posted on August 12, 2001 04:24:35 PM
Hey guys & gals!
I just bought two boxes with over 20,000 Magic the Gathering cards in them. Some are new in sealed boxes and foil packs. Ther are starter sets, rares and who know what else.
I know NOTHING about these cards but I'm sure there has to be some good stuff in there somewhere.
Anyone know of ant that are worth major bucks? Or know where I can get a list of what they go for? A website? Anything? HELP!
posted on August 12, 2001 05:14:08 PM
Worthless, totally worthless...But to help you out my son will take them all off your hands for $20!
Seriously, there are many different "incarnations" of the Magic Cards, they do have a web site, but I didn't bookmark it. Check Google "Magic the Gathering"...Lots of info there!...Good Luck!
The Wizards of the Coast site may help you identify the cards you have. We've sold thousands of dollars worth over the past year or so (as we liquidated our personal collection). You can make $ doing it but we had significantly higher non-paying bidder problems that with most of the other items we sell.
You might try doing a completed search on eBay with M:tg or MTG in the title, sorting by bid price, to see what sells well these days.
posted on August 12, 2001 05:48:39 PM
This is not an easy question to answer. MTG has been around for more than 5 years. Tournaments are held all over the world for cash and prizes, and there are professional tournaments with cash prizes of 1 million dollars.
There have been over 25 "sets" of cards released starting with "Antiquities," with the latest set being "Apocalypse." Cards are grades on condition (mint, near mint, fine, fair, poor, etc) with the better condition cards fetching more money.
The same card can be released in more than one set, making it even more tricky to price them. For example, a mint card from Antiquities may have a higher value than a the same card sold from a later set.
The value of the cards can range from $.05 for common cards up to as much as $400.00 for the "Black Locust" card. This card was only produced in the first set (or two??) and is very rare. It was discontinued because the card was too powerful for the game.
Some people just collect the cards, and some people play the game. The value of the cards are also determined by what cards are allowed in tournaments.
My recommendation is to go www.wizards.com to start, and go to a local comic book store that sells cards. There are books published that list the cards with pictures and the "duelist" magazine lists the high and low values of the cards. I own most of the books put out by wizards of the coast, and they have colored pictures, and hints on how to tell with sets cards came in.
The first sets were "Alpha, Beta, and then Unlimited." Some cards from these sets that are worth big bucks: Black Lotus, Chaos Orb, Contract from Below, Demonic Attorney, and Mana Vault.
20,000 is a lot of cards to sort through. If you choose to sell them as single cards, you are talking about a lot of work. If you do this, I would recommend learning how to play, as it will aide you in listing the cards and figuring out the values. If you run a full time business, think about hiring someone to help you out. You could hire a kid with knowledge of the game, and pay them cash/ or cards for their time. I have seen kids as young as 10 play the game better than many adults.
Good luck
Kelly B
[ edited by kellyb1 on Aug 12, 2001 05:58 PM ]
posted on August 12, 2001 06:42:01 PMSome cards from these sets that are worth big bucks: Black Lotus, Chaos Orb, Contract from Below, Demonic Attorney, and Mana Vault.
So, what is my Proposal Card worth then??
edited to add:
You forgot:
Mox Sapphire, Pearl, Jet, Ruby, & Emerald; Mirror Universe, Ali From Cairo, Juzam Djinn, Time Walk, Timetwister, & Ancestral Recall
:\\\\\\\"Crystalline Sliver cannot be the target of spells or abilities.
[ edited by Crystalline_Sliver on Aug 12, 2001 06:55 PM ]
posted on August 13, 2001 08:51:40 AM
My roommate in high school and college had a bunch of these. He started playing during the transition period between Alpha and Beta, and had a massive collection of cards, including several Black Locusts and the other rare Alpha cards.
In the pre-eBay days, he sold some of the cards he had via misc.forsale newsgroups and made enough to pay for his college education. I think, like most other collectibles, their time is past and the prices he got then would not be nearly as available now. Also, many more people are trying to unload them and make a few bucks.
