"ARABESQUE" by OathPlayingCards

[Bradius]

Brownsl, after buying stuff in the aftermarket, I kind of came to the conclusion for me it was best to just try to get stuff originally than go insane and broke buying on the secondary market, unless they could be secured for what I think is a reasonable price. Getting a Golden Oath and Liturgy Treasures though are nice to get if you can keep it down to a somewhat reasonable amount. There were only 130 of the Liturgy Treasure decks made, which make it one of the smallest issues he made, and it is a stunning deck to boot. I had to get mine on the secondary market too, so I feel your pain.

From what I understand, Lotrek plans to just issue completed decks on his market site rather than have folks fund up front or through Kickstarter. The exception being decks he is printing using third party printers like USPCC, EPCC or Cartimundi. Decks he makes in Greece will be produced in advance for sale. This takes some of the pressure to get the decks done quickly off his back. On the downside, that means for us that his decks may sell out really fast. He did that with his Sanctus deck, and a few remaining decks lingered around until fairly recently. He also did that with the Blue Silk deck.

[theOutsider]

That’s what he said. He said that there is a double backer in the KS players edition decks. I didn’t ask why he decided to make a written notation on the tuck. I figured I’d just let that one go. Or why the blue edition doesn’t have a double backer.

Just putting this out there again since we haven't seen anything from Lotrek. I just opened a blue deck and there wasn't a double-backer.

8 months late. And as a bonus, let me write on that tuck case for you. Just kidding buddy. The Silver Collector's edition is my favorite deck of yours thus far.

[rousselle]

Hi, guys.

I'm one of those fools who actually opens his decks, although I often order more than one so that at least one can go into "the collection," one can be opened with the intention of being handled/played with, and any others can be used as trade bait or gifts or whatever. So, yeah, I ordered a bunch of these beauties, as the price point was excellent for the art being offered.

So, a couple quick thoughts:

First, I think this is probably the best "finish" and stock that Lotrek has produced yet from his "homemade" facilities in Greece (by which I mean, when he hasn't used a major manufacturer to do the printing, finishing, cutting, etc. for him). I believe I may have made similar comments about the silver Arabesque players, so I won't repeat all that here.

The printing is fantastic. The feel is really quite good. The art is amazing (but, we already expected that.) For the per-deck price that I paid, these are a freakin' bargain.

I will note that I opened one blue and one red; the blue had a double backer, and the red didn't. So, I opened another red... and it, too, was missing the double backer. All my decks were labeled D. Backer. So, the question is: did GW do the final assembly of the decks, or did Lotrek / Lotrek's team back in Greece? If it was GW, they got some 'splainin' to do to Lotrek and the backers. If it was Lotrek and/or his team in Greece... well... would somebody please be so kind as to send me some double backers? Pretty please?

At the moment, I'm not feeling like opening up every single deck in my order to see how many are missing what, but I may, down the road. I hate to break the shrink wrap, but in this case, it literally is shrink wrap, so the plastic is likely to shrink and split right off eventually, anyway.

Anyway, I don't want that to sound like a gripe. The decks I opened were complete, otherwise, and really, these are top notch. I plan to add one to the nightly rotation (for those of you new to the program: I play cards every night with my boys as part of our bedtime routine, which gives these decks a nice workout.)

Love these decks! Love this project! It was a long wait, but as always with Lotrek projects, the results were quite tasty.

[Lotrek]

Okay, time to get out of my dungeon where I'm boiling some stuff to serve in a few days...

The issues with Arabesque seem to continue *sigh*...

About the issues with the foil on some tuck cases: This must have happened during cello wrapping which was made using heat. I wasn't present when they did it, I just saw some samples which were okay. It seems that not too many tucks have that problem. I'd be interested to know how many fall into this category.

