trading

[cbearsbro]

Having never traded before, wasn't sure where to put this. This isn't a trade list, so I didn't think it would go directly to the trading post. Moderators, feel free to move it wherever it should go

General question: Are there any rules of thumb for what's considered a "fair" trade? For example, is a foil version is worth what, two normal versions of a card? Or is it more of whatever you, personally, value the cards worth vs. what other people are willing to trade you for it? Don't want to rip anyone off or be totally ripped off Going through my "collection" I figured out which ones I could "weed-out" (i.e. am I ever going to use 40 of this card ) and was considering posting a trade list. Thought I'd get the CPA's opinions, suggestions first. Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[Istanbul]

That depends very much on what card it is.
A foil common is usually worth many times its non-foil version, due to the fact that most commons are worth nothing.
A foil uncommon is usually worth 3-6 times the non-foil version.
A foil rare...varies VERY widely.

 

[Mikeymike]

Istanbul is dead on, foils do vary wildly card by card.

Examples:
Foil Counterspell - Good luck getting one under $10, expect to pay around $16-20
Foil Rancor - Watched one trade for $10 at a tourney, and then be traded again for $15 2 minutes later.
Foil Necravolver - A decent card, foil ones are lucky to hit $8.
Foil Legends - Usually pull anywhere from 3-5 times the value of the original. Don't fully understand why but that seems to be the rule of thumb.
Foil Temporal Spring - I've got one and no one will give me more than $3 for it even though its a badass common.
Special DCI promo foils - go check ebay for the most up to date prices.
Bad uncommon foils - $1, the same as commons.
Bad rare foils - $3-7

The cool thing, the majority of the traders here will give you a very square deal.

 

[Hetemti]

Rule No. 1: Nothing is worth more than what someone will give for it. In a world of Type 2, a Mox or Lotus has NO VALUE.

Rule No. 2: Everything is wanted by someone. Even a lowly Tahngarth's Glare is wanted by someone...perhaps a new player that has 59 cards in his mono-red deck, and doesn't have a spare mountain.

Rule No. 3: Trade A for C. A mox might be valueless to a T2 player, but selling a Mox at $80 to a collector or T1 player, and buying the Type Two Starter Kit (8 assorted Undermines, Absorbs, and Rages) might be effective.

Rule No. 4: Magic cards are worthless. True story: One guy's buying Phyx Arenas for $2 each. The guy he's buying from sells them for $8 normally. He paid 25¢ each to get them. Therefore, were I to buy at his store, I'd pay 3100% over wholesale.

Rule No. 5: You have to find a trader who wants foils, if you don't, don't expect to claim much of a premium for them.

 

[cbearsbro]

Thanks for all the info so far. I don't "only" have foils. But they seem to stand out so I mentioned them Aside from a few, I'd prefer the regular counterparts, personally.

Course, now the question is to find out what I actually WANT in return. Heeeerrree dragon, dragon, dragon Yeah, right. Have to come up with some pretty good cards for a dragon, huh? Then again, people seem to want some things I have lots of, so it's possible. I'll check out the trading posts and see what's what

 

[Chaos Turtle]

If you're just not sure whether you're getting a good deal or not, you can do what others have done and just post here and ask for others' opinions.

Lots of members are very experienced traders, and can let you know if you're about to get the short end of the stick.

 

[artifact]

What you should also know is that you have the right to refuse any offer that is made to you and also counter offer.

Of course I would believe the most important rule for trading is to keep an eye for any trader that has thier name in the sticky traders column. It isn't perfect but it will help. If you aren't for sure then ask the others in the trading column. There is a lot of long time traders on the boards and are more then happy to let you know if they have traded with someone or not and how it went.

 

[Hetemti]

If you want dragons, find someone who keeps only current T2 stuff...they'll usually have TwoHeaders and Lightnings that they're sick of looking at and will cut you a deal on.