Bulk-buying decks for students.

Okay so my Tarot class has hit the ground at full sprint. Amazing kids (because I got to hand pick them ), unbelievably exciting vibe, laser focus. Everyone is so INTO it. I even have 2 teachers auditing. It's going to be an amazing year...

I have possibly the weirdest practical question of the week: where can I go to buy decks in bulk? We're not talking 100 decks, but over the course of the year it could be as many of 30 or 40... because we're going to be hitting the classics (starting with Marseille, which I have, then Waite-Smith, then Crowley-Harris Thoth, then a mix of recent champs from Magic Realist and Scarabeo to cap the year, etc.).

In the next week or so, I need to order a reasonably large bundle of new decks as class materials... School's picking the tab, but I'd like to keep it as reasonable as humanly possible; I am after all, forcing them to spend several hundred dollars on Tarot for an elective seminar. I've been shopping around to see what retailer will offer the best bulk pric, but not sure where to go.

I thought Tarot Garden first because I'd always rather kick business to independent retailers and members of the community, but ( to sound crass) it looks like I can get the decks a few dollars cheaper from mass market retailers. No big deal a deck at a time, but significant when you get into double digits on deck volume. Having said that, I probably should contact Dan or Jeannette directly and see if they'd do volume discounting... My next thought was Amazon or Barnes & Noble, but frankly the prices aren't all that great because of skewed postage when weight becomes a serious issue. Then I thought maybe Overstock or Buy.com but they don't have enough copies.

Sooo... where am I likely to snag a competitive price on a bulk order? Any suggestions or helpful hints would be deeply appreciated.

Teaching this class is going to rock my preconceptions and teach me an unholy amount... More to come.

Scion

Why you don't contact U.S. Games directly?

Suggest to them that they may want to consider donating a load of decks for the tax incentive since this is for a school.......I wouldn't bet on it, but what can you lose.

In the meantime, I have a few decks in pristine condition you can have if you want some variety of design.

I'm excited for you about the class! I don't have any ideas where you can buy decks in bulk, but just wanted to give you my support and cheer you on.

Solitaire* said:

I'm excited for you about the class! I don't have any ideas where you can buy decks in bulk, but just wanted to give you my support and cheer you on.

Click to expand...

don't you also teach a Tarot course?

if Scion doesn't need my decks you're welcome to them.

at this point I would really love to have either of you take them off my hands, the idea of another raffle is exhausting............and I've had an exhausting month.......which makes me feel even more exhausted

Papageno, I'd love them and that's deeply generous of you to offer. Of course, I'll happily pay the postage on them. Just let me know by PM what you need.

And thanks for suggesting the US Games direct option; isn't it funny that the thought hadn't occurred to me? I feel like a dolt. Note to self: must get sleep.

These kids are so over the top amazing. A real mix. I generally start a class with a quick overview of the whole syllabus, just so people have a general sense of my logic. They were tugging at the reins form the get go. I asked why they were taking the class just to get the vibe, and the one unifying repeated statement, "I'm curious about this kinda stuff; cause I just don't believe that the universe is just a bunch of atoms smashing together."

And let me tell you, you haven't lived until you've heard a 14 year-old looking over a Visconti-Sforza reprint say , "The Trumps are unnumbered, so like, different families may have ranked these cards differently. What if Love trumped Temperance or something? Wouldn't that change the whole deal?" I almost passed out.

Must call US Games tomorrow. That would settle the WS & Thoth at least, and they're going to be the focus (sequentially) for a good 5 months.

Thanks y'all!

Scion

You must be thinking of someone else, Papageno. I'm not teaching a class, but you're very generous to offer to help Scion out.

Check the local book distributors. You'll probably find the school could order them at wholesale cost. If your not in a hurry the school could likely apply to USG to be a distributor themselves.

Amazon generally does free shipping over $25.

That's their evil ploy to get me to spend that much every time I order, anyway... Grrr.

I bet it'd be so much fun to teach tarot like that. I need to move out of the cornfields.

I have a business license, don't know what Llewellyn and US Games have for minimum purchases, but I'd be glad to look into it and order them wholesale for you.
I'm guessing that both companies would give you near wholesale for a class though if you get to the right person to talk to.

Scion and Solitaire

I've sent PM's to you both.