Finding used decks, sigh.

Luna-Ocean

it cost me a lot less than it would have cost me to smoke instead, and a GREAT deal less than playing golf.

And collecting Tarot decks is alot more interesting as well. ;)
 

Cerulean

I did pay $8.00 for a Rider Waite & $30 for a mini-Albano

Maybe a Giant rare majors-only Albano Waite might be more--have never seen one, but read about it--but I waited a few years until I could find a smaller Albano Waite minature for $30.00 through abebooks.

In a used bookstore, I found a Rider Waite in a yellow box without copyright and paid $8.00 for it.

This was all in 2012.


Do you know wherehe looked it up?
 

Luna-Ocean

Maybe a Giant rare majors-only Albano Waite might be more--have never seen one, but read about it--but I waited a few years until I could find a smaller Albano Waite minature for $30.00 through abebooks.

In a used bookstore, I found a Rider Waite in a yellow box without copyright and paid $8.00 for it.

This was all in 2012.

I've seen a Tarot production Minature Albano go for nearly £100 on Ebay, are these the same vintage decks your finding on abebooks?
 

Asher

Maybe a Giant rare majors-only Albano Waite might be more--have never seen one, but read about it--but I waited a few years until I could find a smaller Albano Waite minature for $30.00 through abebooks.

In a used bookstore, I found a Rider Waite in a yellow box without copyright and paid $8.00 for it.

This was all in 2012.

Several years ago, I bought 3 of these giant Albano Decks for $5 each! They're great for teaching, meditation and for readings. Gave one to a friend, still have 2.

Wish I still had my mini Albano...
 

Luna-Ocean

Several years ago, I bought 3 of these giant Albano Decks for $5 each! They're great for teaching, meditation and for readings. Gave one to a friend, still have 2.

Wish I still had my mini Albano...

Right i'm going on abebooks right now, i can't believe i've missed out on this.
 

gregory

Giant Albano Waites ? I only have mini and standard size.... (Actually I don't WANT a giant one - but I didn't know they existed...)
 

Glass Owl

If I had walked up to buy something and the owner not only changed but 'UPPED' the price of the object in my hands in front of me - the first place I would be headed would be the Better Business Bureau, then the Police Department, then tell every single one of my friends what happened and have them tell their friends to avoid the shop like the plague.
Yeah, it wasn't the only item he took out of my hands as I was looking at it either. Plus, there were a few decks that I saw that must have been used but he was very cagey and claimed that he bought them from another shop but they were new. Of course, these didn't have prices either and he said he would have *research* them. Seemed to me that he didn't have any intention of selling them and was interested in them for himself.

What really frustrates me is if it's not for sale, why would an owner would put it on the sales floor? And if you don't want to sell it as a given price then you should change the price before someone shows interest in it. And a lot of that stuff has been sitting there for years and not sold so why would it suddenly sell now that you have marked up so much - especially given the economy.

I think that the big problem is that the owner is a hoarder and views the items in his store as his personal collection. Plus he is independently wealthy and doesn't need his shop to make money. Se he puts high prices on items hoping that they don't sell and if he sees someone showing interest in something, he panics because he doesn't want to part with it.

I never went back and have no plans to go again. I found another new age shop that doesn't have nearly the same amount of items but the staff is friendly and helpful and their prices are much more reasonable. One Tarot box that they had there was $25 and the other shop had the same one for $45 (and he told me that it was worth even more!) So I think that buying items from him at inflated prices is only encouraging his behavior.
 

bogiesan

I've never bought a used deck, so please humour me if the question seems silly. Aside from looking for antiques, or trying out a deck, are there other reasons for specifically seeking out used decks? Is it to avoid the stiffness of the new cards? From what people are saying it sounds like there isn't much of a difference in price betwee the brand new decks, and used decks now, so i'm just wondering.

For me, there's a perverse thrill in handling someone else's tarot.
Were they serious and just got bored?
Was this a gag gift they never opened?
Were they serious but found they had opened a door they rather now was closed?
Were they perhaps murdered in their sleep and the hoodlums disposed of their booty at this store?
 

tarotbear

confused

O.K. I am confused! :bugeyed:

I have been using AbeBooks for years for inexpensive books. Wonderful bargains (except that copy of 'Day of the Triffids' for $14,500!)

How do you look up Tarot decks on Abebooks? :confused:
 

Melia

I try to stick to a range of 3-5 times retail price. Most decks (or deck & book sets) fall between $15-30, so that makes my playground. :grin:

15 x 3 = $45; 15 x 5 = $75
30 x 3 = $90; 30 x 5 = $150

How do YOU decide whether whether paying 5 times above retail price for a deck is reasonable as opposed to only 3 times above retail price, or is it the seller that decides this for you?

What do you do if a 2nd or 3rd printing of a deck is currently on the market, do you then still pay 3-5 times retail price for an older edition that you want?

A few months ago The Fantastic Menagerie tarot SET was still available at the Book Depository for about $18. But as soon as it was sold out at the larger retail stores, the prices elsewhere increased practically overnight. Online some are now asking $200. Well above 3-5 times retail price. And while the deck is OOP, it isn't exactly what I would call rare or antique. I've seen an old Bohemian Cats tarot set selling for $300, even though the new edition is readily available. Both of these sets are being spruiked as 'a collector's item', so there must be some 'collectors' of decks who really do pay such prices. Good luck to them, but to me this just smells of pure greed.