I was really, really hoping this was some kind of April Fool's joke, but I can't believe this is for real! I don't even know what to think of this, but this sounds like such a downgrade, if you ask me. I know a lot of people have been saying USPC's cards have been going down in quality ever since they moved to Erlanger . . . this seems like they would be going down in quality even more since Cartamundi's stuff tends to be really cheap . . . even their US cards have rather flimsy stock that wear out quickly.

I'm just . . . disappointed in this news.

I've added a few new additions to my arsenal since my previous posts (of which I see I'll have to modify, now that Photobucket has screwed everybody over):





But, since I already went into detail about the bulk of my decks in previous posts, I'm just going to concentrate on my newer additions:



Now, when I started buying playing cards, USPC had already changed Bicycle Rider Back to Standard, so when I found Rider Back decks in a grocery store, I wasn't sure if these were the real-deal - like backstock that hadn't been sold yet, or possibly fakes, since I know Bikes (and Bees) are victims of counterfeiters. Nevertheless, I figured I'd grab them anyway, but never intended on opening the seals. After some inquiring, Don was able to identify these as not Bike's standard 808 deck, but rather their 807 deck made specifically for magicians who prefered the classic box design. Still don't think I'll open them, though.

The Maverick decks I was advised against by a few on this forum for their low quality (especially since USPC moved to Kentucky), but I suppose I was a glutton for punishment, and since Walmart had them at the dirt cheap price of 88 cents each, I figured I could afford to throw money away over that. So, I have to say that IMHO, these Maverick decks are really not too different from the Streamline deck I have in terms of quality and handling . . . but I think I'd venture to say that I think the Maverick decks are actually better than the Streamline deck, if only by design: the Hoyle royalty is certainly a lot more pleasant to look at than Streamline's eye-sore royalty, but that's just me.

This SEINFELD Festivus deck was a gift I had gotten for my birthday this year, because I'm a SEINFELD fan and am apparently a playing card collector now, lol. The deck is cool and all, and I like the royalty design, but I'm not sure this is an officially licensed product: it's by a Canadian company called Aquarius, and the deck is made in China; the cards themselves have a very thin and flimsy stock that you can actually see through, but have the dimpled finish you've come to expert from Bikes and Bees; and while the overall artwork is nice, the use of characters look like low-quality JPEGs that were simply Photoshopped in (especially very telling with the shot of Frank Costanza on the front of the box, and the backs of the cards). Because of their flimsiness, I'm not sure I would use this deck for any kind of gameplay, but like with my Limited Edition Ace deck, I'd say this is pretty nice for looks.

The Bicycle Stargazer deck I just recently picked up, and it's beautiful: the artwork is amazing, the dark-colored cards with the lit royalty is a nice contrast, and the handling is great - they spread and fan perhaps the best out of all the decks I have. Definitely worth the purchase!

I notice one of my Bicycle decks has been warping on me lately for no apparent reason: whatever card happens to be on top of the deck apparently just warp overnight, and I've never experienced anything like this before with any deck of cards (not even older Bikes). It's not that old a deck  either, just got it a couple of years ago - I find it odd too, considering USPC explained when John Ratzenberger visited how they always make sure the stock doesn't warp.

Remember when I said a few posts back that I saw that the Ingle's store I was at had some Rider Back decks among the Standard? Well, I was there again today, grabbed two of these Rider Back decks, and want to see if anyone here can figure out if these are fo real or if they're fake:

I would think they're real because the boxes have gold accents, the black USPC seal, and have Made in U.S.A. . . . But they're dated 2014 and have the Erlanger address on them . . . which I find odd, because didn't Bikes adopt the new Standard box design since the move to Erlanger? You guys be the judge:

And for the record, I've no intentions of actually opening or using these decks, I got them strictly for the old-school Rider Back boxes.

I can follow-up on my previous spotting record, I was shopping at an Ingle's location today, and here's what I can confirm as far as brands they sell:

Pretty much their selection is the same as Kroger's selection - Bicycle, Aviator, and the specialty decks like The Dog, Coca-Cola, even Jack Daniels. They also still have Cartamundi's Eagle deck ironically alongside them. Unlike other places (excluding Walmart), their Bikes are sold in individual decks, or in the two-deck red and blue pack like Walmart has . . . but, oddly, they also had old Rider Back decks . . . not sure if they've had them for so long that they're backstock, or if perhaps they're fakes, I don't know, I didn't check the boxes to see.

So, to basically sum up one of the points I brought up in this thread initially, it would seem that Aviator does now, indeed, have a much wider availablity beyond airports and bookstores now if all of the major regional grocery store chains in my area have them. I just still find it a little odd, however, that given that it's essentially USPC's number two brand, that Bee is hard to come by.

