Bicycle Michael Frömmer's 1616 Silver Playing Cards (KS)

[Don Boyer]

It's a mouthful, but they're worth every letter...

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/344063227/fund-michael-frommers-1616-silver-bicycle-playing

This project comes from the fertile mind of Alex Willis/ManMade Games!

It's a neat concept, really - a reproduction of a deck made in 1616 out of silver.

Two models - one will simply be the Italian images/suits alone, the other will have standard Anglo-Rouen suits/values such as the ones used in nearly every Bicycle deck.

Early birds are going fast...

[The Quadfather]

These look.... What's the word..... Different, I guess. And in my book, that's a good thing!

[MrMollusk]

Concept: Really, really cool.

Execution of cards: Wow. Pretty neat. Could have tweaked them a bit to make them look smoother, though.

Box: EEEEEEYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH KILL IT WITH FIRE

[BiggerDee]

I may have been having a blonde moment, but I had to read the KS page a couple of times to figure out the two decks and how to pledge. As it stands, I'm in for both, although I'm not overly confident that the 1,000 deck limited edition will get enough backers to be produced.

MrMollusk will probably think that I am insane (well, maybe I am), but I actually like the box a bit better than the cards themselves.

I think that I just heard him scream!! :-)

[Alex Willis]

Thanks for the kind words on this deck.  First both decks are being produced, however unless the Italian deck gets 1,000 pledges (I'll survey midway through the project) they won't be made by USPCC    It's not just the financial responsibility to produce 2,500 but it's also the question on what to do with the extras.  That being said, I didn't expect to get any traction on the Italian suited decks and there has been a very good response.  So, you never know.

I will be adding options for bricks on both decks as some have asked.  I think the only thing that is really confusing people is my stance on International shipping, and maybe I'm being too kind.  It costs me $4.50 to ship to Canada and $10 to ship to Cyprus, I don't want to charge every international customer $10, nor do I want to make a complicated chart to select your country and identify your shipping.  Managing that people put in the right amount would be a nightmare.  Also, Kickstarter and Amazon payments get a percentage on shipping which is not fair to anyone. 

Finally, I need to upload new images.  I put .jpgs on to make the upload easier but now I've got the folks who are complaining about resolution.  It's not always easy converting .ai to look good and load easily on a web page.  I can tell you that my proof decks look awesome.  Don't ask how much it costs to get a proof deck from USPCC!!

[Don Boyer]

Don't ask how much it costs to get a proof deck from USPCC!!

I don't have to - I know.  $450.00. 

[BiggerDee]

MMG, thank you for the clarification for me on USPCC/non-USPCC. I appreciate that.

[Soliloquy]

I really like the Italian suited deck.  So visually interesting. (And in medieval days, the rich and powerful really would arrange their weapons like that on the walls.)

[Don Boyer]

I really like the Italian suited deck.  So visually interesting. (And in medieval days, the rich and powerful really would arrange their weapons like that on the walls.)

Actually, the deck from which this one is based is not the type of deck that anyone would play with - it, too, would have been mounted on walls like miniature artworks by the rich and powerful.  Conspicuous consumption wasn't invented in the 1980s after all... 

[flyers3003]

So if this deck was successful on Kickstarter, why is it also trying to be launched on JumpStartCity?

http://jumpstartcity.com/events/michael-fr-mmers-1616-silver-bicycle-playing-cards

[Alex Willis]

So if this deck was successful on Kickstarter, why is it also trying to be launched on JumpStartCity?

http://jumpstartcity.com/events/michael-fr-mmers-1616-silver-bicycle-playing-cards

Two reasons, to understand how JumpStart City works and to get rid of 3,000 decks, notice that the goal isn't to fund deck production and is only set at $50.  One of the biggest challenges that deck producers have is how to unload extra decks after a project ends.  Crowd funding sites are ideal  to get an audience that has never seen the product. 

However, if someone wanted to print another 2,500 decks and didn't have the funds to do it, why not seek funding from other crowdfunding sites.  I personally didn't want to risk getting actual funding for deck production on a new deck not knowing how JumpStartCity works.

