The Goldsmith by Kevin Cantrell (Cantrell A Priori 001) with TGW

[Swiski66]

New coin. I think a marked improvement.

Looking good! The combination of gloss and brushed finishes really take the coin up a notch!

[Harvonsgard]

I love rosé and pink-ish hues but the copper finish doesn't suit my taste here. I guess with copper in the name I expect more orange-ish/brownish hues. Like the old LeChat Rouge coin from Lorenzo for example.

[GandalfPC]

It is a big improvement over the all shiny one - still on the fence myself, seems I am reaching the age of second childhood as I just discovered slingshots and blew the weeks budget on a few fancy ones from around the globe…

[Bradius]

My big issue with copper is that it tarnishes easily. I have a ton of copper coins. You can protect them from tarnish, but it is an effort. I would prefer a metal that is less prone to tarnish if you go for a highly polished proof style coin (which looks awesome).

[Harvonsgard]

It's copper finish. I'd guess the amount of actual copper is pretty slim.

[TheGentlemanWake]

It's copper finish. I'd guess the amount of actual copper is pretty slim.

yes, not an issue. My copper plated coins from the manufacturer are like new.

[Bradius]

Copper plated coins still have a tarnish issue unless it is a copper alloy that doesn't tarnish. Either way, the coin looks nice. shame you didn't go for solid copper. While copper is expensive not, it isn't THAT expensive.

[TheGentlemanWake]

New coin samples arrived. Love them.

[Harvonsgard]

Copper plated coins still ...

Agreed but the point I was trying to convey is that a finish doesn't have to contain any copper at all. Atleast that is the level of suspicion I put on ad copy.

While copper is expensive not, it isn't THAT expensive.

As a former numismatic that is a thought that in a similar fashion crossed my mind quite often. I'd love to have real copper, silver and gold coins in sets but I know that the demand for such high price items is way too low and the costs would make the MRSP go up expotentionally and people aren't happy with the pricing already, lol.

[shkorc]

It's been asked and successfully ignored a few times, but hey, I'm an optimist lol

Omar, is there any chance of you organizing EU friendly fulfilment?

Since you aren't hit by KS costs with the pre-order model, maybe some of that could be used to organise it?

Your first reservation, if I remember correctly, was to keep things simple. But like you also said, it's a simple project and only 1000 items made, this shouldn't be a logistics nightmare?

I'm positive the orders placed will go up if you make it happen

Cheers

[Honeybee]

Best way to keep up with the releases currently is to follow me on instagram/facebook/youtube.

https://www.instagram.com/thegentlemanwake/
https://www.facebook.com/TheGentlemanWake
https://www.youtube.com/theGentlemanWake

Regarding the youtube link - there is nothing there under a year old. Are your reviews now a thing of the past?

[shkorc]

It's been asked and successfully ignored a few times, but hey, I'm an optimist lol

Omar, is there any chance of you organizing EU friendly fulfilment?

Since you aren't hit by KS costs with the pre-order model, maybe some of that could be used to organise it?

Your first reservation, if I remember correctly, was to keep things simple. But like you also said, it's a simple project and only 1000 items made, this shouldn't be a logistics nightmare?

I'm positive the orders placed will go up if you make it happen

Cheers

Optimism saddly missplaced lol

Guess I'll say thank you for saving me 600 Euros

[TheGentlemanWake]

It's been asked and successfully ignored a few times, but hey, I'm an optimist lol

Omar, is there any chance of you organizing EU friendly fulfilment?

Since you aren't hit by KS costs with the pre-order model, maybe some of that could be used to organise it?

Your first reservation, if I remember correctly, was to keep things simple. But like you also said, it's a simple project and only 1000 items made, this shouldn't be a logistics nightmare?

I'm positive the orders placed will go up if you make it happen

Cheers

Optimism saddly missplaced lol

Guess I'll say thank you for saving me 600 Euros

Hi, this slipped through the cracks for me. Hmmm. I hadn't considered split fulfillment because I thought the volume would not be enough. Meaning 200 units sold in EU would not warrant the added costs of shipping to a second fulfillment center. What I can say is that usually Gambler's can provide low declaration amounts.

