Sorry Mr. Draven, (and those that share his views)
I respect many of your posts and I am a fan of your reviews but I find your comments, and the comments of many others in regards to card collecting, rude and uninviting. Card collecting, and thus discussing the potential future value of certain cards, is a perfectly viable topic of conversation, especially on the forum of a website that regularly releases various decks of cards that go on to fetch high values on the secondary market. So I kindly ask that you remember two things before posting a complaint about the existence of a "card collecting" thread.
1. Card collecting and magic go hand in hand. It is a natural fit just as gun collecting often becomes a side hobby of target shooters. It also seems to have quite a tradition in magic. In all the video footage I have seen of Ed Marlo he seems to have a different deck of cards in his hands every time. Watch any of the Jason England Downloads. He has a different deck of cards in every one. Lee Asher's association with card collecting is well known. And don't forget that it was seeing our "patron saint of close-up magic", Dai Vernon, with a pack of Jerry's Nuggets that drove the initial interest in those cards. It is natural to assume that many, though not all, magicians may develop an interest in card collecting. I don’t feel anyone, regardless of their personal feelings, has an argument worthy enough to discourage combining both of these hobbies.
2. Because many of the signature and decks manufactured for various magicians and magic companies have begun to fetch high prices in the secondary market, websites like this one have begun to attract the attention of serious card collectors. These people may not be magicians but they have developed an interest in cards printed to appeal to magicians. A few weeks ago I read a post on 52plusjoker.org from a very nice lady who was having difficulty finding out the value and confirming the editions(1st, 2nd, ect.) of her Ellusionist and T11 decks. She had complained about rude and unhelpful posters on some of the sites like this one. She did not mention what site had scared her off so I can't say that it was this one, nor will I accuse anyone on this forum of having been rude to her, but I think it would be nice if we all kept this in mind when posting.
In short, there is no reason to complain about posts like this. Card collecting, like it or not, is a part of many magic communities. If it is not part of your particular magical interests, that’s fine. If you want to debate the merits of using custom or collector’s decks versus Rider back 808 in a magical performance that is okay, provided that the discussion happens within the context of an appropriate thread. Unfortunately, posting views of that sort on a thread that is clearly dedicated to assessing the potential value of various custom decks is a bit off topic. Furthermore, as my anecdote pointed out, negative comments about the “worthiness” of card collecting has scared off some perfectly nice people who have as much right as anyone to enjoy their hobby, whether it is card collecting, magic, or both. I personally don’t do much coin magic, and for what I do I see no need to search high and low for a good price on a Morgan dollar. To me one would be worth…..$1.00! That said I don’t jump in and voice my personal opinion that you should only pay face value for legally minted currency every time someone posts a “Where can I get a Morgan,” thread in a coin forum. So I ask that you please try to be respectful and understanding to the card collectors among us and the card collectors who visit us. After all, this is Theory 11…perhaps the most “card dominant” of the major magic forums.
Respectfully,
Erik