How lucky you all are!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 07 Aug 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Mateo06	07 Aug 2002
I just wanted to let most of you ppl out there know how lucky you are to actually have access to funds and stores for such a great hobby!!! Around where i live we have one somewhat new age store, and they don't carry much! I just wish i could walk up and down a street alone in some town and see several occult/new age stores that have tons of decks half price and able to look at like u guys seem to come across all the time! well maybe when i am older and have a car i can drive somewhere just for a tarot adventure!!! but until then i'll have to be satisfied looking at decks on the net!!!

Royal Cat	07 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Mateo06 maybe when i am older and have a car i can drive somewhere just for a tarot adventure!!! but until then i'll have to be satisfied looking at decks on the net!!! :) LOL Well, I'm plenty old enough and I have a car, but around my area there is just no where to go for tarot cards or books.. Unless I want to drive a couple of hours! We have 2 "new age" stores within about 30-45 minutes of where I live, but the "new age" in this area is pretty tame stuff. :) So, I'm just glad I have the Net and can surf around to all the great sites who post pic's and info. Oh! And of course, there's Aeclectic where I have no fear of being judged for my interests in Tarot. :) I am SO glad I found this forum! Cat >>edited to say that "new age" in this area equals herbal tea and crystal window sun catchers!!! :D <<

jema	07 Aug 2002
well, i live about 150 kilometers from nearest new age shop - and they got about three decks. for a nice selection i would have to go to the capital - something like 700 kilometers away. but thanks to the internet i can buy whatever i want:) as for funds - that is worse. but i just forsake a lot of other stuff and i quit smoking 10 months ago:) i guess you could say i buy tarot card packs instead of cigarett packs!

Marion	07 Aug 2002
We do have a very nice new age store here, with a pretty decent deck selection.. but, I never, never see those lovely sales folks here mention. Never see decks in bargain bins! Still, the internet at least lets me get anything the local store doesn't carry so I'm happy. Plus it lets me come here!

Supletion	07 Aug 2002
where do you live? i live in israel and there are hardly any shops for tarot... i bought both my decks (marteau's marseilles and waite's raider) several years ago (although i started using them only now), and it was very hard getting them... i found in the phone book only one shop that sells raider (which is supposed to be the most common!), and it was some little faraway place placed in a little room in the back of some building... i read that today the subject is more developed and that decks are easier to get, but i didnt really look into it myself yet.

Jeannette	07 Aug 2002
To Mateo and the Rest of the Gang, I don't think your situation is uncommon. In fact, I think it's rather the norm. Outside of large metropolitan areas, I think it's unusual to find enough people with interest in (or knowledge of) metaphysical pursuits to support local metaphysically-oriented retail businesses. Contrary to how it may seem at times, the overhead on such businesses can be quite high, and the retail markup/profit margin is typically not as high as you might think. I live in Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. The Des Moines metro area has a population of about 300,000 people. We're not a huge area, but on the other hand, we're not exactly an isolated rural town, either. Over the years, I've watched several metaphysically-oriented retail businesses try to make a go of it here. None have managed to last more than a few years. I think it's important to point out that while it is true that Iowa is located in an area of the U.S. commonly referred to as the "Bible Belt," the concept of areas like Des Moines as being overrun by Christian fundamentalists ia a fallacy. Like any city with a reasonable-size population, our community is home to a diverse mixture of people that spans the gamut of philosophical and theosophical beliefs. Nonetheless, people with a strong interest in metaphysical pursuits, coupled with a further specific interest in tarot, comprise only a small portion of the overall demographic. In a larger area, a small demographic can still support a few stores with a wide tarot selection. As the population of an area decreases, a threshold is reached that makes it impossible to support a retail establishment that caters to such a specialty interest. If you live in an area with a large enough population to support one or more of the larger bookstore chains, you may find that those bookstores carry a reasonable assortment of current, in-print massmarket tarots. But once again, as the population of an area decreases, so does its ability to support a good-sized bookstore with a selection that's diverse enough to include a reasonable selection of tarots. So, Mateo, take heart! For what it's worth, you are not alone. With all the excited chatter from forum members about their new acquistions, it may seem at times like you're the only one who can't just walk out the door of your abode and pick up the latest deck from the "friendly streetcorner tarot seller." But keep in mind that forums such as Aeclectic naturally attract people who are interested in the subject of tarot, and are inclined to discuss it at length. Some of those people will naturally have easier access to the latest decks. For the rest of us, we can at least count ourselves fortunate that the Internet makes it possible for us to have access to the products and information that aren't readily available in our local areas. In fact, it is largely for this reason that Lori and I, at the Tarot Garden, made the decision to expand our product line beyond our original inventory of rare, out-of-print, and hard-to-find import tarots. We had enough people tell us that they were having difficulty obtaining even to so-called "common" decks. In the face of so many similar stories, it seemed like a natural extension of our "company mission" -- that is, finding ways to get as many great tarots to as many great tarot enthusiasts as possible. I have been collecting tarot for 20 years -- but it has only been over the course of the last three years, when I started seriously using the Internet as a source for locating and obtaining tarot information and tarot decks, that I have truly been able to indulge my love of tarot, unrestricted by the circumstances of my geographical limitations. -- Jeannette http://www.tarotgarden.com

