SurrealScapes Deck Kickstarter Preview Link

[Zaid]

Hey folks,

I finally got the Kickstarter page for the SurrealScapes deck put together. Take a look at the preview here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/274810086/1490748867?token=cde2743e

and let me know what you think. It hasn't been submitted for approval yet. I want to get some feedback on it before I submit.

-Z

[Michael]

Tho deck is honestly a little too quirky for me. I don't know if these are what I would look for in a deck of cards. Buuuut... I would consider buying these if they were posters. I think they look amazing as pieces of art that can be used as a poster, computer wall paper, or any other method of displaying it.

I like the art! Just not for me on cards but I would be proud to hang that up on my wall

EDIT: reading the full post and seeing the rewards instead of just looking at the pictures shows me that I have nothing to complain about! I can get a print or an uncut sheet looking good!

[Zaid]

Tho deck is honestly a little too quirky for me. I don't know if these are what I would look for in a deck of cards. Buuuut... I would consider buying these if they were posters. I think they look amazing as pieces of art that can be used as a poster, computer wall paper, or any other method of displaying it.

I like the art! Just not for me on cards but I would be proud to hang that up on my wall

Thank you for the kind words! You can still participate in the project and get something you like. Pledge at the $1 level (I just added it) and then choose an art print as an add-on!

-Z

[Michael]

I love it when project heads are connected to the audience they are trying to reach. Unfortunately, I don't edit quickly enough thanksgorthe effort! I'll make sure to pledge!

[Don Boyer]

Hey folks,

I finally got the Kickstarter page for the SurrealScapes deck put together. Take a look at the preview here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/274810086/1490748867?token=cde2743e

and let me know what you think. It hasn't been submitted for approval yet. I want to get some feedback on it before I submit.

-Z

A few things:

Check the delivery schedule, specifically about Deck Production - make sure you've worded it correctly.  As I'm reading it, it could actually take LONGER than six weeks, because of this sentence: "If they get it right the first time, on time, then 6 weeks it is."  It leads one to believe that a best-case scenario would actually take six weeks rather than four.

Are you permitting backers to select prints from the unedited photos on the "Lumens" collection page you linked to?  Because if not, there's no really good photo or rendering allowing people to select the actual images that appear on the cards.  Either place a good hi-res shot of the uncut on the project home page or provide a link to a hi-res shot hosted by you - suitably watermarked, naturally.

I can't tell which category you're placing this project in.  Most people choose either design or games.  You should choose art.  With these images and the prints you're offering, you're likely to attract a much broader audience by placing this as an art project - casual art-project browsers will find it more easily.  The hardcore card junkies already know to do keyword searches rather than rely on a single category.

...And speaking of keyword searches...  Be certain that your project will appear with most if not all of these keyword searches:
playing card
playing cards
deck card
deck cards
decks card
decks cards
game card
game cards
games card
games cards

By doing that, even the most bumbling of searches will probably kick your deck out in the top ten.  Include any appropriate art key words you can think of, no matter how obscure, in various combinations of singular and plural.

You'll catch some card collectors with this deck, to be sure, but I think your primary target audience is going to be on the art side of things.  If you have any connections with art journals, blogs, etc., see if you can get them to feature your work.  Reaching outside of the card collector community is what helped the Bohemia deck break 400% and the Misc. Goods Co. deck to break the top-grossing deck project record by about 50% (roughly $50,000 - it closed at over $140,000).

I like the reward structure - you seem to have your bases covered pretty well.  The only suggestion I could offer would be on the add-ons.  Some KS projects use an odd amount of change in the prices for their add-ons - like $10.03 or $25.07 - which makes them stand out like a sore thumb when you're looking over the end result spreadsheet after the project closes and you're trying to determine who gets extras and who doesn't.

[4pm Designer]

This is something I'd be more interested in as art. It's a cool deck but I would more than likely pledge for an uncut rather than a deck or two. It just doesn't fit well as a deck of cards. But the art is pretty awesome.

[Zaid]

Don,

Thanks for the feedback.

RE: production schedule, what I was trying to say is that if USPCC gets it right the first time, then the production time is 4-6 weeks. If they don't get it right, then it will be longer than 6 weeks. I've gone back and edited the text to clarify.

For the art prints, yes, I'm allowing backers to select any image from the Lumens collection on the SurrealScapes website. Those are all the native images from which the images on the cards were drawn. My intention is that people go to the Lumens section on the site and tell me the title of the image that they would like on their print. Is this not clear in the project description?

I'm placing the project in the Tabletop Games category, but you make a good point. If the card people are going to do a direct keyword search, then I am indeed better off placing it into the Art category.

Regarding the pledge amounts, my impression was that only round numbers were allowed, but less-than-whole-dollar amounts are allowed, then having some odd change in the add-on prices would be good. However, I'm concerned that some people might just get confused and forget to add the change, or ask a lot of questions about why there is even change included in the amount at all.