[TheGentlemanWake]

Best way to keep up with the releases currently is to follow me on instagram/facebook/youtube.

https://www.instagram.com/thegentlemanwake/
https://www.facebook.com/TheGentlemanWake
https://www.youtube.com/theGentlemanWake

Regarding the youtube link - there is nothing there under a year old. Are your reviews now a thing of the past?

I have been OVERWHELMMED with work in the last year with work (on top of daily responsibilities theres the prodution of 5-6 decks). On top of moving from Florida to South Carolina. I still don't rightfully have a home studio setup for shooting although I may just start making videos again with no regard for the quality of the shooting space. Part of my hesitancy in posting videos has been birthed from the expectation that audiences have for my content. Ive always prided myself in offering the highest quality more professional videos. And I wondered if viewers would be turned off by anything less. Although, admittedly, I haven't given my audience the chance to prove me wrong.

[shkorc]

Hi, this slipped through the cracks for me. Hmmm. I hadn't considered split fulfillment because I thought the volume would not be enough. Meaning 200 units sold in EU would not warrant the added costs of shipping to a second fulfillment center. What I can say is that usually Gambler's can provide low declaration amounts.

No worries, thanks for the response.

Since the production for the majority of items is in EU are the added cost of shipping still so prohibitive?

200 extra units would almost double the current number of ordered.

Low declarations do not fool customs and they request proof of item and shipping costs for each foreign package, unfortunately.

[Fenrir]

Omar, will pricing be changing anytime soon or is it staying discounted due to the sales volume? Also, will the initial quantity be reduced from 1,000 sets?

[TheGentlemanWake]

1000 edition size is set in stone. Discount runs out June 23rd. 30 days.

[Honeybee]

Best way to keep up with the releases currently is to follow me on instagram/facebook/youtube.

https://www.instagram.com/thegentlemanwake/
https://www.facebook.com/TheGentlemanWake
https://www.youtube.com/theGentlemanWake

Regarding the youtube link - there is nothing there under a year old. Are your reviews now a thing of the past?

I have been OVERWHELMMED with work in the last year with work (on top of daily responsibilities theres the prodution of 5-6 decks). On top of moving from Florida to South Carolina. I still don't rightfully have a home studio setup for shooting although I may just start making videos again with no regard for the quality of the shooting space. Part of my hesitancy in posting videos has been birthed from the expectation that audiences have for my content. Ive always prided myself in offering the highest quality more professional videos. And I wondered if viewers would be turned off by anything less. Although, admittedly, I haven't given my audience the chance to prove me wrong.

Thanks for the response TGW. I see your dilemma now - you have always produced quality. Can you continue to do so while making compromises - I think so. You are the essence of the reviews so I think you should have a crack. Test the result on some respected friends. I know that I have bought decks due to your reviews so IMO their absence is a significant negative for the industry

[redux]

Hi, this slipped through the cracks for me. Hmmm. I hadn't considered split fulfillment because I thought the volume would not be enough. Meaning 200 units sold in EU would not warrant the added costs of shipping to a second fulfillment center. What I can say is that usually Gambler's can provide low declaration amounts.

No worries, thanks for the response.

Since the production for the majority of items is in EU are the added cost of shipping still so prohibitive?

200 extra units would almost double the current number of ordered.

Low declarations do not fool customs and they request proof of item and shipping costs for each foreign package, unfortunately.

Exactly! No matter the value that is written on the package, everything coming from outside of EU must be declared (if not VAT was paid, hence IOSS number is not evident). And there's no way to know what value has been put on the packing slip, so I won't start making up figures from my head when I declare packages.

[TheGentlemanWake]

An update for customers and future customers:

The Goldsmith production is currently delayed. Cartamundi are experiencing issues with production/planning. They've been a bit vague about the issues. Not sure what could be causing the problems on their end. Just as an example, I placed the order for Beetlebacks Prototypes in MAY (a substantial time prior to launching the Goldsmith pre-order) and those decks have not been produced. In fact I'm being told the small order (only 50 decks) will not potentially be ready until October. This is also affecting the Villa Beluno CAP 002 launch. I will advise when I know more! Just be assured the decks are coming!