About the D Backer: I had asked Gambler's Warehouse to use ONLY the decks that have the D Backer inscription for the KS fulfilment. Unfortunately, they forgot it. Maybe it was my fault too as I told them only once. I guess I should had reminded them.
Normally I should be angry but I'm not. I'm just tired. And the more you're involved in production process of any kind, the more forgiving you are with others' mistakes.

However, Rousselle says that he has opened decks marked "D Backer" and he found no double backer! That was quite a shock and is my (or my team's) fault. Certainly not GW's. Apparently both me and GW have cotributed to that mess.

The fact that decks reading D Backer may not have a double backer inside, makes things pretty complicated!
Honestly, I don't know how to fix that and it's the first time I feel completely helpless. I don't have many double backers left but even if I had it would cost a little fortune to send them to all -supposing that all backers would open all their decks to see if there are double backers inside.
I suppose that only a few decks reading D Backer are actually missing the double backer but who can guarantee that? It's also possible that the person who was putting the decks into the big boxes after assembling, wrote by mistake "Double Backers" on a box that actually contained decks without a double backer. So when I opened the boxes to write "D Backer" on the decks, I did that on decks without a double backer! If this has happened, then there must be decks without the inscription that actually contain a double backer!!!

Some water please...

[Bradius]

All my decks have "dbacker" on them and the one deck I opened has the double backer inside. However, it is hard to tell who got an incorrect tuck or are missing the double backer cards. So the solution is simple.

Send all your backers an extra tuck with the correct "DBacker" signed on them plus an extra double backer card in case they were missing the double backer card. Add in a custom cloth bag that was made from virgin cotton because, why not? Your sorry and it is all your fault.

All this thinking is giving me a headache. Do I have to come up with all the brilliant ideas around here?

[shermjack]

I personally don’t care about any of those issues as I am just happy to have both of these gorgeous decks, so no complaints from me!

[Merlebird]

About the issues with the foil on some tuck cases: This must have happened during cello wrapping which was made using heat. I wasn't present when they did it, I just saw some samples which were okay. It seems that not too many tucks have that problem. I'd be interested to know how many fall into this category.

About the D Backer: I had asked Gambler's Warehouse to use ONLY the decks that have the D Backer inscription for the KS fulfilment. Unfortunately, they forgot it. Maybe it was my fault too as I told them only once. I guess I should had reminded them.

For the record: I backed for a mixed pair on Kickstarter and received one red double-backer (which was labelled as such) and one blue without a double-backer (again labelled - or rather, not labelled - accordingly). The former had negligible foil transfer from the tuck to the cellophane; the foil loss on the blue is unfortunately much more obvious.

[TheCollector]

Hey, everyone! So, I just received an Arabesque Gold (Collector's Edition, NOT a Players Edition) via eBay, and in it, there is no jack of hearts! In its place is a second queen of hearts. Is this a known discrepancy? I suppose this could be due to the person I purchased from, but the seller is very reputable.

Either way, incredible work, Lotrek! This is a really stunning deck of cards.

[Bradius]

I only opened one deck, but all my correct cards were in there. I am not aware of that as a problem. PM Lotrek and I am sure he will send you a replacement card. For the money, these are stunning cards. My average cost for the red and blue standards via Kickstarter turned out to be $13.50 per deck, which included shipping.

Incidentally, I went back and added it up. Each full set of 6 Arabesque decks and carat case comes to $307 each based on the original cost from Lotrek directly and via Kickstarter respectively.

[Eric Lee]

Hey, everyone! So, I just received an Arabesque Gold (Collector's Edition, NOT a Players Edition) via eBay, and in it, there is no jack of hearts! In its place is a second queen of hearts. Is this a known discrepancy? I suppose this could be due to the person I purchased from, but the seller is very reputable.

Sadly no, this is not an uncommon error with Lotrek's deck. So it's not the seller's fault. EDIT: I bought an Icon Imperial Demo deck from Dentyne. It was cello wrapped (if I recall correctly) but when I opened it, I got 2 QoD instead of a KoS. So if anyone's looking for that missing QoD and has the extra KoS from their open deck, you can PM me to complete our collections!

