Why buy direct
Why Retailers Buy Tarot Decks Direct from the Publisher
Buying direct from the publisher that prints the deck means $15.90 for a complete boxed 78-card deck from 12 decks (falling to $10.90 at 192), a 46% margin on a $34.99 shelf price even after delivery, and no distributor between your order and the press. A made-to-order run takes 3–4 weeks; editions we keep in stock can be ordered from 5. Prices were read live from the pricing service on 4 November 2026.
Dark Forest decks are made in Ukraine, and the printed box is inside the deck price, and each deck comes with an electronic PDF guide (a download, not a printed book). Buyers have left us 20,000+ positive Etsy reviews (4.9★); wholesale is the same decks at trade prices.
The margin on a $34.99 deck, order by order
The calculation a shop owner actually needs is short: what the deck costs once it is on your shelf, against what it sells for. The table uses the trade ladder for a complete 78-card deck, a $34.99 shelf price, and United States delivery of $3.00 a deck as its own line. Delivery is never inside the deck price; it is added on top and shown separately.
| Decks in the order | Per deck | Goods total | Landed with US delivery | Gross margin on $34.99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 — the minimum for made to order | $15.90 | $190.80 | $18.90 | $16.09 (46.0%) |
| 24 | $14.90 | $357.60 | $17.90 | $17.09 (48.8%) |
| 48 | $12.90 | $619.20 | $15.90 | $19.09 (54.6%) |
| 96 | $11.90 | $1,142.40 | $14.90 | $20.09 (57.4%) |
| 192 | $10.90 | $2,092.80 | $13.90 | $21.09 (60.3%) |
At twelve decks the goods are $190.80 and delivery $36.00, so the twelve cost you $226.80 landed and earn $193.08 of gross profit when they sell. At forty-eight the same shelf price earns 54.6%, because the ladder falls while delivery stays flat per deck. Local sales tax and your own overheads come off afterwards; nothing for packaging needs adding, since the printed box is already in the price and the guide is an electronic PDF.
What each middleman does to the number
This is an illustration built on our own price, not a statement about anyone else’s. Suppose two intermediaries between the press and your shop each add 10% to a $15.90 deck. You would pay $17.49 and then $19.24. On the same $34.99 shelf price your margin before delivery drops from $19.09 (54.6%) to $15.75 (45.0%), and delivery is still to come.
The cost is not only the margin. Every layer is another place where a reorder waits, where an edition can be out of reach, and where nobody in the chain can tell you when your cards will be printed. Buying from the publisher that prints the deck removes those layers: one price ladder, one party answering for the quality, one email thread when you need more.
For a comparison of buying routes see the guide to tarot card distributors and wholesale suppliers, and for the shelf maths on a whole line the cost and shelf-margin guide.
Mixed designs, stock from 5, made to order from 12
A first order does not have to be twelve copies of one design. Editions we keep in stock can be ordered from 5 of an edition, and you can mix designs across the catalogue; an edition made to order for you starts at 12 decks. That lets a small shop try two or three designs without committing to a stack of one.
Made-to-order quantities run in multiples of twelve from 12 to 192 on the ladder above; a quantity in between is rounded up to the next dozen. Which designs are in stock and which are made to order is explained in ready stock or made to order.
Reordering without a new negotiation
Trade pricing applies at the ordinary checkout from the quantities above, with no application and no approval step, so a reorder is the same order placed again. You pay by prepayment before anything ships; there is no deferred payment, which keeps the price low and the terms identical for a bookshop with one shelf and a chain with fifty.
A made-to-order run needs 3–4 weeks, so plan the second order before the first one sells through: when roughly a third of the first lot is gone, order again. Delivery is quoted for your destination; for twelve decks it is $36.00 to the United States and $33.00 to Great Britain, and in the EU €1.50 a deck.
When your own name belongs on the box
Buying direct also opens a door a distributor cannot: your own artwork or your own brand on the box, at the same twelve-deck minimum and the same ladder. The custom run includes the electronic PDF guide and takes 3–4 weeks after artwork approval. The route is described on the custom tarot printing page and in the guide to private-label tarot cards.
Common questions
- Why buy tarot decks direct from the publisher?
Direct means one price and no intermediary: a complete boxed 78-card deck is $15.90 from 12 decks and $10.90 at 192, read live on 4 November 2026. Against a $34.99 shelf price that is a 46% margin at 12 decks even after $3.00 a deck of United States delivery, rising to 54.6% at 48.
- What is the minimum order?
Editions we keep in stock can be ordered from 5 of an edition, and designs can be mixed across the catalogue. An edition made to order starts at 12 decks. Made-to-order quantities run in multiples of twelve from 12 to 192, and an in-between quantity is rounded up to the next dozen.
- How long does an order take?
A made-to-order run takes 3 to 4 weeks, and a custom print run takes 3 to 4 weeks after you approve the artwork. Delivery is extra and quoted by destination: twelve decks are $36.00 to the United States, $33.00 to Great Britain, and 1.50 euros a deck in the EU.
- Is delivery included in the deck price?
No. The deck price covers the card deck with its printed box and the electronic PDF guide (a download, not a printed book). Delivery is a separate line, and payment is by prepayment, with no deferred terms.
- Can I reorder the same design later?
Yes. Trade pricing applies at the ordinary checkout, so a reorder is the same order placed again. A made-to-order edition needs 3 to 4 weeks, so order again before the first lot sells through.
- Where are the decks made?
In Ukraine, by the same maker that sells them, on 350 gsm laminated card.