Scratched KEM cards....

[sgav8r]

Just curious if anyone else has noticed any quality problems with their KEM cards. I'm a Copag believer and I finally broke down and bought a couple set ups of KEM Arrows recently. I wanted to know if they're really worth the extra cost.

I opened one set-up tonight and was going through the decks when I noticed a pretty severe scratch on two cards in the red deck (10/spades, jack/clubs).

I'll attach a pic. Anyone seen this before? I guess I should just stick to Copag!

You can see the scratch along the top edge of the cards.

[kmalsom]

I'd call them and request a replacement. The deck as is is marked, making it unusable. They should be able to replace the cards or the whole deck.

[DAACEIZBACK]

i scratched the paint of the 9 on the wsop 2007 cards...

[sgav8r]

Yeah I sent an email to USPC and CardsandGames.com (where I bought them). We'll see what happens.

I was looking a little closer and found 2 more cards in the same deck with similar marks on them. Looks like a problem with QC during manufacturing. Unless it's a fluke, I just can't see a glaring flaw like this making it all the way to the consumer.

Makes you wonder how the QC is for their casino products... Either way, I'm more of a Copag believer than ever now. I've played with loads Copag decks and have never once seen a misprinted or flawed card of any kind.

[KingZilla]

Yep, I just sent a card back to KEM for replacement. Only one card out of a 2 deck set up had a flaw on it. It was on the back of the card. The set up is the Arrow black/gold. I absolutely love these cards. One of my jokers had the guarantee policy on it, so a few days ago, I sent the card back to them in the mail. I have read reports that KEM no longer guarantees the cards, but my deck has the guarantee and I'm hoping they honor it. I have Copags too but IMO the KEM's are far better, especially the graphics. I also LOVE the print job on Modiano cards, exceptional quality there. I will say that I can tell the difference between PLASTIC and ACETATE, some can't. I much prefer the acetate cards such as KEM. I suppose the Modiano acetate cards would be the best, but at nearly $30 for a set up, I can't justify the price compared to KEM's. I also just got a set up of KEM Paisley design cards. I checked them and no flaws were detected. Interestingly, the Paisleys DID NOT come with a guarantee statement.
Check your jokers and see if one of them has the guarantee and the address, etc.

[sgav8r]

Originally Posted by KingZilla

Yep, I just sent a card back to KEM for replacement. Only one card out of a 2 deck set up had a flaw on it. It was on the back of the card. The set up is the Arrow black/gold. I absolutely love these cards. One of my jokers had the guarantee policy on it, so a few days ago, I sent the card back to them in the mail. I have read reports that KEM no longer guarantees the cards, but my deck has the guarantee and I'm hoping they honor it. I have Copags too but IMO the KEM's are far better, especially the graphics. I also LOVE the print job on Modiano cards, exceptional quality there. I will say that I can tell the difference between PLASTIC and ACETATE, some can't. I much prefer the acetate cards such as KEM. I suppose the Modiano acetate cards would be the best, but at nearly $30 for a set up, I can't justify the price compared to KEM's. I also just got a set up of KEM Paisley design cards. I checked them and no flaws were detected. Interestingly, the Paisleys DID NOT come with a guarantee statement.
Check your jokers and see if one of them has the guarantee and the address, etc.

Hmm, no guarantee on the jokers in my set. Also no response from USPC or ChipsandGames.com yet. It's only been a day though... I wonder if I'm just stuck with an unusable deck.

For the money difference, I'm surprised at quality difference between KEM and Copag. Copag's better in IMHO (I'm putting aside my frustration over the scratched cards here and going off of looks and feel). I agree the artwork and colors are better on KEM but as far as the overall quality, feel and playability of the cards I think Copag wins by a big margin. Just my opinion here.

Agreed also, that Modianos are excellent cards. Absolutely love them. Everything about them says quality. After handling many Copags, Modianos, Dal Negros and now KEMs I feel you simply cannot beat Copag in overall feel and quality. I don't care that they're not as "pretty" as the others. They just feel better!

[ToddWDraper]

I just got replacement cards from USPC for some misprinted/damaged KEMs.

It took about 3-4 weeks for the replacements to arrive, and they actually sent me a whole new setup of Black/Gold Arrows even though only one card from one deck was bad. The Mehndis were out of stock, but they sent me Paisleys to replace them.

I just sent in the cards to the guarantee address I found on the web site.

[Vince]

I bought a set of KEMs about 3/4 a year ago, so I guess an older one, I also recieved another one today and I don't have any complains at all. Maybe I'm just lucky.

[aferr1973]

USPC still honors replacing defective Kems. I recently sent back the ace of spades and a card that had paint coming off of it from my gold arrow deck. It took a week and a half for me to receive the new gold deck. In the past I sent my defective Kems to the attention of someone within the company, but this time I sent it to:

Guarantee
The United States Playing Card Company
4590 Beech St.
Cincinnati, OH 45212

After 6 hours of play I already can already see minor white spots on the cards which means eventually the paint will come off I guess! I guess sooner or later I'm going to accept the fact that Kems aren't going to be perfect. I still love the feel of Kems compared to other cards. Nothing feels like Kem cards, but I do also love how Modianos, Copags, Dal Negros, and Fourniers feel as well

[Tacknight]

I've never seen a scratch like that on a set of KEM's. I love my KEM's but I would be a little perturbed if I opened up a pack like that.