In support of your local new age shop

There is a decent occult shop in my town, but I don't like her selection of books and tarot, plus they are overpriced compared to online sources (twice as much or more) and frankly, most of it looks quite shop-worn. So I buy candles and bits and bobs there, but for big purchases, I buy online.

I would love to support my local business, if they at least TRIED to accommodate me in any way. The other week I went to the bookstore to see if they had anything - and no, not a single tarot related item. No occult books. Their Spiritual shelf was just filled with angels stuff and christian books.
Then I asked if they could order for me, and they told me to go online and use adlibris. (one of the largest swedish online book-shops)
I then on a whim asked if they had a plain corner-rounder but all they had were scrapbooking martha fricking stewart lace ones. I asked if they could order a plain one for me - same story. Go check on-line.

Took a stroll to the new age store. One of the largest in sweden on crystals and stuff. They had 3 tarot decks and the whole Doreen Virtue cataloge. They charged triple the price for a RWS. Online I can get one for 100 SEK, she wanted 300 for it. I WISH that I was exaggerating but I am not. The owner refused to even talk to me and kept chatting to a friend on her mobile instead. I guess my 'vibe' wasn't spiritual enough for her to bother with me.

Of course I do live rather far up north in Sweden. (half past 10 pm here and still bright outside) In Stockholm at least they got one really cool store - Vattumannen - and whenever I am there (like once every 5 years) I do spend a small fortune on new stuff and I also order from their on-line catalogue.
I think for a brick-and-mortar shop today - you really need a website and be prepared to do some ordering that way.
I love Amazon though, I admit to it. For me the access is the important thing and living where I do - internet sure helps.

If anything I actually prefer to deal with the deck-creators directly. I LOVE small-press and self-produced and will keep supporting artists that way :-D

Carla said:

There is a decent occult shop in my town, but I don't like her selection of books and tarot, plus they are overpriced compared to online sources (twice as much or more) and frankly, most of it looks quite shop-worn. So I buy candles and bits and bobs there, but for big purchases, I buy online.

Click to expand...

I can identify with the "shop worn" comment Carla. The shop we did have, had a selection of second hand as well as new books and sometimes it was difficult to tell the difference.

What I miss the most is old, musty-smelling used bookstores, where finding treasures was a real possibility. There are still used bookstores, of course, but they too have fallen prey to the internet, and most of the really interesting things, be they books or decks, are either exhorbitantly priced or non-existent.

I was in a huge bookstore here in Jerusalem recently, and their New Age shelves depressed me, as they were exactly that. Used copies of the Monk and his Ferrarri, Who moved my cheese and the like, very basic beginner Tarot books, and really, more or less the same things you see in new chain-bookstores, only used, and not that cheap, either. The owner didn't even know who Aleister Crowley was. Another store I checked did know who he was, but didn't have anything.

On another subject but related, why are some decks priced differently, as in, the Thoth is more expensive than the RWS although it is the same publisher, same cardstock, same everything.

We do have a few local new age shops in my area. One is near work, one is near home. Unfortunately they both carry only a tiny selection of decks for those with tender sensibilities, and and an even smaller selection of books. I have even bought stuff I didn't really want from them, just to help keep them afloat.

I do try to support online Tarot only specialty stores when possible, but I am getting to the point where I have very few rare and older decks I am looking for, or I am getting decks that are published by the artist.

For the few mass market decks I buy - well, I have free shipping through Amazon, and it's hard to justify both the higher price, paying for the gas, and paying for shipping from other places. I used to support our local bookstores, when we had them, but the only ones left now are 30 miles away or my favorite bookstore(Powell's World of Books), which is 150 miles away.

really great and scary article Yineth! thanks for sharing. I read an article last year about one companies warehouses in some very hot American states. No air conditioning is provided in the Summer heat. Also some of those online companies deliberately situate themselves to pay the very minimum of taxes. Amazon was caught out doing that in the UK by a national newspaper. Their European HQ is in Luxembourg where added tax and corporate tax is the cheapest in Europe. They are doing nothing illegal but avoid the taxes that other companies pay fairly. They are not the only American company who situate themselves deliberately in Luxembourg for their European market, iTunes Europe is also there and many many companies.

Some of the shop chains in the UK who are going bankrupt and have financial problems pay their fair tax and treat their employees fairly, yet the online giants are squeezing them out of the market. I really try to support my local shops now before online shops. It's so easy to buy online and get it within 24 hours but for me I want to make the effort to buy from real shops

TarotWoman said:

Unfortunately we don't have a "local" New Age shop or bookstore in our town, wish we had, but they closed years ago. The only place that sells a limited selection if books in this category is W H Smith's ... and then it's the odd pack of angel cards and self books.

I'd love to have somewhere nearby to go have a good rummage in

Click to expand...

same here. The closest new age shop selling tarot is a good 30-40 minute drive and parking there is next to none. All parking meters, IF you are lucky to even get a spot within a block of the store. I am not able to walk much further then that, so I rarely go there. When I do, they are a very small selection of decks, even though I love going there. I generally only get my crystals there as a result. That and quite honestly, amazon.com and other online 'stores' have better deals. yes, I'd rather support the local shops, but there are times when the savings are so good, I can't justify NOT buying it from amazon or another online shop.

The ONLY metaphysical/new age type shop I've ever been in that actually had a decent selection of decks was in Stockholm, where I was visiting. Otherwise, whether Barnes and Noble, or dedicated new age, selection always seems to be extremely limited, uninteresting, and higher priced than amazon to boot. Book selection is similarly unappealing in new age stores I've been in, and there is really nothing else they sell that I am particularly interested in so...generally no, they don't get my business. :/

First off, I try to always buy used/secondhand! Reduce waste & save money.

But if that doesn't work, then I try to go for local/indie. It's not always easy to do local for Tarot, but it is pretty easy to do Indie. I mean, Tarotgarden has everything! And there's always ebay/the trading forum for used.

I am not renouncing Amazon entirely, I still use it on occasion, but I have greatly reduced my dependency on it the past year for reasons similiar to the article, as well as being against corporate monopolies in general.

I buy online simply because of the much better selection, and too because the smaller stores have high pricing, far too high. Going smaller than Amazon... let's say Chapters, we have them here in Canada, I don't know if you have them stateside... their prices just can't compare to online, by a longshot.