Article: How to spot a fake deck and why it matters

[gregory]

Also I have yet to see an ISBN on a pirated deck. (if someone can show me I'm wrong, please do, as we do want to stop this !)

[Doktor_Zeus]

On 3/31/2023 at 4:57 PM, gregory said:

Also I have yet to see an ISBN on a pirated deck. (if someone can show me I'm wrong, please do, as we do want to stop this !)

 

That's a good way to check if you can also find another identical deck that DOES have an ISBN, but it's also important to note that ISBNs are not mandatory, either for books or decks of cards. I have several decks that I know to be genuine which nevertheless don't have an ISBN number. (In case you're wondering how I know, it's because they came from Kickstarter and some of the card designs were chosen by public poll. Also, I personally raised an anatomical error in one of the images and it was corrected in the final deck.)

 

I have one deck that I think is probably pirated, and as you suggest, it does not have an ISBN number. It's a historic deck with images that are long out of copyright, which is why I took a chance on it, but when I received the cards it seems that the box art may have been stolen and another company distributing the same deck does give it an ISBN. Since receiving that deck I've started to notice a lot of others.

 

Has anyone mentioned yet that pirated decks usually omit the guide books that come with the original, replacing them with a QR code to a downloadable PDF instead? Or that illegal copies rarely have gilt edging, in cases where the originals did? This is a very long thread and I might have missed it.

[Chariot]

13 minutes ago, Doktor_Zeus said:

 

Has anyone mentioned yet that pirated decks usually omit the guide books that come with the original, replacing them with a QR code to a downloadable PDF instead? 

Even that isn't foolproof, as I recently discovered. I paid what I thought was a reasonable price for a Trionfi Della Luna deck (around £25) from Amazon.  It did come with a LWB ...which was cheaply printed, made no reference to that particular deck (the cover just had a star on it) and was totally generic and basically useless in content.  The cards are good, usable quality, but there is no indication on the flip-top box who has printed it, and no ISBN number.  Grrr.  I since checked Valenza's own site, and discovered the deck originally cost double what I paid for mine, and the genuine deck is no longer available from the artist.  This makes me a little less sorry I was 'taken' in by the counterfeit deck, as I couldn't have bought one from him anyway—and horrendously inflated prices from re-sellers doesn't get the money back to the artist either.   But this has taught me to look at any site the artists actually run themselves ...which gives a better idea as to what's what.  Hopefully I've learned my lesson.  I don't want to give counterfeiters any business.

Edited November 22, 2023 by Chariot

[Doktor_Zeus]

8 minutes ago, Chariot said:

Even that isn't foolproof, as I recently discovered. I paid what I thought was a reasonable price for a Trionfi Della Luna deck (around £25) from Amazon.  It did come with a LWB ...which was cheaply printed, made no reference to that particular deck (the cover just had a star on it) and was totally generic and basically useless in content.  The cards are good, usable quality, but there is no indication on the flip-top box who has printed it, and no ISBN number.  Grrr.  I since checked Valenza's own site, and discovered the deck cost more or less double what I paid for it, and it's no longer available.  (Which makes me a bit less sorry I was 'taken' in, as I couldn't have bought one from him anyway.)   But this has taught me to look at any site the artists actually run themselves ...which gives a better idea as to what's what.  Hopefully I've learned my lesson.

 

Yeah, it's getting harder and harder to tell, alright 😞

 

There's a particular deck I've wanted for a while, but it's so heavily pirated that the only place I can get it that I think might be genuine is an Etsy shop purporting to be owned by the author, and knowing Etsy's reputation I'm not even certain of that. I think it is because I emailed the owner and she had an address similar to the Kickstarter account that the campaign launched from, but that could be faked too of course.

Edited November 22, 2023 by Doktor_Zeus

[Chariot]

2 minutes ago, Doktor_Zeus said:

 

Yeah, it's getting harder and harder to tell, alright 😞

 

There's a particular deck I've wanted for a while, but it's so heavily pirated that the only place I can get it that I think might be genuine is an Etsy shop purporting to be owned by the author, and knowing Etsy's reputation I'm not even certain of that. I think it is because I emailed the owner and she had an address similar to the Kickstarter account that the campaign launched from.

No wonder so many artists are saying they're not going to bother designing any more decks.  What a shame.  I also blame re-sellers of genuine decks who over inflate prices the way they do.  That certainly encourages counterfeiters.  I mean ...would you rather spend £400.00 on a 'genuine' deck being re-sold, or £11.00 from a counterfeiter?  Neither price goes to the artist.  It's a bit of a no-brainer, in many instances.

