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Cbkimble wrote:

Sher wrote:The different currency might be an issue, but I don't think it should be. Google makes it so easy to convert currency. All you have to do is type, "165 nzd to usd" to get the approximate amount in dollars. I admit, I'm a little cautious on projects in £ or € but that's because the exchange rate would have me paying more dollars per £ or € (so seeing £20 means I'll be paying more than $20). With nzd, it's actually the other way around. You'd be paying less dollars per nzd (so 20 nzd means I'll be paying less than $20).

I think that's what it is. How many of you have seen a project in NZd before? This was my first. I took the time to see the conversion rate but a lot of people probably didn't. There may have been a lot of people that, after seeing the conversion of USD to POUND/EURO, just assumed that the conversion was going to cost them more. I still think it should've done much better but it was also around the first of the year and just before tax season in the US was in full swing. If he had waited two to four weeks, I think he would've done better. Timing is everything and can make the difference between 65,000 and 100,000.

I have to agree - and we've seen it happen before, where a deck (or two) that should have funded ended up falling on its sword mostly because of the fact that they were in British Pounds, Euros or what have you. The NZ$ is the reverse of those, meaning that 30NZ$ < $30US, and it doesn't work that way with GBP nor Euros, in fact it's way opposite, in fact the British units of monetary measure have always been 'larger' than the US$, and likely always will.

That being said, imagine my frustration trying to deal (recently) with this company in Taiwan that quotes everything in NT$ (New Taiwanese dollars) that are in fact worth about 3 cents 'Merikun. That means that around 65NT$ is around $2US. It's baffling to me, because unless you look closely it's all just in dollars, or appears to be, and when I saw $65 for shipping, I like to choked. Fact is that it just over $2US because it's 65NT$ actually.

Anyway, way off course, here - NZD 'costs' less than USD, and we're not used to that, in fact I'm quite aware simply because I'm an "All Blacks" fan (their national rugby team), and in fact have an All Blacks jersey I wear when the time comes. Just because we don't fully understand something we're put off by it, that's just human nature. In fact it's just going to slow them down, which is why on CardLauncher everything funds in UD$, everybody has to have a US-based bank account to do business with CL, and in my mind that's a good thing. Now, I'm sure some people will P&M just like they do about anything having to do with 'change', again - it's human nature.

Mike Ratledge wrote: on CardLauncher everything funds in UD$, everybody has to have a US-based bank account to do business with CL, and in my mind that's a good thing.

How does this affect international designers like Rick who probably don't have a US based bank account? I thought PayPal does automatic conversions. You put the campaign in dollars and it'll send the funds to the creator in the currency of their country.

Sher wrote:

Mike Ratledge wrote: on CardLauncher everything funds in UD$, everybody has to have a US-based bank account to do business with CL, and in my mind that's a good thing.

How does this affect international designers like Rick who probably don't have a US based bank account? I thought PayPal does automatic conversions. You put the campaign in dollars and it'll send the funds to the creator in the currency of their country.

With PayPal if the money is coming from your balance or bank account then there is no conversion fee. Maybe that's true for Amazon Payments, I dunno.

If you link a credit card to your PayPal account and use it for payment, then the conversion bank fees are all over the map, from reasonable to not so reasonable.

I pledged Origins through Amazon using an AMEX credit card. I got charged $0.28USD for a $10.80USD, $13.00 NZD pledge.

/bama

Oh, my PayPal is linked to my bank account. I got billed once in SGD and in NZD and I wasn't charged, so I was wondering about that. Thanks for clearing it up

bamabenz wrote:

Sher wrote:

Mike Ratledge wrote: on CardLauncher everything funds in UD$, everybody has to have a US-based bank account to do business with CL, and in my mind that's a good thing.

How does this affect international designers like Rick who probably don't have a US based bank account? I thought PayPal does automatic conversions. You put the campaign in dollars and it'll send the funds to the creator in the currency of their country.

With PayPal if the money is coming from your balance or bank account then there is no conversion fee. Maybe that's true for Amazon Payments, I dunno.

If you link a credit card to your PayPal account and use it for payment, then the conversion bank fees are all over the map, from reasonable to not so reasonable.

I pledged Origins through Amazon using an AMEX credit card. I got charged $0.28USD for a $10.80USD, $13.00 NZD pledge.

/bama

Actually, that's a big "it depends": PayPal might not charge you, but your bank might. Mine charges a 3% "Foreign Transaction fee" every time something is billed from overseas regardless of the currency it was originally in.

@Mike

Really? With your checking or bank account hooked-up, not a credit or debit card? Maybe its bank dependent...

