tarot books oracles question

[shadowbane]

Is there a book of tarot decks and oracles that has prices in it of old decks. A bit like a millers antiques book but for the above.

can anyone help with this please?

Thanks

[AJ]

Welcome to AT!

Since the advent of the internet the market for sales of collectibles moves so fast it would be folly to publish a price guide.

Take the Buckland Romani deck for instance. Some folks have traded it here for decks of much lower current value, because to them the deck they were acquiring had a much higher value than the BR.

And if you published a book saying the BR was worth $300.00 and two weeks later you saw the sale of a BR go for over $2000.00 would you send an errata to everyone who bought the book? And then another one when you discovered the person who paid $2000.00 was actually buying the deck for the bunny card?

And then you get information from the artist that the deck will be republished shortly? Where does that leave your price point?

I have a shelf full of price guides upstairs from my mothers antique shop, they are like cookbooks from the 1800's. Fun to read but absolutely worthless for anything other than identification.

Rereading this it sounds like I'm talking down to you, Please don't think that, I've just been thinking about this since last week when I was going through those books, how the internet has change the way we do so many things.

edited to say I think Karen is right, it was the Alchemical, not the BR that went for 2K...they both have bunny cards, they are both being reprinted so the reasoning still stands

[karen0205]

Hi shadowbane,
I don't think there is any book out there that specializes in tarot deck values. I know there is a huge community of playing card collectors and they have some books published with values but I think the tarot collector community is much smaller and I think the values fluctuate more than with playing cards. Most playing cards are issued and then when they sell out that's the end of the deck. With tarot decks, for instance the Alchemical Tarot by Robert Place, it just sold for over $2000 on e-bay. Now it has been announced that the deck will be re-printed so the value of the first edition will take a nosedive. Most collectors, I said Most not all, don't care if it's the first edition or the second so they won't pay the high prices when they can get basically the second edition for a much more reasonable price. Also, most playing card collectors don't use their cards. Tarot cards are used a lot so you have a huge difference in the condition of the cards. It would be a huge undertaking to figure values for each deck in every possible condition and then account for any reprints. It would be impossible. Also, you have decks that are hand made, how would you include all those? There are decks most people never see because they are such a small run, like the Knitting Tarot. It will be very hard to get a value on that deck other than the issue price until you start seeing it on e-bay and other markets where you can get an idea of the selling price. Most of the collectors for that deck will probably not sell it. Take the Hello Tarot (Hello Kitty), that deck was up to about $175 a year or so ago. Now you can get one for $75 because someone is selling knock-offs. A lot of tarot collectors don't care if its a fake or not and are getting a copy for a lot less and they are happy with it. They actually want to use it and don't care if it's original or not. Also, there are copies printed in Russia of US decks and are being sold on e-bay. That might affect the price of their original decks too.

It would be great to have some kind of price list or guide but I think in this particular collectible area it's just too hard. Too many variables. One good way to get an idea is to watch for ended auctions on e-bay and other auction sites and on here. Track a deck and see what it's been selling for and you have a pretty good idea what it's worth. Other than that there's really no way tell.

Hope that helps!

Karen

[shadowbane]

I realise it's hit or miss on valuations then. I was curious because I had interest on a deck I have had for a while now. I was offered £10.00 but the person seems to know a lot about decks. I am worried that the oracle I have is worth a lot more as he seemed overly interested.It is egyptian in nature and oppulent.
I had no idea decks sell for $2000 or more that's astonishing!!

mouth drops open

[karen0205]

I have never seen another deck of any type go for $2000 but I have seen some in the $1,300 range. What deck do you have? Have you looked it up anywhere?

[shadowbane]

im not sure if I am double posting if I say this. osiris cards bev craig
Alice in Wonderland
House of Cards looks*mint* but had for years. ty

[AJ]

I see the wonderland tarot on ebay quite often, it usually goes in the 15-20.00 range.
I sure wouldn't go by the prices you might find on Amazon, those are speculators hoping someone will fall for it.

[Aulruna]

It really depends if you can find someone who really wants the cards.

The Osiris cards recently went for $20 on ebay:
http://cgi.cafr.ebay.ca/Vintage-OSIR...QQcmdZViewItem

but as they are rare, you could end up with more. Or less, because few people will have actually heard about them.

To be on the safe side, you can always set a minimum price on ebay.

[shadowbane]

I have had some interest in The Osiris cards but havent got back to the person. They look incredibly complicated to read. I sat opened them and felt dizzy with the wording just not for me. $20.00 so about £10gbp. The guy who wants the cards offered me the same but inclusive of p&p.


The wonderland set is called house of cards they have grooves in the sides and can be stacked together forming a house of cards. I have kept the link you have sent me and will hang onto them for a while and see if anything else comes up.

[johnrobins]

I have a very old and dear friend who is, unfortunately, virtually housebound. She has possessed for many years a set of the Bev Craig Osiris board and cards. She uses them daily and they are now looking fairly worn and shabby. I would love to be able to replace them for her.
If you are willing to part with the set that you have I would be pleased to hear from you as to the condition that the whole set is in, the price that you are seeking, the method of payment that you prefer and the shipping options.
I am in Brisbane, Australia. You can contact me at email address removed by moderator.