New info from the VIP mailing list:
Preorders will begin "soon", sometime during the Christmas/holiday season, so presumably before 2 Jan 2013. Regular order taking doesn't begin until late February, when the deck will be released. However, I wouldn't bet on their being any decks left by then. (Join that list, folks!)
Pricing - not too bad, really.
Here's the pre-order packages offered.
1) The Curious - the one-deck package
A single deck with a digital Virtuoso poster: $8.95
2) The Hobbyist - the two deck package
Two decks, the poster and video tutorial "The 7-Second Pirouette": $17.90
3) The Casual Cardist - the three-deck package
Everything in 2), one more deck and video tutorial "The Rubix Opener": $26.85
4) The Serious Cardist - the five-deck package
Everything in 3), two more decks and video tutorial "Squeeze": $42.50 (save $3)
5) The Artist - the brick package
Everything in 4) plus seven more decks: $99.45 (save $7.95)
If you use PayPal, you will have the option to order 5) with "Split Pay" - two charges of $50 each, thirty days apart from each other. If you don't have the full price now, this is a pretty nice option to have.
Now, here's the part that really sucks, timing-wise: if you're on the VIP list, you'll get an email with only ONE HOUR'S NOTICE before pre-orders begin with the link to go to for ordering. It could show up at 3am your time, there's no way to know.
http://thevirts.com/launchedition/deck-price-new-tutorials-pre-order-packages/