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Decknowledgy wrote:

I have some regrettable news...

I’m sad to inform you that we were unable to print our cards in October. And it seems like we won't be able to print in November either.

Though I don't want to blame Cartamundi for our delay—because they can do things with cards in a quality that no other factory in the world can—it’s a fact that of the five print runs I’ve done with them, they met their deadline just once. It never ceases to amaze me how much time it takes them to respond to my queries. And, trust me, I’m on top of them all the time.

Luckily, I'm a very patient person and I am able to wait for quality. But I sincerely apologize to you for underestimating the number of projects Cartamundi would be stormed with ahead of Christmas. Apparently, they hadn’t expected it either.

Where we’re at:

Yesterday I received the standard deck ‘ready date’ for the next print run: January 13.

But since our decks are more complicated than standard decks, it will be later than that for us.

It makes me very sad, but there is truly nothing I can do to speed up the process while ensuring the best possible quality. I'll keep you updated about progress and will be grateful for your patience and support.

However, as cards are not the only products in this campaign, I am happy to share some samples of our Butterfly Deck Sleeves, which are almost done. I’m so pleased with how they turned out! Thanks to Sherman Tsao of Carat Case Creations!



Thank you all again for your patience. I'll continue working hard and will keep you posted.

All my very best,
Ondrej

rousselle wrote:I'm guessing that it's kinda bad business to badmouth your vendor publicly while you're still waiting for your vendor to give you the goods. It's a self-aware kind of tact.

hsbc wrote:Why is everyone seemingly okay with Cartamundi's constant delays and unresponsiveness? They're an international multi-hundred-million dollar corporation Delays are NOT okay. Not responding to customers is NOT okay. Why Ondrej doesn't "want to blame" them for the delay is beyond me - like, who else's fault could it be??

hsbc wrote:Aren't they literally the largest card and board game producer in the world? Their customer interaction is shoddy at best and they should do better.

RWPPFFShuffle wrote:Especially since now they own USPCC, you can complain all you want, but what's the alternative? EPCC? Point is, everybody sort of has to play by their rules now. They bought Boardwalk and Park Place.

Harvonsgard wrote:...They don't own USPC yet. The merger is planned but neither approved (Mike did a post on this) nor close to be completed. Both companies aggred to merge but that is all that is safe and sound yet.
I would disagree that everybody has to play by their rules. Printing is no witchcraft or voodoo, everybody (this is meant without any intend to disrespect) can do it, e.g. look at these awesome cards from that greek card wizard .

Dear Backers,

We have a print schedule!

I’m pleased to announce that Cartamundi have confirmed they will ship the decks from Turnhout, Belgium to our fulfillment centres on April 27th.

I know this is much (much) later than initially planned, and a few of you have asked how it is possible there could be such a big production delay. Well, there are several reasons.

The first, and most important, is that we were overfunded by 2000%. And while this is a good thing, it was driven by multiple attractive stretch goals (like numbered seals, gaff cards, Futterfly decks, etc.), not to mention many more decks being ordered than initially planned. This impacted our timeline. Besides which, due to the Kickstarter exclusive numbered seals, there will be 13 different versions of the Black Series edition (including the Futterfly decks and unnumbered decks sold by Murphy's Magic).

The second reason is that this print run is one of the most complicated that Cartamundi has worked on in a very long time - if not ever. And as delays on their end meant I was given extra time before our production date, I used it to make improvements and add beautiful details. This impacted the initial quote from Cartamundi and negatively affected the manufacturing schedule.

A few of you have requested compensation for the delay, which I understand, and I am sorry not to be able to offer any. But what I can guarantee, is that you will get a deck of cards that will exceed all your expectations.

Thank you again for your patience. If you have any questions, you can always stop by the comment section or drop me a direct message.

All my best,

Ondrej

I just got an email from Cartamundi that the production is shifting for another month due to the Corona virus situation. I am very sorry about this.

Update coming soon.

o.

Dearest Backers,

I was hoping to be sending out requests for address updates by now, but I have received an upsetting email from Cartamundi announcing a further delay:

“I’m sorry to inform you that no decks are scheduled to leave the factory next week. In fact, the latest planning is still accurate, with first departure scheduled on 12/06 (June 12). It must be this update did not reach you.”

Indeed it didn't reach me. Interestingly enough, it didn't even reach Jirs Huygen, who is the Cartamundi employee supervising our project (currently away from the factory as he is moving house). His colleague is meant to be updating me regularly, but despite multiple emails over the past couple of weeks, there has been no mention of further delays.

I talked to Jirs today (he is on call for me even out of hours) and he will get answers to my questions on Monday (the factory is closed today and tomorrow). We have a call scheduled for Monday night, so expect to hear from me again on Tuesday.

Talk soon,
Ondrej

masagin303 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 02, 2019 5:27 pm ...I'm gonna grab a pair of Butterfly's just to finally see the famous marking system.