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[siddx]

In advance, this is not directed as an attack at you, but at the misinformation I believe you're being given.

I run a successful retail shop and online component with 8 years of experience in the hobby games industry, and am good friends with many other local store owners.

I know many store owners do just fine selling packs at SRP ($3.99), with specials for those who buy in bulk or a box at a time. Historically, the majority of packs sales in a retail store are to those who buy 1-3 packs in a visit. This is where you should be making hand over fist, especially if you have a thriving singles inventory. A store in good standing with its distributors gets a discount on packs that can hardly be defined as next to nothing (the same goes for nearly any product you find in a full service game store). The only shops I've ever seen truly making only a few cents per pack are online vendors only who work with and move such mass volume that they can afford to do that. Usually though, the people ordering from those shops are those ordering in 1/2 box or higher quantities to outweigh the shipping costs.

I don't know on which method your local stores are using to make only making a razor thin margin on singles. I can think of at least 3 different ways to do it, and they're all the wrong way to manage this particular revenue stream. I personally have never been in a shop that pays higher than 60 or 65 percent of their sticker prices for any given single. Most store owners I know only give that price in store credit, and if you want cash you can expect half that (I do things differently, if you want info PM me). This is a great way to make money, but only if you're selling your cards at a price the savvy Magic singles customer wants to buy them at. And yes, that price is likely going to be the price that they can find from an internet retailer. But the point remains that there is plenty of money to be made for retail stores at margins that are not razor thin. One caveat though. This only works if a store is willing to put in the time it takes to best run singles inventory. The market fluctuates so wildly that you will indeed make very little, if not flat out lose money if you don't put that time in. I have at least 4 other points I can make I could make on this subject, but I doubt you guys want to hear them.

Tournaments - There's a couple of different schools of thought on how to run them effectively, and they all have merits and flaws. Attendance is irrelevant for the way I run mine. But the bottom line is whichever you use you'd better be making money. If the way you're doing things isn't making you money, find a better method or stop doing it. Business 101.

Tl,dr: You're either being lied to about how they're running their business in order to garner sympathy, or they're doing things poorly and should probably stop carrying Magic. I get the impression it's the latter.

3.95 a pack? jesus. There is a store caleld Bullmoose here that is basically a chain store that sells DVD's, Video Games, Music, Comics, Books, and Magic Cards. It's the walmart of geekdom basically. They sell their packs for $2.95. So if the card shops want to compete and not just have everyone buy their cards at bullmoose, they have to drop their prices to match. And apparently (again only what i've been told) there is little to be made off of a pack of cards going for $2.95.

Basically I feel like you are an exception, in that you are running your business like a businessman, while 3/4 of the comic/card shops I go into in this region run their business like nerds who got a bank loan to open a store where they could sit around and play games all day. You may not be an exception in your area, but here in bumfuck Maine, I can think of exactly one shop that is run in a smart way like you described. Everyone else, you walk in and it's just a group of young nerds sitting around playing magic forgetting to restock on cards and barely interested in getting off their unwashed asses to come tend to me.
But again it may be the region. A low population state full of northern hicks and white trash, the population isn't high enough to support a huge card industry that attracts lots of high quality business. What I tend to see are guys who are fed up with driving an hour to buy cards so they open a shop in their home town with no business sense and fail within a year or two because a town of 1000 people can't support a card shop run by someone who has no idea how to run a business.

Yeah, not a bad idea to buy some mental missteps in bulk. Good future value. What scared you from eBay, though, out of curiosity?

I have a "friend" who bought some cards from someone else on ebay and then changed his mind when they were on the way. The seller was nice enough to accept his cancellation and refunded his money, asking my friend to send the cards back when they arrived. Instead my friend lied and kept the cards telling him he had already returned them and they should be in the mail. He kept this up until the seller gave up and moved on. Other than giving him a little negative rep, there was no consequences for my friend for essentially stealing $150 worth of cards from someone. It's basically stories like this. I am a very suspicious person and basically assume everyone is trying to rip me off. Ebay, with that kind of mind frame, would be a nightmare for me.

