What are your thoughts on Cardmates merchandise for site users?

I think it’s a really nice boost for motivation. Plus, it looks pretty stylish too! 😊

Will they be available for purchase?

I'd make them purchasable for profit reasons/ advertisement reasons/ tournament reason. Lets breakdown my thoughts on such.

Profit:

Always got to try and break-even on ones adventures

Advertisement:
Having your logo being seen in public by those on regular commute brings a level of public advertisement to cardmates 

Visual:
Expanding on the above two. Having the merchandise for sale will give a direct point of reference as to the merchandise dollar value. This allows you to put a dollar amount on reaching certain statuses. Ex. Reach X status and instantly get X dollar amount in rewards (merchandise). This can also allow you to put on tournaments for less than the cost of them. Meaning the merchandise should have markup. Made up numbers: Lets say you list a sale price for a hat at $29.99 and a hoodie at $69.99. The price of the creation of such merchandise should be much less than the sale price.  Now if you wanted you could host a $100 tournament where the winner gets a hoodie and a hat. The cost to you wouldn't be a $100 but you get to advertise a $100 game. If you are not going to make them purchasable having a dollar amount attached to each for the visual aspect of such will also allow for the above to be possible. Don't forget to factor in shipping.

Potential Items:

- Card protector
- Deck of cards
- Hat
- T-shirt
- Sweater
- Chip set

I'd stick with a few basics before going all out but above is some suggestions as requested in the blog OP.