Arctic Playing Cards (KS)

[Otto]

Hi all. I'm new here so nice to meet you.

I was hoping to launch a small Kickstarter campaign sometime in the next few weeks for a deck that I've designed - the Arctic Playing Cards. The deck is fully custom and features colourful animal illustrations for the court cards.

You can see the preview of the Kickstarter here .... https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/589759921/359184610?token=0ad3a716

I'd greatly appreciate any comments you have about the project, good or bad, so I can make the deck as good as it can be before launching.

Thanks,

Otto

[flyers3003]

Positives
Love the artwork!  Other than the Narwhal (something about this one bugs me, but I can't put my finger on it), I think the animals look great.

Negatives
MPC - while some are fine with the quality of MPC, and I understand the desire to use them (cost/minimum #decks - especially for a 1st time project), I typically will not buy MPC produced decks.

Price point, especially with MPC.  @ around 12 pounds (approx. $18) for one deck, this is expensive.  Most decks are going in the $10-$15 range (8-10 pounds) and this is with USPCC, or Expert/Legends which are all better quality than MPC. 


I wish you good luck, but at the current price/printer selection I'm out.

[ecNate]

Yeah, $18-$19 USD shipped is way too much for most decks (exception for highest art and lots of foil, embossing, low print run, quality printer, etc).  This is dead on arrival.  Another MAJOR problem is this - "Free Shipping Worldwide".  That will KILL your profits and possibly mean you will lose money.  Do some research on what shipping is to every country in the world, some can be 3-5x what others are. 

I would suggest looking into using USPCC and using a fulfillment service or better yet using an AP based printer (can't remember if it was EPCC or LPCC) that offers both printing and direct from factory fulfillment. 


As for the art itself, perhaps at the right price and quality, but until then...  Also, although different enough, this reminds me a lot of Animal Kingdom which I already have so not as interested as I would have been otherwise.

[Otto]

Hi guys, thanks for the quick replies.

I was worried that the price would put a lot of people off. Since I was planning on using the MPC fulfilment service I have already carried out all the calculations for manufacture, shipping & handling, and kickstarter fees to ensure that I wouldn't make a loss. That is the main reason that the price is so high.

I have noticed a lot of project creators tend to ship the decks to themselves and then fulfil the orders as well so maybe I should look into how costly that would be. Or as you say, it could be a better idea to look into LPCC or USPCC?

I do also own the Animal Kingdom deck. It is one of my favourite decks so it did have a bit of an influence on my designs.

[ecNate]

Why not charge each backer what it ACTUALLY costs to get from fulfillment to their location?  Using a flat rate either means you run the risk of getting screwed or you have to charge such a high fee based on worst case that you don't get any backers. 

[Otto]

Using MPCs fulfilment services the difference between shipping for the USA and the rest of the world is about $1.50 so for the first pledge tier the deck would still be priced at £11 minimum which I feel would still be too high.

[HankMan]

To be honest that is a very expensive MPC deck, even if shipping is included. MPC definitely had shown improvement but it still doesn't justify the price tag for each deck. Do consider LPCC before you launch this project.

I would suggest looking into using USPCC and using a fulfillment service or better yet using an AP based printer (can't remember if it was EPCC or LPCC) that offers both printing and direct from factory fulfillment. 

I know LPCC offer fulfillment from their headquarters in Hong Kong and they tend to give the best shipping price (maybe not to US if you campared it to US fulfillment centers)

[Otto]

Hi HankMan, based on the feedback from you, Flyers, & ecNate, I will be getting in touch with Legends for a quote.

Originally I was put off due to the minimum order but, if people like my art, and if I can get cheaper & higher quality decks produced by LPCC, I'll give it a go at funding with them.

[Don Boyer]

Hi HankMan, based on the feedback from you, Flyers, & ecNate, I will be getting in touch with Legends for a quote.

Originally I was put off due to the minimum order but, if people like my art, and if I can get cheaper & higher quality decks produced by LPCC, I'll give it a go at funding with them.

Also bear in mind that Expert PCC will do fulfillment as well.  They have a service for overseas fulfillment right in Taipei, near the factory, and they use Gambler's Warehouse as well within the US.  Now, for domestic shipping, they can ship from GW - but if they ship from Taipei instead, while there's a slightly higher cost, there's also a delivery time that's a month SHORTER because of the direct shipping.  In the case of splitting the domestic and international shipping between the two, you'd have domestic-bound decks waiting about 4-6 weeks in transit before they even reach GW while Taipei-shipped international decks are out of the factory and in the mail within a few days of being printed.

[Otto]

Hi Don, thanks for the extra info. I'll check Expert out as well.

I've disabled the preview link for the moment while I get in touch with both companies and recalculate costs etc.

Also I was just wondering what do you guys think of borderless back designs? Do people tend to like/dislike them, or does it not make a difference if the back design has a border or not.

[Don Boyer]

Hi Don, thanks for the extra info. I'll check Expert out as well.

I've disabled the preview link for the moment while I get in touch with both companies and recalculate costs etc.

Also I was just wondering what do you guys think of borderless back designs? Do people tend to like/dislike them, or does it not make a difference if the back design has a border or not.

You've disabled the preview and didn't post the backs on the topic...

[Otto]

You've disabled the preview and didn't post the backs on the topic...

Sorry, I meant in a more general way. As in do people prefer decks with bordered or borderless backs. You're right though, I guess opinions would be different depending on the design. I'll have a play with the back and if I decide to change it I'll update the topic with the side-by-side visuals. Thanks.

[Don Boyer]

You've disabled the preview and didn't post the backs on the topic...

Sorry, I meant in a more general way. As in do people prefer decks with bordered or borderless backs. You're right though, I guess opinions would be different depending on the design. I'll have a play with the back and if I decide to change it I'll update the topic with the side-by-side visuals. Thanks.

It's not an easy generalization to make.  Some people like borderless decks, some don't, and there's a variety of reasons for both beyond simple personal preference.  For example, casinos have mostly moved away from borderless designs because if they aren't cut just right, they can easily become one-way backs, more so than would be the case with a bordered back - not to mention that they're better at concealing certain card sleights.  Some collectors, however, love a borderless design, especially if it's attractive, and if a deck has a border, they prefer the thinnest borders possible, though printers go crazy trying to get them properly centered before cutting.  Magicians are of two opinions, for the most part - borderless designs work very nicely with hiding gambling sleights as mentioned earlier, while most borderless designs can't conceal a card that's been flipped and placed in the center of the deck, making it more difficult if not impossible to perform certain tricks with them.  But there's enough decks of each type that unless a deck is specifically being targeted at magicians for magic or gambling demos, they tend to not fuss much about it.

Unless you're specifically targeting a group that has a preference, make whichever type of back YOU prefer, bordered or borderless.  After all, the deck is your vision, right?