I understand that I'm trying to swim upstream here in terms of public opinion, but there are plausible - not even probable, but plausible - reasons for such a print run.
Scott - it wouldn't make more sense to use their existing decks, since those decks were printed with USPC and these are pretty certainly done by EPCC. I don't think it was a prototype for checking colors - they may have been checking the digital printer out for a possible mass production idea. Imagine how simple it would be to make many different custom decks if standard printing presses weren't needed, just a high-end printer running off of a desktop?
!An0n - could it be an elaborate scheme for them to make money? Probably - most businesses are in the business of making money. Where does the line get drawn? It gets drawn where people stop showing interest and stop buying. We're obviously not at that point yet, as we all can see by the sell-out. Just the rarity alone would have been enough to make certain collectors chomp at the bit to get their hands on some. The people here are obviously not that kind of collector - I'm not either, so yay, us!
And again, I doubt these were done with a different print company - just on a different machine, a digital printer rather than the big old offset machines used to make most decks today. Digital printers are predominantly used for making proof sheets, just to insure that the colors and details come out as desired - and even there, it's not a perfect process and there will usually be some minor difference between the digital proof and the finished product, but the proof does provide the artist with a rough idea that's close enough to the end result in most cases. However, finding a digital printer that could make playing cards as good as the ones from the offset machines and affordably is something that the custom deck industry's been striving toward for a number of years now.
Victor - yes, that's exactly what this is, a "money grab". But anyone trying to sell a product or service of some kind can be seen as making a "money grab" just as easily. People in business gotta eat, too, and more than just gub'mint cheese. You say, "print cards really cheap" - do you know what was paid for each deck? I said this before, it's less about he product being about playing cards than it is about the Blue Crown's anniversary, and this was Alex's way of making something to commemorate it.
As long as the money's not coming out of your pocket, why should it matter? It's not my cup of tea, either, but I don't recall being forced to buy any. In fact, in the past year, my buying habits have become extremely selective, to the point where I'm occasionally passing on decks I like, never mind ones I don't... So he probably found somewhere between about 150-200 people who bought out his inventory - good for Alex. I didn't want it, didn't buy it - good for me. You and some others here CLEARLY didn't like it, so you (probably!) didn't buy any - good for all of you. I'm failing to see a real problem here. It was a limited edition item, sold to people who pay extra attention to the "limited edition" part - and considering the quantities, it didn't take many people to make it a sellout.
If this was some other item, say, a special "My Little Pony" doll made just for TBC, I'd imagine there's be few takers here. But the bronies out there who love that sort of thing would eat it up and ask for seconds. And the point is, "So what?" It may not be something you'd normally find in TBC's store, but still, "So what?" You do what you have to do, within the limits of the law, to make a living, and this netted him some of the cash needed for that. Ain't no law against selling My Little Ponies or commemorative printings of a prototype deck. You don't like it, don't buy it - vote with your cash, plain and simple.