[Bradius]

Cartamundi does great work, but the downside is above. Thanks for the update. Hang in there.

[Disenchanted_11]

An update for customers and future customers:

The Goldsmith production is currently delayed. Cartamundi are experiencing issues with production/planning. They've been a bit vague about the issues. Not sure what could be causing the problems on their end. Just as an example, I placed the order for Beetlebacks Prototypes in MAY (a substantial time prior to launching the Goldsmith pre-order) and those decks have not been produced. In fact I'm being told the small order (only 50 decks) will not potentially be ready until October. This is also affecting the Villa Beluno CAP 002 launch. I will advise when I know more! Just be assured the decks are coming!

Okay, I know busy times for you guys, but don't forget to make decisions and updates about the future of Goldsmith With all your reservations on Groundskeeper pushing through with Cartamundi, does it apply to Goldsmith as well? I understand it's more complicated if the order is already placed, but there has to be some exit clause on that in light of the recent situations.

[Drewser]

AND ONE MORE THING, I've never backed a Charmie project. So I can't speak to the quality of their decks, but I would wager that Cartamundi decks cost more to produce than WJPCC decks do. Probably by a considerable margin. So this isn't an apples to ....

This contradicts all the things you've said about WJPCC not being much cheaper. Rational people have already known that the transition of top designers like S17, TWI, etc. to WJPCC is due to lower production costs. Unfortunately, the 'considerable margin' savings isn't being passed on to the customer. Now collectors are buying an inferior product for the same price as they would be with Cartamundi or USPCC. IMO this is a 'dark days to come' decision for creators that will hurt the community and it's only motivated by greed.

[Adamthinks]

AND ONE MORE THING, I've never backed a Charmie project. So I can't speak to the quality of their decks, but I would wager that Cartamundi decks cost more to produce than WJPCC decks do. Probably by a considerable margin. So this isn't an apples to ....

This contradicts all the things you've said about WJPCC not being much cheaper. Rational people have already known that the transition of top designers like S17, TWI, etc. to WJPCC is due to lower production costs. Unfortunately, the 'considerable margin' savings isn't being passed on to the customer. Now collectors are buying an inferior product for the same price as they would be with Cartamundi or USPCC. IMO this is a 'dark days to come' decision for creators that will hurt the community and it's only motivated by greed.

You're baking a lot of baseless assumptions here. "Rational people have already known that top degigners are using WJOC because of lower production costs"? Come one man, that's kind of ridiculous. It's not an inferior product. I can only guess you haven't handled a recent WJPC deck. They've gotten dramatically better over the last couple years. Two of my favorite decks from the past year were printed by them. At the quality they are printing at now, I'd put them overall on par with anyone else out there.

[Strag]

AND ONE MORE THING, I've never backed a Charmie project. So I can't speak to the quality of their decks, but I would wager that Cartamundi decks cost more to produce than WJPCC decks do. Probably by a considerable margin. So this isn't an apples to ....

This contradicts all the things you've said about WJPCC not being much cheaper. Rational people have already known that the transition of top designers like S17, TWI, etc. to WJPCC is due to lower production costs. Unfortunately, the 'considerable margin' savings isn't being passed on to the customer. Now collectors are buying an inferior product for the same price as they would be with Cartamundi or USPCC. IMO this is a 'dark days to come' decision for creators that will hurt the community and it's only motivated by greed.

Wow, just wow. Tell you what, you think it's so profitable and so easy to make "considerable margin" on a playing card project I encourage you to produce your own. I have run the numbers myself and seen numbers from quite a few producers and I can tell you that there just isn't much money in it. Remember that the production cost of the manufacturer is only one part of the cost of selling playing cards. Maybe just tone it down a bit eh?