 

[Boken]

I'm also heavily going infect but with B/G.

Here's my current deck:

Creatures
4 ichorclaw myrs
4 plague stingers
4 ichor rats
4 hands of praetors (beginning to think these are too mana costly)
4 llanowar elves
2 rot wolves
2 blight mambas
2 corpse cur
1 phrexian hydra
1 glissa, the traitor (can't really do dmg but it's a scary blocker)

Others
4 giant growth
3 go for the throat
3 unholy strength (think I can replace these)
2 vines of vastwood

Land
11 swamps
8 forest
1 inkmoth nexus

Was thinking of picking up some Skithiryx the Blight Dragon, Putre Fax, and Phyrexian Crusaders but was wondering if they are worth it before shelling out any dough for them. Possibly more inkmoth nexus.

Any help is much appreciated!

I don't know exactly, but it looks as if you're torn between being a mid-late game infect deck and an early game aggro infect deck. I understand that youre trying to have a complete game plan from early to late, but because infect only needs 10 counters, its generally best to focus on being really good at one aspect of the curve. Skithiryx is a GREAT infect card if youre aiming for a late game infect deck though. A great early game infect card is "Livewire lash". Combines with green/black pumps for an effective way to reach with infect damage. "Vampires bite" is also very good for aggro infect decks (pump with a kicker for unblockable). Mid-late game oriented infect decks tend to get more removal like skinrender, disfigure, grasp of darkness and proliferate mechanics.

 

[siddx]

I don't know exactly, but it looks as if you're torn between being a mid-late game infect deck and an early game aggro infect deck. I understand that youre trying to have a complete game plan from early to late, but because infect only needs 10 counters, its generally best to focus on being really good at one aspect of the curve. Skithiryx is a GREAT infect card if youre aiming for a late game infect deck though. A great early game infect card is "Livewire lash". Combines with green/black pumps for an effective way to reach with infect damage. "Vampires bite" is also very good for aggro infect decks (pump with a kicker for unblockable). Mid-late game oriented infect decks tend to get more removal like skinrender, disfigure, grasp of darkness and proliferate mechanics.

It sounds odd but I like to splash red with my infect decks to put in Assault Strobe (give creatures double strike, doubling the poison counters given) and some lightning bolts to clear the path for my creatures.

 

[Gatekeeper]

3.95 a pack? jesus. There is a store caleld Bullmoose here that is basically a chain store that sells DVD's, Video Games, Music, Comics, Books, and Magic Cards. It's the walmart of geekdom basically. They sell their packs for $2.95. So if the card shops want to compete and not just have everyone buy their cards at bullmoose, they have to drop their prices to match. And apparently (again only what i've been told) there is little to be made off of a pack of cards going for $2.95.

Basically I feel like you are an exception, in that you are running your business like a businessman, while 3/4 of the comic/card shops I go into in this region run their business like nerds who got a bank loan to open a store where they could sit around and play games all day. You may not be an exception in your area, but here in bumfuck Maine, I can think of exactly one shop that is run in a smart way like you described. Everyone else, you walk in and it's just a group of young nerds sitting around playing magic forgetting to restock on cards and barely interested in getting off their unwashed asses to come tend to me.
But again it may be the region. A low population state full of northern hicks and white trash, the population isn't high enough to support a huge card industry that attracts lots of high quality business. What I tend to see are guys who are fed up with driving an hour to buy cards so they open a shop in their home town with no business sense and fail within a year or two because a town of 1000 people can't support a card shop run by someone who has no idea how to run a business.

