The (Terrible?) State of Playing Cards in 2024

[@xmetal280]

(Hi, Paul from Encarded here...) I've definitely noticed a shift in my customer base. "Regular" decks are not nearly as attractive, people want special items, limited editions or decks featuring more hand-crafting or unique features. There have been too many years of recolors or predictable designs. I believe that the trend mentioned in your video, moving from T11 to Oath is true as my impression is that there are fewer new people entering the market, so the people already here are moving toward (or already firmly are at) the "picky end" and skip over standard releases more easily in favor of the high end.

[@mikepatterson6416]

Hmmm. For me it became more and more difficult to find variations on traditional format decks. The deck designs became very eccentric in my opinion and so far out in left field (way out) that I simply lost interest. Some of the projects became little more than ego trips for creators. I lost interest in EVER buying a deck again with the face of a designer. I guess I would come back for traditional high-end looking decks like the D&D Private Reserve 2023 Edition in Green. Especially if they aren't sold-out and ridiculously priced. I don't mind highly foiled version decks that are done tastefully. Hope that helps you guys.

[@TacTwo]

I feel like it's all getting a bit generic. Or at least everything is seeming more generic because there's plenty to compare it to and find similarities. Only the rare few decks actually stand out in a collection because they're obscure. I'm well beyond the honeymoon phase and I've got plenty of decks to use in a poker game or magic situation so they gotta be more special to get my cash now. Also I kinda want intent behind art rather than just pretty art now. Plenty of that on the shelf. I'm tired of being shown things tell me something. Do something. Purpose. I suppose the answer is make a kids show about playing cards to get fresh wallets in the market. Worked for Pokemon. If the goal is money of course.

[@Batosai11489]

Basically, I bought a bunch of decks in 2021 to 2022 and noticed in retrospect that I was rather disappointed in many of them. That kind of soured me toward the hobby and I became significantly more picky and skeptical after that. The prices also went up a bit and they were already borderline more than I was willing to pay. Now I pretty much only buy decks that have themes I like or are really impressive otherwise. I get the general feeling that this happened to a lot of people, maybe even the creators. KingWildProject for example seems to have had a rather weak year. The hobby is probably going to consolidate to a few creators who have loyal followings from consistent quality and new ones will be squeezed out.

[@MrDopeContent]

Dope Content 🤘🏼😎💯💧 when there's blood on the streets a buyin' i will be.. . Chris Ramsey One Deck original release signed is gold.. and pretty much any top tier magician signed decks are bullish a.f.

[@user-ue5ct6dm9r]

2023 was my first year collecting and I was very overwhelmed with all the different decks to collect. I backed 83 different KS and there were quite a few I was disappointed in once I got the cards in hand. A few I got frustrated with due to lack of communication. There are some that haven't even been sent out yet. I probably got burnt out but also over the course of the year, I realized what I like and dont like in the cards I collect. 2024 I will be much more selective with the decks I collect and limit myself to the number of KS I back... especially if the cards will be available later in an online store. Collecting cards in general, my focus is going to be much more narrow, which will hopefully give my wallet a break.

[@MrUltimateConsumer]

I had really good luck with buying kickstarters in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. 2023, however burned me pretty hard. The origin deck from sky member presents, really hurt because they had such a great offering and even though they’re selling some of those decks on their website today they still are not fulfilling those who already paid for them. Docs playing cards, a staple in the industry, also burned buyers, but on three separate Kickstarter campaigns they were running simultaneously. As a result, I am finding myself sticking with a small handful of producers in the hopes of keeping my interest while reducing my exposure. The Gentleman Wake made the cut of course. I personally found the beetle backs to one of his nicest incarnations so far, I am sad to hear that they were also his least performing campaign. Good luck

[@TheGentlemanWake]

Thank yoU!

[@BigChiefSexyBossMan]

I stopped because everything so expensive and I have other obligations. It’s frustrating because I want to support the playing card market but I can’t

[@stephendarcy8163]

I started collecting in 2020. I can't speak for others but most of the campaigns in KS feel like cash grabs now. The market seems oversaturated. However, I've skipped the last two GW campaigns because I just didn't like the designs. I do support campaigns where I, simply, like the designs.