-Z

[Zaid]

This is something I'd be more interested in as art. It's a cool deck but I would more than likely pledge for an uncut rather than a deck or two. It just doesn't fit well as a deck of cards. But the art is pretty awesome.

Thanks for the kind words! So I wonder now if I should create an explicit pledge tier for an uncut, rather than just having it as an add-on?

-Z

EDIT: Uncut pledge tier just added.

[Don Boyer]

Don,

Thanks for the feedback.

RE: production schedule, what I was trying to say is that if USPCC gets it right the first time, then the production time is 4-6 weeks. If they don't get it right, then it will be longer than 6 weeks. I've gone back and edited the text to clarify.

For the art prints, yes, I'm allowing backers to select any image from the Lumens collection on the SurrealScapes website. Those are all the native images from which the images on the cards were drawn. My intention is that people go to the Lumens section on the site and tell me the title of the image that they would like on their print. Is this not clear in the project description?

I'm placing the project in the Tabletop Games category, but you make a good point. If the card people are going to do a direct keyword search, then I am indeed better off placing it into the Art category.

Regarding the pledge amounts, my impression was that only round numbers were allowed, but less-than-whole-dollar amounts are allowed, then having some odd change in the add-on prices would be good. However, I'm concerned that some people might just get confused and forget to add the change, or ask a lot of questions about why there is even change included in the amount at all.

-Z

Caught a typo in Deck Details: "The back is two-way and perfectly rotationally sysmmetric."

You are right, the art prints are mentioned as coming from Lumens.  But a higher-res image of the uncut sheet would be beneficial - uncut collectors LOVE beautiful uncuts and yours is no exception, so show it off in all its less-pixelated glory... 

A "reward" can only be listed in whole dollar amounts.  A pledge can be given in any amount above a buck, I believe.  It's not uncommon for people to do this to simplify add-on tracking, and it's easily explained for those who don't understand the extra pennies.

I don't know if you've done this yet, but double-check your shipping costs if you haven't already - the USPS raised its rates in the past week or so, and I'm told international shipping took a huge hit.

Re a tier for the uncut - great idea!  You may run into a few uncut collectors who are less interested in the deck, and it's not like the extra tier costs you anything, right? 

Keep me posted on when you plan your launch.

[4pm Designer]

This is something I'd be more interested in as art. It's a cool deck but I would more than likely pledge for an uncut rather than a deck or two. It just doesn't fit well as a deck of cards. But the art is pretty awesome.

Thanks for the kind words! So I wonder now if I should create an explicit pledge tier for an uncut, rather than just having it as an add-on?

-Z

EDIT: Uncut pledge tier just added.

Smart move. I can see these moving fast. I know ill be pledging on for one myself.

[S.C.]

yeah, def. keep us posted on this thread when you release the project, I'm sure some of us here will jump in for a deck or two.

[Michael]

yeah, def. keep us posted on this thread when you release the project, I'm sure some of us here will jump in for a deck or two.

Or jump in for a print or two or even an uncut or two

[Lara Krystle "Lane"]

I just wanted to wish you best of luck in your KS funding!!!! I hope you get funded.

[Zaid]

Thank you all for the feedback and compliments!

Typo has been fixed (good eye, Don!).

Links to high-res images of the uncut sheets have been added.

The shipping rates were calculated based on estimates from the USPS website for various sizes and weights of packaging and to various countries. I spent hours agonizing over it until I finally settled on some numbers. If a large percentage of backers are international, I'll probably take a little bit of a hit on shipping, but it won't put me in the red for the project.

The add-on menu prices were changed to reflect non-whole dollar amounts. Hopefully that won't screw anyone up. .;-)

Regarding the launch date, I'm going to let the project cook for another week or so and then I'll submit it for approval. Once it's approved, I'll come back to you guys with a launch date. For people wanting decks, there are plenty of slots in the early bird tiers, so I'm sure the hardcore card people will be able to get decks at the best prices. There is no early bird pricing for art prints or uncuts, so if you just want art, you won't be missing anything if you get in on the project later after the launch.

-Z

[Don Boyer]

There is no early bird pricing for art prints or uncuts, so if you just want art, you won't be missing anything if you get in on the project later after the launch.

-Z

Actually, they might miss out, assuming it's going to be a limited item!  Early bird snags the uncut!  I can actually picture people wanting multiples of the uncut, for their collection and for speculation - the price will almost certainly go up on the uncuts in the aftermarket.

[Zaid]

There is no early bird pricing for art prints or uncuts, so if you just want art, you won't be missing anything if you get in on the project later after the launch.

-Z

Actually, they might miss out, assuming it's going to be a limited item!  Early bird snags the uncut!  I can actually picture people wanting multiples of the uncut, for their collection and for speculation - the price will almost certainly go up on the uncuts in the aftermarket.

