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montecarlojoe · « **on:** December 03, 2013, 04:43:17 PM »

With international shipping in the US sky rocketing, it's becoming increasingly difficult to justify buying one or two decks at a time.

One way around this is to buy in bulk and sell them on later - but this is pricey and risky.

Don suggested banding together with other UK buyers for the holiday deals - unfortunately I fell off the map for the last week or so - so missed that boat, but there's no reason not to do so in the future!

So if you're in the UK (or even the EU) make your self heard here and we can look at making a few quid savings by buying as a group. I'm happy to act as a "hub" and make the orders if others are ok with that. (Though I'm not a Club 808 or Black Club member so I wont be able to do so for any club exclusive decks) - Kickstarters would also have to be looked at on a case by case basis.

To get the ball rolling, I did manage to get online at work for a few minutes on Friday and have half a brick each of Legends 2.0 and BlackJAQK each coming. I only really want one of each for myself, and I'll be selling on the rest at whatever the market value establishes itself at. However - for UK collectors I'm more than happy to pass them on at cost (max one of each per person, and first come first served)

They'll be a little under £6 each + UK mainland shipping (Happy to give a detailed breakdown)

Give me a shout if you're interested!

blastercast · « **Reply #1 on:** December 03, 2013, 05:03:23 PM »

Well I'm up for this

Just ordered from E this morning though, could have known about this!
I'll take a BlackJAQK and a legends 2.0

Thank you

montecarlojoe · « **Reply #2 on:** December 03, 2013, 05:27:34 PM »

No worries - I'll let you know when they arrive!

Wilko · « **Reply #3 on:** December 03, 2013, 06:19:41 PM »

Sounds like a good idea to me. I'm always buying decks from the US. I try and wait until I have a decent order, as to make it worth my while shipping wise!
I've picked up the blackJAQJ & legends v2 already so i'm not looking for any if these but in the future I'd be well up for clubbing together.

Nurul · « **Reply #4 on:** December 03, 2013, 07:04:42 PM »

This sounds like a very good idea. I have an S&M deluxe edition box set I want to sell for £40 inc 1st class signed for.
Also, I'm a member of club 808 and black club so I'll be happy to help anyone out with exclusives.

montecarlojoe · « **Reply #5 on:** December 03, 2013, 07:23:06 PM »

Good man - I'll certainly be interested in a Cigar and an Espionage at some point!

Don Boyer · « **Reply #6 on:** December 03, 2013, 09:42:00 PM »

Best way to deal with this for the present, in terms of efficiency:

Go through the major US shops, one at a time, including major retailers like pokerstud52 at eBay and the1eyedjack.com.

Create a shopping list for whatever the group wants in each shop - if the list is long enough, it's worth it; if not, keep it on hold until there's more interest.

Pool the cash via PayPal, make the purchase - wait for the decks and start shipping!

You can also save any transaction fees from PayPal by making deposits directly into each other's bank accounts in the branch office near you. I've done that before to send cash to relatives.

montecarlojoe · « **Reply #7 on:** December 04, 2013, 01:52:26 PM »

That's the general idea - though starting with paypal is probably the way to go. Whilst we can do bank transfers for free, I'm basically a stranger at the moment and the extra odd 30p for paypal buyer protection is probably worth the piece of mind... Later once trust is established we can look at more direct methods.

I'll be looking to organise / collate decks and sources over the weekend.

blastercast · « **Reply #8 on:** December 04, 2013, 03:36:24 PM »

Well I'm always up for this!
Need some new decks, just got some brown rounders, LTD and a red artifice uncut off of E and it's set me back a large chunk, would love something like this to help save a bit

-Benny

Don Boyer · « **Reply #9 on:** December 04, 2013, 06:53:37 PM »

If you guys can keep this topic lively on a regular basis, I'll make it sticky for you. Let's see how this works out.

