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I'm trying to figure out some of the differences between USPCC produced decks.

1. Are Bee branded decks stiffer/thicker than Bicycle branded decks?

As I understand it, USPCC offers three choices of paper stock: Bicycle Standard, Bee Casino, or Thin Crush. The Bee Casino grade stock is considered to be slightly thicker, stiffer, and more durable than the Bicycle stock, and can require some breaking in. But are the normal "Bee" branded decks published on Bee Casino stock, or are they published with Bicycle Standard stock, i.e. they don't handle any differently than a standard Bicycle deck?

2. What "finish/coating" does USPCC put on their mass produced Bicycle branded rider-back decks?

From what I've been able to find out, USPCC uses two different coatings, "Magic Finish" (called "Performance Coating" by Ellusionist), and "Standard Finish". The "Magic Finish" is apparently slightly more slippery and makes cards slide more easily, and preferred by magicians and cardists, while the "Standard Finish" coating is only used on orders of 15,000+. On differently branded decks, the Standard Finish is sometimes called "Air-Cushion finish" (Bicycle decks), "Linoid finish" (Tally Ho decks), or "Cambric finish" (Bee decks), which in reality are all identical. So is it true that the normal Bicycle Rider-backs just have the "Standard Finish" rather than the "Magic Finish"? If so, how do the Bicycle Rider-backs handle differently than say the decks with Magic Finish, like the ones USPCC produces for Ellusionist?

Obviously these questions have much broader application to custom playing cards. As I gather, most custom decks produced by USPCC have the "Magic Finish", and are produced on either the Bicycle Standard stock, or the Bee Casino stock.

Adding on to EndersGame's questions, I have amassed a good number of decks and I can definitely feel the difference between playing card stocks but I am wondering if anyone has a comprehensive list of modern playing stocks that are being used.
My understanding is:
Theory 11- Recycled paper stock ?
Ellusionist- Crushed stock (Royal Reserve) or Casino-grade stock (Gold Artifice) or other
Fontaines-?
David Blaine-?
Can anyone set the record straight?
Thanks!

KT52 wrote:I am wondering if anyone has a comprehensive list of modern playing stocks that are being used.

Can anyone set the record straight?

I have compiled an information resource here that you might find helpful, as a partial answer to what you are looking for:

USPCC deck vs EPCC decks: analysis of quality and handling

For finishes: There are only two, Air-Cushion and Smooth. If the cards have that embossed texture, it's Air Cushion, If not then it's Smooth. Linoid/Cambric/Linen are all different names for Air Cushion. If the deck has "Cambric finish" it means Air Cushion on Bee stock, Ivory finish means Smooth on Bee stock.

Then there is Magic Finish/Performance Coating which is an optional chemical coating on the cards. Some decks have it, not all.

That's it. If anyone (Ellusionist cough cough) says that this deck has a "custom finish" or they tried a thousand different finishes to find the right one, they are 100 % bullshiting. Ellusionist/Theory11/D&D use the excact same finishes and stocks as everyone else that prints by USPCC. Also compareing different finishes on USPCC decks is pointless as they are almost always the excact same.

Talking about different finishes on USPCC decks is a marketing tool to sell bad decks to fanboys who have no idea what they are actually collecting.