Edited November 22, 2023 by Chariot

[DanielJUK]

1 hour ago, Chariot said:

Even that isn't foolproof, as I recently discovered. I paid what I thought was a reasonable price for a Trionfi Della Luna deck (around £25) from Amazon.  It did come with a LWB ...which was cheaply printed, made no reference to that particular deck (the cover just had a star on it) and was totally generic and basically useless in content.  The cards are good, usable quality, but there is no indication on the flip-top box who has printed it, and no ISBN number.  Grrr.  I since checked Valenza's own site, and discovered the deck originally cost double what I paid for mine, and the genuine deck is no longer available from the artist.  This makes me a little less sorry I was 'taken' in by the counterfeit deck, as I couldn't have bought one from him anyway—and horrendously inflated prices from re-sellers doesn't get the money back to the artist either.   But this has taught me to look at any site the artists actually run themselves ...which gives a better idea as to what's what.  Hopefully I've learned my lesson.  I don't want to give counterfeiters any business.

 

I think the deck is only self-published by Patrick Valenza and not mass-market yet. The official source in the UK is via Etsy from DeviantMoon, it's around £45 + delivery.

[Saule]

Unfortunately counterfeit decks are becoming more and more difficult to avoid. I fell into this trap once when buying online, I immediately returned the deck without even opening it (there was a QR code and it was a small deck) and felt soooo guilty. I don’t know how people go as far as using them?

 

Everyone has mentioned online websites, such as ebay and Wish, however, this is a problem in real-world too.

I live in a medium-sized town in UK, and counterfeit decks are really common here 😞 I spotted a fake RWS in an esoteric shop (like come on, an RWS???), and a fake Doreen Virtue deck in one of the stalls in our weekly market… That’s 2 separate occasions in this town alone!!! In total there are 4 places where you can buy decks (one of them is Waterstones), so that’s half of the places that sell counterfeits… Honestly, once I saw those decks, I walked away. Surely if you saw a fake Rolex in a watch shop, you wouldn’t want to buy anything else from there?

It’s also sad because I am all for supporting our small businesses. And I feel so sad for people who have unknowingly fallen into this trap as well because they wanted to support the business, or because they thought that items bought in person are of better quality. Especially from a shop that specialises in spirituality…

And in terms of PDFs of guidebooks, please educate me on this. Currently I google guidebooks for the oracle decks that I already have because I don’t travel with my decks, but would still like to read guidebooks on the move. I also have a deck in another language (that is 100% real), but I like looking up the English version if I don’t understand anything. I don’t think the website profits from this at all, because there’s no ads - the link brings you straight to the pdf. So I’m hoping this isn’t wrong? Please educate me on this.

I also check PDF guidebooks from google to decide if I want to buy an oracle deck or not. This has saved me lots of money but I am not too sure if it’s ethical. I suppose it’s better than opening the deck, deciding I don’t like it, then returning it and someone else getting my used copy. My local witch/reader has a stall in our market where she has an opened deck for every deck she sells, so that you can take a peek. I try to do this when possible but I really don’t want her ordering decks so I could look at them and not even end up buying them!

 

As for the fix… This may be silly, but some Yu-Gi-Oh cards have holographic foiling. When you try to photocopy them, you can see the holo pattern being printed on the actual art, without the effect of the holo. So photocopying would ruin the artwork and hopefully deter people from using them because they’re ugly. Would be cool to incorporate this into the artwork, like Golden Art Nouveau but with holo. However, you would have to keep the guidebook black and white so the criminals can’t use it to reproduce the deck. Please correct me if I’m wrong because I don’t have a lot of knowledge on this stuff at all. 

 

Here is a Pokemon card example: 

 

 

[Misterei]

1 hour ago, Saule said:

Unfortunately counterfeit decks are becoming more and more difficult to avoid. I fell into this trap once when buying online, I immediately returned the deck without even opening it (there was a QR code and it was a small deck) and felt soooo guilty. I don’t know how people go as far as using them?

The one counterfeit I accidentally bought on Amazon ... I ended up keeping b/c I had spent quite a bit of time going up the customer service ladder to demand they remove the deck from their sales. I couldn't return it. My choices were to keep it, burn it, or donate it. I kept it as a souvenir for all the emails and phone calls to Amazon.

 

@Saule <<Everyone has mentioned online websites, such as ebay and Wish, however, this is a problem in real-world too.