Kiama	08 Aug 2002
Mateo06: Come down to Bournemouth sometime: there are quite a few good shops selling Tarot decks here... Not too far from Bognor is it? Kiama PS- You could always order decks through your local bookshop, just as you would order books. Go up to the payout till, ask them if you could order someting, give them the title of the deck, its creator, and they'll see what they can do. They will usually ask you to gve them a small deposit.

Mateo06	08 Aug 2002
Bournemouth? thats no where near Michigan, is it? Doesn't sound ne where close to where i live!!! But if its close, with in the next few years i 'll stop by, when i get a car!

truthsayer	08 Aug 2002
if it weren't for the internet and meeting other tarot enthusiasts, i would own only 3 tarot decks--thoth, rws, and hoi polloi. i'd have the oracles: medicine cards, cartouche, and runes. that would be it. i might also be richer but my life would not be as rich in meaning!!!!! i love tarot . :D the closest tarot stores are 2 hours northwest of me or 2 1/2 southeast or 7 even further west. i have a car but after i buy gas and traveling expenses it's just easier and about the same money if i just use the net. at least that's what i tell myself. ;)

divinerguy	08 Aug 2002
While I live in a small town, I'm about a 45 minute drive to San Diego. My favorite shop probably has 200 new and used decks and deck sets in stock, and can order almost anything. They have probably have 18-20 linear feet of bookshelves, full of just about everything. Cabdles, incense, bags, whatever you want, they've got. I'm a lucky guy. Now I just have to save up the money to get more decks.

Strega	09 Aug 2002
The only store that sells Tarot decks in my area is the local bookstore which has a very limited selection. Ordering online is not really an option for me, because postage would usually cost as much or more than the decks themselves. :) I only have 2 decks at the moment (4 decks in total - I lost 2), but I am pretty satisfied with them. I LOVE THEM! I feel very connected with them and they have worked for me for several years. :P But hmmm... please note that I just joined AT a week or two ago, so that will probably change! *LOL* Especially as soon as I move to the U.S. of A. :D I don't know a lot of Tarot readers IRL. My fiance` has read for more than 12 years now and he has only used 1 deck. So... boy... was I awed by how many tarot decks you guys own! :D

Kiama	09 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Mateo06 Bournemouth? thats no where near Michigan, is it? Doesn't sound ne where close to where i live!!! But if its close, with in the next few years i 'll stop by, when i get a car! Damn , for some reason I got you mixed up with Hush... Sorry! Kiama

catlin	09 Aug 2002
Hi Mateo, Sorry to hear that you live in such a remote area. Ok, I live in a city with about 300.000 inhabitants but as I do regular tarot readings in the biggest book shop here they take care to have 10 - 20 different tarot and divination decks at hand but this is not the usual way here. My last holiday abroad is 14 years back, I don't have a car, no family, work full time, don't go often in restaurants, don't smoke, don't drink alcohol, wear no fashion clothes, go only in sponsored cinema movies so I have a few bucks left to nurish my taromania.

Mateo06	09 Aug 2002
Hmmm, i don't know if i could go that far with the tarot addiction!!! i think i'll stop at giving up food for a week, but my fashionable clothes!!! no way!!! u'll have to pry those out of my cold dead hands! Which will probably happen cuz i'll have to give up eating!

WolfSpirit	10 Aug 2002
My local bookshops has about two or three decks. They often have different ones, so one day I may be lucky and they sell a deck I like and not already have. So I'm lucky to have a little computer and can buy decks on line. To save shipping costs I buy more than one deck at once, also a good excuse for not havong to choose. But I sometimes get a bit green }) when I read pple walk into barnes & nobles and find decks for $ 5.00.

Emily	11 Aug 2002
The largest amount of decks I've seen was at a Waterstones bookshop, about a 2 hour drive from my house, but most of the decks had been opened and messed about with, they looked second hand but with 'as new' prices lol I've also never been in a new age or metaphysical shop, the closest I get to is a shop I visit in Wales, she sells native American/shaman/Wicca and tarot cards and she has a really good choice and cheap too :)

Mateo06	11 Aug 2002
I don' t know, for some reason i think my local, new age store might have a sale on some decks... at least i am hopeing (for no apparent reason!!!) so i am gona go check tmr. And i just realized theres this weird book store on my main street that has books scattered about. so maybe they have some cheap decks too. i am gona check that out tmr also! Wish me luck!

The How lucky you all are! thread was originally posted on 07 Aug 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.