New Custom Tarot Deck Sales Tool

The Game Crafter

I'm confused :confused: - I don't see where anything tells me HOW to get my deck into the Crowd Sale ... what am I missing?


Correct, you can't get your personal deck into a crowdsale yet. That's coming in March (maybe sooner).
 

starlightexp

That's one of the reasons I started this thread. I'm looking for reviewers of Tarot decks, but so far I haven't had any takers.

I'm willing to review what ever you would like.
 

MandMaud

More than reviews, things like what "genre" a deck belongs to and categorising it in other ways will help people decide. For example:
  • minimalist or full of detail
  • Marseilles style
  • RWS-based; faithful or departing from it in certain cards
  • theme: Egyptian, animals, fairies, Pagan...
  • amount of nudity, whether suitable for children etc
  • CGI or collage artwork (etc)
  • Majors and/or Suits renamed (eg Father, Mother instead of King, Queen)
  • extra suit or extra card(s) added
  • astrological / Qabala / other systems referenced
These (and other things) could all make or break a deck for people, depending on preference, and they're not subjective.

Have a look at the decks section here and the reviews, to see what experienced tarotists know needs to be included in a review. Also the details listed for each deck: number of cards, size of cards, etc etc. There are also many threads in the Decks subforum where you can get a feel for what questions people want answered before making the decision to buy or not to.

As for reviews, just like reviews of books, films etc, we can make our own judgment depending on what else the reviewer tends to like/dislike - and a good reviewer gives reasons, so we can find we disagree which is still informative.


Personally I read Freder's first comment as feedback (rather curtly put, yes) and assumed it was intended as helpful. Freder wasn't obliged to offer you any thoughts, after all.
The "Crowd Sale System" reads (and plays, if that's what I've seen in action lately on your site) like a gimmick to me.

I hate gimmicks.
Most of us hate gimmicks! If you're doing something that puts any potential buyer off, you want to know. :) I would have thought it gimmicky too* if I hadn't already come across this crowd-sales concept (through my bank account I have access to Clic something, ClicSave? which works this way). It's not an easy method to get your head around the first time you hear of it, and needs more thorough explaining IMO. I'd imagine we'll all be used to the idea in a couple of years' time.
* from your description: "a new crowd funding platform called "Crowd Sales" that helps designers sell more copies of their decks" - and given that you arrived here wearing a Commercially Interested Person" hat. :)


As part of this thread this morning I just got a professional review organization willing to do reviews of Tarot decks for us. We'll be announcing that soon, so that's really cool.
As long as this organisation that's professional at reviewing is also familiar with tarot, as well as books etc...
... oh, you did say "as part of this thread" so maybe that word of advice is redundant!


I don't know The Game Crafter site very well - but I'm in the UK so maybe I can't use it anyway. I'll have a look.

... Your Shipping link doesn't tell me anything! Only:
international / Gamers Remorse for Review / This order will not be shipped to you. It will be shipped to Gamer's Remorse review service. Only choose this option if you want to get the games in this order reviewed.
:bugeyed: :laugh:
 

charming-liz11

As part of this thread this morning I just got a professional review organization willing to do reviews of Tarot decks for us. We'll be announcing that soon, so that's really cool.

That's so exciting!
 

Lady Morgaine

This sounds like a wonderful opportunity! If my deck was finished I would be interested right now!

LMH
 

tarotbear

Correct, you can't get your personal deck into a crowdsale yet. That's coming in March (maybe sooner).

Will those of us Tarot designers at GC be getting an email to tell us of this opportunity?
 

The Game Crafter

Will those of us Tarot designers at GC be getting an email to tell us of this opportunity?

We don't currently send out emails about new features, instead we publish news to our Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr feeds. That said, we are working on a new newsletter feature so people can be notified via email about such things.
 

Mabuse

I agree with you that the Tarot landing page needs some work. It is on our todo list to redesign our entire shop later this year to make it more appealing and easier to find things.

As part of this thread this morning I just got a professional review organization willing to do reviews of Tarot decks for us. We'll be announcing that soon, so that's really cool.

