ROME: Antony & Caesar Playing Cards

[RandyButterfield]

Hey Everyone,

I'm proud to announce my next Decks will be launching this Thursday at Noon EDT!

I've been working on a pair of Decks with an Ancient Rome theme for the past 10 months.
They are all finished and ready for print. The Limited and non Add-On items of the campaign
will be the cool, and appropriate, TOGA Sleeves (600 TOGA Pairs available).

Below are some images, and here is the KS Preview Link:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ra ... n=c1ed4bb8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

thanks, Randy

[RandyButterfield]

Some More Images

[pablo19]

I really hate this project... it's going to make me spend so much money, i.e. I love this project.

Beautiful work Randy, KS page is awesome*, the specially designed carat cases are awesome, the coin looks great, the togas are a curious but cool addition, and just...yeah, awesome work there.
Any idea what the international shipping is going to be? When I read gamblers warehouse I immediately think high shipping cost that increase with additional items (i.e. only very large orders reduce the price per unit for int. backers).

Best of luck!!!



*Hi-res pics, explanations each of the types of cards and card elements, photos of a prototype, simple add-ons list....

[MagikFingerz]

Randy, you know I love you and your work, but you need some better fanning/spread pictures than that last one in the first post

Been looking forward to this for ages now. It really is something special to see the final product of something that you see come together piece by piece over time. This looks like another home run.

[vasta41]

I'll be there.

[RichK]

Count me in. Toga toga toga toga!

[Fes]

Thursday can't come soon enough.

[guru]

Hi Randy,

This is one beautiful deck that many of us were following from the start itself. Glad to see that it has come out really well. I was a bit skeptical on tuck design earlier and had a question on how close the print will match the rendering that was shown in the other thread. There are a lot of instances where the deviation was huge between the initial mockups or rendering shown and the real product in print. I'm very happy personally to see that you went ahead and got the prototype printed before the launch itself. I know that it must have cost you a bomb to get such a prototype printed, it tells a lot about your attention to detail, risk management and commitment to quality.

Good luck!!!

Regards,
Sunish

[JuFiN]

I honestly wasnt sure about this one, but the kickstarter page really sold me. Especially the "Anatomy of a card" image, really shows you put a lot of thought into each and every artistic element. Even the angle of the reflection on the pips matching the banner! A lot of decks will put large amount of effort into the back story of the face cards, and incorporate that story into the art and work really hard on that, but then the background and the rest of the deck is an after thought. Maybe a quick custom pip design or something. But in this case, the art of every card was something you clearly put a lot of thought and effort into and it really shows. Can count on me to be there Thursday.

[RandyButterfield]

Hey Everyone,

I'm psyched that the responses to the project page are positive! I'm not very good at self-promotion, so I was hoping the "Anatomy of the Face Cards" graphic would help show the amount of thought I put into the design. I think it worked!

I've been actually picturing and planning this design in my head for years. I wanted to wait until I was ready to block out a lot of time for just one design. Not very many Freelance Decks from me this year. It was a big relief!

@Sunish - I'm glad the prototypes assured you of the final results! The Legends/Expert printer did the Tucks and Togas prototypes, as a very early headstart in the production pipeline. We wanted to make sure the Toga Dieline and difficult Tucks wouldn't slow up the production very much after the project ended. With any luck, the Decks will be on the print schedule sometime in November or early December (assuming it funds). I put the ETA shipping date at April 2017 as a precaution. Better early than late!

@Magikfingerz - Yeah, that's more of a swirl than a fan. I'm not very good at fans, so I just swirled the cards to show how they look when spread out. Just needed a pretty picture!

@Pablo - Gamblers has some really good .INT shipping rates (especially for a few Decks), as long as the creator goes with the ROW without Tracking option. I did that with the Grinders campaign, and I only had to resend a handful of .INT packages that didn't make it to their destination.

Below is the extra .INT shipping prices associated with each Pledge Tier:

ONE Deck
$14 + $3
$14 + $3

TWO Decks
$20 + $5
$25 + $5
$30 + $5
$34 + $5

FOUR Decks
$45 + $7
$46 + $7
$52 + $7

CARAT Case Set
$58 + $8

SIX Decks
$68 + $10
$74 + $10

EIGHT Decks
$82 + $13
$88 + $13

TWELVE Decks
$108 + $20
$114 + $20
$122 + $20

It personally costs me $22.50 to send only TWO .INT Decks from my local Indianapolis Post Office (even to Canada). I have no idea how Gamblers gets the rates so much lower!

