A question about OOP.

Hey all,

This may sound like a silly question but bear with me- I'm still learning!!

Just why DO decks go OOP in the first place?

So that their value shoots up?
So that we struggle to aquire them?
For legal reasons?

?

If a deck is in high demand and can be 're-printed', then why not?

Why do decks go OOP? My theory is that - being realistic - there is very little demand for tarot decks. It isn't like the new Dan Brown bestseller that can just keep going on and on. We are a minority and I think that long terms, continuously in print decks are not very viable for a publisher.

(I don't think it's a conspiracy so that deck prices go up )

Hmmm.. Yes but what if a deck was in high demand WITHIN this small Tarot community? Like the VR, for example. Can a small batch not be re-printed if a deck proves to be a good potential sale? Or would that not be worthwhile for publishers?

Oh well.

Thanks for your reply LF!

Parasphere said:

Just why DO decks go OOP in the first place?

Click to expand...

Same range of reasons that books do, too.

Not enough sales. Publishers go broke. Publishers have conflicts with creators. Times change. Limited-time contracts between publishers and creators. The passage of time. All sorts of reasons. You;'d have to be in publishing to understand or know them all, I suspect.

I see. Yeah.. For some reason, I thought there was a particular reason decks went OOP. More along the lines of their value going up so that they become a collector's item etc.

Cheer Nisaba!

Parasphere said:

Hmmm.. Yes but what if a deck was in high demand WITHIN this small Tarot community? Like the VR, for example. Can a small batch not be re-printed if a deck proves to be a good potential sale? Or would that not be worthwhile for publishers?

Click to expand...

With printing the smaller the batch the more expensive it works out per item - whether you're printing 10 or 10,000 the set up costs are the same.

Parasphere said:

I see. Yeah.. For some reason, I thought there was a particular reason decks went OOP. More along the lines of their value going up so that they become a collector's item etc.

Cheer Nisaba!

Click to expand...

Also, if a deck is OOP, unless the creator or publisher deliberately held some back, the rise in price wouldn't give them any profit, as most sales from then on would be between private parties for second hand decks, so the publishers and designers/authers get nothing then.

Pathwalker

Parasphere said:

Hmmm.. Yes but what if a deck was in high demand WITHIN this small Tarot community? Like the VR, for example. Can a small batch not be re-printed if a deck proves to be a good potential sale? Or would that not be worthwhile for publishers?

Oh well.

Thanks for your reply LF!

Click to expand...

Reprinting a small batch is not viable. We worked out some time ago that we really have to print quite a large run - even for a reprint - otherwise we just lose money. As ilweran said, the cost per deck for a small print run becomes very high.

The thing that people forget is that the profit on each deck is tiny when you use distributors. We not only have to offer the shops wholesale prices, but the distributor takes their cut (which is right and proper - they too have salaries to pay) and on top of that we pay all shipping, we lose on returns and any decks damaged in shops are increasingly the financial responsibility of the publisher not the shop (unfair as that may seem). For a run of a few hundred, that quickly becomes a financial loss.

So all in all, while it may seem odd that we don't reprint something like the VR, for which we know there is a demand, we simply can't until either:

1. the demand is large enough to support a good-sized print run
OR
2. we have enough cash saved to be able to take the risk of a loss

It's not that we don't want to reprint these decks, it's just that we can't take a risk in a recession like this. In the end, we have to stay in business or the studio vanishes. I hope that helps to explain what may seem a frustrating choice. We certainly don't do it to push up the price - we don't have any of the standard decks to sell in any case so it's resellers, not us, who benefit from price rises when the deck goes OOP.

Oh - by the way, I meant to add that I've kept this post just to explaining our personal situation, as I can't speak for other publishers. They may have different reasons why they do or don't reprint. Nisaba is probably right - there could be loads of reasons behind decisions on various decks.

Good question, very reasonable answers.

I'm sad that some are not available, not being reprinted, or as of yet unprinted (??).

Keep in mind that there are more costs to a deck (or a book, similar dynamics) than just making it. One cost that isn't considered is *space*. If you go to a store (of any kind) everything that sits in the store and does not sell is taking up space, and space costs $$$ every day. Rent, heat, light, janitorial, staff to ring up, and staff to keep the inventory from being stolen. Every Tarot deck you see on a display shelf is expected to leave; if it doesn't, it's taking up space that could be used for a deck that sells better. Right now, I am seeing many bookstores in my area phasing out their Tarot shelves for other books.