How To Make Sure You Are Buying The Right Tarot Deck Online & Instore!

This is not going to be your typical "how to buy a tarot deck" post about choosing your very first deck, or how to buy a deck that is easy to learn with or that you connect with. If you want that type of info, check out the blog post I wrote here on how to choose the best tarot deck for beginners.

This post is about the practicality of how you can make sure that the deck you buy is actually the one that you have been searching for!

Everyone reading this post has probably been in this situation at some point- you see a Tarot deck that someone else has and it's the Tarot deck of your dreams. You trawl the internet looking for your next favourite deck, only to be hit with a number of different websites/prices and, well, confusion! 

As someone who has worked in the retail industry for the past 20

years, I can tell you that there is a reason for all of the variations in prices and you need to be careful that you do not choose your deck based solely on what is the cheapest- you may be in for a rude shock!

So what is happening? The first thing that you need to know is that many of the decks actually have multiple variations- For example, the Goddess Power Oracle had a standard and deluxe version- they have the exact same front cover, but the quality and size of the booklet is actually different, the deluxe version has a large book- the other has a small book. To put it plainly- one is just fancier!

The Rider Waite decks are particularly problematic as the imagery for Rider Waite-Smith decks is now in the public domain (i.e. free for anyone to use). After a quick search on one of the book distributors that we purchase from, there  are currently 3 different types of the "Radiant Rider Waite Tarot" (which is only one style of Rider Waite-Smith deck!), and all are slightly different- one comes in a tin, two come in a box wrapped with plastic.Two are published by U.S. Games, the other is published by Rider Books (which is a publishing imprint

of Ebury Publishing- are you confused now, because I sure am!) If you just had the basic information about wanting to buy the Radiant Rider Waite Smith deck that you saw on a YouTube channel for example, anyone could give you any of these decks listed above and they would be right! They are all the Radiant Rider Waite-Smith decks! But they are not all the same!

After establishing that it is indeed quite complicated trying to buy a deck- even when you know the name of it, you may be asking well, how do I know if I am going to get the right one? I have put together a series of steps that will hopefully help you make sure your next Tarot deck, Oracle card deck or book purchase is successful!

So How Do You Limit Disappointment When Buying A Tarot Deck?

1. Find out if your dream deck is available in different variations and if so find out which variation you want! Is it the pocket sized deck that you want? The standard? The deluxe? and remember that they may not actually be called this. You may have to look at the physical dimensions and price. Naturally the mini decks are going to be the cheapest, standard are going to be in the middle and deluxe are going to be the most expensive.
2. Find out the publisher of the deck you want: As you have read above, the same deck can actually be published under different publishers . "The Faery Forest Deck" by Lucy Cavendish for example has two variations that I am
   
   aware of- one published by Blue Angel gallery with the ISBN: 9781922161888, and another is an imprint Llewellyn deck (Blue Angel gallery publishing under Llewellyn) with the ISBN:9780738750286. Don't be fooled into thinking that just because one is an imprint of another that it is the same and they just decided to put a different barcode on it. They are different for a reason and that reason is normally the style/quality of the cards and booklet.
3. Find out the size of the deck you want: As stated above, the different decks, even though they may share the same name, can have different sizes. The mini decks are cute and tiny- for example- the Linestrider Tarot deck- a popular deck by Llewellyn Publications has a mini version here that is: 8cm x 4.5cm x 3cm and a standard version here which is 21cm x 14.5cm x 5cm.
4. The easiest way is to check the ISBN (International Standard Book Number): If the deck you want is on a video or you know someone with it, ask them what the ISBN is. Most decks will have a 13 and sometimes 10 digit ISBN (the numbers on the barcode) depending on when they were printed (10 digits prior to 2007, thirteen digits on or after 1 January 2007). Sometimes they list both. If the retailer selling the deck does not list the ISBN- write to them and ask what it is- or ask for a picture showing the barcode. A written product such as a book or set of cards that is produced to sell to the public must have an ISBN- it is the number that identifies it- where it was printed etc. If you want to know more about the isbn check out this article here. The ISBN identifies that particular book/deck and if it is brought out in multiple styles i.e. paperback vs hardcover, each style is required to have a unique ISBN. Moreover, if the product is substantially revised or updated, it will need a brand new ISBN, making this number the secret to knowing which deck to buy. Certain things do not affect the ISBN such as changing the image on the front cover of a book. Even so, if you are after a particular cover (for instance if it is to complete a collection), make sure you email/phone the retailer and check if it is the same cover that is listed on the website! 
5. Ask lots of questions: Following on from the previous point, if you are unsure about a product, instead of wasting your money or having a bad experience, ask questions. The more the merrier! Most retailers will
   
   happily accommodate any questions they can answer about the products they are selling- just give us a bit of time to gather the answers & remember, just because we sell Tarot cards it does not mean that we are Psychic- if you do not ask, we cannot help. Asking questions can also help the retailer find out more- or see where they may have made mistakes in listings, so it is often seen as a good thing- don't be scared, we are people, just like you!
6. Read Reviews!- I say this with a bit of a caveat. If you and I can be confused by which tarot deck we may actually be purchasing, remember that some negative reviews can also be a result of this mistake. Read the reviews with an unbiased mind, remembering that stores that do not have decks with ISBNs may be selling counterfeit decks (knowingly or unknowingly) and that online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon can also skew the reviews for the same reasons (lots of individual retailers with decks ranging from real to fake and anything in between). 
7. If the price is too good to be true- it probably is! Ah the magic rule! If you want a specific deck produced by a reputable publishing house where a cut of the money is going to the makers- massively discounted decks are unlikely to be the answer to your prayers! Chances are they are going to be fake decks with poor card stock and a non-existent or poorly printed  guidebook. Find out the recommended retail price of the deck you are looking at buying and be skeptical of anyone selling the decks for a lot less- all the time! Stores may have sales and some companies get decks and books cheaper due to massive buying power, however if you see a smallish store selling the decks way cheaper than other stores, I would personally be asking a lot of questions before buying!

I really hope that these simple steps help you traverse the world of Tarot and Oracle cards with a little bit more certainty- if you remember these few things you are much more likely to get exactly what you are after. This is especially the case when it comes to buying gifts- make sure the person specifies the actual card deck- ask them to find out the ISBN and educate them to know just how many variations of the one type of tarot deck there are! 

 Happy Tarot Deck Hunting!!

If you have anything to add to this blog post, leave us a comment. We would love to hear your thoughts!

References/ Resources:

eContent Pro (2019, July 10). 13 Digits: The Language of ISBN Numbers. EContent Pro- Editorial & Publishing Services By EContent Pro on Jul 10, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2024, from https://www.econtentpro.com/blog/13-digits-the-language-of-isbn-numbers/88#:~:text=The%2013%2DDigit%20Code,order%2C%20or%20tracking%20sales%20figures.