Bicycle Classics Comics (KS - 2nd try)

[jmac]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yellowmoondecks/bicycle-classics-comics-playing-cards

New Back Options.

[Don Boyer]

If they ditch the faux-aged parchment look for something closer to the cheap pulp used for early comics, they'd be on the right track.

The Hearts suit is a little weak, as far as interesting characters.  "The Royal Dame?"  Sounds pretty lame.

I like the typeface used for the indices - matched to the handwritten word balloons of yesteryear.

[jmac]

Coming soon! The Classics Comics Deck by Classics Playing Cards is a rare centerpiece for any collector to have. There will only be 1,000 decks printed by USPCC. These will not be sold wholesale or retail after the Kickstarter campaign. If there are any decks remaining after this campaign is over they will be destroyed. I will post a video showing the destruction. Just like a rare old comic book, only a few will be floating around. Will you be one of the lucky ones to say that you own one?

[Don Boyer]

I merged the two topics on this deck together.  We try to keep it to one topic per deck on the Playing Card Plethora, making it easier to find all the info about one deck in one place.

How are you getting USPC to print only 1,000 decks?  They tried and quickly rescinded their 1,000-deck minimum for print runs, raising it back to 2,500 decks.

If you want a SHORT print run, you could consider a different printer.  EPCC allows for 1,000-deck runs, LPCC allows for 900-deck runs, and MPC allows for runs as short as a single deck.  Bear in mind, though, that while overall these printers are cheaper than USPC, the per-deck cost is rather high for short print runs - the shorter, the higher.  You'd lose the Bicycle branding, but these days it's not worth what it one was in terms of getting extra decks sold.  There's been so many poor Bicycle designs, by USPC and their customers like you, that Bicycle deck collectors aren't as staunch and faithful to the brand as they once were.

[chas0039]

And just so you know, maybe I am getting old and crabby, but "coming soon" does nothing for me but annoy.  I want one announcement, one click through, one look to see if I am interested.  If I have to come back, it is old and boring and already has one strike against.

[PrincessTrouble]

How are you getting USPC to print only 1,000 decks? 

I was wondering that too.

[jmac]

magic...

[Sburk49]

Not to sound like a jerk, but I really feel this wont fund. The audience isnt broad enough. It's really got to appeal to more people these days if it's going to fund on KS.

[Justin O.]

I like the pellet gun ad on the back of the tuck, very classic, and feels absolutely right with the theme of the deck.
The characters are a little cheesy, but it works.
The revolvers on the backs don't feel right, more of a classic western vibe than a comic book one.

I am also suspicious about the low print run however, I would expect that to be cost prohibitive even if you were able to get the OK from USPC, which would make me concerned about fulfillment.

Look forward to seeing the project go live again

[jmac]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yellowmoondecks/rare-bicycle-classics-comics-playing-cards-1000-pr

(Rare) Bicycle Classics Comics 1,000 Print Live. Go check them out.

[Justin O.]

Dude, you already have a topic.

[jmac]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yellowmoondecks/rare-bicycle-classics-comics-playing-cards-1000-pr

LIVE!

[Paul.Middleton]

Destroying the extra decks if they print more than 1000mis extreme to say the least, and a total waste of money.

I'd find it hard to even destroy one deck and I don't really see who benefits from doing that, is the aim to simply ensure there is definitely only 1000?

[Don Boyer]

And just so you know, maybe I am getting old and crabby, but "coming soon" does nothing for me but annoy.  I want one announcement, one click through, one look to see if I am interested.  If I have to come back, it is old and boring and already has one strike against.

No arguments from me - but some people do like the whole "sneak preview" thing.  It also gives designers a chance to tweak designs if they're unfavorably received before hitting the "release" button.

Not to sound like a jerk, but I really feel this wont fund. The audience isnt broad enough. It's really got to appeal to more people these days if it's going to fund on KS.

Expressing a valid opinion doesn't make you a jerk, especially if you're not being insulting about it.  Bravo.

I would only suggest that you offer some kind of creative criticism - you might have an idea that would make this better.  It's not required, but good designers find it very helpful.  Bad designers just think you're insulting them personally and pout! 

I like the pellet gun ad on the back of the tuck, very classic, and feels absolutely right with the theme of the deck.
The characters are a little cheesy, but it works.
The revolvers on the backs don't feel right, more of a classic western vibe than a comic book one.

I am also suspicious about the low print run however, I would expect that to be cost prohibitive even if you were able to get the OK from USPC, which would make me concerned about fulfillment.

Look forward to seeing the project go live again

Actually, in the 1950s, Western comics were as popular if not more popular than sci-fi/superhero themes.  Westerns were in movies, television, literature - it follows suit they were popular in comics.  Romance books were popular for girls in the same time period.  Generally speaking, it was the age when consumerism was practically invented - publishers printed anything people would shell out a few cents for, and with the generally high level of prosperity, people didn't pinch many of those pennies, spending them on consumer goods that didn't exist and wouldn't have been popular just twenty years earlier.