There are a lot of stores that sell packs at $3 per. It's a pretty aggressive price and not one I personally agree with in quantities less than a box at a time, but even at some of the higher rates from distributors, it's still nearly 90 cents a pack. If you run a tight ship, that's a perfectly acceptable margin. But if you're lowering prices just to match competition and your overhead can't support that, well... Couple questions - Is the store you generally frequent the "smart" store or one of the poorer run ones? Does Bullmoose run tournaments or maintain singles?

Region and population are definitely factors in whether a business can succeed. I did not mean to imply they weren't. And unfortunately, there definitely are a good number of stores whose owners run them as a clubhouse and fail quickly. The only people who lose out are people like you.

I guess at the end of the day yeah, sure, I am just running my business as a business man. But I absolutely love the game and the hobby in general. As a game designer, I spent a good portion of 3 years traveling to stores promoting our games and speaking to owners. I got a very clear idea of why and how a store succeeded or failed in a time period where stores were closing across the country at a rate of nearly 4-1. I'm just trying to apply and impart those lessons.

I have a "friend" who bought some cards from someone else on ebay and then changed his mind when they were on the way. The seller was nice enough to accept his cancellation and refunded his money, asking my friend to send the cards back when they arrived. Instead my friend lied and kept the cards telling him he had already returned them and they should be in the mail. He kept this up until the seller gave up and moved on. Other than giving him a little negative rep, there was no consequences for my friend for essentially stealing $150 worth of cards from someone. It's basically stories like this. I am a very suspicious person and basically assume everyone is trying to rip me off. Ebay, with that kind of mind frame, would be a nightmare for me.

Ebay is pretty awful and full of buyers and sellers looking to rip people off at any opportunity. But wow is that seller retarded, dick move by your "friend" or not.

 

[Takuan]

Was thinking of picking up some Skithiryx the Blight Dragon, Putre Fax, and Phyrexian Crusaders but was wondering if they are worth it before shelling out any dough for them. Possibly more inkmoth nexus.

Any help is much appreciated!

Chuck the unholy strengths for more removal. I'd also remove the elves in favour of more infectors. I know you probably added them for speed, but in playtesting I think you'll find that having the extra mana on hand will very rarely mean the difference between a win and loss. Adding Skittles and more Inkmoth Nexuses would definitely help, and you'll probably want to add some of green's combat tricks from NPH to your list. Overrun is nice, too, if a little slow.

 

[Takuan]

It really hinges on 2 things - Who their distributor is and what you mean by "considerably less than SRP". SRP in Canada = SRP in the States, $3.99. Another factor is how much competition they have in town for selling packs. Having all those prices include taxes is generous indeed, but the bottom line is I can guarantee you tournaments are where they are making their money. What is the prize payout on draft or Standard night? I personally feel (obviously) that a store that doesn't maintain singles stock is just denying themselves a revenue stream, but I definitely respect a store owner's decision not to do it if he can't put the time into it. If run right, he probably is making very good money on the singles he does carry. Normally those types of singles inventories are made up of draft leftovers and stuff that gets left in shop.

Their prize payout for pre-release/release is pretty good. I think for SOM & MBS, top 16 got packs, with pack distribution being 3-24 depending on which tier you finished in. Everyone who participated and stayed 'til the end got an additional random promo. For drafts, I think the pack distribution is 3/2/1 for the top 3 in an 8-player pool. Again, everyone who stays 'til the end gets a random promo, with first place getting the monthly promo in addition to a random.

@siddx, your friend's an ass! eBay doesn't do enough to protect their sellers, that's for sure. Buying isn't really a problem, though - all of the purchases I've made are from sellers with over 10000 unique transactions, so they aren't the type to cheat their customers. I'm really surprised that seller refunded your friend's money before he received the returned shipment, though - that's practically unheard of.

 

[y2dvd]

Chuck the unholy strengths for more removal. I'd also remove the elves in favour of more infectors. I know you probably added them for speed, but in playtesting I think you'll find that having the extra mana on hand will very rarely mean the difference between a win and loss. Adding Skittles and more Inkmoth Nexuses would definitely help, and you'll probably want to add some of green's combat tricks from NPH to your list. Overrun is nice, too, if a little slow.