As it was an older deck, I didn't bother with it as I buy Lotreks for the art . But hey, Lotrek errors fetch quite a high price on Ebay as well!

[Bradius]

Oh, this is the Collectors deck. Actually, I looked at all seven decks and all four silver decks too and didn’t have any missing or duplicate cards. However, send Lotrek a message about what happened, just give him a few days to respond as he is a one person shop and might be busy in the lab/printer or somewhere else.

[TheCollector]

Thanks, Bradius! It actually sounds like the seller got in touch with Lotrek directly and things are getting squared away! =)

[Lotrek]

Thanks, Bradius! It actually sounds like the seller got in touch with Lotrek directly and things are getting squared away! =)

Exatly, the missing card is on its way

[chicken_ql]

Thanks, Bradius! It actually sounds like the seller got in touch with Lotrek directly and things are getting squared away! =)

Exatly, the missing card is on its way

Got anymore of those foiled arabesques?

[Adonael]

Got anymore of those foiled arabesques?

Just saw this if you can stomach the price! https://www.ebay.com/itm/Arabesque-Play ... 3776721402

[portcullis]

I've never bought anything from that seller, but he's got a pretty healthy margin on everything. I know eBay sellers inflate prices, but this guy is next level. There was a set I bought retail. I'm not saying in any way that I was misled, but the way the set was written up, gave the impression that the set would be matching numbers. It wasn't, just a hodgepodge muddled together to be one of each.

WHICH IS FINE BY ME. I'd much rather have the cards in my collection than be irascibly anal not having matching numbers in my collection.

Received a PM - I think it was here actually - from above seller, soliciting the fact that he could sell me a matching numbers set for $500 more (after currency conversion) than I actually paid.

For those playing along at home, I paid the retailer's "Xmas special" price minus the 10% coupon earned through his loyalty programme.

Like I said, I don't care about my collection enough to be spending ^^HIS^^ asking price. No way is the average price of those decks $182

[JacksandJokers]

Got anymore of those foiled arabesques?

Just saw this if you can stomach the price! https://www.ebay.com/itm/Arabesque-Play ... 3776721402

I've never bought anything from that seller, but he's got a pretty healthy margin on everything. I know eBay sellers inflate prices, but this guy is next level. There was a set I bought retail. I'm not saying in any way that I was misled, but the way the set was written up, gave the impression that the set would be matching numbers. It wasn't, just a hodgepodge muddled together to be one of each.

WHICH IS FINE BY ME. I'd much rather have the cards in my collection than be irascibly anal not having matching numbers in my collection.

Received a PM - I think it was here actually - from above seller, soliciting the fact that he could sell me a matching numbers set for $500 more (after currency conversion) than I actually paid.

For those playing along at home, I paid the retailer's "Xmas special" price minus the 10% coupon earned through his loyalty programme.

Like I said, I don't care about my collection enough to be spending ^^HIS^^ asking price. No way is the average price of those decks $182

I feel I need to throw a few words in here as this is my listing.

Yes, the prices are inflated (What Lotrek Deck isn't?) but I always try to offer a fair price.
I wouldn't be able to sell anything otherwise.

@Portcullis: I have a vague recollection of someone turning down an asking price for an item claiming it was $500 more but I have no record of this as I cleared out my PMs recently - please enlighten me as I would love to know what this was for.

I'm presuming you're talking about another retailer regarding the other items:

My ebay listings clearly state if a matching numbered set is available (and I honour this), I don't recall having a Xmas special and as far as I'm aware you're not a part of the Jacks and Jokers club membership for the 10% discount - again feel free to enlighten me if i'm wrong.

The average cost of the Arabesque decks in this set are approx. $104 after Ebay/Paypal & Shipping Fees.

Ebay/Paypal & Shipping Fees are approx. $118
The 3 Players editions are actually around $128
Leaving the 2 Collectors editions at approx $196 each.
Overpriced, Sure. However as far as I can see there is currently only 1 Arabesque Silver foiled edition on Ebay at $229 (about $182 after fees) and no Gold foiled editions available.