I live in a medium-sized town in UK, and counterfeit decks are really common here>>

 

That's disheartening. I think this is the down side of Tarot going mainstream. Back in the day when it was a quirky thing only a few weirdos were into ... no one cared enough to counterfeit a deck. I actually miss those days. In many ways i don't like that Tarot mainstreamed.

 

@Saule <<And in terms of PDFs of guidebooks, please educate me on this.>>

 

I maybe misunderstand your question ... but one reason I knew my accidental fake deck purchase was fake ... the guidebook was pirated from US Games and the deck was NOT US Games!!!

Many decks come with a printed LWB [little white book] and if you don't get this LWB ... the deck is fake. For example Lo Scarabeo Mucha deck has a guidebook printed in 4 languages [typical for Lo Scarabeo decks]. But if you buy a fake ... no 4-language guidebook. Likewise US Games usually gives a printed LWB with the deck. OTOH indie publishers like Valenza often DONT give any booklet [printed or pdf] but they DO give you extra cards. Benebel Wen has a PDF guidebook for her SKT rather than a printed LWB ... but her PDF is massive and very specific to that deck [not generic]. Little things like that help me know Legit decks. Which publishers enclose a LWB, which publishers don't, and which publishers offer PDFs. You can know by visiting the publishers website if the legit deck comes with a LWB, no LWB, bonus cards, or a PDF. The counterfeits usually offer a PDF link for a generic LWB often pirated from US Games.

 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by Misterei

[Saule]

1 minute ago, Misterei said:

The one counterfeit I accidentally bought on Amazon ... I ended up keeping b/c I had spent quite a bit of time going up the customer service ladder to demand they remove the deck from their sales. I couldn't return it. My choices were to keep it, burn it, or donate it. I kept it as a souvenir for all the emails and phone calls to Amazon.

 

@Saule <<Everyone has mentioned online websites, such as ebay and Wish, however, this is a problem in real-world too.

I live in a medium-sized town in UK, and counterfeit decks are really common here>>

 

That's disheartening. I think this is the down side of Tarot going mainstream. Back in the day when it was a quirky thing only a few weirdos were into ... no one cared enough to counterfeit a deck. I actually miss those days. In many ways i don't like that Tarot mainstreamed.

 

@Saule <<And in terms of PDFs of guidebooks, please educate me on this.>>

 

I maybe misunderstand your question ... but one reason I knew my accidental fake deck purchase was fake ... was b/c there was no guidebook with it.

Many decks come with a printed LWB [little white book] and if you don't get this LWB ... the deck is fake. For example Lo Scarabeo Mucha deck has a guidebook printed in 4 languages [typical for Lo Scarabeo decks]. But if you buy a fake ... no 4-language guidebook. Only a download link to a generic "how to tarot" is offered. Anyone who knows real Lo Scarabeo knows they usually give you a printed booklet enclosed with the deck. Likewise US Games usually gives a printed LWB with the deck. OTOH indie publishers like Valenza often DONT give any booklet [printed or pdf] but they DO give you extra cards. Benebel Wen has a PDF guidebook for her SKT rather than a printed LWB ... but her PDF is massive and very specific to that deck [not generic]. Little things like that help me know Legit decks. Which publishers enclose a LWB, which publishers don't, and which publishers offer PDFs. You can know by visiting the publishers website if the legit deck comes with a LWB, no LWB, bonus cards, or a PDF.

 

 

 

Sorry I didn't explain this properly! All my decks have guidebooks, I just prefer to keep them inside their boxes when I'm travelling, and use the online PDFs because it's easy and I'm less likely to lose or damage them.

[Misterei]

3 minutes ago, Saule said:

Sorry I didn't explain this properly! All my decks have guidebooks, I just prefer to keep them inside their boxes when I'm travelling, and use the online PDFs because it's easy and I'm less likely to lose or damage them.

Ah! Well hopefully some other reader will benefit from the lengthy explanation of real vs. fake LWBs etc. 😇

[Raggydoll]

Some older guidebooks are available on the internet archive library, and that’s a completely legit site where anyone can sign up and borrow ebooks for free

 

https://archive.org/details/internetarchivebooks?query=tarot

[Arania]

1 hour ago, Saule said:

Unfortunately counterfeit decks are becoming more and more difficult to avoid. I fell into this trap once when buying online, I immediately returned the deck without even opening it (there was a QR code and it was a small deck) and felt soooo guilty. I don’t know how people go as far as using them?

 

Everyone has mentioned online websites, such as ebay and Wish, however, this is a problem in real-world too.