Can you be more specific about which removals? Still pretty new to the game. And what are the green combat tricks from NPH? What does NPH even mean lol?

 

[The Technomancer]

Can you be more specific about which removals? Still pretty new to the game. And what are the green combat tricks from NPH? What does NPH even mean lol?

NPH = New Phyrexia, the set coming out in May.

 

[Takuan]

Can you be more specific about which removals? Still pretty new to the game. And what are the green combat tricks from NPH? What does NPH even mean lol?

Sorry about that. You could stand to add another Go for the Throat. Doom Blade is nice for anything that isn't black, and then you have cards like Disfigure and Grasp of Darkness to get rid of */2 and */4 creatures. Combat tricks are support spells that give advantages to your guys when they attack.

NPH is the shortform of the next set coming out May 13, New Phyrexia. They added a bunch of awesome stuff. Check out the official Wizards Visual Spoiler if you'd like to see the awesome that awaits:

http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/newphyrexia/spoiler

 

[Gatekeeper]

Their prize payout for pre-release/release is pretty good. I think for SOM & MBS, top 16 got packs, with pack distribution being 3-24 depending on which tier you finished in. Everyone who participated and stayed 'til the end got an additional random promo. For drafts, I think the pack distribution is 3/2/1 for the top 3 in an 8-player pool. Again, everyone who stays 'til the end gets a random promo, with first place getting the monthly promo in addition to a random.

Yep, definitely making good money on tournaments. And the promo thing is a great way to encourage customers to hang out longer.

 

[siddx]

My "friend" is most definitely an ass. I learned long ago to not deal with him when it comes to cards because he has no hesitation about ripping anybody off, including people he calls friends. Hence why I put the word friend in quotes. Probably the worst story I've heard about him is an incident where he manipulated a kid who was mentally retarded into trading him several hundred dollars worth of cards in exchange for a about 5 bucks worth of junk rares. After we told him that was scummy as fuck he tried to tell us the kid wasn't so much mentally retarded, just a little slow. I explained it didn't make it any better.

He also ripped me off on a card I had no clue the value of. I should have known better and checked the price first so thats on me, but what I found shitty and disrespectful was his attitude afterwards, bragging behind my back about ripping me off to our mutual friends. When I confronted him about it, he offered to give me extra money but I explained he was missing the point. I should have been on top of things regarding knowing the value so thats on me even if a good friend would never have tried to rip me off. But if he is going to call me a friend to my face, he should have more respect for me when my back is turned.

He's basically a trader. He looks at cards in terms of value alone. If a card isn't valuable to him, he doesn't care. I bought a playset of some cards recently and he acted like I was retarded for doing so. Trying to explain that I wanted to cards because I liked them, not because I could turn around and flip them for a profit, was like trying to explain snow to a man who lives on the sun. So in the end, he's going to do whatever it takes to make even a few cents, to the point he'll spend an hour trading cards with someone just to make 2 bucks in profit.


Anyways went a little off track there.

 

[Takuan]

Yep, definitely making good money on tournaments. And the promo thing is a great way to encourage customers to hang out longer.

It definitely does. I used to just drop once I lost two rounds, but now I stick around 'til the bitter end in hopes of getting a past FNM or pre-release promo. It's a great thing that no other store in my province does, as far as I'm aware.

@siddx: Wow, he sounds like an absolutely horrible person, and the picture of a shitty store owner. Karma will eventually catch up to him. On a related note, does he even enjoy playing the game, or is it more about the trading aspect and showing off his expensive binders?

 

[victreeb3l]

jesus christ the preators are so overpowered.

vorinclex will be a fucking pain to play against, though i really want that urabrask. mmmm.

 

[Ettie]

Hai MTG-Gaf.


