holy sh*t, I took the evening off away from the all this and to distract myself from the suddenly unexpected personal financial stresses of
another Lotrek deck to spend Friday night doing... well, Friday night stuff... and now, there's like 3 whole pages added to this thread!!! lol Anyways, since it seems that most of the concerns that I might of had, have already been constructively expressed by other members here, I'll try to keep my own to the point.
First off, having been a pretty loud voice in this whole matter when it first came to light, allow me express my thanks & appreciation for Lotrek taking the time to address the raised concerns/issues regarding the blue deck and, doing so so graciously, which is not always an easy feat for anyone. I think this shows a real sense of sincerity in not just his understanding of where our dissatisfaction lies, but also in his efforts to make it right within his means.
Now, I do also have to mirror similar sentiments with what Merlebird stated earlier, and, having picked up 2 decks myself (and largely having decided to do so based on your word), I feel that I'm left in a similar predicament:
Merlebird wrote:As far as cards go: if I had my druthers I'd've gotten just the blue version, if I'd bought one at all. As it stands I don't know if I'll keep the red one; I knew when I ordered that I was taking a gamble on whether or not the courts would be "custom enough" for me, and while I agree that foil is shiny, and that five foils is very shiny, I don't know if I'm magpie enough to keep something just because it's shiny. But knowing that the blue variant will only be offered to Damask Red buyers, I feel like I'm leaving money on the table if I don't pick one up.
I don't know. I never wanted to get into deck reselling or speculation - I resent opportunists trying to make a buck as much as the next hobbyist - but it feels like that's the behavior that's being encouraged, and it doesn't sit well with me.
Personally, I really stretched the budget - the budget I carefully planned out and diligently saved up for for far longer than I care to admit - to get two decks because that was what I could afford, not only at the time of pre-order, but in general. I am by no means a rich person with limitless disposable income despite my own spending habits in this hobbie that might, from an outsider, suggest otherwise. Now, with this blue variant, I fear that I'll be missing out because I, regrettably, made the poor decision ended up ordering the maximum I was able to afford of the one red variant I was explicitly told would be the only deck of it's kind to ever exist without considering the possibility that you'd go back on your word and produce a variant. And as misterharmanko pointed out, I'm sure I'm not alone in having made such big (or at least big for me) financial decisions based on your word and now find myself looking back with great regret at how I could have planned & saved differently. Perhaps I wouldn't have spent the time and money in travel/hotel expenses to attend the IPCS convention
just 2 weeks ago, for example, or reconsidered other unnecessarily extraneous, yet avoidable purchases/expenses had I known of the sudden opportunity to purchase this deck was so imminent. Now granted, I'm sure it won't be difficult for me to find someone that would be more than willing to flip me the cash to order one on their behalf, but personally, I probably won't be able to add this blue variant to my own collection because of just not having the funds to do so at this time and that gives me a strong case of the sadz...
understandable, no?
Anyways, I absolutely
did not get into this hobby to resell - I have never done so and have very rarely ever even considered doing so based on principle - but now I'm kinda in a financial bind and feel absolutely sick to my stomach to be placed in such a predicament that has me seriously considering going against those principles and resell one of the decks... and, not only to just resell, but to do so almost immediately after receiving my order in a last ditch effort to recoup funds to be able to afford to get this damn blue variant which, btw, I could have very easily used the months of anticipation for this reveal/release to plan for in advance for and/or somehow figured out a way to afford
had I known...
So, that's where I'm currently at... also, I hate the prospect of the stress & hassle involved in shipping - ugh. But anyways, if anyone around here is looking for yet
another red edition (unlikely), let me know.... *god, I feel like such an effin' scumbag*
where's the puke emoji when I need it...
Also, this all probably only further supports why I absolutely shouldn't/couldn't ever become a lawyer nor a diplomat despite my good speak skillz lol; I might be dead inside, but I still gotta live with myself
besides, as a diplomat - or in pretty much any position dealing with politics - I would find it incredibly irritating to have to talk incessantly without ever actually saying anything lmao
I'm clearly waaaayy too strongly opinionated for that shit lol
And now back to the important issue; cereal - it is my life and, if it wasn't deemed an adult obligated to make healthier, more responsible dietary choices, I would literally - morning, noon & night - eat nothing else. Also, while I agree you can't go wrong following 2pc's rule in regards to 'crunch' - a rule I also semi-strictly follow myself, there are so many many wonderful variants of cereal, and fortunately, all of which I can afford
)