I live in a medium-sized town in UK, and counterfeit decks are really common here 😞 I spotted a fake RWS in an esoteric shop (like come on, an RWS???), and a fake Doreen Virtue deck in one of the stalls in our weekly market… That’s 2 separate occasions in this town alone!!! In total there are 4 places where you can buy decks (one of them is Waterstones), so that’s half of the places that sell counterfeits… Honestly, once I saw those decks, I walked away. Surely if you saw a fake Rolex in a watch shop, you wouldn’t want to buy anything else from there?

It’s also sad because I am all for supporting our small businesses. And I feel so sad for people who have unknowingly fallen into this trap as well because they wanted to support the business, or because they thought that items bought in person are of better quality. Especially from a shop that specialises in spirituality…

And in terms of PDFs of guidebooks, please educate me on this. Currently I google guidebooks for the oracle decks that I already have because I don’t travel with my decks, but would still like to read guidebooks on the move. I also have a deck in another language (that is 100% real), but I like looking up the English version if I don’t understand anything. I don’t think the website profits from this at all, because there’s no ads - the link brings you straight to the pdf. So I’m hoping this isn’t wrong? Please educate me on this.

I also check PDF guidebooks from google to decide if I want to buy an oracle deck or not. This has saved me lots of money but I am not too sure if it’s ethical. I suppose it’s better than opening the deck, deciding I don’t like it, then returning it and someone else getting my used copy. My local witch/reader has a stall in our market where she has an opened deck for every deck she sells, so that you can take a peek. I try to do this when possible but I really don’t want her ordering decks so I could look at them and not even end up buying them!

 

 

 

 

I have no problem using them. This guilt tripping over counterfeit decks you have not intentionally bought really makes no sense to me at all.  It took me more than half a year to realize many of the used decks people gave away were not originals. I took them, I use them. I'm pretty sure the original buyers had no idea about the difference. I have a relationship with most of those decks now and wouldn't want to part with them. I have an animistic mind set, for me, they are alive in a way.

 

The idea that something as niche as tarot and oracle cards gets copied and mass printed wasn't even on my radar until recently. It is still confusing to me because of the amount of decks the original printer will have to sell to make it somehow worth while.

 

All the few more or less spiritually themed sellers I have been to recently has things which are not original. The sellers don't care, they buy where it is cheapest.  I was told people don't buy the expensive stuff anymore, they just try things out;  they only want to buy things they later can discard without much thought on wasted money. It is the same for everything else, especially since the pandemic. Cheap crystals, usually fake, are most popular, then pre-made supposedly enchanted incense and candles; or complete spells or rituals, then tarot and to some extend oracle decks. If the shops don't offer these things, people buy cheap online. The only advantage a seller has is to have a product available immediately. One seller told me to just not come back if I don't like it, it's going with the flow for him or having to close up eventually. Another seller in the market of a larger city stopped carrying any sort of decks because of this mentality, she can't afford to have a mix of them available in case someone would want them and the other stall with a magic flair has decks for under 5 bucks.

 

Oh and things getting stolen the most are still tarot and oracle decks. Another reason for shops to rather not sell originals.

 

Talking of  RWS decks... I was under the impression RWS was already public domain. They are sold here in so many shops for about 3-4 Euros, including big supermarket chains. They are usually with the party supplies, especially around Halloween.

 

As for guidebooks, I really dislike the LWBs, they get lost, totally cat shredded at times and are downright impractical. Usually the info in there is minimal. I even threw some away when they were damaged and got an earful from my housemate - not that he's ever looking at them either. So, I would prefer to find the ones with some specific info as PDFs or EPUBs, but I am too lazy to search for them.

 

Why would it be unethical to look at guidebooks before you decide on a buy? I would advise to check the images, there are many review sites or even flip throughs on video (can't use YouTube anymore so for me that's no longer possible). Usually, they also review the guide books if there are any. You can also see what the original decks are like.

[Arania]

7 minutes ago, Raggydoll said:

Some older guidebooks are available on the internet archive library, and that’s a completely legit site where anyone can sign up and borrow ebooks for free

 

https://archive.org/details/internetarchivebooks?query=tarot

Uff, one look and there are books I'd want but I am already so behind in my reading list.

[Saule]

22 minutes ago, Arania said:

Why would it be unethical to look at guidebooks before you decide on a buy? I would advise to check the images, there are many review sites or even flip throughs on video (can't use YouTube anymore so for me that's no longer possible). Usually, they also review the guide books if there are any. You can also see what the original decks are like.

