I didn't say anything is wrong with the design. I was just saying Kickstarter users who aren't card collectors wouldn't be drawn towards it for any specific reasons. For example, the Wizard of Oz cards on now has appeal to people who like the Wizard of Oz and the Vampire cards appeal to people who like vampire stories. My cards are always history based so they tend to appeal to history buffs. Of course, card collectors still support the project but if you project appeals outside the card community then you increase your chances to bring in new people.
But I agree this could be a very sucessful project. The only thing that needs to be re-tooled would be the goal amount and how the pledge tiers are set up.
I have to agree with what Robert is saying here. This deck, though design is good, does not have any other qualities that will draw non-card collectors to come in and pledge. Unlike his previous decks for Feds and Sherlock Holmes, where they could attract an additional group of people, Silver Arrow seems to target mainly card collectors.
I also think this deck have the qualities to be successful. The question now is, will Jackson continue at this low cost high production project, or launch a more limited and expensive project? I simply feel the low cost one is still viable, but just needs something more to attract more pledges. The Pearl Edition could be a stretch goal. Tiers for uncut sheets can be released to include 1 free deck as well (where the cost is already factored in). Limited signed decks at a higher pledge tier could also be possible. While uncuts and signed decks are not what i would look for, i believe there are many collectors out there who dig into this kind of stuff. This are some ways to get more people buying while not really increasing your cost per deck.
In essence, I believe Robert's saying the deck lacks a theme or a "hook" to draw in people who aren't collectors. But does a deck really NEED a hook? The art itself can be enough for some - they look exotic yet familiar at the same time, and some people would use Silver Arrows for a late-night poker game or whatever other games you want to play with it. (I left out collectors, magicians and cardists intentionally, since we're talking about attracting a demographic that doesn't fit any of those categories.) Using the "sniff test" I've started using a lot lately, "Would my poker buddies play with this deck?," I have to say that there's really no reason why they wouldn't - it's attractive and has a general design that conforms to International Standard.
I think I can sum up what's been taking place. Jackson has an idea for making a cheap, high-quality, custom deck. The idea gets designed out and he picks a volume level that would allow him to undercut the cost of anything he's ever done aside from his decks he made for USPC. Now, with such a large volume, Jackson decides he needs to hedge his bet a little - he doesn't want to end up with several thousand unsold decks piled up in his office, living room, etc. He creates a second deck, this one as a short-run deck, only ten percent the size of the initial printing. He only offers the deck to people buying by the brick, thinking that it's like a thank-you gift to all those who invest in the project at that level. But this stirs up the collectors - "Why can't I just buy that deck, even at a premium price? I don't need a brick of the original design..." While there are collectors who don't bat an eyelash at buying a brick, particular if it's $6 a pack, but many people do have a hard time with that, especially in a less-than-robust economy, and collectors being collectors, they want that deck but don't want that whole brick. So much time is spent by collectors talking about that brick deal that all else gets overlooked. As far as they typical consumer, all they know is that unless they're inveterate poker players, they rarely buy twelve decks of anything, and if they do, it's cards they'll use at poker; plain-ol' Bikes and Bees, or maybe they'll skip the paper and just use plastic. If they do use paper, they'll use two decks of the same design but different colors, and they're not going to by 10 or 11 of one deck and end up with 1 or 2 of the other - they want to buy evenly. (But if they discover the faces don't match, they'll pass and get something matching instead.)
There's a number of ways this could have been dealt with better, as I see it. One good one would have been to make the white deck available - for purchase - at a lower deck amount. For example, if you order a minimum of three decks, you can buy one of the rare deck while supplies last, with an extra deck available to you for sale for every additional three unlimited decks you buy. You can buy them, ignore them, whatever you wish, but it lowers the bar a bit more so "mere mortals" have a shot at buying one as well. Make it the SAME PRICE as the original version - I know it doesn't cost $6 to make it, so you can likely sell it and add it to the larger order without losing any money (if fact, you could make maybe a buck or less on each). Regardless, it serves its purpose - it pushes sales of the large print-run deck to make that a viable reality. Think about it - Ellusionist and Theory11 have sold rare decks before, but always at a price that's within their general prices range, the only big exception I can think of being the Black Club decks.
Another could have been to simply split the print run, making about 10,000 of each instead of 20,000 of one and 2,000 of the other. If the faces were matched, he might even be able to pry a discount from the printer for not needing to swap out the face plates for the second print run - I've seen it happen before, and when you're buying in bigger amounts, most printers tend to treat you more nicely, just like you'd see the difference between the treatment of a big tipper and a penny pincher at a typical restaurant.
I'm sure there's other ways to make it work better than this project has.
$12 1 deck
$9 add-ons (Slate)
$16 add-ons (Pearl)
This completely defeats what Jackson is trying to do with this project.
Troy, what were you thinking? The object of the game here was to create a custom deck design that doesn't have to sell at typical custom-deck prices - perhaps something closer to what you'd pay for unlimited decks from producers like E, T11, TBC, etc. What you're proposing is just another costly deck with pricing that favors the well-heeled - Jackson's decks are all being sold at a flat rate regardless of amount purchased, making it fair for everyone (except perhaps himself).
