Bottom line. Companies like Theory11, and Ellusionist did to a regular deck of cards what Pokemon did to baseball cards. They created a niche market by establishing a collectible commodity and then (very smartly I might add) cultivated a community that feeds upon this commodity by using those cards in their own videos and jumping on the new cardistry movement.
I've said it for years now; There is very little performance difference between a regular rider back bicycle deck and many of the custom decks produced by companies like Theory11, Ellusionist, Dan & Dave, etc. So long as you're not using cheap 99c store decks with crappy finishes then your choice of deck used really comes down to personal preference for aesthetics.
Companies like Theory11 (and the like) know that they have cornered the market. They know that there really is only a handful of companies who are producing custom decks, and they mostly seem to be magicians so it's not like they've got a lot of competition. Niche market, collectability, high demand, and few competitors is just a recipe for higher deck prices. Prices that they know you're going to pay, because frankly you don't have a lot of other options. Prices that you'll gladly pay because of the psychological effects generated by owning a "rare" "limited edition" deck create a strong sense of gratification and communal belonging as demonstrated by the countless bragging posts we see on the forums. "I just ordered 3 bricks of XXX card brand", or "I have 40$ to spend on cards, which decks should I get?" Of course there's also the entrepreneur who buys into this craze with hopes of reselling the decks at a later date and making double their investment back. Come to think of it these are the same guys who price gouged people on those darn hard to find foil Charizards too.
'Draven! I'm ashamed of you! How can you be so jaded?' I know I know... I can hear your thoughts already. Won't be the first time I've been called a spoil sport. I've been the wet blanket to many a custom deck thread both here and abroad. I've been asked why I can't just let the kiddies indulge themselves and have their fun. Why I constantly feel like I need to be the bully who comes in and destroys the fun. I've never really committed myself to providing any real answer to those questions. Perhaps it's because until typing this reply out now I've never really sat down and thought it through. Just what about the entire custom deck thing is it that gets under my skin so easily? It is true that I myself use custom decks. So how is it then that I am not a hypocrite to my own self?
I think the answer may lie in the mindset as to how the custom deck trend is approached. Magic is, to me, a very sacred thing. It's steeped in tradition, it's something that one should be proud of, and you shouldn't take advantage of it. Cards to the magician is nothing more than another tool. One that despite all the fancy rhetoric tossed about the internet hasn't really changed all that much as far as improvements go. You never see anyone brag about what brand dancing cane they bought, nor do conversations erupt about what kind of expanded shell should you use at your local forum. Schoolcraft or Johnson's? Anybody? So what makes cards so different? What is it about the hype around deck releases that sell them faster than any other magic prop that we can compare to?
Only with cards do we really see this kind of nonsense. I think the problem I have with the entire mess is the contrived idea that a "special" deck of cards produced by a magic company is somehow better than anything else on the market just because it has some flashy flavor text. It is this demand for this kind of phenomenon, and companies who are more than willing to take your money hand over fist is where I get off at. Because I feel almost as if the entire subculture wrapped around the custom decks somehow cheapens the art. Magicians (kids really, In the maturity sense, not so much the chronological way) who think that by purchasing these "special" cards makes them any cooler of an individual or their magic more profound. Like by somehow buying, opening, and using a rare/custom/limited deck will make your double lift that much cooler to the layman. Honestly your average audience member wouldn't know the difference between a deck of Jerry's Nuggets and a deck of 99cent dollar store brand cards if they saw them and the only thing they would care about is how entertaining you were. Not what you were using. So if you're going to use a custom deck then do so because you like the deck, or because it suits your character, or buy from a brand because you support the artist or company. Make it a personal preference if you must, but be reverent of the fact that you should be able to exchange any deck for another and still be able to deliver the same level of awe, mystique, and inspiration to your audiences regardless of the brand or back design. It's not the deck that makes you magical. It's you that is special. The deck is just a pile of paper in your hands.
So what if you just want to collect the decks for collecting sake? Sure! That's not a bad idea. Hell magicians have collected magical props and paraphernalia for decades. Houdini artifacts tend to sell quite well at auctions, as do vintage props, and books. So why shouldn't collecting cards have its place? If that's your intent then the majority of this post doesn't apply to you. In fact collecting decks of cards has already proven to be a viable market seeing as how some older decks sell for in the hundreds on Ebay. So yes I can see how taking a chance on a product release, buying a brick or two of cards in the off chance that they go big (and go out of print) could be quite profitable. In that case you're going to make a profit off everyone's folly. As I said the majority of my post isn't for you.
The people that I do challenge is the ones who think that a single deck of cards will make or break their performances. Sure they can help add flavor, but make no mistake YOU are the magic.
I digress... that was a very long rant. All to say that the prices are expensive because they can be, and that the companies know you're going to pay it.