And I'm always open to offers

[Bradius]

Keep in mind, both the Gold and Platinum decks are nearly $200 at cost, not taking into account any shipping costs. It is an expensive set just to acquire initially ($307 including the error deck). When you also add in shipping costs and any eBay fees, that bites into any profits even more. Also, as far as I know, Lotrek doesn't give out numbers by backer, but by order purchased. I certainly don't have sequential numbers across my Arabesque sets.

[Timmargh]

I bought my Golden Oath and its prototype from misterharmanko via his eBay listing and it was the cheapest I'd seen; I won't hesitate to deal with him again in future and I have him in my saved list.

[portcullis]

Got anymore of those foiled arabesques?

Just saw this if you can stomach the price! https://www.ebay.com/itm/Arabesque-Play ... 3776721402

I've never bought anything from that seller, but he's got a pretty healthy margin on everything. I know eBay sellers inflate prices, but this guy is next level. There was a set I bought retail. I'm not saying in any way that I was misled, but the way the set was written up, gave the impression that the set would be matching numbers. It wasn't, just a hodgepodge muddled together to be one of each.

WHICH IS FINE BY ME. I'd much rather have the cards in my collection than be irascibly anal not having matching numbers in my collection.

Received a PM - I think it was here actually - from above seller, soliciting the fact that he could sell me a matching numbers set for $500 more (after currency conversion) than I actually paid.

For those playing along at home, I paid the retailer's "Xmas special" price minus the 10% coupon earned through his loyalty programme.

Like I said, I don't care about my collection enough to be spending ^^HIS^^ asking price. No way is the average price of those decks $182

I feel I need to throw a few words in here as this is my listing.

Yes, the prices are inflated (What Lotrek Deck isn't?) but I always try to offer a fair price.
I wouldn't be able to sell anything otherwise.

@Portcullis: I have a vague recollection of someone turning down an asking price for an item claiming it was $500 more but I have no record of this as I cleared out my PMs recently - please enlighten me as I would love to know what this was for.

I'm presuming you're talking about another retailer regarding the other items:

My ebay listings clearly state if a matching numbered set is available (and I honour this), I don't recall having a Xmas special and as far as I'm aware you're not a part of the Jacks and Jokers club membership for the 10% discount - again feel free to enlighten me if i'm wrong.

The average cost of the Arabesque decks in this set are approx. $104 after Ebay/Paypal & Shipping Fees.

Ebay/Paypal & Shipping Fees are approx. $118
The 3 Players editions are actually around $128
Leaving the 2 Collectors editions at approx $196 each.
Overpriced, Sure. However as far as I can see there is currently only 1 Arabesque Silver foiled edition on Ebay at $229 (about $182 after fees) and no Gold foiled editions available.

And I'm always open to offers

No, it was you, offering a complete Alex Chin NPCCD 2018, for what equated to $850 after paying $360.

And in AU$ terms, the 5 Arabesque decks are $182 each, before VAT.

[JacksandJokers]

No, it was you, offering a complete Alex Chin NPCCD 2018, for what equated to $850 after paying $360.

And in AU$ terms, the 5 Arabesque decks are $182 each, before VAT.

I thought we were talking USD$, my mistake. In AUD$ then it probably is closer to what you say.

I do remember the NPCCD set now.
Unfortunately, on top of the hefty shipping fees I also had to pay an additional $120 USD in import taxes, bumping the average price of these up significantly, whilst at the same time it appears that every single US retailer bought them, shipping free and at a discount **Sigh**

Needless to say I still have them if anyone is looking for them

[PiazzaDelivery]

I bought a set of Blue and Red Arabesque players not too long ago. Upon opening I noticed that they appear to be plastic cards. Am I mistaken? Is this normal? Are Oath's player's editions always plastic? Did I get swindled?