Ok, I just found this for PayPal UK: https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/c ... rsion-fees" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I guess that there can be a fee that somebody has to pay. I seem to remember that a merchant can chose to accept payment in multiple currencies. I guess that if you want PayPal to convert automatically into something else you gotta pay PayPal a fee. And if its the credit card company that does the conversion then they charge a fee.

When I've paid for stuff in Sterling or CAD or NZD by PayPal with my bank account I guess the recipient paid the fee.
I guess I don't really know how this works because I don't have a PayPal merchant account and no one has sent me money in a foreign currency.

/bama

same here. Foreign transaction fees on my checking account. I'm pretty sure I've seen them on a few of my credit cards as well.

Godzillian wrote:That is the biggest reason why I didn't pledge for this. The price point + theme = a non-pledger. I could pay $12.50 for a 16th century themed deck that I don't completely understand, or I could spend more on the Requiem KS, which is a theme I can understand and can actually relate to.

It's so interesting why we get certain decks and not others. As someone who gets into the history of these decks, Grail was a no brainer. On the other hand, I'm completely ignoring the current run of EPCC/Legends decks [including Heretic] ...

Mike Ratledge wrote: I have to agree - and we've seen it happen before, where a deck (or two) that should have funded ended up falling on its sword mostly because of the fact that they were in British Pounds, Euros or what have you....

... Just because we don't fully understand something we're put off by it, that's just human nature ...

It may have been what happened to me with the Empire decks. As soon as the pledge page asked for Credit Card details - rather than Amazon account details - I backed out. The familiarity of using Amazon payments really was a big thing for me. I'm sure that it's quite common that most KS backers never see a non-US project.

Cbkimble wrote:same here. Foreign transaction fees on my checking account. I'm pretty sure I've seen them on a few of my credit cards as well.

That's where I am: my bank ("Pentagon Federal") didn't do that until about a year ago, and I suppose they added it to their revenue stream to remain competitive.

I get charged a 3% "Foreign Transaction Fee" every time a charge is made overseas, like I said, regardless of whether I pay in Euros, Pounds Sterling or US$

I didn't answer the question about how it affects people from overseas that don't have US bank accounts. To date every one that I know of has been able to figure it out themselves, but perhaps I'm too optimistic. We could easily setup a sub-account for every deck that was on the system, albeit a logistical nightmare for the bank, I suppose Wells Fargo Bank NA would love to have that business, frankly. I purposefully picked a very large US-based bank for the project's account, and I expected to find needs for there to be a way for us to provide a 'bucket' to toss the money into without co-mingling with our own funds. Might that in reality be a single bucket? Sure - I suppose. My wife has already bought herself enough headaches - I'll add it to the list.

Mike Ratledge wrote:

Cbkimble wrote:same here. Foreign transaction fees on my checking account. I'm pretty sure I've seen them on a few of my credit cards as well.

That's where I am: my bank ("Pentagon Federal") didn't do that until about a year ago, and I suppose they added it to their revenue stream to remain competitive.

I get charged a 3% "Foreign Transaction Fee" every time a charge is made overseas, like I said, regardless of whether I pay in Euros, Pounds Sterling or US$

I didn't answer the question about how it affects people from overseas that don't have US bank accounts. To date every one that I know of has been able to figure it out themselves, but perhaps I'm too optimistic. We could easily setup a sub-account for every deck that was on the system, albeit a logistical nightmare for the bank, I suppose Wells Fargo Bank NA would love to have that business, frankly. I purposefully picked a very large US-based bank for the project's account, and I expected to find needs for there to be a way for us to provide a 'bucket' to toss the money into without co-mingling with our own funds. Might that in reality be a single bucket? Sure - I suppose. My wife has already bought herself enough headaches - I'll add it to the list.

Most banks charge if you use your debit/card for a foreign transaction. I get those, too. But if you use PayPal, and the funds are withdrawn directly from your bank account (so that means inputting your bank routing number and account number, instead of inputting your debit/credit card info), then PayPal will convert the fee to whatever currency you use and withdraw that amount from your bank. I was given an invoice in SGD and paid it, but didn't get a foreign transaction fee from my bank. The bank doesn't count PayPal as foreign, I suppose.

I'm not sure I'm understanding... CardLauncher will set up US-based accounts for creators?

I guess if funds are held in Escrow and services paid from that pot then technically only the Escrow service / CL need a US bank account. Once all fees and services are paid then the remainder is transferred to the creator's account wherever (perhaps via paypal).

