KEM

[Brash620]

I heard a rumor that KEM went out of bussiness. Does anyone know if their is any truth to that?

[TenPercenter]

They were bought out by another playing card company. Equipment and all. Can someone tell us about th new cards... are tyhey out, and are there any quality issues?

Ten

[brainlessdog]

Here is a copy of an E-Mail I got from US Playing Cards.

Yes we bought out Kem, we will have is card about mid March.

Angie Koetting
Consumer Relations / Inside Sales Representative
United States Playing Card Company
4590 Beech Street
Cincinnati, OH 45212

She can't spell too well, but that is what she sent me 1/7/05. I have bought Copag cards and they play just as nice.

[duma]

well mid-March is fast approaching and i havent heard any new Kem news for 2 months. i really hope that USPC gets their act together. from the email above, i guess it gives us an idea of the intelligence level of their company [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] so i wouldnt get your hopes up.

[Irons]

A store I went to had the new cards (however, it was a month ago). I don't have a long history with KEM's or Copag's. The store did have both the original and new KEM cards. The new ones weren't bad, but not like the originals. To me they fealt more slick, not as textured, and the color wasn't as vibrant.

I thought the Copags were better then the new KEM's and bought a couple decks of those.

[SenecaJim]

Damn. shoulda stocked up!

[paulsonchips]

KEMS should be out in June

[Jersey Nick]

I just picked up an old set from an e bay store that were manufactured in Sep. 2002 (902 on A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]). They look and feel great. I'm planning on getting at least 3 to 5 more sets from my seller before they're all gone.

Nick

[duma]

nicetoys had the USPC Kems on sale again over the weekend and quickly sold out. i missed out again! why they are the only retailer with USPC Kems i have no idea.

[BreakEven]

Large conglomerate (USPC) buys smaller specialty manufacturer (KEM). The new owner will want to use their equipment, their management and technical people, their suppliers, their printing, etc. For those who anticipate that the new KEMs will be like the old KEMs are likely to be disappointed. That's not to say that the new KEMs won't also be good cards....just not the same.

A co-worker just dropped a set of DelNegros on my desk and they felt nice. I think they feel similar to Copags with a slightly more "papery" feel.