So far we have had no hassles on HOPC. All decks are still in stock and available for purchase. Questions or issues? Email or call us, and we'll take care of it ASAP. Trust me, we LIKE it when people can buy our decks and they're available beyond the initial release window. I feel that both The Blue Crown, and now HOPC, have a very good track record for our deck availability. Yes, some have sold out incredibly quickly. But several others have had availability for weeks or months, plenty of opportunity for anyone to purchase.
Perhaps "most" was a poor choice of wording on my part for Kickstarter projects in terms of selling out. But certainly, the majority of KS projects only print about 5000 decks, and the majority of the run is gone, leaving a relatively small number available for sale after the fact. Very few HOPC decks will be at the minimum print run. We will have a lot more available for everyone. And sure, most people on this board know about kickstarter projects. But the card market goes far beyond any particular forum.
HOPC has a much wider advertising reach than the average individual. This makes it easy for designers to get their names, websites, etc out there to the masses. Forums like this definitely help in the success of KS projects, that's for sure.
HOPC will not be specializing in limited runs. Generally speaking, as long as there is demand for a deck, we will continue to reprint it. Of course, this will be a collaborative decision between HOPC and the designer of a particular deck.
Some people will want to stay in control of their project from start to finish. KS is great for that. Others want to focus on their primary love - designing. They don't want to deal with all of the other aspects involved with selling a deck. These are the kinds of people the program will appeal to.
Likewise with customers. Some people like the social aspect of kickstarter. Others don't want to pledge money now for a deck that will come out in a few months.
We're not looking to shut down kickstarter by any means. We're simply another option, for designers and for customers. We feel that we are a very good option. Will our program be everyone's cup of tea? Certainly not. But we have already had contact from some very talented designers, and people who know the costs and efforts of running a deck (with or without kickstarter), who are all very interested in our program.
At the end of the day, our goal is to make awesome decks of cards. That's really the bottom line.
