beware of "rare" decks on ebay

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 28 Sep 2001, and now archived in the Forum Library.

faunabay	28 Sep 2001
I've seen this on ebay and have been holding my peace for quite a while. But it just irritates the heck out of me that some people advertise a rare deck on ebay when it's not. I was just on ebay and there are decks listed as rare - Hanson Roberts, Thoth, Whimsical tarot, etc. To any and all tarot newbies ( or anyone else also), please be sure and check on the actual status and price of decks before buying them. I do realize that everyone should do that anyway. But it just burns me when people misrepresent the items. OK, I've vented now. I feel better. :)

faunabay	28 Sep 2001
Went back on ebay and saw "rare" Tarot of the Moon Garden, The vampire tarot, the dragon tarot, and a "rare" new rider waite deck for gosh sakes. I even emailed the seller a month or so ago asking him/her to check out the decks before listing them as rare if they're not. (I was nice about it - very diplomatic) But nothing has changed. OK, I'm also having a bad day. So I apologize for venting on you all. But please do be careful when buying rare? decks.

MeeWah	28 Sep 2001
Faunabay: Thank you for the heads up! That old advice "Let the buyer beware" holds true in all consumer transactions online or elsewhere.

Melvis	28 Sep 2001
I've seen those listings, and they really annoyed me because they took up so much space in the listing when you search for "tarot". But there is a way you can eliminate some of those posts, which is by entering text as shown below in the "Search" box: tarot -(rare,unique) The above text would eliminate any listings that had the words "rare" OR "unique" in their titles. Unfortunately, you would also eliminate any truly rare decks that use those words. I hope this helps! Peace, Melvis

nexyjo	29 Sep 2001
i agree. i was quite taken back when i saw what they were calling "rare". further, they did have some decks that were not common - i wouldn't call them "rare", but they were not common, and they too were way over priced. i think it was one of the italian decks, which i was interested in buying at the time, but when i checked the website of the manufacturer, even with shipping from italy, the deck was less expensive that what i would have paid on ebay. sheesh! luv and light, nexy

jade	29 Sep 2001
nexyjo, did you know that llewellyn has started selling lo scarabeo decks? jade

EveAnna	30 Sep 2001
Its not just online sites like ebay. In my little town we have a second hand bookshop - now for some reason he always bumps up the prices of his books on tarot, or occult books. These books are not special just hard to get a hold of in a small town like mine so he tries to take advantage of that. I don't buy that often from him unless I can knock his prices down - when I went in the other day he said he's got a 'first edition' of the Thoth deck - how old would a first edition be?, I've asked to see it out of curiosity but I can buy it cheaper new online.

faunabay	01 Oct 2001
Melvis, thanks for that info on blocking the "rare" decks. I didin't know you could do that. Other than false advertising, I think my biggest complaint is there are so many of them to wade through. So blocking them is the next best idea if whoever is selling them won't be a bit more reasonable. Thanks again!!!

tarotbear	01 Oct 2001
Beware; I love it when you see the same deck being offered in several places on eBay- all by the same person, and with different prices! Do not buy the first deck you see! These are people who bought a box of the same deck and are trying to unload them. Beware 'foriegn' decks, too! I bought a deck from www.alidastore.con for far less than buying it on eBay - and I had it shipped from Italy!

Jane	01 Oct 2001
Quote: EveAnna (01 Oct, 2001 10:05): [snip] I don't buy that often from him unless I can knock his prices down - when I went in the other day he said he's got a 'first edition' of the Thoth deck - how old would a first edition be?, I've asked to see it out of curiosity but I can buy it cheaper new online. Hi, If it is a first edition, it would be very rare. There were 200 decks printed in 1944. It is my understanding that these don't have borders on them. The next printing was very late 60's early 70's. These were pretty poor quality. I bought one a while back out of curiosity. The current printings are much better than the ones from the 70's. Does this one have borders on it? If not let me know. I'd be interested in more information on it. Thanks, Jane

EveAnna	03 Oct 2001
Hi Jane, I was too late, I went back in yesterday and he'd already sold it so I never even got to see it. :(

Jane	04 Oct 2001
Quote: EveAnna (04 Oct, 2001 09:37): Hi Jane, I was too late, I went back in yesterday and he'd already sold it so I never even got to see it. :( Oh well, c'est la vie. Thanks, Jane

purplelady	06 Oct 2001
I have heard this is true , that many decks that are not rare are listed as rare so they can get more money on e bay. I would say be an informed buyer . Research the decks yourself through this site and others' tarot deck reviews. Know yourself what is rare and what isn't . Then it won't matter what it is listed as ,and you'll know a rare deck when you see it!

The beware of "rare" decks on ebay thread was originally posted on 28 Sep 2001 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.