The issue of pirated tarot decks has come up recently in tarot forums I belong to. It's not something I've seen discussed very often in the past, but it seems to be an increasing problem and something which can ultimately affect all of us who buy tarot decks.
We all love to get a bargain, especially when times are tough, and with sites like Ebay and Amazon bargain hunting is made even easier. In today's world of mass produced goods prices can be low, and I think on some level we have been accustomed to see that as the norm.
Because of this I think what's often overlooked is what is entailed in bringing to market a creative product like a tarot or oracle deck. Hours will have gone into creating the design for each card, and then there's the cost of getting the deck printed, and the cut of the sale price that goes to the publisher/retailer. So the original creator will never get 100% of the profit, (unless they print themselves from home or something). So this is why tarot decks are often not cheap. You can get genuine decks at the lower end of the price range, but of course it depends on what you are looking for, and if they have been published using a big publishing house or independent publisher.
Unfortunately, the pirates are taking advantage of this, and it's becoming a real problem. They will copy a deck, maybe change something minor like working to try and avoid take down notices,the quality will usually be lower, with poorer quality card stock, and size difference, and of course they will be dirt cheap, cheaper than any legitimate deck you would buy. Now to those who are strapped for cash, maybe that's not a problem ( and I also think there there will be many purchasers of decks who are not aware of the issue). But it's a problem for the creators, and thus for the community in general.
Recently, Ciro Marcetti made a post on a Facebook group which highlights this issue. A copy of the post, and subsequent discussion on the topic, can be found on the Cartomancy Forum (requires sign up to access it). His moral has been sapped, constantly seeing pirated decks. He notes there has always been a level of piracy but that it has recently increased significantly. And what is even more disturbing, is his theory he shared with a forum member that some pirates may be actually getting copies of the original deck files from a publisher! This is because the image print quality is generally quite good, suggesting file copies of the original legal deck, so it's perhaps either stolen or sold by someone who works for the publisher. All of the titles he published with two of the biggest name publisher have been pirated.
I can totally understand where he is coming from. He has said that he feels demotivated to spend months, even up to a year, creating a deck, just for it to be ripped off.
Ciro Marcetti is one of my favourite deck creators. I have some of his decks, which work beautifully for me, and the thought that he may never produce another because of this makes me really sad. But he is not the only one experiencing this. Another member of a tarot forum posted their own struggle with discovering their deck pirated and being sold on Etsy, and the battle to get the seller to stop.
I think it will only get worse, unless we can help stop it through educating the community and doing what we can when we find sites/sellers selling these decks, through take down notices and contacting the relevant departments of the sites to get them to act.
But also, there are things we can do individually:
- Try to buy from the original creator's website or reputable established online retailers (for example I have purchased genuine decks from holisiticshop.co.uk). Check the creator's website also for links to approved sellers, or contact them to find out where best to buy them.
- Be careful of sites like Alibaba, Wish, and Etsy. There are many sellers on there who are selling pirated decks (Alibaba and Wish are notorious for this). You can find legitimate sellers on Etsy but do some research first. Try and find the original creator's shop on Etsy if you can and buy direct from them.
- If you are not sure where best to buy genuine decks , if you are members of a Tarot/Cartomancy forum ask fellow members to recommend places, or perhaps ask your favourite YouTube tarot content creators where they buy their genuine decks.
- If you are strapped for cash you can try using an online tarot reading/spread generator or an app for the deck, which are often free. Put decks on your birthday/Christmas wish lists.
- Spread the word in the tarot/cartomancy community! Share the posts/videos of these topics with your fellow tarot readers. I will post the links to some good posts regarding this issue and how to look out for pirated decks etc. at the end of this blog post.
At the end of the day, if we want to keep seeing beautiful tarot decks being produced by all the wonderful tarot and oracle deck creators out there, we need to support them. It's as simple as that. Don't forget you are usually not just getting a system to work with, but actual works of art. The biggest and best way to support them is to buy genuine decks, not knock-offs If it means waiting, to save up the money, then let's do that. Society seems so used to getting everything quick, fast, today, we need to get back to having to wait sometimes for things, if it's the better thing to do.
Links:
(Note you will need to be a member of the forums listed to read the posts and articles)
Grove and Grotto Article: How to spot a fake deck and why it matters
Cartomancy Forum Discussion & Ciro Marcetti statements
Cult of Tarot Forum Article: How Deck Creators Can Help Prevent Piracy
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