What is an S card? I'm trying to type up a list of all my stuff, no idea what the S designation means.

 

[WanderingWind]

Hai MTG-Gaf.


What is an S card? I'm trying to type up a list of all my stuff, no idea what the S designation means.

Where is the S?

 

[hoverX]

Is there a standard (type 2) green card that has replaced blanchwood armor? (same type of effect but current)

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Is there a standard (type 2) green card that has replaced blanchwood armor? (same type of effect but current)

Not really, armored ascension came back though so I guess they're doing them in patches? Strata scythe is probably the closest.

 

[hoverX]

Sweet! Thanks!

 

[Ettie]

Where is the S?

There isn't one that I can see, just noticing the S designation on a shop site.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

There isn't one that I can see, just noticing the S designation on a shop site.

Link?

 

[Ettie]

Link?

http://www.abugames.com/card136871-...-S-Cards-Magic-The-Gathering-Single-Card.html

 

[The Technomancer]

http://www.abugames.com/card136871-...-S-Cards-Magic-The-Gathering-Single-Card.html

I think in that context (along with the sidebars) it means singles.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

I think in that context (along with the sidebars) it means singles.

Actually, I believe it means starter. It was probably in those like 30 card ready to play starter decks you can buy from the older core sets. The rare for blue was always vizzerdrix. Those sets. I think red was that big red goblin that was also a 6/6. I forget the name though...

 

[Gatekeeper]

I'm relatively positive ZK is correct on this one

 

[Akim]

Anyone have legacy stuff they want to trade me for standard?

 

[WanderingWind]

Anyone have legacy stuff they want to trade me for standard?

Like what for what ?

 

[y2dvd]

Sorry about that. You could stand to add another Go for the Throat. Doom Blade is nice for anything that isn't black, and then you have cards like Disfigure and Grasp of Darkness to get rid of */2 and */4 creatures. Combat tricks are support spells that give advantages to your guys when they attack.

NPH is the shortform of the next set coming out May 13, New Phyrexia. They added a bunch of awesome stuff. Check out the official Wizards Visual Spoiler if you'd like to see the awesome that awaits:

http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/newphyrexia/spoiler

Thx for the advice. Checked out the spoilers. Sounds like Glistener Elf will be added in my deck. 1/1 infect and only 1 mana cost. Melira would be absolutely killer against any infect deck, totally disabling infect. Will definitely have to save a Go for the Throat or Doom Blade if I add that in. The green NPH makes me want to make an Elf infect deck.

Spinebiter
Creature - Beast
Infect
You may have Spinebiter assign its combat damage as though it weren't blocked.

^^Is that another way of saying it's unblockable?

 

[Keru_Shiri]

Went 3-3 at the Nationals Qualifier in Springfield. Kinda bummed, cause the Mono-Red control deck I was testing was doing real well, even so far as to capture the FNM the night before. Built the sideboard to combat RUG and U/W Cawbalde, this is what I fought.

1. Kred
2. Valakut
3. Valakut
4. Boros
5. Boros
6. Mono-green infect

*sigh* back to the drawing board...

 

[Leunam]

I really want to work towards this kind of deck. I have a myr based deck that I use to make Etched Champions into powerhouses but this list looks like fun, too.

 

[WanderingWind]

I really want to work towards this kind of deck. I have a myr based deck that I use to make Etched Champions into powerhouses but this list looks like fun, too.

Wow. I had no idea something like that existed. Now to search for an awesome idea for green/black.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Thx for the advice. Checked out the spoilers. Sounds like Glistener Elf will be added in my deck. 1/1 infect and only 1 mana cost. Melira would be absolutely killer against any infect deck, totally disabling infect. Will definitely have to save a Go for the Throat or Doom Blade if I add that in. The green NPH makes me want to make an Elf infect deck.

Spinebiter
Creature - Beast
Infect
You may have Spinebiter assign its combat damage as though it weren't blocked.