[Disenchanted_11]

I'm real curious on whose producer numbers you ran. My impression with producing cards is that decks can cost extremely low when massed produced. When we're talking limited/luxury we know it just isn't the case. But still, if you are a patreon producer who people gives you considerable money every month, not buying, no strings attached; I think you're doing pretty well.

But in situations like Goldsmith, a preorder, and it haven't gone in a lot of ways we all would've wanted. If the margins were tight before, I'm sure it's tighter now. But please let's get them printed, shall we?

[Harvonsgard]

Now collectors are buying an inferior product for the same price as they would be with Cartamundi or USPCC. IMO this is a 'dark days to come' decision for creators that will hurt the community and it's only motivated by greed.

Lel, what? Inferior product? I guess I have to give a lot of credit to Cartamundi for making a lot of people think they're the holy grail when it comes to deck quality. Just because they were the ones who made cold foil popular in the card community a couple of years ago? Or because they have a nice slip out of the box?
To read that e.g. Lorenzo or Omar is motivated by greed is bonkers imho. It's not too hard to understand that WJPC is offering a great package for creators and from all the decks I have from them I can say with confidence for us as well. Gambling Frog is awesome and so is the nice oddety of 17th Kingdom.

I for my part will buy the Corrupted deck from TGW without hesitation if Omar decides to go with WJPC. TGW always printing with Cartamundi in the past is one of the main reasons I don't have any of his decks in my collection as of today.

I'm real curious on whose producer numbers you ran. My impression with producing cards is that decks can cost extremely low when massed produced.

Exactly, emphasis on when mass produced. TGW is not Ellusionist or TXI though.

[Disenchanted_11]

TGW is not Ellusionist or TXI though.

That's what I implied on the quote you truncated, thanks lol.

[Honeybee]

Wow, just wow. Tell you what, you think it's so profitable and so easy to make "considerable margin" on a playing card project I encourage you to produce your own. I have run the numbers myself and seen numbers from quite a few producers and I can tell you that there just isn't much money in it. Remember that the production cost of the manufacturer is only one part of the cost of selling playing cards. Maybe just tone it down a bit eh?

Yep, you definitely would not need your toes to count how many producers are making money out of playing cards. Just a couple of months ago the wonderful Jonathon of Meadowlark told me his next deck could be his last. Although it has been a passion project for him, he said that it has been stressful, time consuming and that he loses too much money doing it. This from a man who has been killing it.

[laitostarr777]

Yep, you definitely would not need your toes to count how many producers are making money out of playing cards. Just a couple of months ago the wonderful Jonathon of Meadowlark told me his next deck could be his last. Although it has been a passion project for him, he said that it has been stressful, time consuming and that he loses too much money doing it. This from a man who has been killing it.

Oh darn... he quits after the Space theme.. sad... the decks he had been producing are all good, but I respect his decision. After all, he has an actual pharmacy business to attend to mainly

This contradicts all the things you've said about WJPCC not being much cheaper. Rational people have already known that the transition of top designers like S17, TWI, etc. to WJPCC is due to lower production costs. Unfortunately, the 'considerable margin' savings isn't being passed on to the customer. Now collectors are buying an inferior product for the same price as they would be with Cartamundi or USPCC. IMO this is a 'dark days to come' decision for creators that will hurt the community and it's only motivated by greed.

WJPC being an inferior product, you say? Well, let me tell you my story:
My very first deck that comes from WJPC is Testament by Ben Green. The deck was stiffs and handles poorly. At the time, I wasn't expecting great things from that printer. But then, when these decks come out: 17th Kingdom and Notorious Gambling Frog by S17 - Midas and Monolith Zodiac by TWI - TaiPESTRY by Velata, and when I have them on my hands - I am amazed at the quality now. So you see, WJPC HAS IMPROVED to the point that present creators are considering them as options. If TGW HAS to make a printer change because he can't wait any longer for Cartamundi, then WJPC can be a good option.
So, do yourself a favor, and get any decks printed by WJPC recently and handle them yourself. Hopefully that will make you take back your words...