The PDF versions on Google that I use aren't official versions. The guidebooks have been scanned by someone else, and this is the guidebook you get when you scan a QR code on a counterfeit deck.

The reason why I think it's unethical is because the author's work was stolen and given out to people for free. I really don't think the author consented to it. It took them months to write the guidebook and here it is, being given out for free without their knowledge and consent. It feels like I'm violating them. Although I own the deck, I still feel a bit iffy about using such PDF guidebooks. Like, in non-tarot situation, if you owned a physical book, you would still be expected to pay for the Kindle version. But I'm pretty sure the criminals don't get any money out of me using these books. I suppose if I scanned my own guidebooks it would still be the same... I don't know.

Edited November 28, 2023 by Saule

[Arania]

Ah, I suppose if they don't ask money for it it would be fine. I doubt I would notice the difference I fear.

 

I have been told the QR codes to get the booklets do not even work. No idea because I don't own a smartphone and thus couldn't check.

[Raggydoll]

11 minutes ago, Arania said:

Ah, I suppose if they don't ask money for it it would be fine

No!! Movies, books, music etc are stolen and shared for free all the time, and this is still a crime. Just take the time to read a copyright notice and you will see. 
 

[Saule]

53 minutes ago, Arania said:

I have no problem using them. This guilt tripping over counterfeit decks you have not intentionally bought really makes no sense to me at all.  It took me more than half a year to realize many of the used decks people gave away were not originals. I took them, I use them. I'm pretty sure the original buyers had no idea about the difference. I have a relationship with most of those decks now and wouldn't want to part with them. I have an animistic mind set, for me, they are alive in a way.

 

The idea that something as niche as tarot and oracle cards gets copied and mass printed wasn't even on my radar until recently. It is still confusing to me because of the amount of decks the original printer will have to sell to make it somehow worth while.

 

All the few more or less spiritually themed sellers I have been to recently has things which are not original. The sellers don't care, they buy where it is cheapest.  I was told people don't buy the expensive stuff anymore, they just try things out;  they only want to buy things they later can discard without much thought on wasted money. It is the same for everything else, especially since the pandemic. Cheap crystals, usually fake, are most popular, then pre-made supposedly enchanted incense and candles; or complete spells or rituals, then tarot and to some extend oracle decks. If the shops don't offer these things, people buy cheap online. The only advantage a seller has is to have a product available immediately. One seller told me to just not come back if I don't like it, it's going with the flow for him or having to close up eventually. Another seller in the market of a larger city stopped carrying any sort of decks because of this mentality, she can't afford to have a mix of them available in case someone would want them and the other stall with a magic flair has decks for under 5 bucks.

 

Oh and things getting stolen the most are still tarot and oracle decks. Another reason for shops to rather not sell originals.

 

Talking of  RWS decks... I was under the impression RWS was already public domain. They are sold here in so many shops for about 3-4 Euros, including big supermarket chains. They are usually with the party supplies, especially around Halloween.

 

As for guidebooks, I really dislike the LWBs, they get lost, totally cat shredded at times and are downright impractical. Usually the info in there is minimal. I even threw some away when they were damaged and got an earful from my housemate - not that he's ever looking at them either. So, I would prefer to find the ones with some specific info as PDFs or EPUBs, but I am too lazy to search for them.

 

Why would it be unethical to look at guidebooks before you decide on a buy? I would advise to check the images, there are many review sites or even flip throughs on video (can't use YouTube anymore so for me that's no longer possible). Usually, they also review the guide books if there are any. You can also see what the original decks are like.

See, I believe it's unethical to continue using counterfeit decks even if they were given to you by somebody else. The art on the cards belongs to the artist, and you are using their property. The artist deserves to be compensated.

When the original buyers bought the decks, the thieves got their compensation for the tools and the paper that they used. The shipping companies got their compensation for bringing the deck to the buyer. Where's the artist's compensation for letting you use their art? And although the deck has been passed onto you, the artist still hasn't received their very deserved compensation.

[Raggydoll]

45 minutes ago, Saule said:

See, I believe it's unethical to continue using counterfeit decks even if they were given to you by somebody else. The art on the cards belongs to the artist, and you are using their property. The artist deserves to be compensated.

When the original buyers bought the decks, the thieves got their compensation for the tools and the paper that they used. The shipping companies got their compensation for bringing the deck to the buyer. Where's the artist's compensation for letting you use their art? And although the deck has been passed onto you, the artist still hasn't received their very deserved compensation.