Thanks for checking it out!
Randy

[guru]

Hey Everyone,

I'm psyched that the responses to the project page are positive! I'm not very good at self-promotion, so I was hoping the "Anatomy of the Face Cards" graphic would help show the amount of thought I put into the design. I think it worked!

I've been actually picturing and planning this design in my head for years. I wanted to wait until I was ready to block out a lot of time for just one design. Not very many Freelance Decks from me this year. It was a big relief!

@Sunish - I'm glad the prototypes assured you of the final results! The Legends/Expert printer did the Tucks and Togas prototypes, as a very early headstart in the production pipeline. We wanted to make sure the Toga Dieline and difficult Tucks wouldn't slow up the production very much after the project ended. With any luck, the Decks will be on the print schedule sometime in November or early December (assuming it funds). I put the ETA shipping date at April 2017 as a precaution. Better early than late!

@Magikfingerz - Yeah, that's more of a swirl than a fan. I'm not very good at fans, so I just swirled the cards to show how they look when spread out. Just needed a pretty picture!

@Pablo - Gamblers has some really good .INT shipping rates (especially for a few Decks), as long as the creator goes with the ROW without Tracking option. I did that with the Grinders campaign, and I only had to resend a handful of .INT packages that didn't make it to their destination.

Below is the extra .INT shipping prices associated with each Pledge Tier:

ONE Deck
$14 + $3
$14 + $3

TWO Decks
$20 + $5
$25 + $5
$30 + $5
$34 + $5

FOUR Decks
$45 + $7
$46 + $7
$52 + $7

CARAT Case Set
$58 + $8

SIX Decks
$68 + $10
$74 + $10

EIGHT Decks
$82 + $13
$88 + $13

TWELVE Decks
$108 + $20
$114 + $20
$122 + $20

It personally costs me $22.50 to send only TWO .INT Decks from my local Indianapolis Post Office (even to Canada). I have no idea how Gamblers gets the rates so much lower!

Thanks for checking it out!
Randy

Hey Randy,

Can I suggest something on shipping front? Did you consider Legends fulfillment or via Keen Hong (who partners with EPCC) from Taiwan itself? I know Gamblers is your main choice and they are pretty good for US backers in terms of rates but the intl rates are quite high. Both (Legends and KH) have got pretty good rates for all countries and while talking to Expert some time back, I came to know that there have been instances where project creators have gone with splitting the shipment across vendors (Gamblers for US & Keen Hong for Intl. etc.)
The packaging is phenomenal plus there is tracking option available for International as well along with better rates. I do understand that your project launches tomorrow and it may be too late but if you need any type of details on quote or approx. avg cost for sending x decks to multiple locations or even some help in recalculating reward tiers based on this new info, please feel free to PM me. It may help in a substantial increase in International pledges for your new project and you'll get good Karma points

-Sunish

[pablo19]

@Pablo - Gamblers has some really good .INT shipping rates (especially for a few Decks), as long as the creator goes with the ROW without Tracking option. I did that with the Grinders campaign, and I only had to resend a handful of .INT packages that didn't make it to their destination.

Below is the extra .INT shipping prices associated with each Pledge Tier:

ONE Deck
$14 + $3
$14 + $3

TWO Decks
$20 + $5
$25 + $5
$30 + $5
$34 + $5

FOUR Decks
$45 + $7
$46 + $7
$52 + $7

CARAT Case Set
$58 + $8

SIX Decks
$68 + $10
$74 + $10

EIGHT Decks
$82 + $13
$88 + $13

TWELVE Decks
$108 + $20
$114 + $20
$122 + $20

It personally costs me $22.50 to send only TWO .INT Decks from my local Indianapolis Post Office (even to Canada). I have no idea how Gamblers gets the rates so much lower!

Thanks for checking it out!
Randy

Those rates are actually on the better side of what I''ve seen from gamblers I believe. I'll have to get in those early birds quick!

[guru]

@Pablo - Gamblers has some really good .INT shipping rates (especially for a few Decks), as long as the creator goes with the ROW without Tracking option. I did that with the Grinders campaign, and I only had to resend a handful of .INT packages that didn't make it to their destination.

Below is the extra .INT shipping prices associated with each Pledge Tier:

ONE Deck
$14 + $3
$14 + $3

TWO Decks
$20 + $5
$25 + $5
$30 + $5
$34 + $5

FOUR Decks
$45 + $7
$46 + $7
$52 + $7

CARAT Case Set
$58 + $8

SIX Decks
$68 + $10
$74 + $10

EIGHT Decks
$82 + $13
$88 + $13

TWELVE Decks
$108 + $20
$114 + $20
$122 + $20

It personally costs me $22.50 to send only TWO .INT Decks from my local Indianapolis Post Office (even to Canada). I have no idea how Gamblers gets the rates so much lower!