To paraphrase, "Let's get down to it, shoppers!"

dee1orean · « **Reply #10 on:** December 04, 2013, 08:29:46 PM »

I had a similar idea a couple of years back but didn't really know how to go about it. the framework you've laid out seems like a good start building a network of UK collectors would also be good for future sales or Trades.

Oh, and I'll take a black jaqk if theres one going

kdklown · « **Reply #11 on:** December 05, 2013, 01:23:33 AM »

Awesome teamwork here for you folks. Would be a huge coup for all of you if you could get this thing into full swing.

Barry Hurton · « **Reply #12 on:** December 05, 2013, 05:28:12 AM »

This sounds awesome! The method I've been using at the moment is too do one big shop (from a mass retailer like BMPW, Pokerstud, etc) where I get numerous brands and then set off the shipping against the number of decks - 5 decks runs me like $30 shipping, 50 decks is $50. I also buy extras and sell them on to cover shipping ~ for example I picked up some extra theory11 decks (Black JAQK's and some other things) and I may still buy some stuff from E, in which case I will try to sell the red arcane for what the shipping cost me. It normally works out... But it means I pay more per deck (buying in the aftermarket isn't cheap, and I normally always miss kickstarters because I refuse to pay $20 for a run of the mill custom deck. $20+ are for special decks, or decks I need to complete a sub group of my collection) and I also take the risk of not selling the stock on (a White LTD to me is worth £40-£50, but to everyone else it might be worth £5 and there's me here with a red arcane and white LTD trying to recoup £80 or whatever without anyone biting. This isn't too bad if I can enjoy them in my collection, unless I already have one of the decks and so it's dead weight).

Long story short; Happy to be considered for a group buy (obviously not going to commit to buying everything), will have some pretty decent extras to sell on, bring on the New Year!

montecarlojoe · « **Reply #13 on:** December 05, 2013, 11:21:09 AM »

Quote from: dee1orean on December 04, 2013, 08:29:46 PM

I had a similar idea a couple of years back but didn't really know how to go about it. the framework you've laid out seems like a good start building a network of UK collectors would also be good for future sales or Trades.

Oh, and I'll take a black jaqk if theres one going

Done!

3 of each left for grabs!

It's great to see everyone getting on board

Barry Hurton · « **Reply #14 on:** December 05, 2013, 12:41:14 PM »

I should probably have added that I'm club808 and might be going black club next year as well. Happy to act as a hub for those or others if you need me!

blastercast · « **Reply #15 on:** December 06, 2013, 05:52:46 PM »

MCJ can I order one of each?

-Benny

dee1orean · « **Reply #16 on:** December 07, 2013, 12:33:44 PM »

Would it be worth contacting some of the better known US resellers? For example Aceking, the1eyedjack and BMpokerworld to see if they'd be willing to offer discounts for larger orders?

Barry Hurton · « **Reply #17 on:** December 07, 2013, 02:15:47 PM »

Not sure if they would do anything special - I've ordered a 72 deck order from BMPW before which was $55 or something - way cheaper than the $18 for 12 scaled up (that was what it used to be before shipping increases) now it costs:

Up to 17 Decks INT - $27
Up to 72 Decks INT - $66

If you wanted 12 decks it would cost you $27 shipping, if you could order with others it would cost you $11 shipping plus uk shipping (which might bring the cost back up to $27!

From what I can tell with the big names, they don't seem to make much on the shipping, and I doubt they'll take a loss.

Don Boyer · « **Reply #18 on:** December 07, 2013, 08:36:19 PM »

Quote from: Barry Hurton on December 07, 2013, 02:15:47 PM

Not sure if they would do anything special - I've ordered a 72 deck order from BMPW before which was $55 or something - way cheaper than the $18 for 12 scaled up (that was what it used to be before shipping increases) now it costs:

Up to 17 Decks INT - $27
Up to 72 Decks INT - $66

If you wanted 12 decks it would cost you $27 shipping, if you could order with others it would cost you $11 shipping plus uk shipping (which might bring the cost back up to $27!

