Bicycle - Unique Decks availble at Big Name stores Now

[Jamm Pakd Cards]

I sense that USPC is seeing a greater opportunity to create more unique decks than their standard decks.  Today I picked up these Bicycle decks at Wallgreens and Walmart.  Just a few years ago I remember that if I wanted to get a unique deck to add to my collection I would have to go to a game store in the mall or online.  I find it fascinating that now more unique decks are easier to find in the big box stores. 

I sense that USPC is seeing the demand for custom decks and have gotten a lot more business due to Kickstarter. 

[Xntrix]

I sense that USPC is seeing a greater opportunity to create more unique decks than their standard decks.

Yes, and no. USPCC have for at least 5 years now put out different 'Revamped Bicycle' versions. The Fashion Decks, The Era Decks (60's, 70's, 80's etc), Baseball Leagues etc. They just haven't pushed them as hard in their catalogs as they have in the last year (and will be doing moreso next year). Reps are out representing more and Larger chains are getting more used to offering variety as peoples tastes change, but they're also buying less Cartamundi stock - who have had the market cornered on Licensed decks for years.

-Jake.

[Don Boyer]

I sense that USPC is seeing a greater opportunity to create more unique decks than their standard decks.

Yes, and no. USPCC have for at least 5 years now put out different 'Revamped Bicycle' versions. The Fashion Decks, The Era Decks (60's, 70's, 80's etc), Baseball Leagues etc. They just haven't pushed them as hard in their catalogs as they have in the last year (and will be doing moreso next year). Reps are out representing more and Larger chains are getting more used to offering variety as peoples tastes change, but they're also buying less Cartamundi stock - who have had the market cornered on Licensed decks for years.

-Jake.

Agreed.  USPC is smelling an opportunity because of a growing trend that was started by your own employer, Jake!  To USPC, a custom deck has one additional cost beyond that of a traditional deck - getting a designer to make a new design.  Most of their designs don't use expensive extras like fancy tuck boxes - the most I've seen from them in recent history, and it's pretty rare, is the use of metallic ink.

These decks, however, offer an opportunity to charge premium pricing.  It's not pricing on par with what a Kickstarter deck or an Ellusionist deck might cost, but it's more than your plain, old pack of Bicycle Rider Back cards.  I imagine that it's a pretty simple matter for them to reap easy profits off of one of these designs, though there is some risk.  Look at the recent Nautic Back deck - white was a hit, but pink sank like a stone.  The pink deck is no longer in their list of products, but the white one remains.

They go to these big-box stores and major national chains because they can be assured of moving a larger number of decks - these companies buy in serious bulk quantities.  They don't mind a little discounting if you're buying a healthy chunk of the entire print run - decks that lie around in the warehouse cost money rather than make it.

[bhong]

Now if only USPCC International (Canada) would start thinking about this. I think the only unique decks I've seen in Canadian Walmarts are the Bicycle Heritage Edition Playing cards and Bicycle Tragic Royalty. I honestly can imagine they moving a ton of decks with some unique decks in Canada.

[Don Boyer]

Now if only USPCC International (Canada) would start thinking about this. I think the only unique decks I've seen in Canadian Walmarts are the Bicycle Heritage Edition Playing cards and Bicycle Tragic Royalty. I honestly can imagine they moving a ton of decks with some unique decks in Canada.

The Bicycle 127th Anniversary deck was a Canada exclusive.  Texan Palmetto Backs are also made for exclusive distribution in Canada.

At one point, IPCC was indeed a separate company owned by USPC and they even did their own printing.  It wasn't uncommon in the past for USPC to have several cities printing decks as they acquired the companies the previously ran them, though IPCC was wholly their own creation.  Over time, however, anything outside of the company HQ was shut down, all the decks are made in the greater Cincinnati area (Erlanger is a suburb of Cincinnati) and IPCC is more of a marketing outfit for USPC decks than anything else.