^^Is that another way of saying it's unblockable?

Not completely. It still lets the opponent block but apparently lets you move damage so it can still receive damage and cards that say things like destroy target blocked creature. It's good to be able to move it's damage but it still receives damage/can be targeted for destroying a blocked creature and the such.

Wow. I had no idea something like that existed. Now to search for an awesome idea for green/black.

Ya, there are a couple different quest decks IIRC for the different quests.

 

[devenger]

Ok, please let me know if I'm derailing your Magic thread, hoping for a quick answer and then I'll leave.

I have a lot of Magic cards, well, a lot to me, about a large shoebox full.

I started in college, which was years ago. Point is, I started sometime before the first expansion pack. I've had lecherous comic shop employees offer to "take a look" at the box, but I don't have anyone I really trust.

In short, I want to sell. But first, I have to catalogue, which will take some time and effort. Without knowing what I have, is there a market for these cards in general?

Obviously if there was something super rare in the box, the answer is yes. If I catalogue and compare on E-Bay I'll have my answer. But what if it's just some run of the mill stuff from Magic's first run? Worth it?

 

[V_Arnold]

I really want to work towards this kind of deck. I have a myr based deck that I use to make Etched Champions into powerhouses but this list looks like fun, too.

I had this (except for a few cards like Squadron Hawk, but the basic was this, down to Argentum armor + quest + BattleCry+0 cost creatures), but it is not THAT much fun.

 

[WanderingWind]

Ok, please let me know if I'm derailing you Magic thread, hoping for a quick answer and then I'll leave.

I have a lot of Magic cards, well, a lot to me, about a large shoebox full.

I started in college, which was years ago. Point is, I started sometime before the first expansion pack. I've had lecherous comic shop employees offer to "take a look" at the box, but I don't have anyone I really trust.

In short, I want to sell. But first, I have to catalogue, which will take some time and effort. Without knowing what I have, is there a market for these cards in general?

Obviously if there was something super rare in the box, the answer is yes. If I catalogue and compare on E-Bay I'll have my answer. But what if it's just some run of the mill stuff from Magic's first run? Worth it?

Depending on what you have, you could be sitting on a goldmine or a trash heap.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Ok, please let me know if I'm derailing you Magic thread, hoping for a quick answer and then I'll leave.

I have a lot of Magic cards, well, a lot to me, about a large shoebox full.

I started in college, which was years ago. Point is, I started sometime before the first expansion pack. I've had lecherous comic shop employees offer to "take a look" at the box, but I don't have anyone I really trust.

In short, I want to sell. But first, I have to catalogue, which will take some time and effort. Without knowing what I have, is there a market for these cards in general?

Obviously if there was something super rare in the box, the answer is yes. If I catalogue and compare on E-Bay I'll have my answer. But what if it's just some run of the mill stuff from Magic's first run? Worth it?

Completely depends on set/cards you own. Some are jank rares, others have increased in price with being used in legacy.

Wait, when you say before first expansion? Are you talking alpha/beta cards?

 

[devenger]

Wait, when you say before first expansion? Are you talking alpha/beta cards?

Hmm, I don't know what that means. But the answer has to be yes, since I started buying them in '93, and I believe the first expansion pack was ... Antiquities? Maybe?

Wikipedia tells me it was Arabian Nights. The last few cards I bought were Ice Age before quitting.

 

[WanderingWind]

Hmm, I don't know what that means. But the answer has to be yes, since I started buying them in '93, and I believe the first expansion pack was ... Antiquities? Maybe?

Wikipedia tells me it was Arabian Nights. The last few cards I bought were Ice Age before quitting.

Again, they could be worth a lot, or worth nothing. If you want, you can post some in this thread. Nobody here that posts often is a crook. We can let you know about most of them.

EDIT: Too bad you don't live in SoCal. I know a great local shop, too.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Hmm, I don't know what that means. But the answer has to be yes, since I started buying them in '93, and I believe the first expansion pack was ... Antiquities? Maybe?

