Are spares necessary?

Well, I get spares for all my favorite decks. When I really, really like a deck I always get another one because it could so easily get ruined at some future date and it if was OOP by then I could never get another.

I like to drink tea when I work with my cards and it would be so easy to spill it on them. One day, I spilled a whole cup of tea into my knitting basket - what a mess. It could have just as well been my tarot cards.

Of my very, very favorite decks I even get a spare for the spare - I just got my third Victorian Romantic - the Gold Edition.

I'm 51 so might not wear out some of my spares but I figure it's better to be safe than sorry. If I get a deck that I sort of like but don't really connect with then I don't get a spare. If I don't like it at all I usually trade away or sell it.

I have never thought about or brought spare copies of decks but only recently Ive been thinking about my favourite decks and worry about them becoming worn and faded some day so if I ever find out about them going OOP I will buy a second copy but at this stage I dont feel a need to get 2nd copies

I recently bought a spare for my trust Robin Wood, but I'm usually quite good with my toys, and haven't needed extras.

hmmm. Does a mini Hanson Roberts count as a spare if you have the full size?

If so, I have two spare decks.

uh. Four. I have two mini RWS's as well.

I must admit I have spares for all my favourite reading decks. I do this for two reasons. One is to simply have a backup in case something happens to the one I read with. The other reason is in case the deck goes OOP and I freak out knowing I would have to search or spend bundles trying to get one of my favourite decks if something happens to my original. I consider it tarot-insurance! I also do it for my favourite oracles.

I never bought extra copies of a deck (mainly because I can't afford it and would find it a shocking waste of money!). I quite like the idea of my decks getting a bit worn and ragged. Gives them character, individuality and a feeling of being well-used (and well-loved).

fall_guy said:

I never bought extra copies of a deck (mainly because I can't afford it and would find it a shocking waste of money!). I quite like the idea of my decks getting a bit worn and ragged. Gives them character, individuality and a feeling of being well-used (and well-loved).

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Exactly what he said

blackstormhawk said:

I recently bought a spare for my trust Robin Wood, but I'm usually quite good with my toys, and haven't needed extras.

hmmm. Does a mini Hanson Roberts count as a spare if you have the full size?

If so, I have two spare decks.

uh. Four. I have two mini RWS's as well.

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*laughs* Would you noticed the card if you subbed one in? Then it's probably not a spare.

I could just see doing a reading for someone with 5 big cards and 1 little mini-card.

I currently have about 34 Tarot decks and about half a dozen oracle decks. I don't have back-ups for any of the oracles. I have both the First and Second Editions of the Tarot of Prague, just for fun really, and two copies of Swietlistej Drogi because I mislaid one, ordered another, and then found the first one ! I do have the Victorian Romantic Standard AND the Victorian Romantic Gold, and in the near future I will have the Golden Baroque Bohemian Cats to set alongside the Baroque Bohemian Cats who are not golden.

But I don't really feel the need to duplicate. (The 2nd Prague and the Goldens are not duplicates in any case but subtly different decks.) The way I see it is : 1) storage space is not ample in my house and 2) as I rotate the decks quite a lot, I'm unlikely to wear one out completely.

In the event of me spilling tea or a deck otherwise being damaged, I would replace that deck if I felt the need. That's all.

I agree with fall_guy and Sulis.

(A) I could get a deck I don't already have with the money, and
(B) I love the worn, broken-in feel they get; my trusty Universal Waite being a prime example.

Edited to add: oh, and I also don't have the space for spares

I love the worn, broken-in feel, too. But I still can't stand the thought of being without one of my very favorites if it got too worn to use and was OOP or I lost it or something.

Rosyelf------TWO Drogi's-------groan! Thanks to Umbrae, now I want just one and will probably never get one! Me having the money to buy one in this lifetime is highly unlikely, but I'm going to put in my order for having one in the next lifetime. Lucky you!