If you're wondering, it takes 500 'votes' to launch a project on JumpStartCity.  If you receive that many votes, the likelihood of success is nearly 100%.  I don't expect that this site will ever compete against Kickstarter as I doubt any project will ever meet the vote requirement.

If you're wondering, I tried doing my zombie deck first to get rid of 150 extra decks, but I was rejected, I'm guessing because they doubted people  would be interested.

[Collector]

So if this deck was successful on Kickstarter, why is it also trying to be launched on JumpStartCity?

http://jumpstartcity.com/events/michael-fr-mmers-1616-silver-bicycle-playing-cards

IMHO: Because he wants to sell his Kickstarter decks through JSC. As a rule in case of successful funding on Kickstarter you have more decks than you have to send to your backers. So you have to sell them or to sell them in wholesale to get money. To sell them means to make more additional efforts and to spend more time. Wholesale means to make less additional efforts and tp spend less time – but you’ll get less money.

[Alex Willis]

So if this deck was successful on Kickstarter, why is it also trying to be launched on JumpStartCity?

http://jumpstartcity.com/events/michael-fr-mmers-1616-silver-bicycle-playing-cards

IMHO: Because he wants to sell his Kickstarter decks through JSC. As a rule in case of successful funding on Kickstarter you have more decks than you have to send to your backers. So you have to sell them or to sell them in wholesale to get money. To sell them means to make more additional efforts and to spend more time. Wholesale means to make less additional efforts and tp spend less time – but you’ll get less money.

Thanks, I was just saying the same thing.

[Collector]

So if this deck was successful on Kickstarter, why is it also trying to be launched on JumpStartCity?

http://jumpstartcity.com/events/michael-fr-mmers-1616-silver-bicycle-playing-cards

IMHO: Because he wants to sell his Kickstarter decks through JSC. As a rule in case of successful funding on Kickstarter you have more decks than you have to send to your backers. So you have to sell them or to sell them in wholesale to get money. To sell them means to make more additional efforts and to spend more time. Wholesale means to make less additional efforts and tp spend less time – but you’ll get less money.

Thanks, I was just saying the same thing.

Unfortunately I saw it after my posting. Should I remove my post now?

[flyers3003]

Thank you for the answer.  Unfortunately from the 1 minute Elevator Pitch it wasn't clear that you were only trying to raise $50.  I'm guessing this may be one of the things you are getting a better understanding of about JSC. 

[Alex Willis]

Thank you for the answer.  Unfortunately from the 1 minute Elevator Pitch it wasn't clear that you were only trying to raise $50.  I'm guessing this may be one of the things you are getting a better understanding of about JSC. 

Unfortunately all they show you is the video.  The detail behind it isn't visible until you can promote it to the next level.  To be honest, I have been considering dumping it for a week now because I don't like the set up.  However, I am looking for a way to sell my extra 3,000 decks in September  

[montecarlojoe]

A little bit of unofficial news on this one.

Disclaimer - this info comes from the comments section of the project and I can't speak for its veracity.

One person claims to have made a query to USPCC, and received confirmation that the cards have been produced and are pending delivery. This would seem a positive, but is equally disturbing because his last two updates basically say he's shipping cards.
Update #20 Sep 23, 2013
Time to make the donuts

Hi gang, I have put on my "do not disturb: shipping" light. I have scheduled my pack and ship weeks to coincide with my vacation so I have ample time to package and ship. This morning I will start opening boxes and loading up envelopes and then before the close of each day make a drive to the post office and mail off whatever I managed to finish that day. Not the way most people spend their vacations, but to do this right I need to make sure I'm focused on the task at hand. For the international customers, I will be emailing you before the end of the week with the shipping information on your packages.

Thanks again everyone, I'm so excited to get these out to you!

Alex
Oct 28, 2013
Shipping has resumed...

Thanks everyone for your patience and for the kind words and support from those regarding the funeral and subsequent estate settlement. I have finished a long and tiring process and I'm happy to finally return to work and some sense of normalcy. I am picking up where I left off with shipping and hopefully you will get your decks soon.

Thanks again,

Alex

With no attempt to address this with a real update in the last 6 weeks, and we assume the USPCC info to be true, then these can only be seen as deceptive. At best.

However people are also reporting that by emailing Alex direct they are getting refunds.