charity: water deck, THEORY 11

[Joshua Robinson]

You can make a difference. You can save a life. You can change the world.
charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. Over the past five years, charity: water has raised $50 million and funded 4,282 water projects.
Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. 30,000 people die every week from unsafe water, and 90% of those deaths are under the age of five. With your support, we can make a difference.
100% of the proceeds from each deck purchased at theory11 will go directly to charity: water. Join us. Support charity: water.
These funds will be used to further develop and grow their organization, providing essential support for their operations worldwide. charity: water has already provided water to over 2,000,000 people in 19 countries. On average, each well built costs $5,000 and serves a community of up to 250 people.
Produced by theory11 and manufactured by The United States Playing Card Company, these are playing cards for a cause. You’re not just purchasing a deck, you’re providing a solution to those in need. You’re leading the way to help end the water crisis.
With your support, we can make a difference. Please join theory11 in this project and spread the word to your friends and family.
Designed by charity: water in collaboration with theory11, these playing cards are produced using paper made from hydroelectric power and renewable energy sources. In stock for immediate shipping.

[xela]

In the future, please initiate a discussion rather than just posting the candy text from T11's site.

[Curt]

Here is the original thread were some conversations started about this deck. Feel free to carry them on here.

http://aethercards.com/discourse/index.php?topic=1111.0

[Evan]

A couple questions.
Why is it $10 per deck? What makes this deck more expensive than any other deck?

[john]

A couple questions.
Why is it $10 per deck? What makes this deck more expensive than any other deck?

The proceeds go to charity.

[Joshua Robinson]

sorry, i couldn't find a post about it, so i posted it, and sorry alex, ill try not to next time

[Kanped]

If I wanted to donate to charity, I would.  If I want to spend $10 on cards, I'd do that, too.  The proceeds going to charity is never an incentive to buy anything; it doesn't make any sense to promote it as such (unless you're trying to say 'Look how kind we are, everybody!  LOVE US!').  It's an OK deck.  It's not a $10 deck.

[moonexe]

If I wanted to donate to charity, I would.  If I want to spend $10 on cards, I'd do that, too.  The proceeds going to charity is never an incentive to buy anything; it doesn't make any sense to promote it as such (unless you're trying to say 'Look how kind we are, everybody!  LOVE US!').  It's an OK deck.  It's not a $10 deck.

It's a way to ENCOURAGE YOU to donate. Of course it doesn't make it any better, but it certainly is more effective.  Would you rather have a link to donate $10 with no reward? Of course the more generous of us would do it, but certainly a lot less. And what does a charity organization need? Money. Not just good thoughts.
It's not a $10 deck? Of course not, it's a CHARITY deck.
And whether or not T11's intentions are good, what difference does it make? You're giving your money for charity, not for them.

[lordlupus]

I seconded Moon's point. I see this as me donating $10 to charity and getting a deck free for my contribution.
 
I never donate in amount like $5.95 anyway, so $10 is a nice figure 
 
Though saying that I did use the T11 discount code, so technically I am donating $8.50 
 
In that case, T11 will need to sell 590 charity decks to build one well ($5,000) instead of 500.
 
Free decks for me, water for the needys. What's there to not like?
 
(apart from the international shipping cost... booooo)

[Kanped]

I maintain that if you think the deck is worth $10, you should buy it.  If not, don't.  Donating is a separate issue.  You are still paying for a product; I would say that if you consider the deck something free with a donation then you're buying i for the wrong reasons.  That's how I look at it, anyway.

[MrLukeCarroll]

Seeing as here in Australia the retail for Standards Bikes in $10 (I get mine shipped from the US for $4 each the cheapest I've found) This decks price is much more appealing to me and especially with my proceeds going to charity I'll probably pick one of these up soon

[moonexe]

I would say that if you consider the deck something free with a donation then you're buying i for the wrong reasons.  That's how I look at it, anyway.

There's nothing more to it. T11 makes no profit out of those decks, so it really is just receiving a free deck for your donation. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't change the fact that T11 doesn't keep the profit, so you're not technically buying anything from them. At all.
And what would be a better reason, then? Is it wrong of us to be in it for charity before the material possession? Do you consider it wrong to contribute to a good cause? Nobody's forcing anyone.