Thanks for checking it out!
Randy

Those rates are actually on the better side of what I''ve seen from gamblers I believe. I'll have to get in those early birds quick!

Yes, they are, indeed.

Full credit to Randy on this as he did factor in the cost associated with "free US shipping" for the international shipping tier. I, still, believe that going via either of the two fulfilment partners in Taiwan itself might have resulted into better rates for non-US zones, faster shipping and, more pledges probably. I'm not discounting Randy's experience in running Kickstarter campaigns or fulfilling rewards, he has done great, and this deck, in particular, is just awesome. That said, I have done a lot of analysis on shipping tiers of various projects (playing cards, board games, card games, art, design projects etc.), talked to a few successful creators, & analyzed a no. of shipping quotes from different vendors. The numbers make me believe that it is possible to offer either free or very low shipping rates to non-US backers for projects such as this, where dimensions & weight are comparatively lower than other projects like board games etc. I don't have any success on Kickstarter till now and I can't back my claim easily because there are going to be surprises and unknowns that can affect a project which Randy will be aware of due to his experience but not me.

[RandyButterfield]

Full credit to Randy on this as he did factor in the cost associated with "free US shipping" for the international shipping tier. I, still, believe that going via either of the two fulfilment partners in Taiwan itself might have resulted into better rates for non-US zones, faster shipping and, more pledges probably. I'm not discounting Randy's experience in running Kickstarter campaigns or fulfilling rewards, he has done great, and this deck, in particular, is just awesome. That said, I have done a lot of analysis on shipping tiers of various projects (playing cards, board games, card games, art, design projects etc.), talked to a few successful creators, & analyzed a no. of shipping quotes from different vendors. The numbers make me believe that it is possible to offer either free or very low shipping rates to non-US backers for projects such as this, where dimensions & weight are comparatively lower than other projects like board games etc. I don't have any success on Kickstarter till now and I can't back my claim easily because there are going to be surprises and unknowns that can affect a project which Randy will be aware of due to his experience but not me.

Hey Guru,

I've paid for Fulfillment / Shipping services for three of my solo projects - Draconian (Kings Wild Fulfillment), Bowl-A-Rama (Legends Fulfillment), Grinders (Gamblers Fulfillment). Counting those projects, and the HOPC fulfilled Decks (Imperial and White ORNATES), I've come to learn that most 2 or 3 Deck campaigns result in a $8 - $10 per Backer Fulfillment / Shipping cost.

The Bowl-A-Ramas that went through Legends Fulfillment was much higher in the end - somewhere around $13 - $15 per Backer! The problem I found with Legends Fulfillment was that their prices are great for .INT, but around 2/3 to 3/4 of Backers are U.S. The higher U.S. shipping prices really changed things in the end. There's also the problem of shipping the leftover Decks from Hong Kong to the U.S. Between the 3 Bowling Decks, there was under 800 Decks leftover. It cost over $700 just to ship them back to me (and $300 to ship them from the Taiwan printer to Hong Kong). That pretty much negated the advantage of not shipping the finished Decks from the Taiwan printer to the U.S. The biggest eye opener is that even Legends started using Gamblers for their U.S. fulfillment!

thanks, Randy

[guru]

Full credit to Randy on this as he did factor in the cost associated with "free US shipping" for the international shipping tier. I, still, believe that going via either of the two fulfilment partners in Taiwan itself might have resulted into better rates for non-US zones, faster shipping and, more pledges probably. I'm not discounting Randy's experience in running Kickstarter campaigns or fulfilling rewards, he has done great, and this deck, in particular, is just awesome. That said, I have done a lot of analysis on shipping tiers of various projects (playing cards, board games, card games, art, design projects etc.), talked to a few successful creators, & analyzed a no. of shipping quotes from different vendors. The numbers make me believe that it is possible to offer either free or very low shipping rates to non-US backers for projects such as this, where dimensions & weight are comparatively lower than other projects like board games etc. I don't have any success on Kickstarter till now and I can't back my claim easily because there are going to be surprises and unknowns that can affect a project which Randy will be aware of due to his experience but not me.

Hey Guru,

I've paid for Fulfillment / Shipping services for three of my solo projects - Draconian (Kings Wild Fulfillment), Bowl-A-Rama (Legends Fulfillment), Grinders (Gamblers Fulfillment). Counting those projects, and the HOPC fulfilled Decks (Imperial and White ORNATES), I've come to learn that most 2 or 3 Deck campaigns result in a $8 - $10 per Backer Fulfillment / Shipping cost.

