Need a little help here. Question to US people.

[phantom1412]

My mother is going to US around the end of the month.
I wanna know what kind of decks are sold in convenience stores and which store sell cheapest bikes standard (at what price)?

I'm looking for USPCC decks only and prefer air-cushion finish decks.
Do you have any suggestions for me?

I'd be really thankful for your helps. 

[Ben Taylor]

Wal-Mart would probably be your best bet. The only decks meeting your criteria that you might find are rider backs, maybe some plumas, nautic backs or zombie decks. You might also find some Hoyle cards, or a store with old inventory of something like leaf backs. There's also Walgreens and Target, but that's pretty much it for what most stores would carry. If you're looking for the least expensive way to get a bunch of cards, Sam's Club has a 12-pack of rider backs for $15, but you'll need to find someone with a membership.

[Don Boyer]

My mother is going to US around the end of the month.
I wanna know what kind of decks are sold in convenience stores and which store sell cheapest bikes standard (at what price)?

I'm looking for USPCC decks only and prefer air-cushion finish decks.
Do you have any suggestions for me?

I'd be really thankful for your helps. 

The most common deck you're going to run into is the Bicycle Rider Back (Standard) in red and blue.  Next most common will be the Bee Diamond Back in red and blue.  You'll also bump into Jumbo Index and Pinochle variations of the Rider Backs (they no longer make them for Bees).

As far as price, a deck of cards at retail will average around $3.00, with Bees being slightly more expensive.  It will be more expensive in urban areas with high rents (it's about $4.25 for Bikes near me) and lower in more rural, low-rent areas.  Big box stores like WalMart and KMart will have the best price deals outside of a membership store like Sam's Club or Costco.  Unfortunately, though, many of those deals involve buying in bulk by the brick.

You will find other odds-and-ends - basically, there's a chance that you can run into anything that's on the bicyclecards.com web site, except for Tally Ho, which is regional to New York City, and Maverick, which is regional mostly to Southern states.  But also keep your eyes out for really cheap decks - it's not just the "dollar stores" that sell them, but some chains do as well.  For example, the CVS Pharmacy chain has a few store brands made for them by Cartamundi that are the absolute worst decks I've ever encountered.  Total trash.  But they charge as much for them as Bicycles.  WalMart occasionally carries some rea garbage decks for $1 a pack as well.

Beyond that, look for Walgreens - they have their own brand, Play-Right, as well as their canceled brand, Stud.  Stud decks will still pop up now and then, "old new stock" that someone found at the back of a warehouse or stockroom collecting dust.  Walgreens also owns another chain, Duane Reade, which originated in New York - they'll carry the Play-Rights, but it's very doubtful they'll have Studs.

If she's visiting New York - Tally Ho is more easily found.
If she's visiting Las Vegas - lots of casino decks around, both canceled and uncanceled.
If she's visiting any decent-sized city - check to see if there's a magic shop nearby.

As far as "air cushion" - smooth-finish USPC decks are very uncommon.  The two you'd be likely to encounter in a retail environment would be Aviators and Streamlines.  Aviators are not often seen outside of an airport and Streamlines aren't very common, either.  Oh, and you might find "The Dog" or "The Cat", two smooth-finish decks with kawaii SD photos of different breeds on each card - that's smooth as well!

[Anthony]

Walgreens will also have Dragon Backs in Red and Blue, the Gold is a little harder to come by. More recently I've seen the Peacock decks appearing on the Bicycle rack.

[S. Carey]

There is a chain store called Five Below that sells a lot of cheap decks like Streamlines and Maverick. They also sell a huge range of Cartamundi decks. They stock sport team decks made by random companies as well as the USPCC and I've even seen some mini-decks there as well. The only Bike decks I've ever seen there are the Poker Peek and the 10 year anniversary decks sold for 2 bucks a pop. 

I think the chain is regional to the north east and usually found in major shopping areas that also have Target, Best Buy, Dicks Sporting Goods, Barnes and Noble etc...

[10ofclubs]

There is a chain store called Five Below that sells a lot of cheap decks like Streamlines and Maverick. They also sell a huge range of Cartamundi decks. They stock sport team decks made by random companies as well as the USPCC and I've even seen some mini-decks there as well. The only Bike decks I've ever seen there are the Poker Peek and the 10 year anniversary decks sold for 2 bucks a pop. 

I think the chain is regional to the north east and usually found in major shopping areas that also have Target, Best Buy, Dicks Sporting Goods, Barnes and Noble etc...

I live in Indiana and have been up to the coast a few times, but I've never seen or heard of the chain. Sounds like a sweet place though.

[phantom1412]

Thank you so much for all your comments.