Altruism Decks from The Blue Crown - Now Available !

[hikeeba]

Wow, including the snow owls, and they have NOTHING on their web site to indicate. This is quite disappointing. Has anyone received the gift they promised as well? I believe my order is on the way otherwise I might go ahead and cancel.

There was a GIFT? I think some people got the little "Carry On and Shuffle" stickers.
Can you refuse delivery of an order? Would UPS just send it right back? Would you be stuck with the shipping?

[CBJ]

Wow, including the snow owls, and they have NOTHING on their web site to indicate. This is quite disappointing. Has anyone received the gift they promised as well? I believe my order is on the way otherwise I might go ahead and cancel.

There was a GIFT? I think some people got the little "Carry On and Shuffle" stickers.
Can you refuse delivery of an order? Would UPS just send it right back? Would you be stuck with the shipping?

Do you not want your decks anymore??

I'm also surprised that the Blue Crown never released this info. They should have been upfront.

[Strag]

Wow, including the snow owls, and they have NOTHING on their web site to indicate. This is quite disappointing. Has anyone received the gift they promised as well? I believe my order is on the way otherwise I might go ahead and cancel.

There was a GIFT? I think some people got the little "Carry On and Shuffle" stickers.
Can you refuse delivery of an order? Would UPS just send it right back? Would you be stuck with the shipping?

Not sure, I've just heard that there was some sort of promo that orders before Halloween were supposed to get a gift at random.

In any case, I've emailed them to ask them not to ship my order if they have already (which included Altruism, Snow Owls and some other decks, around $100 in total with shipping). If it is shipped, well not going to do me much good refusing an international parcel but they will lose my custom.

[MJF]

I'd be interested if they are going to do another run that corrects the issue...
I could see this being an error deck and then the corrected deck released later (like with Baseball cards). Then again, volume and demand will dictate that...

What a disappointment though... I was originally going to get a bunch of the them (considered buy a brick) but I think now I'll just get 1 of each, so I at least "have them".


What a friggin disappointment though...

[Ryric]

Geeze people. The Blue Crown goes to the trouble of creating these one of a kind decks, collector editions that are clearly identified by a printing error as first editions and you guys get all up in a huff!

Now that you mention it I was watching a video review for these and the guy showed and mentioned to queen of diamonds issue I moved on to other videos and kind of forgot all about it, I ordered a a couple of decks when the snow owls came out. Really is in poor taste to not mention it on the website.

[Evan]

I don't see why it's a big deal that they didn't mention it. They're including extra queen of diamonds with every deck that is purchased.

[cosmicsecret]

Wow, including the snow owls, and they have NOTHING on their web site to indicate. This is quite disappointing. Has anyone received the gift they promised as well? I believe my order is on the way otherwise I might go ahead and cancel.

I believe Alex said it in the TBC Relaunch Google Hangout Party,but i knew that and was fine with it.
For me (as a magician) having a dupe queen in the deck is great

[Strag]

It's a big deal in that I'd like to have them all together in a sealed one for my collection. That said, they were VERY prompt with a reply to my email:

Checking our system, your order was completed last night and is on its way to you.

USPC did print the decks with 2 Queens of Hearts and no Queen of Diamonds. They printed Queens of Diamonds separately that will be included with every order. Unfortunately, this is not something we found out about until the decks were already en route to us!

The extra Queen will not simply be thrown loosely into your package, it will be in a protective envelope to ensure it arrives in good condition.

Our only other option would have been to ship back the decks after they arrived to us, and wait approximately a month for the decks to be reprinted. Since USPC was already quite behind in shipping the decks to us, the decision was made to send the decks out to customers with the extra card.

Please let us know if the decks are not to your satisfaction when they arrive, and we will be sure to take care of things ASAP!

Our apologies again for any trouble, and please let us know if we can help with anything else!

-The Blue Crown Team

As it's already been shipped, I'll keep the order. Would have been nice to have had the option though.

[MagikFingerz]

I don't see why it's a big deal that they didn't mention it. They're including extra queen of diamonds with every deck that is purchased.

It's kind of like buying a brand new car, except one engine part is faulty so they just give you a spare part in a bag. And you don't find out until after it's been delivered to you.

Yes, the fault is essentially rectified, but regardless of which odd places this has been mentioned, it should be in big bold red letters on the product page.