I stress - this is a guess!

montecarlojoe wrote:I guess if funds are held in Escrow and services paid from that pot then technically only the Escrow service / CL need a US bank account. Once all fees and services are paid then the remainder is transferred to the creator's account wherever (perhaps via paypal).

I stress - this is a guess!

I'm trying like heck to keep CL out of every single thread, so I'll post the response in the "SWTWC part 3" thread.

I also noticed a $2-$3 fee that was charged from my bank account related to Origins but I didn't care. This was my first international pledge on KS, wherever it's from and I like it, I'm buying. I wish I could go back in time and buy hella Empire and Boss decks! I would be rich!

I was excited to see I got my Origins brick delivered today. These were one of my most anticipated decks, and I really really wanted them to be as awesome. Unfortunately, I got some damaged decks. As you can see from the pics, I got my first clue there would be trouble from the outer brick box. Only one Origins 1st Editions was seriously damaged and a few of the cards inside were bent a little. Two Origins Grail LE decks had minor dings as well, but the cards inside were undamaged. Another issue I saw was that on every Origins 1st Edition deck, the bottom tuck was not aligned well when glued to the rest of the box resulting in a slightly warped tuck box at the bottom. It reminds me of how T11's first run of Black Stingers had the same warped tuck issue due to the bottom flap not glued squarely, so you had more of a trapezoid on the bottom instead of a rectangle.

Other than the tuck issues, the cards themselves are absolutely gorgeous and one of the most beautiful decks in my collection.

I didn't receive an email notice. When I got home, my package was just chillin' on the steps, when anyone could've took it! I would of left the front porch door unlock if I knew. These decks are gorgeous. Instead of typing on here, I should be opening them and admiring.

Nothing for me yet. *sad trombone*

Fingers crossed for tomorrow! Can't wait to get these!

Got my stuff, Rick did an amazing job

I am so jealous. I want to see these in my hands but i have to wait till i get home.

So jealous here too! I just can't wait!!

This _IS_ one of those "Can't Wait!" moment, but I can handle it. No I can't - where are my decks?

my mailman is so fired... wait, can I do that?

I hope mine are, at least, on the way. Of course, a week or so milling around the airport in Chicago, waiting for the USPS guys to jam it into a container for a flight to Frankfurt, then finally down here. Ugh, domestic shipping is great, except for the damn wait...

Guys, hi. Hey thanks for the great feedback, very glad to see them arriving finally. You've been incredibly patient, thanks.

But Sinjin, that's really disapointing to see. Thanks for the notice. What was the state of the packing like? I was told it would be bulletproof. Interesting note on the crooked gluing also, I have T11 decks with the same issue. I think that card is difficult to work with, as I've found with the loss of a large number on the machines. And no email Bike? Hmm. Thanks for the info, I'll send those pics to the shipping company Sinjin and sort it out. I know the feeling Maddest.

I should of got an uncut... I should of got an uncut... I should of got an uncut...

ecNate wrote:I should of got an uncut... I should of got an uncut... I should of got an uncut...

Yep, I should have gotten one, too...

@Rick, I imagine, unless you had them express shipped to you, you will be waiting a while yet. At any rate, it's been a long wait, so a little longer is tolerable. At least we know they are shipping

RickDavidson wrote:Sinjin, that's really disapointing to see. Thanks for the notice. What was the state of the packing like? Thanks for the info, I'll send those pics to the shipping company Sinjin and sort it out.

The decks were delivered in a USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate padded envelope. The brick box itself was further wrapped up in bubble wrap. Honestly, it looked pretty secure, so I was surprised to see the dinged corner. It must have been dropped from a distance right onto the corner on a hard floor at some point during the shipping process. I actually felt bad posting pictures of the damaged decks because I think these decks are among the most elegant, fully custom decks out there and I don't want people getting the wrong idea by posting pics that might detract from that fact.

At the end of the day, only one Origins deck was badly damaged, and the other two Origins Grail decks only had minor dings. The other 9 decks were pristine. I open and use my decks, so the fact that a few decks were dinged is no big deal for me since I'll be using them anyways and have plenty of perfect sealed decks for the collection.

I received an email that seemed like a confirmation of my address and thought I would receive another email went it actually ships but maybe that email was the shipping notification. *shrugs* Thank goodness no kids or teens bothered my package that probably sat outside at least 5 hours.

I received my shipping confirmation!

Sher wrote:I received my shipping confirmation!

ME TOO!!!! Next week is going to be great, Pagans, Seven Seas, and now Origins also!

That reminds me, I'm gonna need a bigger shoe box...

Got my shipping confirmation this morning too, but when I tracked the shipment it was already "Out for Delivery" so they should be in the mailbox when I get home tonight.