Origins Playing Cards KS - Funded!

[MagikFingerz]

I think Godzillian might be on to something, but I suspect it relates more to the average KS pledger than collectors. As in: the deck doesn't have a theme that Average Joe likes/has a personal connection to. Name of the Wind raked in over half a mill because of fans, not card collectors. The card collecting community is relatively small, and in it I think it comes down to taste more than whether the theme is relatable or not (for example, I LOVE this deck but did not care for Requiem).

[Norbie]

I didn't pledge for this. Let me explain why.

For me, the theme is a huge thing. The importance of theme is on par with the artwork, and sometimes it's even more important. When you say this deck harkens back to the 16th century, that means nothing to me. I never lived in the 16th century, and it seems more abstract and foreign than more recent decades, such as the 80s or 90s.

I don't think there are many people left alive from the 16th Century.

[Godzillian]

I didn't pledge for this. Let me explain why.

For me, the theme is a huge thing. The importance of theme is on par with the artwork, and sometimes it's even more important. When you say this deck harkens back to the 16th century, that means nothing to me. I never lived in the 16th century, and it seems more abstract and foreign than more recent decades, such as the 80s or 90s.

I don't think there are many people left alive from the 16th Century.

LOL. I just mean that it's harder for me to relate to. I've never studied the 16th century and I know nothing about that time other than those classic court cards. If the deck was based on the 80s or 90s, I could relate to that theme more. It all boils down to personal preference.

[PlayingCardz]

You have a point about the lack of theme, but I don't think it is the strongest factor. Does the monarchs, fontaine, madison decks, ... have more personality than the Origins ? I don't think so but those decks are huge success!

About the $NZD, I know this may sound odd but many people fear in paying in a different currency than their own, they fear the exchange rate or it is simply our of their comfort zone.

This is why on CartesMagie.com we accept both $USD and EUR, we could accept more but this is complicated enough already!

[Godzillian]

You have a point about the lack of theme, but I don't think it is the strongest factor. Does the monarchs, fontaine, madison decks, ... have more personality than the Origins ? I don't think so but those decks are huge success!

Well, the Monarchs are easily found and are rather cheap since they're mass produced every year. Along with the Artisans, the Monarchs are T11's bread and butter. Because they're relatively cheap and easier to find, they're widely used.

The Fontaines are popular because of well, Zach Mueller. He has a ton of fans who are willing to buy into the hype. Additionally, the Fontaines are a deck meant for flourishing - it targeted an audience who's always hungry for more "flourishy"-type decks. They wanted something that was easily recognizable in their online vids and irl among their flourisher friends.

The Madison decks are popular because of Daniel Madison and Ellusionist's marketing strategy - hype, hype, secrets, hype, and more hype. Ellusionist is already a big name in the custom cards industry, so naturally, they also attract more customers.

All 3 of these decks do have theme. It's just a theme that more people can relate to and understand - these themes are staple, Zach Mueller, and Daniel Madison.

About the $NZD, I know this may sound odd but many people fear in paying in a different currency than their own, they fear the exchange rate or it is simply our of their comfort zone.

This is why on CartesMagie.com we accept both $USD and EUR, we could accept more but this is complicated enough already!

I don't know much about the business, but I think you're right about the $NZD thing.

[montecarlojoe]

I really think the currency issue is limited to teh US.

ALL my pledged are in a foreign currency!

Persoanlly I think the theme was really clear - a reinterpretatin of one of the original court sets. There's even an art book that compares the two and gives some historical details; you don't NEED to be familiar with 16th century deck art any more than you NEED to be familiar with bicycles or 19th century deck art to enjoy a Bicycle deck with standard courts.
(IMHO)

[PlayingCardz]

Anyway, this deck is beautiful, the box is stunning. We rushed on the deck while it was available, it will be a hit that's for sure !

[SuicideKing]

Persoanlly I think the theme was really clear - a reinterpretatin of one of the original court sets. There's even an art book that compares the two and gives some historical details; you don't NEED to be familiar with 16th century deck art any more than you NEED to be familiar with bicycles or 19th century deck art to enjoy a Bicycle deck with standard courts.
(IMHO)

I agree. The theme was clear and wonderfully done. This deck should have been >$100k. I'm sure that the currency issue was the problem (even if I can't understand why). But NZD$69k is good too!

