Lo Scarabo cards

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 19 Mar 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

jeseryn	19 Mar 2005
Does anyone else think the cards are ... flimsy? Fay is the first deck (and only deck) of theirs I own but the cards are so thing that I'm worried about how long they'll last. My Robin Wood has heftier cardstock and were more substantial and they're all ragged around the edges and worn after years of use. Still useable though. I worry the same use will make this LS deck disinigrate.

Grizabella	19 Mar 2005
Yes, the ones I've had do seem pretty flimsy. I never used them, though, and still have the Gnomes hanging around unused but I gave the fairies one to my oldest grand-daughter. I even offered the Gnomes for a trade and had no takers.

Annabelle	19 Mar 2005
I agree, the Lo Scarabeo decks I have do seem flimsy compared to many of my decks by other publishers. Also, in my experience, Lo Scarabeo decks are more likely to be warped right out of the box, and the cards tend to be smaller than what I usually like. And don't even get me started on their habit of printing card titles in 6 different languages, which looks awful and is, in my opinion, unnecessary. All that said, though, I do like some of their decks, and I like their prices in general.

stella01904	19 Mar 2005
MM ~ Lo Scarabeo cards made for the US market are not much more than paper. I got their Sibilla Della Zingara, though, and the thickness and quality is EXCELLENT. But the export stuff bites. BB, Stella

faunabay	19 Mar 2005
I don't know. I've had the Fey deck for a year or so, use it quite alot and haven't had any trouble with the card stock holding up or warping. And I just got the Gothic Tarot of the Vampires and am again happy with it. (shrug) Although the Fey does have the 4 languages printed on it LS has made the type smaller than some of the other LS decks I've seen in the past (that I wasn't happy with like the Gnomes and the Fairy decks). In turn the artwork is much bigger and I don't even notice the type. And the Gothic Tarot of the Vampires doesn't even have any type on it. There are no titles at all. So I think LS is doing a great job in listening to us (the buying public) and changing things when they can.

Cerulean	19 Mar 2005
My LS Gothic and Dante just seem to have smudges and I can see signs of wear easier on the border dark edges--but the central images are fine and I've not seen warping or tearing. I store my carrying decks in bags. My LWBs on the Minchiate and Secrets have been used quite a bit, so the paper gets softer--but again, the cards are fine. I've had the Minchiate and Secrets since 1997 and 1998. Regards, Cerulean

Lutenist	20 Mar 2005
My Estensi deck came warped. The cards were so flimsy though, that merely storing them horizontally for a month or so has straightened them out. No paper-weights involved.

seneris	21 Mar 2005
stella01904 wrote: MM ~ Lo Scarabeo cards made for the US market are not much more than paper. I got their Sibilla Della Zingara, though, and the thickness and quality is EXCELLENT. But the export stuff bites. BB, Stella I didn't know this. I have several LS decks and I have no complaints about the cardstock. Why on earth would they change the cardstock for the US Market? Is it cheaper?

Simone	21 Mar 2005
Some of my LS decks are warped too, I recently noticed this when i took out several decks for readings. It is not too bad though, they are all warped in the same direction :laugh: so that no card sticks out or so. I bought most of them here in Europe and I did not really notice a difference in the card stock. I guess it is more noticeable if you riffle them; the way I shuffle them is really not distinguishing in what concerns thickness of cards. As someone else said, I was also put off by the many languages on the cards; but I guess they do that in order not to have a new print stencil each time the deck is issued in a new country (cost reduction?) and - selective seeing has made me not notice it any longer ;) Love Simone

Danacafe	21 Mar 2005
lol,thats one deck im currently using! actually... the cards i have aint flimsy..its quite thick..appropriately..bought from kinokuniya...

Emily	21 Mar 2005
I quite like the quality of LS decks - I always find them really nice to shuffle. My Tarot of Mermaids came a little warped but being stored flat with other decks has taken the warp out but I haven't noticed my other LS decks being warped. With other deck manufacturers I've had bad cards - either marks on the printing or cards not cut right but none of the LS decks have ever come faulty.

stella01904	22 Mar 2005
seneris wrote: I didn't know this. I have several LS decks and I have no complaints about the cardstock. Why on earth would they change the cardstock for the US Market? Is it cheaper? MM ~ Apparently. The first LS deck I got was the Michiate Etruria, I could excuse the thin card stock since there are all those extra cards in the deck, but everything I've gotten from them since has been the same way. Except the aforementioned Sibilla Della Zingara, which isn't Tarot but a 52 card oracle deck. The quality is excellent. The instructions and card titles are in Italian only. They keep the good stuff for the home people! BB, Stella

The Lo Scarabo cards thread was originally posted on 19 Mar 2005 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.