Don’t want to be rude, but I don’t really understand people getting so hyped about a deck of cards. Some people buy a deck of Virtuoso for over 100 bucks!
Why are people so hyped about a deck of cards?

Thanks

I can only answer for myself, of course, so here goes:

First of all, I consider a deck of cards to be like a little, tiny work of art. I will never be able to afford a six or seven figure painting by Rembrandt, Van Gogh or Monet but I can buy a limited edition deck that is, for my budget, a work of art. I currently have close to two hundred collectible decks on the wall of my office. Everyone who has seen them has spent a lot of time looking at them and commenting on them. And of course, I like looking at them.

Secondly, they do have a value that does appreciate over time. I have bought decks that have increased many times over their original purchase price. It's kind of nice to know that if I ever needed the cash I could sell them off for a small fortune within a relatively short amount of time. And I do like collecting things that have value that appreciates. Besides cards I collect rare books (and magic books are, of course, part of my collection). Same thing...they are beautiful, affordable and can get crazy valuable over time.

And finally, since I almost always buy several (up to a dozen) of each deck, I can and do give them away to friends and business contacts. Most people that I run into have never seen a deck of cards beyond red/blue rider backs or some of the cheapo decks on sale at Walmart or Target and they really appreciate getting an unusual and beautiful deck of cards as a gift.

So...those are my reasons.

Wow you give rare decks away? Thanks for the quick reply!

Also, who decides if a deck should be important or not important? How is it decided?

Thanks

Yes, I occasionally give a rare deck away to friends and business associates. Not super rare or super expensive decks, of course...the Gold Monarchs in my collection aren't going anywhere.

The "free market" decides the value of goods and services. It's a supply and demand thing.

For instance: In 2015 USPCC created 1000 Bicycle Golden Luxe decks. That is a very limited supply. In 2015 Theory 11 produced the Mailchimp Summer Edition decks and made 100 of them available only to their existing customers who had achieved Elite status (those customers who had earned 10,000 or more points on their site). 100 decks is a ridiculously limited supply (and at the time I am writing this there are two for sale on ebay for $225 each). Those are examples of the supply side of the equation.

The demand side of the equation is a little harder to nail down. People find value in the darnedest things but one of the biggest factors is the notion that something will be worth more in the future...that is, people invest money in things they perceive to have the ability to appreciate in value over time. I won't go into the reasons for this because it's a complicated and very long discussion. However, if you are looking for a crazy/weird story on economic (and illogical) demand you can do a search for "tulip mania." Some people think that the recent rise in value of Bitcoin is very similar to the tulip craze of the 1600's. Another interesting topic to do a search for is "the greater fool theory."

Anyway...this is just basic economics. It's why doctors are paid more than sales clerks. It's why Cadillacs cost more than Chevys. It's why gold is more expensive than sand. And, yes, it's also why some people will shell out many hundreds of dollars for a single deck of Jerry's Nugget cards.

People decide the price of the deck. If there's demand and the deck is super limited the price goes up.

The deck is usually wanted when the creator/designer is famous and has many fans like Zach Mueller, Chris Ramsay etc.

As far as WHO, in the case of Jerry's Nuggets, they attained mythical status over a period of years. I believe they originally sold for $1.00 in the Nugget gift shop. They had a hard time giving them away. A few magicians tried the cards and found that they were good for magic. They are stiff, but break in and last a long time. A magician (who wishes to be anonymous) purportedly bought thousands of decks and still has a treasure trove of them.
The cards are photographed and featured in several books on magic, talked about by magicians and lusted over worldwide. When Lee Asher has them up on his site (or used to) they sell out almost instantly.

Personally, I'm not into it. I might pay a premium but I would never pay $500 or more for a deck of cards. I'd prefer to buy a deck of bikes and donate the rest to my favorite charity. But that's just me.

I had some Jerry's Nuggets and they were nice but man...those things are ugly as sin. Sold them and stick to bikes now.

Stupidity plus greed = price.

By making a limited print run the company instantly makes the deck rare. Combine with the sheep's limited mental market ability, sales success!