[@BehindTheCardsTCG606]

The sports card market took a massive hit around 1990 or so because all of a sudden you had all these new companies making cards. Values tanked almost overnight. Same thing will happen with this hobby (and in a sense, it’s probably happening already) too many decks, too many versions of decks, and collectors can and will get turned off.

[@BehindTheCardsTCG606]

Collector since 2005 here. People have been collecting cards for over 100 years. Collecting isn’t dead. The market is so over saturated with many versions/editions of one release/KS that collectors can’t keep up. People who quit collecting sell off what they can, and new collectors come in and go crazy. Others want to create their own deck and it just piles on. Let these collectors breathe and don’t release a deck every month or whatever. New sales might be “dead” to an extent, but collecting will endure. Most Collectors will see through the ones that are just out to make a money grab.

[@TheGentlemanWake]

Good points. In fact you brought something up that makes me wish I had addressed it during this episode or any of the subsequent KS-centered episodes upcoming... Although I only realease one project every 12-15 months I do various editions for one important reason. It's not so much a money grab---although some people will see it that way. It's VERY expensive to pay a designer to design a deck. And even more expensive to R&D the costs on something like a deluxe box. On Successor my upfront costs were somewhere in the park of $30k. That's before paying for any of the production on the physical items. Multiple variants give you an opportunity to get more bang for your buck as a producer. It's frankly a necessity. Other wise the business model falls apart. I think collectors generally---rightly so--don't think about the business aspect behind their favorite brands or designers. But the reality is its easy for things to go belly up and next thing you know the brand is dead.

[@BehindTheCardsTCG606]

@@TheGentlemanWake I don’t actually have a dog in this fight because I don’t back KS projects. I’m an antique collector but I try to keep up with the modern community

[@BehindTheCardsTCG606]

@@TheGentlemanWake I am well aware as are most of us of your upfront costs, you’ve mentioned that several times throughout the course of the campaign. You have to have money in order to make money (in most cases). I say this with no offense intended, but I think you feel the need to let others know the to justify the prices you and your designer charged for these decks and the sets. I get that. Most collectors probably don’t care about business models or other things like that. I’m one of those people. I will be happy to wait 5-10 years when most of today’s decks have a long established and stable value because a vast majority of them are as desirable as your “basic run of the mill” vintage decks of the 50s-80s. They’re simply not as collectable as the much older antique or the newest modern decks. Fanning, handling (in a cardistry sense), and other gimmicks (numbered seals, etc) don’t appeal to me. I collect antique. It’s the history, the stories they can tell (see videos on my channel) that decks today can’t equal, the thrill (and agony) of the hunt. I collect to preserve, document, educate, and to play the occasion card game with 100+ year old decks lol. You do what you do, and so far you have been successful at it. Kudos to you.

[@coratoraYT]

i started collecting in 2023, I looked through many websites, and there are too many "classic courts" and not enough artistry to be convinced my other already great "classic court" decks need additional company. I went from total noobie to "I pretty much know too much about cards now..." in the span of a year and the market is just more than happy to turn out a subpar product, slap a gimmick brand "vibe" on it and try to get me to buy it for $10-$20+ no thanks, I want to see an actual creative project not more of the same.

[@largecarken8504]

As a collector it doesn’t do me any good to buy cards that aren’t going to sell out. They won’t go up in value if they are readily available or nobody wants them. Some of my favorite cards are theory 11 rebels. No where near my fanciest decks but they are some of the coolest. They are not novelty like my Jackson Robinson cards.

[@EndlessWaltz]

I started in Covid like a lot of folks and dove in too much. Now I’m finally where I want to be when it comes to knowing what I like and want. But because of the insane amount of decks that came out over that time, I have 400+ decks I need to offload.

[@TheGentlemanWake]

I have recently sold quite a bit via eBay. Although definitely not recouping my initial cost.

[@MrDopeContent]

PigCake new release is my fav tho.. LFG 🚀 🚀 🚀 🚀

[@UncleSkiBum]

Well at least if it is dead i can store it in my Sarcophagus from TGW 😂

[@inthelemontree]

Yes, 'Card Collecting Dead' is probably not the best title