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Mike Ratledge wrote: No, RAVN is being done by Eddie at Gambler's Warehouse fulfillment center, like almost all of the recent projects by Lorenzo, Giovanni & UC2016/Nouveau are or will be.

CPC has done fulfillment for several groups, including TriKard (formerly "Kardify projects") and others.

You're absolutely right! Sometimes I confuse CPC with playingcardsdotnet!

SpecialK wrote:Could have sworn I read he was fulfilling himself, but I seem to be incorrect.

From his last update, regarding the prints, he will ship the prints from Canada himself, but the cards are to be shipped from CPC, that I guess is from US.

I liked his previous work better so easy pass for me. Too many upcoming competing projects I have my eye on so I have to be really selective cause I don't have unlimited $$$ to back everything. I'm amazed at myself at how many projects I backed and I've only been doing this since June 2014. My how time flies....

I'm only pledging for the red deck. I like them both but I should be able to pick these up later.

New quick update yesterday:

I wanted to show you guys a joker I had done (all the way to finish colour artwork) but ultimately I wasn't too happy with it so I ended up redrawing another red Joker.

I had wanted an archer as one of my jokers for the Jade Green deck from get go, but after finishing up the first joker (on the left), I just found the whole thing not up to my usual work and started over again to (a lot better) results.

I really want this project to fund! 2 weeks left and at 89%, so not much more is needed, just a couple more thousand! If you haven't already, grab a deck or even a brick!

Bows are Cool.
Prefer the Japanese Bow, but ...
These Cards really are excellent ....

I'm surprised these haven't funded yet. This is a well-designed deck, so the only issue could be the pricing and I guess people are speaking with their wallets after all from the relative lack of support this project is receiving. Brandon's going to eventually fund, but probably just barely at this rate, which will mean of the 2000 decks made (that's his minimum number), only about half will be sold in this Kickstarter campaign. With so much extra inventory, it looks like he's gonna have to dump them off to a reseller like Touch of Modern at a steep discount again (as he had to do with the first Hive project). That, or he'll have to sit on a ton of decks and slooowly sell them off over a looong period of time.

What I don't get is why he's not busting his ass on playing card forums promoting his deck? I don't think he's been on any of the main forums, he sure hasn't been here at UC. It seems to me he's not doing all he can to get the word out. Maybe he should've stuck with Kings Wild with these cards, especially since they're so similar to the other decks he produced with Jackson.....

I've come to realize that pledging for a lot of decks on KS campaigns is too much. 1 of each standard is usually good. If I want more, I can always bulk buy from a particular reseller and save a lot. Of course, LEs usually are only on the campaigns, that's the biggest cost.

alric wrote:I'm surprised these haven't funded yet. This is a well-designed deck, so the only issue could be the pricing and I guess people are speaking with their wallets after all from the relative lack of support this project is receiving. Brandon's going to eventually fund, but probably just barely at this rate, which will mean of the 2000 decks made (that's his minimum number), only about half will be sold in this Kickstarter campaign. With so much extra inventory, it looks like he's gonna have to dump them off to a reseller like Touch of Modern at a steep discount again (as he had to do with the first Hive project). That, or he'll have to sit on a ton of decks and slooowly sell them off over a looong period of time.

I think you're 100% right. I like these decks a lot and I'd love to own them but I'm one of those people you're talking about that's speaking with my wallet. $18 each (based on the average price of the 1 deck each pledge tier plus shipping to the US) for custom EPCC with tuck foiling, shipped is just not worth it to me. I think these will fund too and I also agree that he'll probably have a lot of inventory after the campaign but I don't have much sympathy. If these decks were reasonably priced in the first place he might not have that problem.
Maybe he thought or was influenced by Jackson to price them high because, let's face it- if Jackson priced his cards like this with the same "bells and whistles," we'd all pay. But Jackson is a house-hold name. Brandon is not (yet). I feel a little bad saying this but I almost hope they go to ToM because I'd love to have these in my collection. It's the price that's keeping me away at the moment.

With all due respect to everyone, and Brendan is a friend so I know my comments will be taken with a grain of salt, but, to insure that you can completely deliver what your intending on producing you form a budget. That budget should, if your smart, take into account that things may change a bit (currency exchnge rates and shipping being key). I don't have to remind anyone in this community what happens when you don't budget properly. That being said, we all can decide for ourselves, carnival barking for sales may not be Brendan's style, but all on UC are aware of his project as well as members of other forums and pages. I think Brendan takes the approach that we have in the past, here's what I've done, I hope you like it and if you do I would appreciate the support.