I agree 100%

[Misterei]

2 hours ago, Arania said:

All the few more or less spiritually themed sellers I have been to recently has things which are not original. The sellers don't care, they buy where it is cheapest.  I was told people don't buy the expensive stuff anymore, they just try things out;  they only want to buy things they later can discard without much thought on wasted money.

I think this describes perfectly my revulsion that Tarot mainstreamed.

A person used to have to put effort into getting a Tarot deck. They were never hugely expensive ... but they were somewhat difficult to find and one had to really want a deck to find it and buy it.

 

Now we have this horror described above ... and fake decks sold cheaply to consumers who desire everything and value nothing.

It quite breaks my heart.

[Raggydoll]

I think that second hand decks are such a great option for those who want affordable decks. And I don’t mean second hand indie decks or OOP decks, but second hand mass market decks, they are really affordable and sometimes barely used. 
 

My first tarot deck was gifted to me, because I couldn’t afford to buy one. (Actually, my very first ‘tarot deck’ was not a real tarot deck at all but a deck of playing cards plus extra ‘major arcana’ cards that I made myself, to practice reading with..) Then several years later I had saved up to buy one myself. After some more years, I bought a few second hand decks cheaply, and that was the entirety of my tarot collection for the first 15 years. I think it’s fair to say that none of this impacted my learning curve negatively, I still turned out a competent reader. 

[DanielJUK]

The deck publishers regularly do legal take-downs of sites illegally hosting the deck books. Every so often someone will link to them here and we must take it down as it is a breach of copyright.

It would be nice to have a digital version or pdf of deck LWB's but with the current piracy I don't see it happening, a good quality book with the deck is a sign it's the official version. I still only see offical LWB's in digital form from self-published decks.

[Raggydoll]

1 hour ago, DanielJUK said:

The deck publishers regularly do legal take-downs of sites illegally hosting the deck books. Every so often someone will link to them here and we must take it down as it is a breach of copyright.

It would be nice to have a digital version or pdf of deck LWB's but with the current piracy I don't see it happening, a good quality book with the deck is a sign it's the official version. I still only see offical LWB's in digital form from self-published decks.

For some of my more special decks, I have journaled about them and written down my thoughts and experiences, symbolism etc. And I have turned these notes into pdfs that I can access easily from my phone. This of course takes more work but I think it’s worth it when we are really wanting to get to know a deck! 

[ilweran]

7 hours ago, Saule said:

See, I believe it's unethical to continue using counterfeit decks even if they were given to you by somebody else.

 

I have mixed feelings about that, because I agree counterfeit decks shouldn't be bought and the artist deserves to be paid for their artwork. But if you inadvertently become the owner of a counterfeit deck what do you do? Passing it on is wrong, but throwing it away goes against the grain for me as well - it's wasteful and not an environmentally sound course of action. So I don't know. I feel very conflicted about it.

[Doktor_Zeus]

8 minutes ago, ilweran said:

 

I have mixed feelings about that, because I agree counterfeit decks shouldn't be bought and the artist deserves to be paid for their artwork. But if you inadvertently become the owner of a counterfeit deck what do you do? Passing it on is wrong, but throwing it away goes against the grain for me as well - it's wasteful and not an environmentally sound course of action. So I don't know. I feel very conflicted about it.

 

Well, most decks are cardboard and can be recycled. Although some decks these days are plastic, that's not common in oracle cards, although some may be plastic coated which you obviously have to be careful of.

 

One option is to find the original artist and offer to pay them some kind of gratuity, although you might as well buy the original deck if you're doing that, and then you're back in the same place re: throwing out the old one. At the same time you could inform the artist about where the counterfeit deck was originally bought, so that they can report it and hopefully have the listing taken down.

Edited November 28, 2023 by Doktor_Zeus

[ilweran]

9 minutes ago, Doktor_Zeus said:

 

Well, most decks are cardboard and can be recycled. Although some decks these days are plastic, that's not common in oracle cards, although some may be plastic coated which you obviously have to be careful of.

 

One option is to find the original artist and offer to pay them some kind of gratuity, although you might as well buy the original deck if you're doing that, and then you're back in the same place re: throwing out the old one. At the same time you could inform the artist about where the counterfeit deck was originally bought, so that they can report it and hopefully have the listing taken down.

I've had 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' drummed into me.

 

Also very annoyed at the moment as I had an email from Amazon recommending me a deck it thinks I might like - and it's a listing for a fake deck. If I have a minute I'm going to contact them and complain about it.