Beware of Pirates!
No, we’re not talking about the eye-patch-wearing, sea-faring hooligans from your favorite adventure tales. These pirates are operating all around us in the modern world, and unfortunately, they're profiting off the hard work and creativity of others.
You’ve probably heard of online marketplaces like Temu and Shein. These platforms, often run by Chinese e-commerce companies, have exploded in popularity in recent years, offering products at shockingly low prices. Who doesn’t want to save a bit of cash in today’s economy, right? But as we know, “too good to be true” usually comes with a hidden catch—and this is a prime example.
If you’re a tarot or oracle deck enthusiast—or even if you've casually browsed for a deck that caught your eye—you’ve probably noticed that some decks are priced much lower than usual. Often, these steeply discounted decks are found on sites like the ones mentioned earlier. What you might not know is that many of these decks are actually counterfeit reprints, made with cheap materials to keep the price down. Not only does this mean you’re getting a product of lower quality, but it also means the original creators aren’t receiving compensation for their hard work.
Fortunately, there are ways to spot these counterfeit decks more easily. Here are a few key red flags:
- An unusually low price
- Poor quality cardstock or print
- Has a QR code instead of a barcode or ISBN
- Smaller than legitimately published decks
- Missing information about the author, designer, or publisher
While this isn’t an exhaustive list, it can help you determine whether a deck is truly authentic. If you want to be absolutely certain, the safest bet is to purchase directly from the creator or a trusted source.
If you’ve purchased one of these counterfeit decks in the past, don’t feel guilty. That’s not the purpose of sharing this information. Our goal is to raise awareness about this growing issue, so we can help protect both creators and consumers from being exploited in the future.
(Below is an example of a counterfeit deck found on Temu)