Wikipedia tells me it was Arabian Nights. The last few cards I bought were Ice Age before quitting.

The first 3 released were alpha, beta, and unlimited, followed by revised. If that's what you have even commons are worth a couple bucks usually.

 

[devenger]

Again, they could be worth a lot, or worth nothing. If you want, you can post some in this thread. Nobody here that posts often is a crook. We can let you know about most of them.

Well, like I said, I'll have to actually open the box and look. I played a lot of green and black, green and white. I remember I've got a lot of vampires and seraph angels.

I'll try to find a list online reel quick and post some from memory.

I figured anyone here that posted regularly wouldn't be willing to trade in their good name for a couple of my old magic cards.

edit: ok, they could easily not be ALL alpha or beta, as I bought plenty of packs when these revised 3rd and 4th editions were released (according to Wiki)

 

[WanderingWind]

Well, like I said, I'll have to actually open the box and look. I played a lot of green and black, green and white. I remember I've got a lot of vampires and seraph angels.

I'll try to find a list online reel quick and post some from memory.

I figured anyone here that posted regularly wouldn't be willing to trade in their good name for a couple of my old magic cards.

Pretty much. You really ought to open the box, though. Some cards, depending on what set they came from, might have the same name but would be more or less valuable than similar cards from a different set.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Pretty much. You really ought to open the box, though. Some cards, depending on what set they came from, might have the same name but would be more or less valuable than similar cards from a different set.

Yup, some older editions of just common are worth a couple bucks on it being so old.

 

[WanderingWind]

So, I sent a box of cards to a GAFer and they returned unopened. He stopped answering PMs, too. Sucks for him, because this was before I knew about fetch lands. Card shop, ahoy!

 

[Takuan]

Well, like I said, I'll have to actually open the box and look. I played a lot of green and black, green and white. I remember I've got a lot of vampires and seraph angels.

I'll try to find a list online reel quick and post some from memory.

I figured anyone here that posted regularly wouldn't be willing to trade in their good name for a couple of my old magic cards.

edit: ok, they could easily not be ALL alpha or beta, as I bought plenty of packs when these revised 3rd and 4th editions were released (according to Wiki)

Dual lands in good condition = big money (anywhere from $50-$100, depending on the land and the condition)
Anything Mox = bigger money
Black Lotus = huge money

Arabian Nights cards that are very expensive: Juzam Djinn ($150+), Library of Alexandria ($150+).

I imagine you have at least 1 or 2 gems in that shoebox. You were right to come here first, you would've been taken for a ride if you had sold your collection blindly to a shop owner/trader. Definitely take the time to catalogue everything.

Thx for the advice. Checked out the spoilers. Sounds like Glistener Elf will be added in my deck. 1/1 infect and only 1 mana cost. Melira would be absolutely killer against any infect deck, totally disabling infect. Will definitely have to save a Go for the Throat or Doom Blade if I add that in. The green NPH makes me want to make an Elf infect deck.

Spinebiter
Creature - Beast
Infect
You may have Spinebiter assign its combat damage as though it weren't blocked.

^^Is that another way of saying it's unblockable?

Note that Melira is also killer IN an infect deck. She completely removes the downside of Phyrexian Vatmother (1 poison counter to you every upkeep), and makes Phyrexian Hydra a constant 7/7 infect for 5 mana (since it won't be able to get the -1/-1 counters from damage). Competitively, it's difficult to get her out reliably, but she's great for kitchen table shenanigans.

Re: Spinebiter, yup. I mean, he'll be blocked and will die, but your opponent's eating counters regardless.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

So, I sent a box of cards to a GAFer and they returned unopened. He stopped answering PMs, too. Sucks for him, because this was before I knew about fetch lands. Card shop, ahoy!

I promise I won't reject them!