Destroying the extra decks if they print more than 1000mis extreme to say the least, and a total waste of money.

I'd find it hard to even destroy one deck and I don't really see who benefits from doing that, is the aim to simply ensure there is definitely only 1000?

It's ridiculous, is what it is, and it's a gimmick.  Period.  They're counting on the deck being more popular simply because fewer copies exist.  There are collectors that feed into this logic, but they tend to be in the minority and it works better when the design is a solid must-have instead of something that has too limited an audience.

Dude, you already have a topic.

I fixed this - for a SECOND time.  I warned Jmac that I'd temporarily suspend his posting privileges if he keeps making new topics for his deck.

[jmac]

Sorry about the over posting. I just love this deck and I don't want the design to go to waste.  I don't do forums too much, but just because I don't post much doesn't mean that I am just a promote and go type of guy. Here is me and my dad's collection.

[Don Boyer]

Sorry about the over posting. I just love this deck and I don't want the design to go to waste.  I don't do forums too much, but just because I don't post much doesn't mean that I am just a promote and go type of guy. Here is me and my dad's collection.

You collect WITH your father?  Mighty cool.  I'm almost afraid to ask - how many decks?  (Total quantity and number of varieties?)

[Paul.Middleton]

That looks more like a retailers stockroom to me!

[CBJ]

His dad is Mike Guistolise.  He owns Collectable Playing Cards, and a few other companies.

Mike's a great guy.


Jay

[jmac]

We sell and collect. It's a great gig I can't even count how many we have.

[skinny]

I'm in no way affiliated with jmac. I ~really~ like these cards.

They have a great cheese to function ratio, and the feel is consistent across the deck. I'm easily in for a couple.

(If this were my design, I would use standard 2-corner indices. That's always my preference for modern decks. I would also play around with Zing! and Thwap! for the cardback design and the cardback inside the aces.)

If the campaign funds, I'd offer the remaining decks to backers at a lower price with preferential treatment to the higher pledges.

[Don Boyer]

If the campaign funds, I'd offer the remaining decks to backers at a lower price with preferential treatment to the higher pledges.

Now why would he do that if his dad owns a card shop?  He can simply sell the extras at retail!  Most KS project are offered with at least a small discount off of the retail price anyway, and the price is often sliding-scale based on quantity purchased, with larger quantities getting a lower per-unit price.

[skinny]

Now why would he do that if his dad owns a card shop? 

His current plan is to destroy any unsold decks in the interest of rarity. He's mentioned never selling / licensing / wholesaling them.

[Fess]

I love the back of the tuck. I'm in, again.

[Don Boyer]

Now why would he do that if his dad owns a card shop? 

His current plan is to destroy any unsold decks in the interest of rarity. He's mentioned never selling / licensing / wholesaling them.

I was referring to those that would remain unsold within the 1,000-deck threshold.  Campaigns that announce a print run limit at the start of the campaign will often find themselves with left-over decks at campaign's end, unless the project was a runaway hit (and most aren't).  It's what you do with those decks that can make or break some projects.  But without announcing a limit, some of the more avaricious collectors will either shy away or take a wait-and-see attitude - they won't back unless they know the item will be rare and thus become valuable.

Of course, he could destroy those decks as well, bringing the total in existence below 1,000.  But it's the playing card equivalent of cutting off one's nose to spite one's face.  At some point, it turns into a serious money loss.  If he priced out the campaign right, he won't hit the print button until he's got the cash to cover the cost of the entire print run and then some.

Additionally, there will always be people in the community who will wonder, and not without justification, whether he had a large print run made, said he's destroying hundreds and hundreds of decks but then keeps the decks and trickles them out onto the market, giving them an artificially-inflated rarity and thus a higher post-retail price.  I've heard of other sellers using similar tactics to artificially bump up the prices of their wares.  It's like a conspiracy theory, but unfortunately for the seller, it's a much more plausible conspiracy, especially considering that it would be beyond odd for someone to destroy more than half of a print run just to make a deck more rare AND have the Bicycle brand name on it.  You put the Bicycle name on a deck to make it more popular - then destroy inventory to make it less available?

All this, naturally, assumes that he will indeed have to destroy decks.  It's also plausible though unlikely that USPC will simply grant him one-off permission for a shorter print run.  It's not unheard of for them to accommodate larger customer accounts that way - they do fun stuff like that for David Blaine, and he doesn't make anywhere near as many deck designs as CPC does, plus pretty much most if not all of those CPC decks are Bicycle-branded.

[Paul.Middleton]

His dad is Mike Guistolise.  He owns Collectable Playing Cards, and a few other companies.

Mike's a great guy.


Jay

He is indeed a decent guy from my dealings with him, that photo makes much more sense now.