A voice told me that the project was with 6 decks, not with 2 decks...small box for 6 decks, signed also.
The half-brick box contains not just the pair of NOCs, but also the rare deck AND the rest of the stuff in the package. So no, there's not enough room for all that and three more decks! It's simply meant as a cool-looking box for you to put favorite decks in and it has Alex's signature.
15%, maybe not such a great value after all? If your someone who has NO interest in buying anything OLD that currently exists at The Blue Crown I guess your crap out of luck. Or if your like me, just don't buy the Summer Club package. I've saved quiet a bit of coin by not buying White Alladins or Altruism at all.
So lets GRADE these items one at a time.
Here's the Summer Club Report Card:
A] A custom collector's box autographed by Alex Pandrea: Anything that is personaly signed by Alex or any other person associated with other magic companies (Madison, Dan & Dave) is a great touch.
B+] An exclusive Summer Club t-shirt: T-Shirts are always great when part of a bundle or packaged promotion.
A] Orange and Light Blue Summer NOC v2 decks: I really like the new colors and your the first to get one as a member.
D] Premium vinyl stickers: What are you going to do with this? Magic? Put them on a skateboard? Vandalize public property?
B+] A custom summer-themed Bag O' Rubbers: Great for Magic routines, the colors add a nice visual to tricks.
F] Fashionable Sunglasses: Fashionable? Are these designer sunglasses? Are they Ray Ban's or Oakley's? Alex drives a Mercedes, is fashionable really the word to describe this?
C] A Limited Deck (Black Crowns, Gold Crowns, or Jerry's Nuggets): Odds are no one is getting a Jerry Nuggets Deck. The Black or Gold added in is nice but most of us have it already. I can't put $20 on that. People are asking $20, not getting it. Whats it cost to produce per deck?
B+] 10 Exclusive Downloads, Delivered Weekly for 10 Weeks: Awesome but this is an unknown. ALL of Alex's videos are very good but we still don't know what your getting here.
C-] A Summer-Long 15% Discount: Its a limited Summer Discount, not a year. Its only 15% off, not 25%. While Its great to get discount's, we don't know what releases they also have planned or if your even going to want to buy them. NOC's are cool but what else?
D] Early Access to New Releases: Early access to what? You already have the 2 NOC decks at this point in the summer club Membership? More Unknown.
C+] Initial Summer Club Package Ships for FREE: This is great but for what your paying the shipping is already embedded in the price of the club.
Before you pass judgment on this package, let's look at what Kevin had to say about it.
Hey guys. To clear up any of the 15% off coupons...
We are adding customer accounts to the Summer Club 15% discount ASAP after an order is placed. That means that after purchasing your Summer Club product, every order you make through September 30th on thebluecrown.com will automatically have 15% deducted from the subtotal.
IE, if you buy summer club today, you can buy a download, DVD, or deck tomorrow and receive the 15% off.
As you guys know, we release new stuff pretty regularly, so there will definitely be new items where you can take advantage of the discount. And if there are any older products that you've been meaning to pick up, this is the perfect time.
As for the 10 downloads, without getting TOO specific - there's a variety. Plenty of non-card stuff, including effects that utilize items in the package (sunglasses, rubberbands).
As always, if we can help answer any questions, please reach out to our customer support team at info@thebluecrown.com
Now, let's review your grades:
A custom collector's box autographed by Alex Pandrea:
ANo arguments here.
An exclusive Summer Club t-shirt:
B+I might call that an
A, since they're exclusive to club members - can't just order one up.
Orange and Light Blue Summer NOC v2 decks:
AGetting the cool new decks before anyone else is a definite plus.
Premium vinyl stickers:
DWhy vandalize public property when you can stick them on your gig case or your computer? Plus it's their thing, just like T11 - they make stickers and give them away. The difference is that these stickers are not available just anywhere. I'd make it a
B-.
A custom summer-themed Bag O' Rubbers:
B+I upgrade these to an
A- because there will be routines using the rubber bands in at least one of the downloads. TBC has more rubber band magic than most of the major sites, I'd say.
Fashionable Sunglasses:
FThis goes up to at least a
C - they might be inexpensive shades, but Kevin pointed out there's a magic trick associated with them included in the downloads. I personally love a good, high-grade pair along the lines of a Maui Jim, Revo or Serengeti, but knock-around shades do have a place in the world - you don't worry about ruining them because they're just that, knock-around shades!
A Limited Deck (Black Crowns, Gold Crowns, or Jerry's Nuggets):
COdds are no one is getting a Jerry Nuggets Deck. Patently untrue. 144 members, one gets the deck. It was spelled out up front.
The Black or Gold added in is nice but most of us have it already. That might be true for you or me, but not everyone has them, and so what if you do? It's included and it's rare!
I can't put $20 on that. People are asking $20, not getting it. Whats it cost to produce per deck? If that was the criteria by which we grade our decks, then those cheap-ass Jerry's Nuggets would be practically valueless compared to even a pack of Bicycle Standards made recently - they probably cost the casino around 10 cents a pack at the time! Inflation's a bitch in high heels standing on the small of your back...
My overall grade for this would be a
B+. You get a rare deck guaranteed, and you get a 0.69% chance of getting the Holy Grail of rare decks for magicians and most collectors. That's better chances than winning even a low prize in most lotteries.
10 Exclusive Downloads, Delivered Weekly for 10 Weeks:
B+You may not know what exactly is coming, but yes, they are from Alex, and yes, they use items that came in the kit. To me, that's an
A-.
A Summer-Long 15% Discount:
C-Bro, it's RARE that a major player in this game gives a TWENTY-FIVE percent discount on anything, and certainly not for a ten-week period! Kevin has confirmed there are new releases coming, and (surprise, surprise) decks like the NOCs and Crowns are staple decks to magicians - good time to buy in bulk! With that 15% off, I can get NOCs for less than what I pay locally for Bicycle Standards! This is an
A, hands down. It's not year-long, but then again, the only year-long discount I've seen is only 5% from Ellusionist's Black Club.
Early Access to New Releases:
DKevin confirmed that there would be new releases. When Black Club came out, everyone though this was awesome - buy some rarity before the stampeding herds overloaded the servers. Now you call it a D? I call it AT LEAST a
B.
Initial Summer Club Package Ships for FREE:
C+You say "no big deal, shipping is part of the price." I say international shoppers hit the jackpot on this! You're really getting your value for the cost, BEFORE shipping is even factored in, whether you're domestic or international. I grade it an
A.
