Deck Pricing

OK, folks, I'm soliciting opinions. I'm getting to the point with my deck creation that I'm starting to wonder what to charge for it.

I'm self-publishing, and having it and the rather hefty companion book printed by professionals. If you're a buyer or collector, what sort of price do you consider mid-range, and/or the highest you're willing to go? For deck alone, and deck-and-book combo? Do you make different considerations for indie versus mass-produced decks?

If you're a creator, how did you decide what to charge for it? I've heard the maxim that the cost should be five or six times the cost of production. It's not necessarily a bad guide, but I don't consider myself a "professional" deck creator -- I'm doing this because it's the one I have in me, and don't intend to pursue it again. I've worked years on it, but I'm not expecting to turn a profit or anything on. Definitely a labor of love. And I want it to be affordable. That said, it would be nice to have enough come in to fund reprints (if I should be so lucky) and the like. I think I'm likely to sell a lot more direct than through stores or distributors. I'm not even going to list it on Amazon. But I'd like to hear other creators' experiences and reasoning.

Thoughts?

I should add that I'm doing my best to make this a high quality publication. Good printing, card stock, and so on. It's important to me -- I hate cheap shit.

Does that make a difference to you when you buy a deck? Will you pay more for card stock you like?

(As an aside, I have to say that the issue of card stock has been one of the most challenging parts of the whole printing episode. I don't own a lot of decks myself, everyone has different criteria for what makes good card stock, those buyers who know what they like have no idea what the stock's trade label is, a lot of printers seems clueless about the possible range of stock for tarot cards, etc.... Makes an amateur want to scream.)

First off, congratulations on your deck.
I can't speak from the perspective of one who has gone through the process of printing and selling a deck but I can speak from a buyers perspective. I believe a deck should cost no less than $20-25 dollars and no more than $50. In order for me to spend more than $50 the deck would have to whoa me to a great degree where I must have it. I'm not sure how much money goes into the whole deck creating process but with a really good card stock I believe $30 is a fair price.

In answer to your question about card stock, YES, it does matter a lot. Especially concerning the durability and sturdiness of it (to me, at least, because I am not a collector but a user so my decks need to stand the test of time). Another issue that you're probably considering is the quality of the printing itself as far as the painting itself. I've lost so many decks due to a poor color "fixation"(can't find the word in English but there surely is one; the blacks get all scratched, the reds become pinkish and the whites become yellow. This surely sounds familiar to many a user )

Sure, so many things that can go wrong. I'm trying to go through professional card printers, who do this sort of thing all the time, to avoid as much of that as I can. I'm also pretty adamant about fixing all the little things before other people see the result.

I'm also a bit luckier in that the deck is black and white; I just have to make sure the blacks stay black, and the contrast is what I want.

I am a tarot's creator,too.
I think the price is $30-40 dollars is suitable.
And your deck is so cool.

Thanks! I need to post more images over at the Primal Tarot thread...

Hi,
I self published in May this year. I sell the deck for $30 Aud. I have found this fine and not off putting to buyers. I have quite high shipping from Aus. My margins are acceptable, but yes it is a labour of love.
I chose to invest more in the cardstock and matte lam finish and I have not regretted it. I so hate to read that folk are upset about quality, when so much work goes into the deck, I was not prepared to let this happen. This forum is master class in dos and donts for Tarot creators.
Good luck with this part - it is quite unnerving.

Self-published artists can charge more for later decks when they get a 'fan base'. I note that sevenstars and MRP and Julia Cuccia-Watts for example, quite rightly in my opinion, are gradually raising their prices because now they know that they have decks that will sell.

You are selling a first and possibly only deck. To put a higher price on it I would suggest that you need to generate more interest. Not necessarily here, though AT has huge pass-through traffic, more than the actual post volume suggests, but somewhere public.

Even though I love the deck, and have seen it in person, I am hesitating at the Journey into Egypt's $90 price tag and that is for an established deck creator. 30 to 50 would also be my suggestion, but the higher end may be pushing it unless you can get a buzz going.

There is a bit of a disconnect between price and costs in artistic ventures.

Alta said:

There is a bit of a disconnect between price and costs in artistic ventures.

Click to expand...

Ha! You got that right. There is a bit of disconnect between price and costs in the world in general.

I like that people seem to be perfectly fine with paying something like $30 for a deck from an independent creator. I suppose I started to worry when I went to Amazon to check out pricing and everything was mass-produced and discounted 25%.