I was really expecting paper, I'm a little surprised and confused is all.

[Lotrek]

I bought a set of Blue and Red Arabesque players not too long ago. Upon opening I noticed that they appear to be plastic cards. Am I mistaken? Is this normal? Are Oath's player's editions always plastic? Did I get swindled?

I was really expecting paper, I'm a little surprised and confused is all.

Plastic???? It's paper.

[Decknowledgy]

I bought a set of Blue and Red Arabesque players not too long ago. Upon opening I noticed that they appear to be plastic cards. Am I mistaken? Is this normal? Are Oath's player's editions always plastic? Did I get swindled?

I was really expecting paper, I'm a little surprised and confused is all.

This news is intriguing ... Recently, Arabesque Blue and Red have been re-released to all retailers, and I was just wondering where did those stocks come from. Were they from you, Lotrek? Also, @PiazzaDelivery, where did you purchase yours?

[Lotrek]

I bought a set of Blue and Red Arabesque players not too long ago. Upon opening I noticed that they appear to be plastic cards. Am I mistaken? Is this normal? Are Oath's player's editions always plastic? Did I get swindled?

I was really expecting paper, I'm a little surprised and confused is all.

This news is intriguing ... Recently, Arabesque Blue and Red have been re-released to all retailers, and I was just wondering where did those stocks come from. Were they from you, Lotrek? Also, @PiazzaDelivery, where did you purchase yours?

Yes, these decks were from the KS campaign. For a series of Lotrek-ish reasons they could not be distributed until recently. I printed 1100+ of each color.

[PiazzaDelivery]

I bought a set of Blue and Red Arabesque players not too long ago. Upon opening I noticed that they appear to be plastic cards. Am I mistaken? Is this normal? Are Oath's player's editions always plastic? Did I get swindled?

I was really expecting paper, I'm a little surprised and confused is all.

Plastic???? It's paper.

I could definitely be wrong, although these handle nothing like any of the other decks I own. They're much thicker, don't fan and stick together often. Again, maybe a special kind of durable paper (I assume player's editions are meant to be played with and thus last longer), but I can tel from touch that they're not like any other of my decks.

[PiazzaDelivery]

I bought a set of Blue and Red Arabesque players not too long ago. Upon opening I noticed that they appear to be plastic cards. Am I mistaken? Is this normal? Are Oath's player's editions always plastic? Did I get swindled?

I was really expecting paper, I'm a little surprised and confused is all.

This news is intriguing ... Recently, Arabesque Blue and Red have been re-released to all retailers, and I was just wondering where did those stocks come from. Were they from you, Lotrek? Also, @PiazzaDelivery, where did you purchase yours?

Oh and I got mine from Steve at WC

[Decknowledgy]

Hahaha, that's reassuring! I think you just got dumbstruck by Lotrek's stock and finish which is always unorthodox and unique in the Lotrekian way

The stock that he uses is never those conventional printers like USPCC or Cartamundi, just Expert occasionally and mostly his local European manufacturer; just have to get used to that. Anyways, it's definitely not plastic. Think of it as a kind of training to venture out of your comfort zone.

[Lotrek]

I bought a set of Blue and Red Arabesque players not too long ago. Upon opening I noticed that they appear to be plastic cards. Am I mistaken? Is this normal? Are Oath's player's editions always plastic? Did I get swindled?

I was really expecting paper, I'm a little surprised and confused is all.

Plastic???? It's paper.

I could definitely be wrong, although these handle nothing like any of the other decks I own. They're much thicker, don't fan and stick together often. Again, maybe a special kind of durable paper (I assume player's editions are meant to be played with and thus last longer), but I can tel from touch that they're not like any other of my decks.

The stock is actually the one that EPCC used but the varnish is different. When I produced these I was still in the process of finding my own varnishing formula.

[PiazzaDelivery]

I'm sorry if I offended you, this was not my intention. Just my first deck of Oath cards and they feel different lol.