I can't wait for this deck (and the art book) to be in my hand!

[Sher]

The different currency might be an issue, but I don't think it should be. Google makes it so easy to convert currency. All you have to do is type, "165 nzd to usd" to get the approximate amount in dollars. I admit, I'm a little cautious on projects in £ or € but that's because the exchange rate would have me paying more dollars per £ or € (so seeing £20 means I'll be paying more than $20). With nzd, it's actually the other way around. You'd be paying less dollars per nzd (so 20 nzd means I'll be paying less than $20).

[Cbkimble]

The different currency might be an issue, but I don't think it should be. Google makes it so easy to convert currency. All you have to do is type, "165 nzd to usd" to get the approximate amount in dollars. I admit, I'm a little cautious on projects in £ or € but that's because the exchange rate would have me paying more dollars per £ or € (so seeing £20 means I'll be paying more than $20). With nzd, it's actually the other way around. You'd be paying less dollars per nzd (so 20 nzd means I'll be paying less than $20).

I think that's what it is. How many of you have seen a project in NZd before? This was my first. I took the time to see the conversion rate but a lot of people probably didn't. There may have been a lot of people that, after seeing the conversion of USD to POUND/EURO, just assumed that the conversion was going to cost them more. I still think it should've done much better but it was also around the first of the year and just before tax season in the US was in full swing. If he had waited two to four weeks, I think he would've done better. Timing is everything and can make the difference between 65,000 and 100,000.

[Mike Ratledge]

The different currency might be an issue, but I don't think it should be. Google makes it so easy to convert currency. All you have to do is type, "165 nzd to usd" to get the approximate amount in dollars. I admit, I'm a little cautious on projects in £ or € but that's because the exchange rate would have me paying more dollars per £ or € (so seeing £20 means I'll be paying more than $20). With nzd, it's actually the other way around. You'd be paying less dollars per nzd (so 20 nzd means I'll be paying less than $20).

I think that's what it is. How many of you have seen a project in NZd before? This was my first. I took the time to see the conversion rate but a lot of people probably didn't. There may have been a lot of people that, after seeing the conversion of USD to POUND/EURO, just assumed that the conversion was going to cost them more. I still think it should've done much better but it was also around the first of the year and just before tax season in the US was in full swing. If he had waited two to four weeks, I think he would've done better. Timing is everything and can make the difference between 65,000 and 100,000.

I have to agree - and we've seen it happen before, where a deck (or two) that should have funded ended up falling on its sword mostly because of the fact that they were in British Pounds, Euros or what have you. The NZ$ is the reverse of those, meaning that 30NZ$ < $30US, and it doesn't work that way with GBP nor Euros, in fact it's way opposite, in fact the British units of monetary measure have always been 'larger' than the US$, and likely always will.

That being said, imagine my frustration trying to deal (recently) with this company in Taiwan that quotes everything in NT$ (New Taiwanese dollars) that are in fact worth about 3 cents 'Merikun. That means that around 65NT$ is around $2US. It's baffling to me, because unless you look closely it's all just in dollars, or appears to be, and when I saw $65 for shipping, I like to choked. Fact is that it just over $2US because it's 65NT$ actually.

Anyway, way off course, here - NZD 'costs' less than USD, and we're not used to that, in fact I'm quite aware simply because I'm an "All Blacks" fan (their national rugby team), and in fact have an All Blacks jersey I wear when the time comes. Just because we don't fully understand something we're put off by it, that's just human nature. In fact it's just going to slow them down, which is why on CardLauncher everything funds in UD$, everybody has to have a US-based bank account to do business with CL, and in my mind that's a good thing. Now, I'm sure some people will P&M just like they do about anything having to do with 'change', again - it's human nature.

[Sher]

on CardLauncher everything funds in UD$, everybody has to have a US-based bank account to do business with CL, and in my mind that's a good thing.

How does this affect international designers like Rick who probably don't have a US based bank account? I thought PayPal does automatic conversions. You put the campaign in dollars and it'll send the funds to the creator in the currency of their country.

[bamabenz]

on CardLauncher everything funds in UD$, everybody has to have a US-based bank account to do business with CL, and in my mind that's a good thing.

