Hey everyone. Forgive me for not making individualized replies - quite busy with everything that's been going on in the last 16 hours!
First off - thanks to everyone for your support and comments. It's been very gratifying to see the orders come in. We also appreciate all of your comments, good and bad.
HOPC is a separate site from The Blue Crown because it is dedicated to cards, whereas The Blue Crown is dedicated to magic. Interest in playing cards goes far outside the magic world (Collecting, Flourishing, Gaming, etc). So we want to keep the primary focus on the cards themselves at HOPC.
The Blue Crown will still offer decks on the main site, but the primary focus there is magic. Likewise, HOPC offers a small handful of basic books/DVDs on the "core" areas of card interest, but the main focus will be cards.
It is a little disappointing to see that some people are equating the HOPC launch only with the NOC deck. There is a lot more to HOPC than any single deck.
We realize that this board is primarily home to collectors, and generally customization is preferred by that particular interest group. That is why we also have customized decks. But keep in mind that while collectors are important, they are not our only customer base. The NOC is a great deck for poker games, magic, flourishing, etc. It is intended to be a simple, yet familiar face. When you bust these out at your weekly poker game, nobody will be distracted by faces that they're not used to.
If you don't like these, or any other deck, for whatever your purpose is (collecting, magic, etc) then it's OK if you don't buy them. I always say to buy what you like. Different decks will always appeal to different people.
Some of you might think we're lazy, and that's OK. We know we're not. I would hope that our history of offering custom decks (Vaudeville, 100% custom, 10 months in the making) would show that we do indeed also know how to make custom decks, and we're far from lazy.
For the NOC stock and finish - they feel great. And I do believe I'm the only person posting in this thread who has actually handled them. I don't know why people all over the web these days tend to knock Bicycle stock. It's really quite good. But again, that also comes down to personal preference. Some people like softer, more flexible stock. Others like a really thick and stiff stock. I find that Bike stock offers a really good middle ground. Different strokes for different folks.
In regards to pricing of decks and cost of shipping - It costs a lot of money to make decks, and we feel we price them quite fairly. To USPC, a custom back is a custom back. Doesn't matter how complex the design is. The NOC is a custom deck. In fact, it also has the first tuck to be printed inside and out at USPC. Previously, any tucks with printing on the inside had to be done by an outside 3rd party. USPC is now doing this in-house, and we were happy to be the first to utilize this process.
We also offer a heck of a lot of ways to get stuff. Our new Ad Card Advantage system lets you get discounts, we're going to be giving away Jerry's Nuggets all year. Yes, you have more chances to win if you buy stuff, but everyone can enter for free. Each of our 4 decks has 3 raffle prizes (12 prizes in all), which can also be won without making a purchase. And this isn't mentioned on the site yet, but we will be randomly picking 1 review each month to receive a discount coupon, so make sure you post some reviews!
We hate shipping. It's our least favorite aspect of what we do. Not the act of it, but the costs. Our warehouse space is not free, nor does our shipping team work for free. We use actual table rates from USPS, and often use flat rate when available. We have a modest handling fee. We never profit from shipping costs, and often lose money on it. With that said, we know it's frustrating to have a large sum of shipping tacked onto your order. We're always looking for ways to offer more affordable shipping options. But please keep in mind this involves a lot more than the cost of shipping itself. We have to think about site implementation, how options work for a global audience, how it will affect the processes within the warehouse, etc.
We feel that the "meat" of the site is our program for working with designers. The profit share we are doing is unheard of in the custom card world, and designers never send us one dime. I use myself as a personal example. I have self-funded and produced 2 decks over the past few years. And my future decks will very likely be done through HOPC. We feel that the fact that people do not have to front any money is awesome.
If you compare what we're doing with the Kickstarter process, I think it's a no-brainer. With most kickstarter decks, the deck is sold out before it's even printed. People who find out about the deck after the fact are out of luck. For the creator, you're tasked with not only designing the deck, but also spreading the word about your KS project, hoping it is successful, and then storing/shipping all of the decks yourself. By the time you subtract the cost of the run, KS and Amazon fees, and postage, your profits are pretty slim.
I have crunched the numbers in a variety of different ways, and I think if you do the same, you'll find that our program is really offering something special.
With that said, our program is definitely geared towards the individual. For someone who actually does want to create your own company, and doesn't mind doing the storage/shipping/etc, and you have the funds to get yourself rolling, then go for it! We are perfectly willing to work with companies though. Our relationship working with Circle City Cards has been great!
Before you submit a design to us, look at what we already offer. The Americana is a perfect example of what we're looking for. Fabulous work by Russell, this deck is amazing. We are looking for designers who can push the envelope.
Our plan for HOPC is to launch one new deck per month. Our next ones are awesome. If you disliked the NOCs because they were too simple, I think you will definitely like our next decks.
Sorry for practically writing a novel here! We are very customer/community oriented, and we know you guys give us a lot of support, so we like to be able to keep you in the loop of where we're coming from with things!
Thanks again for all of the feedback and support. It is always appreciated!
Kevin