I think we tend to forget what Kickstarter is about, while it has become the "go to" to produce playing cards, it is a platform to bring "Backers" into your project to make it a reality. Kisckstarter projects need backers to exist.

Again, please don't make this into something it's not, I can't stress enough how much you all don't need to defend your right to not support the project for your own reason, but hoping others will get this project funded so you can pick one up later is kind of the opposite of what the platform is about.

My 2 cents

Sparkz wrote:Again, please don't make this into something it's not, I can't stress enough how much you all don't need to defend your right to not support the project for your own reason, but hoping others will get this project funded so you can pick one up later is kind of the opposite of what the platform is about.

I agree and that's why I said I feel a little bad saying that. But the reality of the situation is that these decks could most certainly be cheaper. Now I'm not advocating artists and deck creators charge less for their decks than they think they're worth. But, like everyone on this forum knows, you run a great risk when you charge a premium for your desks. Brandon is experiencing this risk right now because I believe these would be funded already if the total average price per deck were cheaper. Could he have sold these cheaper and still made a profit? Most likely. But he didn't want to and I don't fault him for it but at the same time I don't support it, clearly by my lack of pledging. Are shipping prices way too high? Of course. Is that Brandon's fault? Of course not but it also might be turning people away. My intent isn't to buy these in the aftermarket in spite of not helping them get created in the first place. My intent is to own this deck of cards for a price I think is reasonable _OR_ not own them at all. I wish Brandon luck and I really do hope these get funded because they're wonderful decks. But at the end of the day I can't justify the current worth.

vasta41 wrote:

Sparkz wrote:Again, please don't make this into something it's not, I can't stress enough how much you all don't need to defend your right to not support the project for your own reason, but hoping others will get this project funded so you can pick one up later is kind of the opposite of what the platform is about.

I agree and that's why I said I feel a little bad saying that. But the reality of the situation is that these decks could most certainly be cheaper. Now I'm not advocating artists and deck creators charge less for their decks than they think they're worth. But, like everyone on this forum knows, you run a great risk when you charge a premium for your desks. Brandon is experiencing this risk right now because I believe these would be funded already if the total average price per deck were cheaper. Could he have sold these cheaper and still made a profit? Most likely. But he didn't want to and I don't fault him for it but at the same time I don't support it, clearly by my lack of pledging. Are shipping prices way too high? Of course. Is that Brandon's fault? Of course not but it also might be turning people away. My intent isn't to buy these in the aftermarket in spite of not helping them get created in the first place. My intent is to own this deck of cards for a price I think is reasonable _OR_ not own them at all. I wish Brandon luck and I really do hope these get funded because they're wonderful decks. But at the end of the day I can't justify the current worth.

I understand that completely, that's why I said we're all entitled to make our own choice based on our own reasons. Kickstarter is a risk as a whiole, for both backers and creators. And Vasta, your right, everything can be cheaper, but then, in my opinion, is it worth doing. And I don't mean only in a financial sense, Is it worth the time, effort, stress, headache, etc... It all really boils down to one thing, if you like the product and the cost, you'll back it, if not, you won't. Hopefully enough do to make it happen.

That being said, I did find this part of your original comment funny

...if Jackson priced his cards like this with the same "bells and whistles," we'd all pay

Sparkz wrote: ... but hoping others will get this project funded so you can pick one up later is kind of the opposite of what the platform is about.

My 2 cents

This is partially true. Because as your picture shows, KS is not a store, but creators are using it as a store and nothing more... You don't get the opportunity to be part of the project, your part is to put the money upfront and then pray to all gods so your money isn't take away.. Because if it is, KS will not give a sh*t about it (they already got their share, so why would they care). All in all I believe KS is doomed to die (at least for playing cards) because people are sick and tired to put their money upfront and then waiting months to get the decks they paied for, when they could easely wait for the decks to hit the market and then buy them right away and in most cases cheaper than what was charged in KS. Of course there's the other side of the coin, if no one pledges for the deck then it will not be a reality, although this is true, this isn't 100% correct, there are other ways for a creator to bring his product to the market, but most of these creators just got used to KS as it a 100% risk free store, the only ones that are in risk in KS are the backers....

sms69x wrote:...there are other ways for a creator to bring his product to the market...

True but most if not all of these other ways require capital that designers might not have. While I'm sure that campaigns have been launched more to see if there's interest and less to make money, I'm still sure that the majority of campaigns are used to make money to fund a deck that the designer doesn't have.

