After ordering 5 of my own cards on the 16th of December and receiving notice they were shipped on the 17th December, I have finally received them today (January 9th).
 
Living in Canada, and having ordered them during the holiday season I've made allowances for the shipping time - still slightly slow, but I'll put it down to the cross-border problem, since it did actually go through customs. There is a customs stamp on the package.
 
The Packaging
 
The package the cards arrived in was very heavy cardboard, sealed entirely with a plastic covering - sealed at all sides, and corners. Very good protection against the elements. I was pleased with that part. It was very difficult to open though, which frustrates me immensely. I hate it when I can't get something open without fear of wrecking the contents. Inside the pack, the cards are stacked loosely together, with no additional protection. On the whole, I was pleased with the packing.
 
The Cards
 
Of the five cards I ordered, four are very nice. Each of the cards ordered was with a gloss finish. Yes, there is a very tiny wrap to the back of the card along the crease, on each card, but it is not unacceptable at all. All of the 5 cards have an even wrap to the back, nothing crooked or uneven.  
 
The print quality is acceptable, very good, though not exceptional. It is a standard glossy card at good quality that you'd find in any store or shop.
 
One card of the five did not print properly. It is a portrait orientation with the bottom of the lettering cut off. There was no indication on the card being accepted that the text was too close to the edge, so I expected it to print properly. I would guess the lettering is simply too close to the bottom edge. I will be amending this card and replacing it.
 
The Card Back
 
I find the card back slightly too cluttered, with the GCU logo being altogether too large, and in the middle of the card back, while my logo is smaller, and bottom left. There is also a number in the upper right of the card back, and one in the lower right of the card back. The GCU "free card promotion" notification is centered under their logo in the middle of the card back. There is just too much stuff on the back. Looking at cards available at places like Hallmark and other local card shops I find most references to the card producer to be small and mostly in black print, not colours - and located along the bottom edge of the cards. This would be preferable in terms of professionalism.
 
Overall
 
From the first 5 cards, overall I am reasonably pleased with the productions. I'll be ordering my next five later today.
 

Great forum topic......
I adore the glossy, aplaud the packaging changes that have been in the past made as a result of artist's postings.  I think the glossy vs matte option, for me , has soooooo much to do with the artist's option, the default perhaps.....For me matte has a great deal to do with the mood I wish to create.  I am a bold, glossy kind of gal especially with my digitally created images, sometimes, like with a sympathy card, I might opt for matte, but I am not big on that cat'ry....but when I do issue a card for sympathy, I do opt for matte.  I do agree that the matte was ....well...more matte...before, now it is more like a semi matte.  Since I am not into that sort of mood image it doesn't bother me very much at all, though I can emphathize with those who do...matte wise it is sub gcu quality.. In mindfulness of what gcu has done for me, I post this:
1.  GCU has offered me the opportunity to grow, learn, mature as a cyber artist
2.  I am challenged and awed by other artists (and I don't even have to pay for "artist space,,,,like a mort and brick studio, etc)...for me that is HUGE.....where else can I speak, via the internet with someone whom might be talking about my issues?.....
3.  Huge admin. support, and timely at that....with a sense of humor, at least on my part.  At some point I repeatedly asked in forum for a specific category to be made for "recovery support"...after back and forth messages it was created and the response, God (hope I dont offend anyone here) was..."The squeel;y wheel gets the worm"....how cool is that?....LOL...and I do hope that there are folks taht do LOL when reading the forum.......feel free to LOL at my post here....
4.  I am getting wordy, ad nauseum....spelling is all shot to heck....and I am thinking, "what am I responding to"?...time to check out, say thanks to gcu, and a final note:
to all who are new, ask,ask,ask,ask when you think/feel you are less than "smart".  Ask away, it helped me with the leaning curve.
So Sincerely
L

I too received a box of a dozen cards and envelopes recently, and each time it is a surprise to see how they come packaged.  The cards were in one area of the box and the envelopes were in another, both piles unsealed and "loosely" placed.  A wad of brown paper placed over the set was used to suppress movement, and all items made it without damage, this time.
 
One surprise was that the 12 cards were placed inside of each other, making like a book, that I then had to "unleaf" and refold separately.  Not a big deal, and this does likely minimize card damage, but the final refolded cards did end up with a slight "curl" due to them  being sandwiched into the box as a book.  Although I'm OK with this, I'd bet most end customers would be a bit turned off if they received a set of cards in this "book" form.  Ideally, all cards would be flat and secured in the packaging.
 
It's clear there is a real science to packaging, and I know GCU appreciates our feedback.  

I don't like the presentation of the cards stacked together booklike no matter the number...i think unprofessional.  I've had scratch issues in the past and definitely not pleased with matte.  sounds like that is much improved.  I feel singles should have the clear wrap and quantity folded individually but in one rectangle fitting box.  When i did buy a number of cards some time ago, they came nicely in one box slightly larger than cards.  I still use that box for card storage...even nicer if it was a crisp color or white with gcu logo and site predominent.  think cafepress style...advertising and functional.  ok...i daydreamed too much.

When I have ordered in the past, I have never recieved them stacked like that and I will not like it if I do.  I may as well print them at home or run out to the local cvs if that is the case.  They should have crisp fold and not be inside each other. In todays world, there is no reason for this booklike packaging other than shortcut.  just my opinion...
 
I should mention just rereading my last post, the scratch and matte issues were more along the timeframe when printers were changing. Replacements were forthcoming without issue.

Recently ordered 6 of my own cards - was pleased with the printing overall. I have not tried matte but will do so on my next order and may do a couple of cards to see the difference... When I sent them to my sister - her only complaint was that they were not on recycled paper... and the folds were not crisp.  
     When I received them  the were all stacked together and the envelopes seperate.  Overall, I am very pleased with the order and am getting ready to do some major orders in the future.

Like in mid-January, I just received another dozen cards, and although they arrived in good shape, they still are packaged in a "book-form" and within a few minutes out of the box, they unfold to nearly a 90-degree angle requiring each one to be refolded.
 
It's not the best, and could drive some customers away forever.
 

I just ordered 15 cards myself - and I am a little concerned with how they are shipped.  I think as a customer I doubt I would place another order simply for the packing.  I would assume that they would come either flat or folded not in book form with the envelopes - I hope someone at GCU will look at this thread and make some changes.  
 
Tom - thanks for the visual =)