Before You Buy a Personalized Tarot Deck: 9 Things Worth Checking

A personalized tarot deck — one with your pet, your partner or your own face on the cards — is one of those gifts people keep for years. It is also a purchase you usually make once, without having held the product first. So it is worth knowing what separates a deck you will treasure from one that ends up in a drawer.

Here are nine things to check before you buy, whichever shop you choose. We will be upfront about how ours works at the end.

1. Can you see a card before you pay?

This is the most important question. A personalized deck lives or dies on one thing: does it look like them? A shop that shows you a real card made from your own photo before you pay takes the guesswork out of it. Be wary of buying on the strength of sample images alone — samples are chosen because they turned out well.

2. Does it actually look like them — and what happens if it doesn't?

Likeness is where personalized decks differ most. Three things help:

• A good photo. Clear, well lit, face visible, eyes in focus. For pets, a photo at their eye level works better than one taken from above.
• More than one photo, if allowed. Extra photos help capture markings, a coat pattern or the shape of the ears from another angle.
• A way to fix things. Ask what happens if one card is slightly off — a wrong ear, a missing patch of white. Small fixes should be simple, and ideally free.

3. How many cards do you get?

A traditional tarot deck has 78 cards: the 22 Major Arcana (The Fool to The World) and 56 Minor Arcana in four suits. Some personalized products only make the Major Arcana, or a handful of cards. That can be lovely as a keepsake, but if the person reads tarot, a full 78-card deck is what they will expect to shuffle.

4. Can you read with it?

A beautiful deck that doesn't work for readings will frustrate anyone who reads regularly. Check that:

• the deck follows the familiar structure and suits (Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles — or a clearly explained variation);
• each card carries its name, so it is easy to recognize mid-spread;
• the meanings are available somewhere — a printed guidebook, a booklet or an online guide to card meanings.

Themed decks can be wonderful. Our pet deck, for example, keeps the classic Major Arcana but swaps the suits for pet-themed suits like Balls and Treats — just make sure the reader will enjoy the twist.

5. Digital, printed, or both?

These are really different products:

• Digital decks are high-resolution images of every card, ready quickly. They are great for phone wallpapers, sharing, reading on screen, or printing a single favorite card to frame. Some shops also offer a print-ready file so you can print the deck locally — our print guide walks through doing that at home or at a local print shop.
• Printed decks are the keepsake: something to hold, shuffle and give. Look at what the printed editions include, from a standard deck to an heirloom edition with a box and a guidebook.

If you can't decide, a digital deck first and a printed copy later is a sensible path — as long as the shop lets you order the print afterwards.

6. Print quality: the details that matter

When a deck is printed once, just for you, the physical details are what make it feel special. Worth checking:

• Card stock. Thicker stock (often described in gsm) shuffles better and lasts longer.
• Finish and edges. A smooth finish helps shuffling; gilded edges look beautiful on a keepsake edition.
• Packaging. A box or pouch protects the cards and makes the gift feel finished.
• Card size. Standard tarot size is easiest to shuffle and to find accessories for.

7. How long will it take?

Personalized printed decks are made to order, one at a time. That usually means weeks, not days. If you are buying for a birthday or the holidays, check the delivery estimate before you pay and leave a buffer. A digital deck, or a gift that arrives by email, can bridge the gap for the day itself.

8. What happens to your photo?

You are uploading a photo of someone you love. It is reasonable to ask how it is stored, what it is used for and how to have it deleted. Read the shop's privacy policy before you upload, and choose a shop that answers these questions plainly.

9. Can you give it without the photo?

If it is a gift, you might not have a good photo — or asking for one would spoil the surprise. Some shops let you pay for the deck and send the recipient a personal link, so they add their own favorite photo. It is often the best way to give a personalized deck, because the person chooses the photo that means most to them.

How ours works

Since you are reading this on our site, here is how a Tails deck answers the questions above:

• You upload one photo and see your first card free, in about a minute, before deciding anything.
• Every edition includes the full 78-card deck, with each card's name on it and the meanings available to read.
• You choose digital or printed. Digital is ready in minutes; printed editions range from a standard deck to a Collector's Edition with gilded edges, a keepsake box and a printed guidebook.
• Small fixes are free, because the whole point is that it looks like them.
• You can give it as a gift through a personal link, so the recipient adds their own photo.
• You can read with your own deck in the free tarot reading.

If that sounds right, you can see the first card free. If not, we hope this list helps you find the deck that is.

The short version

Choose a deck you can preview, that looks like the one you love, that has all 78 cards if the person reads tarot, and that is printed well enough to last. Everything else — the style, the edition, the box — is a matter of taste.