From what I can tell with the big names, they don't seem to make much on the shipping, and I doubt they'll take a loss.

You should look into the costs of a consolidation service such as shipito.com. You could place orders with multiple retailers and send them to a central location in the US, reducing the shipping there. Then they send you one large package, often at a discounted price compared to what retailers usually charge. It could add up to a savings for your buyers' group.

Barry Hurton · « **Reply #19 on:** December 07, 2013, 09:45:52 PM »

Hmm in theory it seems a good idea - just a bit unsure since never used it and it seems a bit complicated - would definitely work if I was ordering on my own (get 3 parcels and shipping in one) but if enough people are ordering in the group, the discount should be good enough.

dee1orean · « **Reply #20 on:** December 07, 2013, 10:17:35 PM »

Interesting idea Don.

I was thinking more of a discount on the cost of the cards themselves. I've always found John at Acekingcards to be incredibly helpful and willing to negotiate.
I'm sure that if we were to offer to order exclusively from one dealer and to order a minimum Quantity per order, i'm sure they'd be willing to do something/ Even if it was only .10c to .15c of each deck. every little helps.

Barry Hurton · « **Reply #21 on:** December 07, 2013, 11:29:55 PM »

Oh, well yeah I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, look at all those who have provided discount codes for members of this board! Speaking of UKer's, in the next few weeks I think I am going to place an order with my Club808 membership - if anyone wants anything, email me at: barryhurton@mail.com, or pm me on here!

montecarlojoe · « **Reply #22 on:** December 09, 2013, 06:24:41 PM »

Update on the Decks: Legends are here, just waiting on the JAQKS

Update on the project:

Thinking on the comments above, a consolidation service certainly makes sense for an individual - but really this idea is looking at bulk orders from single suppliers, so I don't think we'd see the benefit.

Some resellers are mentioned - do you think we'd see the same savings? We'd have to take into account their profit margins etc. But i guess if decks simply aren't available elsewhere...

Anyway here's a little something I've put together based on the big names:
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=E0F8A9746CD7F28F!1284&authkey=!AM_Rzh3hiGvn5hk&ithint=file%2c.xlsx

The idea here is that by adding "wants" to the want list, availability is automatically calculated and the summary screen shows how many decks we are collectively looking for from each supplier. Once we hit a threshold (say a 12/brick) we can look at making an order.

If anyone wants an addition to the wishlist, spots a mistake on the availability page, or can recommend other suppliers post or pm and I'll update the sheet.
Any other feedback would be welcome too.

The cost calculator page should give some insight into my calculations for passing the decks on.

The proposed process would be:

1. Update the sheet until we hit a threshold for a supplier
2. Double check with those listed that hey are still interested
3. Update want list accordingly
4. Fill the shopping cart at the supplier to get a quote of cost and shipping total.
5. Run the figures and quote individual prices (I can create a fully itemised quote if people don't mind their "order" shared with the buying group )
6. Collect money! (Would prefer paypal - since I will essentially be acting as a seller you should be protected if I get hit by a bus or am driven mad by power)
7. Make order and update wantlist (remove relevant lines)
8. Wait for arrival and redistribute

As this is still experimental, if this takes off I'd like to do one at a time for a while (not least because the figures involved could snowball...!

(NB Pressers seems like a good starting point

)

A final thought - what if we qualify for "free" rare decks for a large order... I guess we'll work that out as it happens. Perhaps some sort of lottery between participating buyers? We'll cross that bridge when it comes!

Wilko · « **Reply #23 on:** December 09, 2013, 06:34:14 PM »

Sounds like a solid method of running this. Respect for taking the time to think this through & set the ball rolling.
I am definitely in on the idea.
Can I take the last legends v2 decks you have available?
Thanks
Jay

put me down for
3 pressers
1 red exquisite
2 blue exquisite

montecarlojoe · « **Reply #24 on:** December 09, 2013, 07:02:05 PM »

Updated with Wilko's wants.