What's up with the varying quality then?
The single variable that makes the biggest difference in the feeling of playing cards? Humidity. Humidity when the stock was made, humidity when the cards were printed or packaged, humidity while the cards are stored, humidity while the cards are being shipped, humidity where you store them, humidity when you use them, and moisture in your hands.
Humidity can make a deck of cards that feels like the best deck every to one person feel like the worst ever deck to another person. It is likely the main reason that we see such varied opinions on various decks.
US Playing Card is climate controlled, as is the theory11 warehouse. Humidity tends to not be a huge issue at those locations. It cam make a difference when shipping, but it can make a HUGE difference once it is in your hands. Moisture can make a brand new deck go soft and sticky in a matter of a couple minutes.
I see this ALL THE TIME - "Monarchs feel AMAZING, but Artisans feel terrible. Medallions are OK. I think that Red Monarchs come in second." There is a secret here - These decks are ALL on the same stock. The variations are mostly humidity.
If you only test one deck, your sample size is one. In statistics, this is nearly meaningless. Very few people test enough of the same deck to have a statistically significant sample size to be able to identify with any sense of confidence which decks actually consistently feel better than other decks.
If you had a newer Bike deck that didn't feel good, try another. Chances are that it will feel different still.
// L