Oh, and, heh, Walmart is now carrying Maverick decks, and if I thought the imported Streamline decks at Food City at a little over a dollar was dirt cheap, Mavericks at Walmart are even dirtier cheaper at only 88 cents. 

A visit to Cartamundi's factory in Belgium:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDO9oAi6b7M

The video is dated, otherwise they're clearly not quite up to par if they have to print both sides separately, and cut off the corners after they cards have been cut (which may also explain why their rounded corners aren't always perfectly even).

I know my collection (if you can call it that) is probably not as impressive as what most people here have, but then again, I'm just not as much of a collector as I was when I was younger.

But, at any rate, as I previously mentioned, the first time I bought a deck of cards was about eight years ago, and I just needed a deck for a party - I was already at Party City getting supplies, and a dollar store was right next door, so I grabbed a deck of Classic by Cartamundi. A year later, I misplaced the deck, so I decided to grab a pair of Bicycle decks at Walmart, and it was then I realized what real playing cards are like. Even more years after that, I found Bee decks after only seeing them in older shows and movies, and I liked them even more (the way they appear on film doesn't do the cards justice). Since then, I'll grab a deck if it peaks my interest, and now, here's what I have:




So, here's my personal rundown of the decks I have:

Least Favorites:
Overall Deck
Streamline. I know Don said some nice things about them recently in another thread, but I clearly got the short end of the stick with this Chinese-made, Canadian imported deck: they plastic coating is terrible (and smelly), the handling is poor, and the design is just wonky.

Design
At the risk of running it into the ground . . . once again, Streamline. The pips look like they belong on cheap, off-brand decks; the face cards look stoned and are poorly printed; the back design is so-so, but I do like the shade of blue. Aviator to a lesser extent for its back design - it's plain (no pun intended) and simple, but it's not horrible.

Ace of Spades
That distinction also goes to Streamline: it's just too bland and plain.

Handling
Classic and Streamline tie because they're plastic decks, which I don't particularly care for in comparison to paper decks: they don't really fan, spread, or shuffle well at all. Less pressing for my Limited Edition Ace and Hoyle decks, mainly because their stocks are so thin and flimsy, they clearly won't hold up in the long run.

Most Favorites:
Handling
Aviator. Even though it doesn't have that nice air-pocketed finish like Bicycle's Air Cushion or Bee's Cambric, the smooth and slick finish it does have makes it excellent for handling: fans, faros, spreads, and shuffles great.

Ace of Spades
Bee. I always love an AoS where the design takes up almost the entire card, and when the design is also very distinct and eye-catching, and Bee's AoS meets both of those criteria.

Design
For back design, Limited Edition Ace: the two-color back design just pops, and I also like biplanes, so that catches me as well (I will say the face design is better than other Cartamundi decks). For face design, just USPC Standard in general. I have a special place in my heart for Bicycle's standard Rider Back.

Overall Deck
Bee. When it comes to regular use, Bee is definitely the way to go - the sturdy stock and air-pocketed finish makes for durable playable playing cards, and the diamond back design is a nice change of pace from your typical bordered designs.

Actually, I think I have a theory as to why I'm suddenly seeing more brands at grocery stores as of late: because they're selling wine now. Typically, it was fairly common to find Bicycle decks in a grocery store usually at the check-out lines, or dangling from a shelf down whatever aisle had chips and/or liter bottles of soft drinks - but now that stores are allowed to sell wine, there's usually an end-cap display case full of USPC brands of cards (and occasionally, so others as well) at the wine aisle, I've come to notice.