The Bowl-A-Ramas that went through Legends Fulfillment was much higher in the end - somewhere around $13 - $15 per Backer! The problem I found with Legends Fulfillment was that their prices are great for .INT, but around 2/3 to 3/4 of Backers are U.S. The higher U.S. shipping prices really changed things in the end. There's also the problem of shipping the leftover Decks from Hong Kong to the U.S. Between the 3 Bowling Decks, there was under 800 Decks leftover. It cost over $700 just to ship them back to me (and $300 to ship them from the Taiwan printer to Hong Kong). That pretty much negated the advantage of not shipping the finished Decks from the Taiwan printer to the U.S. The biggest eye opener is that even Legends started using Gamblers for their U.S. fulfillment!

thanks, Randy

Thanks Randy. I understand that you'd have more insights and perspectives on the shipping itself, and thanks for sharing the above. As I said before, your shipping tiers are still better than a lot of other projects. Good luck for tomorrow.

[RandyButterfield]

The ROME Decks are now LIVE!!

http://kck.st/2e0utgq" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

thanks, Randy

[RichK]

In for Toga + "naked" decks!

[rousselle]

Why hasn't this funded yet? Sheesh!

[joeblow]

In for the Animal House version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18eaNSxhK5c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sms69x]

Why hasn't this funded yet? Sheesh!

Easy! This month you had Gemini, Goresk Bronze, now running you have Pantheon, Bicycle Prism Gilded and you'll have next week Apothecary.

Creators/designers should choose their launch dates more careful. I'll have to pass on these, not because the design isn't great but because I have to make some choices (budget related of course), and this one had to be cut out.

[RandyButterfield]

Why hasn't this funded yet? Sheesh!

Easy! This month you had Gemini, Goresk Bronze, now running you have Pantheon, Bicycle Prism Gilded and you'll have next week Apothecary.

Creators/designers should choose their launch dates more careful. I'll have to pass on these, not because the design isn't great but because I have to make some choices (budget related of course), and this one had to be cut out.

That's much easier said than done! When I decided on, and started announcing, the Oct. 13 Launch Date, there was only the Gemini project ending a week before the launch. The dates for Pantheon, Apothecary and TITANS were announced shortly after. Sure some of us could've pushed back our dates, but then you're cutting it close to hitting the WORST time to end a campaign - December. Ending in December means competing against everyone's wallets for actual Holiday gifts for their families. For a pre-order item that won't be ready in months, that's a losing battle.

That means waiting until after the new year to launch. Who knows what will happen at that point? Then you may have projects from others like Uusi, Jackson, Encarded, Whispering Imps...... The list goes on. There's almost never the perfect time to launch a project nowadays!!

thanks, Randy

[vasta41]

I think this will fund- it's looking pretty good so far!

[Mike Ratledge]

It personally costs me $22.50 to send only TWO .INT Decks from my local Indianapolis Post Office (even to Canada). I have no idea how Gamblers gets the rates so much lower!

I thought I had posted this before, but maybe not: GW uses International Mailing Service in Kalamazoo to ship overseas. They are one of 28 companies with a fractional postage agreement with USPS, meaning if they ship 5 oz, that's what they pay for - not rounded up to the next whole pound.

For 5oz packages it's 1/3 the cost of a full pound. Those and 2-deck (10oz) packages add up to savings quickly.

[Bruno]

Thanks, Randy ....
Awesome delivery !

[Bruno]

Funded, natch ....
Glorious empirical style, most colorfully rich ....
Fascinating characterisation !

[RandyButterfield]

Now available on the ROME campaign, via Add-On and Kickstarter PM - Red and Blue GILDED EDGE Pairs!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ra ... ying-cards" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

thanks, Randy

[RandyButterfield]

We're down to the last 20 HOURS of the ROME campaign!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ra ... reator_nav" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks, Randy

[Magic_Orthodoxy]

One last push - Randy's designs are always awesome. Show some love to the guy who made the 1st UC deck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1yHfx2akOw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Bruno]

Glorious Rome pics soon from RB !
Imperial Blue was used only by the Emperor.
It was sourced from crushed marine snails.

[Räpylätassu]

I hope these hit the market soon, I think this is Randys best deck so far.

I have always been a big fan of Ancient Rome. The tragic love story of Anthony and Cleopatra is heartbreaking. They only had so much time toga-ether. The pun has been thrown. I came, I saw, I pun-cured.

This is the night of my terror! I won't stop until the pun rises!