[alric]

Fine, they tried to correct the error in the manner they deemed best. But I think its just a bit underhanded not to openly acknowledge the error and own up to it. They sold the deck to the public, so they should announce a significant error such as this to the public. At least put a notice on their web site for people who haven't bought the deck yet so they know what they're getting into, its not too late for them. Its all about maintaining a certain level of professionalism and integrity.

[Russell]

To anyone who opens the deck it is a non-issue. Simply add the correct card.

To anyone who is not going to open the deck it is a non-issue. You are not going to open the deck to notice one is duplicated/missing.

Where is the problem?

[Evan]

To anyone who opens the deck it is a non-issue. Simply add the correct card.

To anyone who is not going to open the deck it is a non-issue. You are not going to open the deck to notice one is duplicated/missing.

Where is the problem?

My thoughts exactly. And if you don't want to open it right away, you still have the extra card that comes with it.

[alric]

The problem is an accountability issue. I get that they tried to fix the problem and most people will find the remedy acceptable. But just admit you made a mistake and post it on your site as you continue to try to sell your (defective) goods. It might affect whether some people may want to buy the deck or not. Don't just sneak in the extra cards without a general explanation and hope no one notices or cares. It may not be a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, but I think even little things like this is indicative of the professionalism and integrity of a company.

[Strag]

To anyone who opens the deck it is a non-issue. Simply add the correct card.

To anyone who is not going to open the deck it is a non-issue. You are not going to open the deck to notice one is duplicated/missing.

Where is the problem?

OK so, how about if some point down the line someone sells one of these decks on, but without the envelope with the extra card (which is now lost). That person who bought the deck then opens it. See the problem now? Also, clearly from their email to me they are going to reprint these decks. Will there be some way to tell them apart?

Yeah, I do think it's an issue and a fairly decent size one.

[Sharpie]

Wow, I really started a s*** storm.
I was pretty sure this would be common knowledge with everyone now receiving their orders.

Personally, I feel bad for people like CBJ who never open their decks.
What will they do now? Its very inconvenient for a collector. Not so much if you use all the decks you buy.

I would have preferred it if they had sliced through the seal and slipped the card in with the rest, then re-sealed and re-cello'd.
... at USPCC's expense

[elcyciB]

Completely unaware...until now. I haven't received my email stating my package has shipped, but I plan to keep it. I buy 2, one to play, one to collect. Who knows, maybe the screw up will end up being "popular" years to come. Regardless, I bought the deck because it was limited and the card missing doesn't change that.

However, pretty disappointing about the lack of transparency from the company to its consumers....oh well.

[MJF]

I completely agree with alric and Strag. It is very much an accountability issue. A large one at that. Just from a business standpoint, it about a contract... You enter into a contract with the seller when you agree to buy their goods. Just like any other regular contract, when they don't deliver what you were expecting or under-deliver, you should hold them to that contract and rightly so.

Companies should be transparent to their customers and we shouldn't be finding things out after-the-fact. The only reason they are around to begin with is because of us and the fact we pump our hard earned money into them...


*steps down from soapbox*

[CBJ]

Wow, I really started a s*** storm.
I was pretty sure this would be common knowledge with everyone now receiving their orders.

Personally, I feel bad for people like CBJ who never open their decks.
What will they do now? Its very inconvenient for a collector. Not so much if you use all the decks you buy.

I would have preferred it if they had sliced through the seal and slipped the card in with the rest, then re-sealed and re-cello'd.
... at USPCC's expense

I'll just crazy glue it to the side. hahah I actually purchased a brick of each, but they still haven't arrived.

CBJ

[Sharpie]

Wow, I really started a s*** storm.
I was pretty sure this would be common knowledge with everyone now receiving their orders.

Personally, I feel bad for people like CBJ who never open their decks.
What will they do now? Its very inconvenient for a collector. Not so much if you use all the decks you buy.

I would have preferred it if they had sliced through the seal and slipped the card in with the rest, then re-sealed and re-cello'd.
... at USPCC's expense

I'll just crazy glue it to the side. hahah I actually purchased a brick of each, but they still haven't arrived.

CBJ

My dozen arrived in an envelope with cardboard as protection... no box.
The results were less than satisfactory.

[Strag]

I did write back to The Blue Crown and got the following response (in part):

In making the decision to send the decks with the extra card, the thought was that any decks being opened can substitute the card easily, and the duplicate Queen could be thrown away or kept for magic tricks. Collectible decks, not being opened, would not need the extra card. You are right that for resale some months or years down the line, it can cause some difficulties.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of the decks were sold before the decks arrived to us, so we had no way of letting customers know prior to ordering. I will definitely make sure that a note gets added to the product page for any new orders.