[lordlupus]

I maintain that if you think the deck is worth $10, you should buy it.  If not, don't.  Donating is a separate issue.  You are still paying for a product; I would say that if you consider the deck something free with a donation then you're buying i for the wrong reasons.  That's how I look at it, anyway.

I do not disagree with your point but let's look at various scenarios, shall we?
 
Which scenario here is the optimal one for C:W deck to you?
 
1) T11 sells a C:W deck at $4.95 and keeps the profit.
 
2) T11 sells a C:W deck at $10 and send $10 to a charity that helps build wells so that needy people can have clean water in order to survive while absorbing the cost of deck production.
 
3) T11 gives us a free C:W deck if we spend $75 in their store, thus enticing uptrade and no proceeds goes to charity.
 
Btw, for scenario 1 and 3, T11 has to obviously rename the deck. Maybe they can call it "Biz:Asusual".
 
Oh well, (no pun intended) different people, different point of view. 

[MrLukeCarroll]

The real question of this is how much is "Proceeds" and how much is the actual cost of the Deck, because I'm pretty sure It would be Net proceeds so what it is after the cost of the cards is factored out by T11, so it may be actually closer to $5 that CW gets and $5 that T11 to cover the design, production etc costs of the deck

[Lushbob]

Just to inject something else into this discussion, I actually am a big fan of the charity: water deck. The deck box is nice; it's a lovely minimalist design, that isn't too minimalist, but still enough to look stylish. And I think the smooth, shiny deck boxes look a lot less professional and smart when compared to these more fabric style decks (can anyone tell me what that's called?).
And the backs look really nice aswell. A yellow back is not often seen on a deck of cards, and the contrast with the black outlines looks really striking. Also, the idea of having water canteens as the back design is a great idea.
And have you guys seen the ace of spades? It's a lovely design, and the light blue colour is again, not often seen on an AoS.
To be honest, the whole deck looks really lovely to me. The fact that the proceeds go to charity is just an added bonus for me. While I'm not sure I would spend $10 on this deck if the money wasn't going to charity, I would definitely consider it; it wouldn't be out of the question.
I've ordered the deck already, so I'll be sure to let you guys know how it's like in real life; what the handling is like, how well the colours and designs look to the naked eye and all that stuff.

[Don Boyer]

I do not disagree with your point but let's look at various scenarios, shall we?
 
Which scenario here is the optimal one for C:W deck to you?
 
1) T11 sells a C:W deck at $4.95 and keeps the profit.
 
2) T11 sells a C:W deck at $10 and send $10 to a charity that helps build wells so that needy people can have clean water in order to survive while absorbing the cost of deck production.
 
3) T11 gives us a free C:W deck if we spend $75 in their store, thus enticing uptrade and no proceeds goes to charity.
 
Btw, for scenario 1 and 3, T11 has to obviously rename the deck. Maybe they can call it "Biz:Asusual".
 
Oh well, (no pun intended) different people, different point of view. 

Option 2 works for me, really, when you're talking about a fund raiser.  The newer versions of the "Breast Cancer" decks always rub me the wrong way - while the early decks really helped the charities, the most recent one only donates FIFTEEN CENTS from the sale of each deck.  This is a different story altogether.

The real question of this is how much is "Proceeds" and how much is the actual cost of the Deck, because I'm pretty sure It would be Net proceeds so what it is after the cost of the cards is factored out by T11, so it may be actually closer to $5 that CW gets and $5 that T11 to cover the design, production etc costs of the deck

You're saying "Proceeds" but I think you're thinking "Profits".  When you say you're donating the profits, that means you collect your cash for the items, cover your expenses, then donate the rest.  But if you're donating the proceeds, all the cash that comes in goes to charity and you eat the costs as your part of the donation.  T11 states that all the proceeds go to the charity.

