it devalues your deck either. As I mentioned on the D&D variety thread, most "machine" errors with value are due to being government issued currency. The government destroys most error currency before it ever gets into circulation. This makes any currency with errors a rarity. I don't know what USPCC's policy is on destroying random decks with errors, especially 40 years ago. Most collectors of Non-Currency want items in un-flawed condition as much as possible. There are the rare "human" errors on Non-currency that fetch big money. The rare stamp with an upside down airplane, a first edition book with the authors name misspelled. etc...
I think the people to ask about more double seals being in existence would be Lee Asher, Bill or D&D. Those that have seen or possessed more then a few dozen JN's.
Speaking of "human" errors. Off topic... One from my childhood.
Anyone who used to buy baseball cards remember this classic error? lol
I do remember that card, I also remember the outrageous prices some were paying for it ???
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@ Don Boyer:
I saw your post a few days ago. It's been crazy busy for me this week. I'm just now getting the opportunity to respond.
That's not even necessary. If you do enough digging on eBay and around here, you'll find enough cases where a manufacturing error increased the perceived value of a deck and that deck was sold at a premium compared to the standard, "perfect" version. It's not about what an expert collector thinks that determines a deck's value, it's about what all collectors even vaguely interested in owning a deck think that determines value.
"generally speaking", yes I've seen cases on eBay where people are "asking" more for an error. In some cases they do get those price's. There are many more who don't get their price. As I mentioned before, much of the errors I see of value are "human errors". (Example: a person placing a printing plate upside down. An editor missing a crucial misspell in a first edition book. An original star wars action figure with the wrong package backing.) Its not often "other then" government currency that I've seen a "machine error" actually get premium price. People might ask but as you know, asking and getting are two different things.
In terms of the list of gentlemen I suggested asking about more known errors, I was being more specific with regard to JN's. We need not bother those gentlemen about other decks. We can all attest to the many errors we have seen in person or on the internet.
I do agree with you, Its NOT what an expert collector thinks the value of something is. It only takes one collector to pay the premium asking price. I do have a very good understanding of quality and uniqueness of items. In my opinion, an expert is someone that can appraise item's that are NOT normally seen on eBay. Extremely Rare. JN's are a common thing on eBay.
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@ Don Boyer:
I saw your post a few days ago. It's been crazy busy for me this week. I'm just now getting the opportunity to respond.
Thanks for the reply - I get the feeling that in general, we're actually on the same page.
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Our baby owls have hatched! Introducing Bluebonnet and Clyde.
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7404/13427010433_6be5dc5dcd_b.jpg)
Bluebonnet is on the right and Clyde is on the left. They hatched yesterday afternoon. Notice in the back left corner are some rabbit parts, which are Jake's snacks (Jake is the mama that we named before we knew she was female).
More pictures of this year's owls are here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/15542444@N04/sets/72157641585150714/
Bill, let me know when the Owl Eyes are available. Can't wait to get some of those decks!