It's not that you'll never see some of the custom decks they distribute in the US going to Canada, but Canadian law would require packaging changes, such as labeling in French and English.  Us lazy, stupid Murricans don't like that as much.    So it's not like USPC can simply dump their English-only decks in your stores.  Packaging changes cost money and the Canadian market isn't as large as the US market, making it hard to justify making Canadian-mandated changes to decks that will sell mostly to Americans.  Back when IPCC was still in operation as a print shop, they did their own printing and it was a non-issue to comply with what was for them the law of the land.  It's not considered efficient today to scatter the company's resources rather than consolidate them in a single place.

[bhong]

Now if only USPCC International (Canada) would start thinking about this. I think the only unique decks I've seen in Canadian Walmarts are the Bicycle Heritage Edition Playing cards and Bicycle Tragic Royalty. I honestly can imagine they moving a ton of decks with some unique decks in Canada.

The Bicycle 127th Anniversary deck was a Canada exclusive.  Texan Palmetto Backs are also made for exclusive distribution in Canada.

At one point, IPCC was indeed a separate company owned by USPC and they even did their own printing.  It wasn't uncommon in the past for USPC to have several cities printing decks as they acquired the companies the previously ran them, though IPCC was wholly their own creation.  Over time, however, anything outside of the company HQ was shut down, all the decks are made in the greater Cincinnati area (Erlanger is a suburb of Cincinnati) and IPCC is more of a marketing outfit for USPC decks than anything else.

It's not that you'll never see some of the custom decks they distribute in the US going to Canada, but Canadian law would require packaging changes, such as labeling in French and English.  Us lazy, stupid Murricans don't like that as much.    So it's not like USPC can simply dump their English-only decks in your stores.  Packaging changes cost money and the Canadian market isn't as large as the US market, making it hard to justify making Canadian-mandated changes to decks that will sell mostly to Americans.  Back when IPCC was still in operation as a print shop, they did their own printing and it was a non-issue to comply with what was for them the law of the land.  It's not considered efficient today to scatter the company's resources rather than consolidate them in a single place.

You'd think I'm remember something as big as Canadian law requiring packaging in both languages. I guess it's a blessing that the actual cards don't have to be in both languages (ie. having court pips with Heart K/R for king/roi) 'cause then I probably wouldn't be able to get anything Bicycle playing cards at all. I think the funny thing is that I think the law is sort of selective. I've seen speciality stores sell the Dragon Back Bicycle deck (imported from the US) and magic shops carry some of Ellusionist's stock. Thanks as always for the info, Don.

But it's honestly good to see USPCC selling more unique decks in big chain stores. As always, if a company can make a lot of money, they won't back away from it, but I see this to the advantage of everyone as it'd be easier to get more USPCC decks.

[Don Boyer]

You'd think I'm remember something as big as Canadian law requiring packaging in both languages. I guess it's a blessing that the actual cards don't have to be in both languages (ie. having court pips with Heart K/R for king/roi) 'cause then I probably wouldn't be able to get anything Bicycle playing cards at all. I think the funny thing is that I think the law is sort of selective. I've seen speciality stores sell the Dragon Back Bicycle deck (imported from the US) and magic shops carry some of Ellusionist's stock. Thanks as always for the info, Don.

But it's honestly good to see USPCC selling more unique decks in big chain stores. As always, if a company can make a lot of money, they won't back away from it, but I see this to the advantage of everyone as it'd be easier to get more USPCC decks.

I'd wager there's some difference in how the goods are obtained and marketed that makes the difference.  Ellusionist doesn't export massive quantities of these decks to be displayed on store shelves throughout Canada.  Rather, the magic shops import the goods from Ellusionist.  That could be difference enough, in the eyes of Canadian packaging law.  There also may be differences in terms of goods considered general merchandise and goods sold only through speciality shops, such as a magic shop.  I don't know the full text of the law, so this is all guesswork, but obviously there are some differences as you commented.