We announce the sales well in advance of the sale week. For example, you can see the next 2 sales that are coming on this page: https://www.thegamecrafter.com/crowdsales

Therefore you shouldn't have any bitterness about missing out on a sale. You can sign up to be reminded when it begins.

I hope this info helps you.

One thing I think might be warranted is to have a separate section for the non-Tarot oracle cards. I know I'm not the first person to say this. I notice a lot of decks in the Tarot section are not actually Tarot but are more properly termed "oracles." I see a lot of items in the non-game section which could also be called "oracles." Some oracle creators place their decks in the Tarot section for lack of anything more accurate and some other oracle creators place them under the non-game section perhaps because they don't like the word "Tarot" for a number of reasons.

It would also be good if one could place a Tarot deck under both the Tarot and the playing cards category for those like myself who wish to reach both types of audiences.
 

karen0205

That's one of the reasons I started this thread. I'm looking for reviewers of Tarot decks, but so far I haven't had any takers.


I am glad you are here asking about this. I hope you will appreciate an honest reply. :)
I like TGC, you have a nice website and good exposure. I think that TGC has the opportunity to
become a very prominent place in the tarot/oracle deck market.

I like that you offer printing for artists with decks that might not be mainstream or the most popular.
You offer a place where an artist can go and get their decks printed and sold on line without a major
investment. There are some great artists who just don't have the capital to print. You offer the
opportunity for their work to be seen. However, in order for it to be sold and used, the quality of the paper
needs to be improved. I see many decks that I like at TGC but I don't buy them because of
personal experience and a poor reputation about card stock. Come here to AT, read the comments
about your decks. If you are not sure what card stock is popular, get a deck from Magic Realist Press,
Llewellyn or LoScarabeo and see what the card stock is like.

A review at TGC isn't going to make any difference for me. I never look at reviews about a deck.
I don't think that having a few reviewers tell TGC if the deck is good is a smart way to go about
deciding what should be sold on your website. Everyone is different and has their own opinion.
It usually is not an indicator of if the deck will sell or not. I think if you offer a deck and it's not
selling (after the card stock has improved) then the deck might not be a good choice.

Until you improve quality, the images aren't really the issue. You can have the greatest images,
like with Badger's Forest and I still won't buy it because of card stock and boxes you currently offer,
no matter what discount is offered.
 

The Game Crafter

I am glad you are here asking about this. I hope you will appreciate an honest reply. :)
I like TGC, you have a nice website and good exposure. I think that TGC has the opportunity to
become a very prominent place in the tarot/oracle deck market.

I like that you offer printing for artists with decks that might not be mainstream or the most popular.
You offer a place where an artist can go and get their decks printed and sold on line without a major
investment. There are some great artists who just don't have the capital to print. You offer the
opportunity for their work to be seen. However, in order for it to be sold and used, the quality of the paper
needs to be improved. I see many decks that I like at TGC but I don't buy them because of
personal experience and a poor reputation about card stock. Come here to AT, read the comments
about your decks. If you are not sure what card stock is popular, get a deck from Magic Realist Press,
Llewellyn or LoScarabeo and see what the card stock is like.

A review at TGC isn't going to make any difference for me. I never look at reviews about a deck.
I don't think that having a few reviewers tell TGC if the deck is good is a smart way to go about
deciding what should be sold on your website. Everyone is different and has their own opinion.
It usually is not an indicator of if the deck will sell or not. I think if you offer a deck and it's not
selling (after the card stock has improved) then the deck might not be a good choice.

Until you improve quality, the images aren't really the issue. You can have the greatest images,
like with Badger's Forest and I still won't buy it because of card stock and boxes you currently offer,
no matter what discount is offered.

I'm sorry you don't like the quality of our card stock. We use industry standard playing card stock now, but we do realize that some people do have preferences for ultra premium types of card stock.

We're currently researching methods for creating linen textured decks and upgrading our standard card stock to black core casino grade card stock. It's difficult because the stocks that we want to use are made in France and the French provider wants us to buy an entire shipping container (50 tons) of the paper at once, which is a lot for a small company like ours. Not only for committing the money to such a huge volume of paper, but we then have to store it in a climate controlled facility until we're ready to use it.