We are also very surprised that USPC did not give us the option of a slight additional delay while they opened, added, and resealed, as that would not be a task that we could perform on our end.

Yes, any reprints will be easily distinguished from the first run so that people know which deck they have, even if it is still sealed.

It is possible that, depending on how many were/are printed/sold this deck may before more collectible, but we really won't know that until they start offering decks without the fix. Given that White Owls are supposed to be limited anyway, I would be surprised if they are ever corrected. Sounds like they will wait to sell out of existing stock prior to reprinting with the correction.

Poorly handled at the start but they are being very nice in their emails and extremely quick about responses.

[MagikFingerz]

Unfortunately, the vast majority of the decks were sold before the decks arrived to us, so we had no way of letting customers know prior to ordering.

This part annoys me. Is this really the way big companies should do business?

[MJF]

That's just mind boggling... If you consider the costs of development, planning, design, execution and printing of a deck like that, you'd think there be some quality checks and measures at each step of the process... it's beginning to sound more and more like companies just send their final designs to USPCC and hope they come back as expected...

The more and more I hear, the more I'm thinking USPCC's "stellar" reputation as "the premiere" playing card company may not be justified...

Not sure why another company doesn't come along and try to outdo USPCC, especially with all the new technology that now exists in the printing world... Then again, if they actually mustered enough competition for USPCC, they'd probably just get bought out by them eventually anyways.

[CBJ]

I'm a little miffed that I still don't have my decks from my first order... I know the decks were late getting to them.. and I know that the storm affected them.. but god damn.. I purchased the Altruism on Oct 16th.. over 3 weeks ago.

I also placed a second order to get the Snow owls, and because my first order hadn't left yet I asked them to combine them.

But still, why sell the decks if you don't have them in your warehouse. Having the decks before you sold them would have also stopped the faulty decks going out.

CBJ

[Ryric]

No idea, don't recall when these went on sale if it was indicated as a pre-order. Generally if people did "pre-order" the decks you have logisitic issues and concern about refunding pre-orders. On the other hand I think there is some quality control standards that a company has to be willing to stand up for and make hard decisions.

Obviously other smaller designers do pre-orders (see Encarded and Aurum going on now, Circle City use of Kickerstarter as a pre-order mechanism or any other kickstarter project).

I think it is great TBC is communicating these things via support, but a blog post or news item and advisory on the page would be a better approach.

As hopeless collectors I suppose most of us would have still been in for at least a deck if we knew, as evidenced by the fact that most of us have not even seen our orders shipped.

I guess I am still curious about how the problem would occur in the process that it is USPCC fault? To me a duplicate like this sounds like the designer made a mistake when they submitted the art, or did the USPCC provide the face art. I don't know much about the process.

[Ryric]

To add, I guess this sounds like a problem with the printing plates themself. Sounds like an expensive problem for USPCC to fix (and perhaps cost prohibitive for TBC).

[MJF]

Are the Snow Owls still for sale? I tried the link earlier but get a page not found... Did they just sell out or just shut it down until it's open to general public...

I'd still like to pick up at least one of each, even with the screwy card issues (they'll probably be collectible when this ever does get reprinted).

They were only on sale for one day. 1250 of the 2500 printed were available for purchase during the window.

I currently have one listed for sale on ebay. You can find the link in the sales section of the forum.

CBJ

[Russell]

Jay, i think you just edited a post!

haha

[MJF]

HA HA HA

Yeah, thanks CBJ, I went ahead and bid. Do you have the regular Altruism deck as well on auction? I'd rather get both from one place, than 1 from you and then have to goto BC and get the other.

[jmrock]

This is new to me as well... I must say ask for someone to explain to me why a company as large as the Blue Crown / HOPC that does as much business with USPCC as it does was unable to reprint the deck... I, too, do not open many of my collectible decks and find the solution rather ridiculous... I waited a very long time for this deck and for it to be produced with a major F@#% UP like this is unacceptable... They must have received quite a discount from USPCC and they are still making hand over fist $ because they got these misprinted decks for a song and us collectors just can't help ourselves... almost a masochistic thing going on here... Could you imagine if everyone returned the deck or didn't buy them in the first place and stuck TBC with the decks? They might actually have to re-release a non-defective deck and reprint the deck in the appropriate manner... I wonder how the deck will age inside the cellophane and the individual card by itself? For shame...

[Ryric]

Anyone else have the pieces but can't figure out how to put them together.... x_x