 

[devenger]

Lord of the Pit Nightmare Sengir Vampire
Wall of Bone Zombie Master Serra Angel
Swords to Plowshares Veteran Bodyguard Wrath of God
Cyclopean Tomb Sol Ring Throne of Bone

Just some black, white, and artifacts I remember not being super common, but I could be wrong. It has been a long time.

Obviously it depends on what edition each one is, so I'll just have to break down and catalogue. (I'm in the middle of doing the same to my comics)

Last question: any good resources or specific things to look for? I don't want to go through the whole mess once, then have to go back through and look for some corner emblem denoting edition.

Thanks guys, guess I'll give ya'll first pick.

edit: no Black Lotus, but I have quite a few dual lands. And I know those are the first version of those cards, because I remember when they were new.

 

[WanderingWind]

Lord of the Pit Nightmare Sengir Vampire
Wall of Bone Zombie Master Serra Angel
Swords to Plowshares Veteran Bodyguard Wrath of God
Cyclopean Tomb Sol Ring Throne of Bone

Just some black, white, and artifacts I remember not being super common, but I could be wrong. It has been a long time.

Obviously it depends on what edition each one is, so I'll just have to break down and catalogue. (I'm in the middle of doing the same to my comics)

Last question: any good resources or specific things to look for? I don't want to go through the whole mess once, then have to go back through and look for some corner emblem denoting edition.

Thanks guys, guess I'll give ya'll first pick.

Sol Ring is about 20 bucks. Swords to Plowshares is about 10.

Look, if you really don't want to deal with it all, you could just sell me the box!

I promise I won't reject them!

Definitely a weird experience. I paid shipping, gave the dude a whole box of cards, and they came back, no contact. I feel kind of ripped off, TBH. But! I'll recoup that by selling the lands.

 

[devenger]

Look, if you really don't want to deal with it all, you could just sell me the box!

Hey thanks! I came to the big city and found a friend my first day!

Seriously, I really just want to get rid of them while there's still a market. Until last year, I didn't even know people were still playing.

So once I have a good idea of what's in there, I may very well just sell the whole box with a few confirmed gems, and let the rest be grab bag. I'm certainly not going to track down and research every last card.

 

[Takuan]

edit: no Black Lotus, but I have quite a few dual lands. And I know those are the first version of those cards, because I remember when they were new.

Cyclopean Tomb and Sol Ring are the money cards in that list. Swords and Wrath are worth a few bucks. If they are Alpha, Beta or Unlimited, they are generally worth more.

If you're sitting on a bunch of dual lands from Alpha, that's a LOT of money. A LOT. If they're in good condition, you're approaching $1000 per. Beta is less, but still about $500 per.

I'll recoup that by selling the lands.

I'd be interesting in the fetchlands and would probably give you a much better deal than the card shop. Just let me know which you have. I don't even have 1 of those and wouldn't mind acquiring some, especially if they're colours I like.

 

[devenger]

Hmm, those are just the ones I remember.

Seriously, I remember opening up my first pack with a dual land and going "Wha!?!?" I have... at least ten. Memory foggy.

Guess it pays to be old. It damn well better.

 

[WanderingWind]

Hey thanks! I came to the big city and found a friend my first day!

Seriously, I really just want to get rid of them while there's still a market. Until last year, I didn't even know people were still playing.

So once I have a good idea of what's in there, I may very well just sell the whole box with a few confirmed gems, and let the rest be grab bag. I'm certainly not going to track down and research every last card.

Heh. The game (according to local shopkeeps) is in a bit of an upswing right now after sort of stagnating for a few years. It seems to be a sellers market, in other words.

Honestly (and I say this for 50 percent honest truth and 50 percent desire for some awesome old cards) the GAF Magic regulars have all been good in dealing with me, as I am a fairly new to returning to the game. You'd probably make more money selling them here than at a store that may only give you 50/75 percent of their value. They need the profit. Most of us are either players or collectors or both.