Just to inject something else into this discussion, I actually am a big fan of the charity: water deck. The deck box is nice; it's a lovely minimalist design, that isn't too minimalist, but still enough to look stylish. And I think the smooth, shiny deck boxes look a lot less professional and smart when compared to these more fabric style decks (can anyone tell me what that's called?).
And the backs look really nice aswell. A yellow back is not often seen on a deck of cards, and the contrast with the black outlines looks really striking. Also, the idea of having water canteens as the back design is a great idea.
And have you guys seen the ace of spades? It's a lovely design, and the light blue colour is again, not often seen on an AoS.
To be honest, the whole deck looks really lovely to me. The fact that the proceeds go to charity is just an added bonus for me. While I'm not sure I would spend $10 on this deck if the money wasn't going to charity, I would definitely consider it; it wouldn't be out of the question.
I've ordered the deck already, so I'll be sure to let you guys know how it's like in real life; what the handling is like, how well the colours and designs look to the naked eye and all that stuff.

This deck does have many unique and different elements.  You might be thinking "matte finish" on the tuck box - the opposite of the shiny finish.  Personally, I like the shiny, but I can dig the matte because you don't see it much.  My favorite was the Black Stingers - they actually have a dimpled, "Air Cushion" style finish on the box, which I thought was awesome.

[vmagic]

If I wanted to donate to charity, I would.  If I want to spend $10 on cards, I'd do that, too.  The proceeds going to charity is never an incentive to buy anything; it doesn't make any sense to promote it as such (unless you're trying to say 'Look how kind we are, everybody!  LOVE US!').  It's an OK deck.  It's not a $10 deck.

It's not a $10 deck, it's a $10 donation, the deck is free and I got two of them. $10 is actually fairly reasonable compared to prices of some other new decks, like the Bicycle Card Ninja for example, and a much better value it seems.

[Lushbob]

This deck does have many unique and different elements.  You might be thinking "matte finish" on the tuck box - the opposite of the shiny finish.  Personally, I like the shiny, but I can dig the matte because you don't see it much.  My favorite was the Black Stingers - they actually have a dimpled, "Air Cushion" style finish on the box, which I thought was awesome.

Hm. I think it's somewhere along the lines of 'matte finish', but it's a bit more specific; it's the kind of texture that you find on a lot of books, once the cover has been removed. And maybe even the Erdnase EATCT box has the same texture. Well, I don't need to describe it; you know what I'm talking about.
Can you link me to any pictures or videos of the Black Stingers that show that aspect of the box in detail? It sounds really awesome; I'd love to check it out.
And yeah, while I don't dislike the shiny tuckbox finish, the 'matte finish' style just seems that much more stylish and smart.

[Don Boyer]

This deck does have many unique and different elements.  You might be thinking "matte finish" on the tuck box - the opposite of the shiny finish.  Personally, I like the shiny, but I can dig the matte because you don't see it much.  My favorite was the Black Stingers - they actually have a dimpled, "Air Cushion" style finish on the box, which I thought was awesome.

Hm. I think it's somewhere along the lines of 'matte finish', but it's a bit more specific; it's the kind of texture that you find on a lot of books, once the cover has been removed. And maybe even the Erdnase EATCT box has the same texture. Well, I don't need to describe it; you know what I'm talking about.
Can you link me to any pictures or videos of the Black Stingers that show that aspect of the box in detail? It sounds really awesome; I'd love to check it out.
And yeah, while I don't dislike the shiny tuckbox finish, the 'matte finish' style just seems that much more stylish and smart.

The EATCT box and the Black Stingers are about the same in texture/finish.  It literally feels like you're touching an Air Cushion finish playing card.

[Lushbob]

The EATCT box and the Black Stingers are about the same in texture/finish.  It literally feels like you're touching an Air Cushion finish playing card.

Oh, really? Cool. I never knew that. Now I'm looking forward to my EATCT arriving more than ever!

[loldudex2]

I think this box looks more "Papery" such as the JAQK, Guardians, and Fulton's.

[Derek]

Just go mine in the mail today! I actually love the back and the Ace of Spades is early nice... I just wish they had done something with the rest of the deck. Maybe blue instead of the red cards?

[Lushbob]

I just wish they had done something with the rest of the deck. Maybe blue instead of the red cards?

Yeah, I'd like that too. Maybe the blue colour used on the ace of spades. Obviously this would be kind of odd, seeing as the spade is a black pip, and it would be the same colour as the 'red' pips, but hey, who knows? Maybe it'd work great.
Will you be doing some kind of review on the charity: water deck, Derek911?