Now, to answer your question specifically, here's what I can give you as far as a break-down of the brands:
* Bicycle - They're everywhere. Number one product, so it makes sense. Now, while I usually just see Standard Size/Face in most stores, one regional chain down here called Food City carries additional decks, such as Jumbo Index, Pinochle decks, and Bridge-sized decks. I'll also occasionally see a special deck, such as a pink breast cancer deck. Walmart almost always has the Shark decks
* Bee - Surprisingly, for this to be USPC's other top brand, I only see these at Food City (it's where I got mine), I never see them anywhere else. I also see them in Jumbo Index.
* Hoyle - I used to see these almost exclusively at book stores like Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble, but another one of our regional chains, Kroger (despite being headquartered in Ohio, is a mostly southern chain) has been carrying the traditional Shellback decks - usually in a two-pack of red and blue (as Bicycle often comes in), but as of late, Kroger has also been carrying plastic Hoyles as well, including the clear ones. Interestingly, one time, I saw a Jumbo Index Hoyle deck at Hobby Lobby, of all places.
* Aviator - Like Hoyle, I used to generally only see these at the book stores, but as of this summer, I began noticing them alongside Bicycle and Bee at most Food City locations; now, they're also popping up at Kroger alongside Bicycle and Hoyle as well.
* Streamline - Food City's the only place I've seen these, and as I mentioned in another thread, they appear to be (at least the deck I purchased anyway) Canadian decks imported from China . . . how they ended up down here in Tennessee is beyond me. They don't see to sell well though, there's usually very few of them in the case, and they're usually always dirt cheap (like a dollar or so) compared to the usually higher Bicycle or Bee decks. Even Aviator decks are selling for like two dollars. So yeah, I can see what you mean about them being a "discount" deck. Of the few decks that I own, it's perhaps my least favorite.
* Maverick - I can confirm they are down here in the south, but I can also tell you that they're not very common either. The only place I've seen them in any kind of regularity is Big Lots, usually in their own miniature cardboard case hanging at the end of a toy aisle). I think I may have also seen them in a Family Dollar at one point, but I can't say for sure, I rarely, if ever, shop at any dollar store other than Dollar General, where they at least have brand-name products. I don't own a Maverick deck, but I have noticed the consensus among most enthusiasts out there is that it was an okay/decent deck until USPC moved to Erlanger, and they've apparently gone straight downhill since. Guess I'm not missing anything.
* Tally Ho - I can also confirm this must be a regional deck, because I've never seen a Tally Ho deck first hand in any store anywhere. I generally hear good things about the deck, though.
* KEM - Never see them.
* As for those novelty decks that you mentioned (Coca-Cola, America, The Dog, etc.) Yup. All at Kroger.
* Congress I've actually never heard of before.  But, based on the information you've given, I guess I could see why (same with KEM).

I should also mention that Food City, in addition to carrying the certain aforementioned deck brands, also carry Bicycle accessories, such as dice, and plastic poker chips.

Interestingly enough, I've noticed that Cartamundi brands are starting to branch out beyond the dollar store chains. Both their Classic and standard Ace brands are being sold alongside the USPC brands at Kroger now, which is really odd - the Classics are sold individually, but the Ace decks are sold in a pack that comes with both red and blue, as well as dice. As I said previously, Classic had pretty much disappeared from dollar stores in favor of standard Ace for a while, but both are being sold again; dollar stores also have Limited Edition Ace decks, but not like the ones we discussed in another thread - dollar store Limited Edition Aces are usually either purple or green. Eagle seems to be exclusive to another regional chain called Ingle's - and likewise, they too are sold ironically alongside Bicycle at check-out. Then again, I haven't shopped at an Ingle's location in a long time (they're not as progressive as other grocery store chains that have long since adopted the whole "super center" layout, but that's not necessarily a bad thing), so I don't know if they've started carrying other brands - if I ever find myself at an Ingle's, I may check for curiosity sake.

So, in short - as far as USPC brands go, Bicycle (and its novelties), Bee, and Streamline remain common; Hoyle and Aviator are becoming more widespread; Maverick is dwindling; the others are virtually nonexistent in these parts. Meanwhile, Cartamundi brands like Classic and Ace are also becoming more widespread.

Must be special order then, as I said, they're popping up more and more just in regular grocery stores now alongside Bicycle, and whatever other brands that are carried, which depends on the store itself.

I see Aviator brand cards are becoming more widespread and easier to find, as opposed to just exclusively a bookstores, so although Aviator may be growing in popularity, I still feel that it could be more eye-catching hanging from the racks among other playing cards - the box design, in my opinion, could certainly use an update and a little modernization, so I got to playing around in Fireworks, and this is what I came up with what I think would be a better box design for Aviator (keep in mind, this isn't anything serious, just something I piddled around with). The back of the box description was paraphrased from Bicycle's website, since Aviator already lacks any kind of description on their boxes other than "Poker Size Playing Cards." And this is really, really rough, so I apologize for the lackluster quality.

I mean these cards have a stock that is even thinner and flimsier than Bicycle's stock since moving their factory to Kentucky . . . not really sure how Cartamundi believes that's "maximum durability." The box doesn't note any kind of finish, but it's rougher and more coarse than Bee's finish. The cards themselves are like almost the entire opposite of what Cartamundi says on the box.

Just picked up a Hoyle deck and was actually surprised that the stock is virtually the same as the Ace deck I got: thin, flimsy, not durable, with a coarse finish - despite saying "plastic coated" on the box. I expected more from a USPC deck.

I found this video on YouTube - not sure if this has been shared here already or not, if so, disregard this thread.

But anyway, here's a brief little visit to the USPCC's headquarters when it was in Cincinnati, as hosted by actor John Ratzenberger; we're treated to a very brief oral and visual history of the company and playing cards from the company's CEO, a look at how decks are manufactured, and John even indulges in a little friendly game of poker:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlVSyhg8g3s