I'm crazy about tarot cards. I've been collecting them for over 10 years, and have more than 400 decks. Many of these decks I have bought on Ebay. I have gotten some fantastic deals here. I have also been ripped off. My fault-I didn't do the research. Here's how you can avoid my mistakes.

Many sellers will tell you that a deck is rare, or out of print (OOP). Do NOT take their word for it. After all, they are selling a product. You need to make sure of what you are getting. If you are unfamiliar with a deck, one of the best places to do research is at a site called the Tarot Garden (they also sell decks here periodically). Since there are literally thousands of tarot decks available, with more coming out every day, it would be impossible for Tarot Garden to have them all. Nevertheless they have the best selection that I've found. This site, along with others that I will list at the end of this guide, will tell you pretty much all you need to know about a deck: the author, number of cards, their price, availability, if it is a limited edition how many were made, and date of publishing. They also have pictures of the decks (with more than one card for each), which is also very helpful in buying. Sometimes you will find that although you may like the picture of the card(s) listed on the Ebay page, perhaps you don't like the others. This is definitely a good thing to know before you shell out the money for it.

Another good source for doing initial research on tarot cards is Amazon. Go to their site and see what their price is. They will also give you some of the information mentioned above about the deck. Two other good sources that Tarotholics use often are Art of Tarot and Wicce's tarot site. You can get the urls through any search engine. In addition to the above information, these sites are run by tarot lovers and collectors, and their review(s) of a deck will also give their opinion of the deck, as well as sometimes offering a sample reading with the deck. Fantastic! What more could you ask for?

A few things to watch for...Tarot decks come with either 22 or 78 cards. If the number of cards is anything different, chances are good it is not a tarot deck. Again, if in doubt check with one of the listed resources. A deck of 78 cards is not necessarily better than a deck with 22 cards. The 22 cards are what are called the "majors," for very important events. The other cards in the 78 card deck are called the "minors," relating more to everyday events. Most new decks have 78 cards, as that seems to be the most popular with readers. Quite a few of the older, and more valuable decks, have only 22 cards.

Secondly, decks should come with either a book or a LWB. What is a LWB? It stands for "little white booklet," which is a folded piece of paper listing the card meanings. For some decks a LWB is quite adequate for anyone to read with. With some decks a whole book is not enough, but that is another subject.

Lastly, don't fall for the "haunted" tarot deck trick. It is only a ploy to raise the price of the deck.

Of course you will have to make up your own mind about a particular deck...unless you draw a tarot card to help you to decide. If you go a little farther than relying on the description on the Ebay page itself, you can save yourself a lot of money and end up more satisfied with the decks that you do buy here.

Happy reading!

Chris Cerutti