Well those aspects of Kickstarter can and have carried there own discussion.

alric wrote:I'm surprised these haven't funded yet. . .What I don't get is why he's not busting his ass on playing card forums promoting his deck? I don't think he's been on any of the main forums, he sure hasn't been here at UC. It seems to me he's not doing all he can to get the word out.

Sparkz wrote:carnival barking for sales may not be Brendan's style, but all on UC are aware of his project as well as members of other forums and pages.

There's a difference between merely being aware of an ongoing project, and getting to know a designer and feeling like he wants to be a part of the community. Just as you are motivated to come here and promote Brendan because you are friends with him and know what a wonderful guy he is, its the same for me. When artists come here to UC and interact with us, give us personal insight into their design process and decision making, answer our questions, and befriend us, I am much more inclined to support him/her and get the word out. It is no coincidence that the two most successful artists in our 2015 Deck of the Year contests (Lorenzo and Giovanni) are two of the most frequently contributing artists here at UC. And what I particularly like about them is that they're not here frequently just exclusively promoting their own decks, but they get involved in discussions about a variety of topics that have nothing to do with their decks as well. They aren't just salesmen with an agenda, they're like one of us.

Brendan is obviously free to promote, or not promote, his product as he sees fit for himself. But there comes a point where if you see your project not funding as robustly as you would like, and the pace of pledging has dwindled and levelled off still just short of your funding goal, it might behoove a designer to make a little effort to get his project as far over the funding hump as possible in whatever short time is left in the project. This is his third project now, and it could seem to some like Brendan thinks its beneath him to "carnival bark" and intermingle with the unruly masses here at UC, like his talent should be sufficient to compel us to disregard his high pricing and we should feel fortunate to be throwing our wallets his way to get one of his fantastic decks. I know, I know, right now you're saying, "Hey, that's not fair, Brendan's nothing like that. He's a talented, humble, and very down-to-earth likeable guy!" And you're probably right, because you know him and are friends with him. But this illustration just proves my point, because WE don't know him like you do, and he's not a friend of UC, so all we're left with is his conspicuous absence.

I think the general consensus here is that the Dynasty deck is a fine deck of cards, but the pricing has some of us reluctant or on the fence. I agree with alric that it may be beneficial to Brendan to swing by here and other card forums and get a bit more personal and friendly with his potential customer base.

All valid opinions, but opinions non the less. Again, this was to address the pricing and shipping and so on, not someones personal choices on how to market their project.

I've talked to and or corresponded with just about every designer out there, some are very sociable, some are a bit more reserved. But I base my choice to back someone on the work, not on how personable they are. Now grant it, if your an ass, I'm not backing you no matter what. But, I don't need to be your best friend in order to support your project, I don't need to be involved in the creative process, I just have to like it and have it fall within my budget. Everything else is a bonus.

Latest update:

(Photo courtesy of Anthony Ingrassia, aka Sparkz.)

So I decided to have a prototype deck printed just to a sense of how the cards would look like before printing. I was lucky enough to have a good friend and amazing photographer, Anthony Ingrassia (of Kardify fame), take some gorgeous photos for me of that prototype deck.

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As for the surprise, I've double check the cost and I've decided to pay, myself, for metallic numbered seals for the Jade Green deck. If we can get both decks funded, both will be have their seals and will be numbered. I've got one more surprise coming up for all my wonderful backers, that I'm currently finalizing. Stay tuned to find out what it is.

That card back though...

From the pictures they almost looks bridge sized (I know they aren't). Something about the back design that makes them look thinner. Not a critique, just an interesting observation. Kinda cool, actually.

This contest is the easiest ever! Just to randomly picked without sharing a link, etc.

its true, ks is becomming more and more commercialized which sometimes it gets very risky for backers and creators.

I wasn't gonna make a comment but I have been really curious the past week about his project.
Brendon there come from the same city and country as I am. And when I saw his art. I instantly recognized it as "animation style" and I really thinks that he comes from the same school as me.
( simplified body structure, flow of lines, rhythmic of movement...animation principles)

There are 2 very famous schools for animation (oscar owning) in toronto, one is sheridan, other is senaca.
and even his full name feels really familier. personally speaking, I am from sheridan.

I saw people talking about price on his decks. well, yea, its on the high part. but epcc's 2k min order for 2 decks. espacially what I just went through, its a bit heavy breathing to handle that. So, I guess its ok to put the price a bit higher as long as creator is being transparent.

I sent him a message for a introduction,cp, and asking where he may come from. but I never really got a reply. I guess he is really really quiet, havn't seen cp for him elsewhere much also.

My decks came in and they're beautiful