I just looked over bicyclecards.ca and every single deck they're offering for sale comes in a bilingual package.  A few of the photos are of the American version, but in each case I've seen the bilingual version of the same products with my own two eyes so I know they exist.  All those products are intended for general distribution throughout the country, thus they have bilingual packaging.  Only in some cases is the American version in the same package, usually for products that have a more limited appeal in the first place, such as the USPC version of Bicycle Guardians.  In other cases, for products with broader appeal like the Bicycle Rider Backs, there's an entirely different box for the Canadian market than the one used in America.

[bhong]

It does make collecting fun as I can have both the Canadian version and the American version of a Bicycle deck. The cards are mostly the same, but I find that the ad cards tend to be different. I believe most Canadian regular Bicycle and Bee decks come with two poker instruction cards over USPCC ad cards.

[Don Boyer]

It does make collecting fun as I can have both the Canadian version and the American version of a Bicycle deck. The cards are mostly the same, but I find that the ad cards tend to be different. I believe most Canadian regular Bicycle and Bee decks come with two poker instruction cards over USPCC ad cards.

American decks used to have those instruction cards.  What's very possible is that when the American decks that had them were printed years ago, the same cards were used to fill up Canadian boxes - and they just haven't sold out of them yet!  Check the AoS letter code and post the full code here - it will help to date the deck in question.

[bhong]

I believe there were their own print run as the Bee deck I have has the trademark address listed as "International Playing Card Co. Ltd. Richmond Hill, Ontario Canada" listed on the two jokers, instructional ad card and guarantee ad card. But the AoS letter code is: 2110-M1102H. I don't have a recent Bicycle deck bought in Canada, but my older one has the AoS letter code as: Y1635.

[Don Boyer]

I believe there were their own print run as the Bee deck I have has the trademark address listed as "International Playing Card Co. Ltd. Richmond Hill, Ontario Canada" listed on the two jokers, instructional ad card and guarantee ad card. But the AoS letter code is: 2110-M1102H. I don't have a recent Bicycle deck bought in Canada, but my older one has the AoS letter code as: Y1635.

I just remembered, you're right about that address.  So we know they're not the same cards...

The Bee deck was printed May of 2010.  More precisely, the 21st week of 2010.

That older Bicycle deck was probably made in 1999 - that's the last time the "Z" code was used.  If it was made in 1979, the deck would probably be yellowing by now.

[bhong]

I believe there were their own print run as the Bee deck I have has the trademark address listed as "International Playing Card Co. Ltd. Richmond Hill, Ontario Canada" listed on the two jokers, instructional ad card and guarantee ad card. But the AoS letter code is: 2110-M1102H. I don't have a recent Bicycle deck bought in Canada, but my older one has the AoS letter code as: Y1635.

I just remembered, you're right about that address.  So we know they're not the same cards...

The Bee deck was printed May of 2010.  More precisely, the 21st week of 2010.

That older Bicycle deck was probably made in 1999 - that's the last time the "Z" code was used.  If it was made in 1979, the deck would probably be yellowing by now.

Is there a quick handy guide to reading when the cards were printed? I'm getting the first chunk of the numbers and letters for the Bee AoS was that 2110-M = 21st week of 2010, May)? In theory, would 1109-J being 11st week of 2009 January/June/July? How did you read the Bicycle one?

[Don Boyer]

Is there a quick handy guide to reading when the cards were printed? I'm getting the first chunk of the numbers and letters for the Bee AoS was that 2110-M = 21st week of 2010, May)? In theory, would 1109-J being 11st week of 2009 January/June/July? How did you read the Bicycle one?

http://www.leeasher.com/playground/articles/how_to_date_a_deck_of_cards.html

There are other, similar charts on the web, but this one is the most up-to-date.  For helping in getting it up-to-date and corrected, Lee Asher gave me an acknowledgement at the bottom of the article!