Frugal GM Review: Easy Dice Roller Co 105 ct Bulk Dice

About two weeks ago I was contacted by Michael over at Easy Roller Dice Co. about reviewing some of their product. I made sure they knew about the 1st two rules I had about reviews, which I should really put down on a page for posterity, and asked them to send me "something" instead of me cherry-picking product.

I get enough of that when I'm paying for review product, which inevitably skews my reviews in a favorable manner.

I was surprised when a much-larger-than-expected package arrived with enough stuff for three reviews. I did my customary quick glance at everything and figured I'd start from what I assumed (based on that initial glance) would be the worst of the lot and work my way up.

Before I go any further with this review I have to acknowledge I have a strong preference for precision dice that go way back to my 1st d30. I don't think it fair to name the company that makes my favorite dice in a review for another dice company and I'm only mentioning this to acknowledge my own personal bias, hopefully so said bias doesn't influence my final review rating.

Of course during the first few moments of handling new product my biases are not in check at all. When I unwrapped what ended up being Easy Dice Roller Co.'s 105 ct Bulk Dice Set, I didn't know what I had on my hands....literally. The dice came packed in a rather sturdy cloth bag. Immediately I wasn't a fan of the bag because the fabric is almost like some of the micro-fiber cloth I have around the house. I hate that cloth because my hands are not that smooth and I can feel the fabric catching on my rough hands, which is an awkward sensation for me. My assumption though is that this is all me.

On a second, more in-depth look, I noticed that the bag itself is actually better made than I expected. The bag is lined with a blue satin-ish fabric (I'm not a seamstress) with double pull strings. I expected something a bit more.... throw-away for the bag. I'm not sure I'd pay the $14.95 Easy Dice says the bag is worth, but I sure as heck would keep it around for use, even with my initial impression.

After dumping all the dice out to see what I got I noticed that some of the dice were the same color and of different shapes. That probably sounds stupid, but since I didn't know exactly which product this was I was expecting it to be a simple bulk set. Heck, even after I figured out what I had, product-wise, just reading the title of the product on the website I still would expect this to be a grab-bag of bulk dice. The website entry reads "Polyhedral Dice Sets For Dungeons and Dragons,105 Ct Bulk Sets + Bag!"

Way to bury the lead guys....

After sorting through the dice I discovered I had 15 "full" sets of dice! There were a nice array of colors and effects (opaque, shimmery, etc.) in these 15 seven-piece sets of dice. I was kind of surprised all those even fit in the bag.

This "bulk" set of dice with bag retails for $34.95 and is on sale (at the time of this review) for $27.95. Even discounting the bag, just for the sake of math....and not counting shipping, which is free for orders over $50, this puts the regular price per set at $2.33. The sale price comes down to $1.86! That is a pretty sweet deal for dice. I cannot think of any cheaper deal on dice period. I know some decent deals for dice here and there, but you cannot count on getting even one full set of dice, much less a full set of matching dice.

Despite my initial misgivings I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with Easy Dice Roller Co.'s 105 ct Bulk Dice Set. You get a great mix of dice for a damned good price. The free dice bag is nothing to sneeze at either!

The product page for this set currently has eight reviews, all of them five stars. I can easily see why......