[KS] The Royal Dogs Playing Cards: The Pugs

[Rob Wright]

My quick confusing math.
Everybody knows that USPCC's minimum run is 2500 decks w/ a possible10% overrun (that has to be accounted for)= 2750 possible decks.
Quote I received from USPCC for branded decks-delivered to the East Coast. $2.72 each X 2750= $7480 + $870 set up fee = $8350 possible to USPCC

I may be going a little high on shipping. US shipping for 1 deck/w cost of shipping material is about $2.60 first class. Most shipments will be more than 1 deck. I'm estimating about $2.20 per deck to ship average

Now some backwards math.
$10 per deck average pledge - $1 for KS & Amazon - $2.20 shipping = $6.80 per deck sold to pay USPCC

$8350 / $6.80 =1228 decks minimum needed sold.

Now forward math
1228 decks x $10.00 = $12,280 absolute minimal goal if you cannot afford to take money out of your pocket. That is if nothing goes wrong and USPCC does not charge any additional art fees(@ $75 per hour). I believe a sample deck from them is $450. $250 if you want proof sheets/tuck only. And after all that. I forgot about my state sales tax(5%) that will be charged by USPCC, because I do not have a resale cert. So there goes another $400 or so.

Good math, but that assumes one deck per shipping customer.  On average it's normally 2 decks per customer.  I also don't understand where USPCC generates there quotes from, my last quote was $1.84 per deck plus set up fees and shipping.  Also, I pay $125 every 5 years for my resale cert which is worth the money, you may want to consider incoporating and getting one of those.  In PA the tax payment process isn't so bad and it's all done electronically.

In regard to the pricing USPC offers their clients, remember one thing - the figures can vary with the changes in temperature and humidity, the direction of the wind, the amount of precipitation, the roll of the dice, what last night's winning lottery number was...  I think you get my point.

Contracts are negotiated with USPC, so while you can get quotes without too much trouble, the actual price you get charged in the end can vary noticeably from that quote.  Until you have a signed contract, your cost per deck is subject to change for whatever reasons they want to give you.

I think that when I mentioned people getting 2,500-deck projects done in the past for under $10K, it was probably before the double whammy of higher prices at both USPC and USPS.  A lot of projects don't do the math like you just did, Rob - I've heard of countless people that literally pulled a number out of their collective asses and decided that would be the goal, regardless of the actual costs involved.  (Remember the kid with the Wealth deck - his first attempt had a goal of only $1,000 for a USPC-made deck...)

When the math is completed, however, it is possible to just scrape by on a $10K goal - IF you have a few deals set up with wholesalers and distributors to carry your deck in their inventory when the printing is completed.  Those numbers usually don't show up in the project's bottom line on KS because of their restrictions on wholesale sales.  A project without such deals lined up will have a lot of problems staying afloat, especially if they barely make it over the finish line and hit their goal.

And we're not even taking into account that there will be leftover decks; many, MANY leftover decks.  No matter how big the project, you never cut the print run so close that you're only making one deck for each deck claimed on KS.  The +/-10% factor makes doing that risky because they'll never hit the nail right on the head  It would seem as simple as just putting 5,000 or 2,500 sheets into the printer, but there's too many factors affecting the print run in terms of damaged sheets, misalignment in the cut, etc. that you have to give yourself leeway.

Additionally, despite all their technology, it seems they can't accurately track the precise number of sheets put in the machine due to the variances in the weight of the paper, even from sheet to sheet.  The additional counting technology is likely too cost-prohibitive for USPC to invest in.  They don't care as much because you buy the decks regardless of the size of the over- or under-run - it's in the contract.  (Cheaper to hire a lawyer than buy a machine - who'd have figured...)

Don, excellent point. nothing is set in stone till names are signed on the dotted line. As far as my quote- being just some Joe Shmo trying to get a quote. I imagine they have a policy of throwing out a high number to start with. I will defiantly try to negotiate a little better when the time comes. Another thing I didn't mention on my math was international shipping. Most every one on KS has International backers add shipping. The problem with this is every dollar of extra shipping goes towards your goal. That has to be factored in as well. It's a shame that KS & Amazon make a profit on shipping.

[Don Boyer]

Don, excellent point. nothing is set in stone till names are signed on the dotted line. As far as my quote- being just some Joe Shmo trying to get a quote. I imagine they have a policy of throwing out a high number to start with. I will defiantly try to negotiate a little better when the time comes. Another thing I didn't mention on my math was international shipping. Most every one on KS has International backers add shipping. The problem with this is every dollar of extra shipping goes towards your goal. That has to be factored in as well. It's a shame that KS & Amazon make a profit on shipping.

Defiantly, huh?  You must be one helluva negotiator... 

We're getting off-topic.  Let's rein it in a bit...

[PugFrog]

Still making updates, if anything for the next time around

I hope you all have a good Fourth of July!

Damon

[Don Boyer]

Still making updates, if anything for the next time around

I hope you all have a good Fourth of July!

Damon

Ditch the frilly stuff around the court indices - it makes them harder to read.

Good luck to you on the second go-around, if this one doesn't make it.  Try promoting the deck more - we haven't heard "boo" from you in what, three weeks?