My intention is not to have anything about this project be limited. Frankly, I don't buy into the whole limited thing, I think it tends to be overhyped, and it's only the word of the creator that you have to go by, i.e. that they "promise" to never reissue the deck or the uncuts or whatever. I understand that collectors want things to be rare, but I think that rarity should come by accident, e.g. a printing mistake on the deck, or some weird thing that happens that probably won't ever happen again. I don't believe in forced rarity, because it is just that: forced.

So whoever wants a deck or an uncut can have one! Unless, of course, you no longer want one because you now know it's not limited. :-)

-Z

[Don Boyer]

My intention is not to have anything about this project be limited. Frankly, I don't buy into the whole limited thing, I think it tends to be overhyped, and it's only the word of the creator that you have to go by, i.e. that they "promise" to never reissue the deck or the uncuts or whatever. I understand that collectors want things to be rare, but I think that rarity should come by accident, e.g. a printing mistake on the deck, or some weird thing that happens that probably won't ever happen again. I don't believe in forced rarity, because it is just that: forced.

So whoever wants a deck or an uncut can have one! Unless, of course, you no longer want one because you now know it's not limited. :-)

-Z

OK, understood - but the nature of Kickstarter funding is usually such that most projects are limited edition releases because the people making them only get enough funding for one shot, no more.  You may not be limiting the actual number in the sense that you'll make as many as people are willing to pay for, but it is limited in the sense that you probably won't have the resources to make this same exact deck the same way again.  So, for example, if you get 3,480 pledged decks and 149 pledged uncuts, that's how many decks and uncuts will exist (not counting what you set aside for yourself, of course).  And even if you do manage to make it again, some people will still view these decks and uncuts from this project as the "first edition" USPC version of the deck, giving them some sort of distinction from whatever comes later.

But none of that really matters in the long run - you're making a deck, hooray!  It's a great-looking deck and I can't wait to pledge for it.

[Zaid]

My intention is not to have anything about this project be limited. Frankly, I don't buy into the whole limited thing, I think it tends to be overhyped, and it's only the word of the creator that you have to go by, i.e. that they "promise" to never reissue the deck or the uncuts or whatever. I understand that collectors want things to be rare, but I think that rarity should come by accident, e.g. a printing mistake on the deck, or some weird thing that happens that probably won't ever happen again. I don't believe in forced rarity, because it is just that: forced.

So whoever wants a deck or an uncut can have one! Unless, of course, you no longer want one because you now know it's not limited. :-)

-Z

OK, understood - but the nature of Kickstarter funding is usually such that most projects are limited edition releases because the people making them only get enough funding for one shot, no more.  You may not be limiting the actual number in the sense that you'll make as many as people are willing to pay for, but it is limited in the sense that you probably won't have the resources to make this same exact deck the same way again.  So, for example, if you get 3,480 pledged decks and 149 pledged uncuts, that's how many decks and uncuts will exist (not counting what you set aside for yourself, of course).  And even if you do manage to make it again, some people will still view these decks and uncuts from this project as the "first edition" USPC version of the deck, giving them some sort of distinction from whatever comes later.

But none of that really matters in the long run - you're making a deck, hooray!  It's a great-looking deck and I can't wait to pledge for it.

I can understand that. I would hope that this deck continues to sell long after the Kickstarter campaign and that I can just keep doing runs with the USPCC to restock whenever I need to replenish inventory because of such brisk sales. ;-) Well, a guy can wish, can't he? Or maybe the uncuts are so popular that I have to tell the USPCC that they shouldn't even bother with printing the tuckbox because all 2500 decks in the run should be uncut sheets. Hmm....

-Z

[Don Boyer]

I can understand that. I would hope that this deck continues to sell long after the Kickstarter campaign and that I can just keep doing runs with the USPCC to restock whenever I need to replenish inventory because of such brisk sales. ;-) Well, a guy can wish, can't he? Or maybe the uncuts are so popular that I have to tell the USPCC that they shouldn't even bother with printing the tuckbox because all 2500 decks in the run should be uncut sheets. Hmm....

-Z

Well, if you price it out right, sell enough decks and funnel the profits right back into this and other deck designs, well...  Then you have a company, and you can reprint as needed and have the resources to do it.  It's how Circle City Card Co. got off the ground.  While they got their start in Kickstarter and do occasionally dip back into Kickstarter to make a deck, it's likely due more to wanting to remain connected to the community and attract new customers.  They've done several non-KS designs both independently and in concert with House of Playing Cards (HOPC).

With a lot of planning and just enough luck, you could be at the head of the next new, fledgling card company... 

[Pacis]

That is amazing! Congratulations.
Will definitely buy your deck and uncut sheet (will be my first).

[Zaid]

Okay, folks, I'll be looking to submit this project for approval in the next few days. I'm waiting for the mockup deck to come back from USPCC. Hopefully I'll get it later this week. Last call for any feedback on the project details/rewards before this goes off to the Kickstarter approval police. 

Here's the project link again: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/274810086/1490748867?token=cde2743e

Once it's approved, I'll come back to you guys with a launch date and time.