Question in the title. Whether it's magicians or cardists, there seem to be a lot of excitement everytime a new Fontaine deck is released (and by "new", I mean "simply recolored"). Their price is generally pretty high too, for the simplicity of the design. It all begs the question, what is so good about them?
Considering that most cards that are high enough quality for magicians and flourishers to worry about are basically the same other than artwork, it really comes down to two things: How much people like a particular design, and/or how much people like a particular designer.
If someone has really loyal fans, they will buy anything that person puts out (or sometimes, even if that person just jokes about putting something out)
There's another factor at play, too, sometimes and that is when someone or a group that is admired talks about liking a particular thing - hence, Jerry's Nugget's popularity (when in reality, those cards suck - you can't even bend them)
If someone has really loyal fans, they will buy anything that person puts out (or sometimes, even if that person just jokes about putting something out)
There's another factor at play, too, sometimes and that is when someone or a group that is admired talks about liking a particular thing - hence, Jerry's Nugget's popularity (when in reality, those cards suck - you can't even bend them)
I guess so.
To be honest, I'm a simple guy when it comes to cards I actually use. Exception made for a few specific/amazing decks - like the white gold Joker and the Thief -, I tend to stick to one type of card deck for public performance (hence the brick of Wicked Kingdom I ordered this summer, it feels like a classic Bicycle deck only infinitely more stylish) and one of the same stock and finish for practice. Which means, Bicycle/Tally-Ho, and when necessary I borrow from my WK brick. To me, it just feels like Fontaines are like NOC, overpriced and overrated.
Well, to be fair, the basic NOC are 5$ US, so, I'll limit my critic to the special editions - which are still just different colors of the same deck for three times the price.
To be honest, I'm a simple guy when it comes to cards I actually use. Exception made for a few specific/amazing decks - like the white gold Joker and the Thief -, I tend to stick to one type of card deck for public performance (hence the brick of Wicked Kingdom I ordered this summer, it feels like a classic Bicycle deck only infinitely more stylish) and one of the same stock and finish for practice. Which means, Bicycle/Tally-Ho, and when necessary I borrow from my WK brick. To me, it just feels like Fontaines are like NOC, overpriced and overrated.
Well, to be fair, the basic NOC are 5$ US, so, I'll limit my critic to the special editions - which are still just different colors of the same deck for three times the price.
Honestly. Fontaines have a dedicated fan base.
If you want to go for a 'minimalist' deck, go NOC. Fontaines are WAY overpriced Bicycle-stock.
At that point, you're just buying a name.
If you want to go for a 'minimalist' deck, go NOC. Fontaines are WAY overpriced Bicycle-stock.
At that point, you're just buying a name.
Fontaines are beautiful in my opinion, but not worth their high price. I have some NOCs and honestly, I expected more from The Blue Crown the finish is not very good. I stick to Bicycle cards most of the time, they have a classic design that looks great in my opinion, and they are cheap enough not to feel guilty after a "torn and restored" practise session (especially if you buy Seconds for home as I do).
What really bugs me is the whole "this colour is limited edition" thing. Producing a deck that's exactly the same but in another colour costs exactly the same. But companies build hype so that people fall into promotions that make you spend money in their stores. Many websites do this as it's an easy way to obtain profit, but this practise is anti-consumer and should not be backed.
Theory11 has done this many times, with White Monarchs, Gold Monarchs and White Centurions, for example. They promote them heavily in their social media to get people hyped, and hiding them behind a "when spending over $50" window is an ugly move. Others like Ellusionist simply increase the prices of the "special" decks, even if they aren't all that special.
Hopefully, we'll see less of these in the future.
What really bugs me is the whole "this colour is limited edition" thing. Producing a deck that's exactly the same but in another colour costs exactly the same. But companies build hype so that people fall into promotions that make you spend money in their stores. Many websites do this as it's an easy way to obtain profit, but this practise is anti-consumer and should not be backed.
Theory11 has done this many times, with White Monarchs, Gold Monarchs and White Centurions, for example. They promote them heavily in their social media to get people hyped, and hiding them behind a "when spending over $50" window is an ugly move. Others like Ellusionist simply increase the prices of the "special" decks, even if they aren't all that special.
Hopefully, we'll see less of these in the future.
This has been the norm for a long time now.
I remember when $5 for the Black Tiger decks from Ellusionist, which arguably started off this whole custom deck industry, were considered a lot of money.
But now $10-$15 seems to be the standard whether it has 'intricate detail with high quality stock and foil laced on the inside blah blah emboss deboss insert more superlatives', or it's just another colour of essentially a Bike deck but with less work.
It's just the market we're in. I'm don't want to be complacent as I personally don't like this trend, but what can you do when I guess we are to blame for causing and driving it!
Also disappoints me that most retailers including Theory11 don't offer the tier discounts anymore on new decks. (5% off 3 decks, 10% off 6, 15% off 12)
Just curious, what is the standard price everyone here is happy to pay? Is it the current standard of $10-$15? I'm thinking it must be since that's the trend, but I remember when the red JAQK's came out and I thought hmm, I guess $7-$8 isn't too bad, and on top of that the tier discounting made it quite reasonable IMHO.
Just my 2 cents - but maybe I'm just cheap
I remember when $5 for the Black Tiger decks from Ellusionist, which arguably started off this whole custom deck industry, were considered a lot of money.
But now $10-$15 seems to be the standard whether it has 'intricate detail with high quality stock and foil laced on the inside blah blah emboss deboss insert more superlatives', or it's just another colour of essentially a Bike deck but with less work.
It's just the market we're in. I'm don't want to be complacent as I personally don't like this trend, but what can you do when I guess we are to blame for causing and driving it!
Also disappoints me that most retailers including Theory11 don't offer the tier discounts anymore on new decks. (5% off 3 decks, 10% off 6, 15% off 12)
Just curious, what is the standard price everyone here is happy to pay? Is it the current standard of $10-$15? I'm thinking it must be since that's the trend, but I remember when the red JAQK's came out and I thought hmm, I guess $7-$8 isn't too bad, and on top of that the tier discounting made it quite reasonable IMHO.
Just my 2 cents - but maybe I'm just cheap
The collector market has definitely driven up the pricing, since the people selling them can charge that much if they want.
The other thing to remember is that smaller runs are actually more expensive per deck, so for small run (2.5K) designs a little higher price tag means the profits stay the same, not that they are making tons more.
I can understand the drive to collect these things as I have an obsessive personality myself (something I am sure is common in magicians). However, since I get so many decks through work, I am pretty hesitant to spend anything on cards.
The other thing to remember is that smaller runs are actually more expensive per deck, so for small run (2.5K) designs a little higher price tag means the profits stay the same, not that they are making tons more.
I can understand the drive to collect these things as I have an obsessive personality myself (something I am sure is common in magicians). However, since I get so many decks through work, I am pretty hesitant to spend anything on cards.