How does this affect international designers like Rick who probably don't have a US based bank account? I thought PayPal does automatic conversions. You put the campaign in dollars and it'll send the funds to the creator in the currency of their country.

With PayPal if the money is coming from your balance or bank account then there is no conversion fee. Maybe that's true for Amazon Payments, I dunno.

If you link a credit card to your PayPal account and use it for payment, then the conversion bank fees are all over the map, from reasonable to not so reasonable.

I pledged Origins through Amazon using an AMEX credit card. I got charged $0.28USD for a $10.80USD, $13.00 NZD pledge.

/bama

[Sher]

Oh, my PayPal is linked to my bank account. I got billed once in SGD and in NZD and I wasn't charged, so I was wondering about that. Thanks for clearing it up

[Mike Ratledge]

on CardLauncher everything funds in UD$, everybody has to have a US-based bank account to do business with CL, and in my mind that's a good thing.

How does this affect international designers like Rick who probably don't have a US based bank account? I thought PayPal does automatic conversions. You put the campaign in dollars and it'll send the funds to the creator in the currency of their country.

With PayPal if the money is coming from your balance or bank account then there is no conversion fee. Maybe that's true for Amazon Payments, I dunno.

If you link a credit card to your PayPal account and use it for payment, then the conversion bank fees are all over the map, from reasonable to not so reasonable.

I pledged Origins through Amazon using an AMEX credit card. I got charged $0.28USD for a $10.80USD, $13.00 NZD pledge.

/bama

Actually, that's a big "it depends": PayPal might not charge you, but your bank might. Mine charges a 3% "Foreign Transaction fee" every time something is billed from overseas regardless of the currency it was originally in.

[bamabenz]

@Mike

Really? With your checking or bank account hooked-up, not a credit or debit card? Maybe its bank dependent...

Ok, I just found this for PayPal UK: https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/c ... rsion-fees" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I guess that there can be a fee that somebody has to pay. I seem to remember that a merchant can chose to accept payment in multiple currencies. I guess that if you want PayPal to convert automatically into something else you gotta pay PayPal a fee. And if its the credit card company that does the conversion then they charge a fee.

When I've paid for stuff in Sterling or CAD or NZD by PayPal with my bank account I guess the recipient paid the fee.
I guess I don't really know how this works because I don't have a PayPal merchant account and no one has sent me money in a foreign currency.

/bama

[Cbkimble]

same here. Foreign transaction fees on my checking account. I'm pretty sure I've seen them on a few of my credit cards as well.

[Gareth]

That is the biggest reason why I didn't pledge for this. The price point + theme = a non-pledger. I could pay $12.50 for a 16th century themed deck that I don't completely understand, or I could spend more on the Requiem KS, which is a theme I can understand and can actually relate to.

It's so interesting why we get certain decks and not others. As someone who gets into the history of these decks, Grail was a no brainer. On the other hand, I'm completely ignoring the current run of EPCC/Legends decks [including Heretic] ...

I have to agree - and we've seen it happen before, where a deck (or two) that should have funded ended up falling on its sword mostly because of the fact that they were in British Pounds, Euros or what have you....

... Just because we don't fully understand something we're put off by it, that's just human nature ...

It may have been what happened to me with the Empire decks. As soon as the pledge page asked for Credit Card details - rather than Amazon account details - I backed out. The familiarity of using Amazon payments really was a big thing for me. I'm sure that it's quite common that most KS backers never see a non-US project.

[Mike Ratledge]

same here. Foreign transaction fees on my checking account. I'm pretty sure I've seen them on a few of my credit cards as well.

That's where I am: my bank ("Pentagon Federal") didn't do that until about a year ago, and I suppose they added it to their revenue stream to remain competitive.

I get charged a 3% "Foreign Transaction Fee" every time a charge is made overseas, like I said, regardless of whether I pay in Euros, Pounds Sterling or US$

I didn't answer the question about how it affects people from overseas that don't have US bank accounts. To date every one that I know of has been able to figure it out themselves, but perhaps I'm too optimistic. We could easily setup a sub-account for every deck that was on the system, albeit a logistical nightmare for the bank, I suppose Wells Fargo Bank NA would love to have that business, frankly. I purposefully picked a very large US-based bank for the project's account, and I expected to find needs for there to be a way for us to provide a 'bucket' to toss the money into without co-mingling with our own funds. Might that in reality be a single bucket? Sure - I suppose. My wife has already bought herself enough headaches - I'll add it to the list.

