Fake tarot decks are everywhere right now. I have seen them online, at trade shows, and even in the hands of people who have no idea they are holding a copy.
They show up on the big marketplaces at a fraction of the real price, printed cheaply and often missing the original guidebook, sometimes with a QR code in its place. None of that money reaches the artist who made the deck.
This hits independent artists and independently published decks the hardest. It is exactly why, at Water Moon Shop, I work directly with publishers and artists, so what you receive is always an authentic deck.
Here is how to tell a counterfeit from the real thing before you spend your money.
The seven signs, at a glance: print quality, cardstock, the box and packaging, the creator credit, the guidebook, a price that is too good, and who is selling it. Here is each one in detail.
Look closely at the print quality
A genuine deck is printed with sharp, rich color that does not look washed out. Counterfeits are usually scanned from an original deck, or even from another counterfeit, so the art loses detail and vibrancy.
Look closely for blurry lines, colors that seem either faded or strangely oversaturated, and images that do not line up with the edge of the card. Sometimes the text is off too: misaligned, upside down, or cut off. If the art looks soft or slightly pixelated up close, you are probably holding a copy.
One more detail to check. Counterfeits often skip the gilt or matte edges and the small printed touches the artist built into the original.
Feel the cardstock
A real deck has weight to it, with a smooth, even finish that may be silky, matte, or laminated. Fakes tend to use thin, flimsy stock with a cheap glossy coating, and sometimes no coating at all.
The size is often wrong, too. Many counterfeits are printed at poker size, 2.5 by 3.5 inches, while standard tarot cards are 2.75 by 4.75 inches. Oracle copies are a little easier to catch, since most oracle decks use larger 3.5 by 5 inch cards. The Moonology Oracle, for example, is a popular mass-market deck printed at 3.5 by 5 inches, and there are poor counterfeits of it on poker-sized cards.
Why poker size? Because it is cheap and easy. Those blanks are widely available, and some print-on-demand providers offer them by default. The quality suffers for it. Cards like these stick together and bend at the corners easily, especially when they are printed fast and cheaply.
Check the box and packaging
This is one of the most obvious giveaways. Counterfeit boxes are usually lightweight, flimsy tuck boxes that fold at the top, and they are often too small. Remember those poker-sized cards? They go in a poker-sized tuck box, so that is usually what you will find, with faded or pixelated printing on the cover.
Watch for misspellings, text printed upside down or off-color, and missing specialty packaging. Real decks often come in two-piece lid-and-bottom boxes, flip-lid boxes, magnetic-close boxes, or slide boxes, to name a few.
Look at the box for a QR code standing in for the guidebook, as well. More on that below.
Shrinkwrapping tells you a lot, too. Sloppy or loose shrinkwrap can mean whoever printed the deck does not have professional equipment, or simply does not care. I have also seen used or pre-owned decks shrinkwrapped and sold as new and factory sealed.
Find the creator credit
Every legitimate mass-market deck names its artist and publisher on the box. If the creator's name is missing, or swapped for something generic, it is probably not authentic.
Independently published decks make this trickier. They do not always name the artist on the cover, sometimes only in the guidebook, and they often have no named publisher on the back. You will usually find the creator's name somewhere on the deck, more often on the front, though I have seen it on the back. Many indie artists create the work themselves, have it printed by a separate manufacturer, then market and sell the decks on their own to retailers and directly to customers.
Here is the ugly part. Sometimes it is those manufacturers who copy the deck and sell it out from under the artist. Many operate in countries outside the US, where there is little accountability to US copyright law. I have even had printing manufacturers try to buy an indie artist's deck from my store. I refused, and I created a strict policy against selling to print-manufacturing businesses. When it happens, I report it to the artist.
Open the guidebook
Most authentic decks come with a printed guidebook inside the box. Some independent decks skip the booklet and include information cards instead, or ask you to buy the guidebook separately, but mass-market decks almost always include a printed one.
Fakes usually do not. More often you will find a QR code on the box linking to a PDF, or a PDF link sent after purchase. I have even seen people sell the scanned PDF on its own as a replacement copy. A fake guidebook might also be a home-photocopied booklet, or there may be no guidebook at all. A missing or low-quality guidebook usually means the cards are fake too.
I have had people offer to buy just the guidebook for certain decks. That is exactly why I have a strict policy against it. It is not ethical.
Question a price that seems too good
Indie decks cost what they cost because they are made in small runs by independent artists. So if a deck that normally sells for fifty-five dollars is listed for fourteen, that is not a lucky find, unless it is clearly marked as pre-owned.
It is almost certainly a counterfeit, and the artist sees none of that money. The people making the copies flood the market and keep the profit, which makes it nearly impossible for artists to compete against mass-market pricing. I am not exaggerating.
"If we want to keep enjoying unique, intentional decks to choose from, we have to support the artists and the community who create them."
Look at who is selling it
Check the seller before you check out. This matters, and I say it from experience, because I have been fooled myself. It is a big part of why I care about this so much.
When you visit a shop or seller for the first time, do your due diligence. Make sure the price is not far below everything else out there. Decks are priced a little differently from shop to shop based on availability, shipping, and other factors, but you will not see a legitimate sixty-dollar deck sold new for fifteen.
Read the listing description. Does it say the guidebook is not included, or point you to a QR code for it? Are the deck measurements listed? Does it name the creator or publisher?
Read the reviews, too. Are customers happy, and did they get what they expected? Are there photos of what people actually received? Is the seller easy to reach, and do they answer questions?
Counterfeit listings often have no sourcing or creator information, maybe just the country where it was printed. A legitimate business can always tell you where a deck came from and who made it.
The short version
Do your due diligence, and do not be afraid to ask the seller questions about a deck you are interested in. A legitimate business will have no problem answering and telling you about the deck.
In short: look for high-quality printing, sturdy cardstock, correct measurements, a credited creator, and a price that reflects the work.
At Water Moon Shop, I review every deck I carry and only sell indie decks with the creator's permission, obtained directly from them, so you never have to run this checklist yourself. You can browse the authentic decks here.
And if you have already bought a deck and are not sure about it, reach out. I am glad to help you verify whether it is genuine and tell you more about it, and I am always happy to answer questions about the decks in my shop.