[Sher]

same here. Foreign transaction fees on my checking account. I'm pretty sure I've seen them on a few of my credit cards as well.

That's where I am: my bank ("Pentagon Federal") didn't do that until about a year ago, and I suppose they added it to their revenue stream to remain competitive.

I get charged a 3% "Foreign Transaction Fee" every time a charge is made overseas, like I said, regardless of whether I pay in Euros, Pounds Sterling or US$

I didn't answer the question about how it affects people from overseas that don't have US bank accounts. To date every one that I know of has been able to figure it out themselves, but perhaps I'm too optimistic. We could easily setup a sub-account for every deck that was on the system, albeit a logistical nightmare for the bank, I suppose Wells Fargo Bank NA would love to have that business, frankly. I purposefully picked a very large US-based bank for the project's account, and I expected to find needs for there to be a way for us to provide a 'bucket' to toss the money into without co-mingling with our own funds. Might that in reality be a single bucket? Sure - I suppose. My wife has already bought herself enough headaches - I'll add it to the list.

Most banks charge if you use your debit/card for a foreign transaction. I get those, too. But if you use PayPal, and the funds are withdrawn directly from your bank account (so that means inputting your bank routing number and account number, instead of inputting your debit/credit card info), then PayPal will convert the fee to whatever currency you use and withdraw that amount from your bank. I was given an invoice in SGD and paid it, but didn't get a foreign transaction fee from my bank. The bank doesn't count PayPal as foreign, I suppose.

I'm not sure I'm understanding... CardLauncher will set up US-based accounts for creators?

[montecarlojoe]

I guess if funds are held in Escrow and services paid from that pot then technically only the Escrow service / CL need a US bank account. Once all fees and services are paid then the remainder is transferred to the creator's account wherever (perhaps via paypal).

I stress - this is a guess!

[Mike Ratledge]

I guess if funds are held in Escrow and services paid from that pot then technically only the Escrow service / CL need a US bank account. Once all fees and services are paid then the remainder is transferred to the creator's account wherever (perhaps via paypal).

I stress - this is a guess!

I'm trying like heck to keep CL out of every single thread, so I'll post the response in the "SWTWC part 3" thread.

[Bikefanatic]

I also noticed a $2-$3 fee that was charged from my bank account related to Origins but I didn't care. This was my first international pledge on KS, wherever it's from and I like it, I'm buying. I wish I could go back in time and buy hella Empire and Boss decks! I would be rich!

[sinjin7]

I was excited to see I got my Origins brick delivered today. These were one of my most anticipated decks, and I really really wanted them to be as awesome. Unfortunately, I got some damaged decks. As you can see from the pics, I got my first clue there would be trouble from the outer brick box. Only one Origins 1st Editions was seriously damaged and a few of the cards inside were bent a little. Two Origins Grail LE decks had minor dings as well, but the cards inside were undamaged. Another issue I saw was that on every Origins 1st Edition deck, the bottom tuck was not aligned well when glued to the rest of the box resulting in a slightly warped tuck box at the bottom. It reminds me of how T11's first run of Black Stingers had the same warped tuck issue due to the bottom flap not glued squarely, so you had more of a trapezoid on the bottom instead of a rectangle.

Other than the tuck issues, the cards themselves are absolutely gorgeous and one of the most beautiful decks in my collection.

[Bikefanatic]

I didn't receive an email notice. When I got home, my package was just chillin' on the steps, when anyone could've took it! I would of left the front porch door unlock if I knew. These decks are gorgeous. Instead of typing on here, I should be opening them and admiring.

[Eoghann]

Nothing for me yet. *sad trombone*

Fingers crossed for tomorrow! Can't wait to get these!

[Sparkz]

Got my stuff, Rick did an amazing job

[Cbkimble]

I am so jealous. I want to see these in my hands but i have to wait till i get home.

[SuicideKing]

So jealous here too! I just can't wait!!

[Mike Ratledge]

This _IS_ one of those "Can't Wait!" moment, but I can handle it. No I can't - where are my decks?