Your best chance may be to sell them as unopened packs once you can find out what series they are from. If it is an older series (Alpha, Beta, Unlimited) then you might want to open some and see what you find, but newer ones probably aren't worth the effort.
posted on August 13, 2001 11:00:51 AM
luvmy2bears,
I've been selling Magic cards for years on ebay (and more recently half.com) and sell off card lots like you have all the time. I can tell you that you'll be much better off separating the cards by rarity (they come in three categories: rare, uncommon, and common) then selling the rares individually with 'bonus' uncommons and commons included. As others have said, there are over 25 releases of Magic: The Gathering, and many 'old' cards have been duplicated in newer releases, bringing the price of the originals down.
Over the years, I've developed a database that lists each and every card, it's rarity, and release. I'll be happy to give you a copy of it if you want (email [email protected]).
I would suggest NOT opening any sealed packs or decks as they will fetch much higher prices that way.
As for the cards, here are a few off of the top of my head that are worthwhile: Dual Land cards from Revised Edition about 10.00 each (Badlands, Taiga, Scrubland, Tropical Island, Tundra, Underground Sea, Bayou, Plateau, Savannah, Volcanic Island). From other sets: Khabal Ghoul 27.00, Shahrazad 26.00, Chains of Mephistopheles 20.00, Acid Rain 16.50, Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale 15.55, Birds of Paradise 11.00, Two-Headed Giant of Foriys 13.00, Black Lotus @400.00 depending on condition, Juzam Djinn 100.00.
There are many more, and the easiest way to gauge the price is to search completed auctions at ebay. The category is 218 for Magic: The Gathering cards.
Oh, and btw, if you just want to sell the whole lot to me, please let me know
posted on August 14, 2001 04:27:14 PM vogeldanl "Just sold a lot of 900+ for over $30.00. None were sealed or new. Had over 350 page views.'' ~ Can you refer me to that auction? I would like to check it out to get an idea how to list large lots like yours. I promise I won't steal your description!
rowane ~ Thank you so much! I have emailed you for a copy of that list. I appreciate your help.[happy]
Thanks for the good tips everyone! Keep 'em commin'!
posted on August 14, 2001 07:27:09 PM
Ok, I finally figured out how to add a picture
Luvmy2bears, here's a few pics to show how to tell the releases apart that don't have icons on them (I'm sending you an email with the rest of the information):
This shows that infamous (and highly expensive) black lotus card. The card on the left is from the Beta Edition, and the card from the right is from Alpha Edition. If you look closely, you can see that Alpha edition cards have more rounded corners and bad graphics. Almost any alpha edition card is worth something(1.00?), no matter the shape it's in. Note that alpha and beta cards have black borders.
This shows the difference between revised and unlimited cards. The card on the left is from Unlimited Edition and the one on the right is from Revised Edition. These two releases are hard to tell apart unless you have them side by side; all I can say is to look closely at the graphics, the Unlimited Edition usually has deeper colors and substandard graphics. Note that Unlimited cards have white borders.
The card on the left is from Revised Edition and the 4th Edition is on the right. The easy way to tell 4th edition is to look at the bottom of the card. 4th edition contains copyright information while revised only shows the artist name.
Chronicles was a release that the manufacturer put out to help people that didn't get earlier cards (and drive the prices down on ebay). The chronicles cards all have white borders with the icon of their release in the middle right. The opposing card in this set is from the Legends expansion.
posted on August 15, 2001 01:40:08 AM
Hey!! Theirs a card I remember playing in a "General" deck...Chromium!!
Speaking of decks, haven't you guys bothered to tell our friend about grouping cards for Speacialzed Decks?? God, I was maybe the first idiot in my club to play a Blue/Green Counterspell Deck...and the damn thing worked against Burn, Weenie and Discard decks!!
Been a while since I played last (Kinda got bored remembering all the new abilites and such; went back to Dungeons & Dragons), so, I don't really know how the scence is right now.
:\\\\\\\"Crystalline Sliver cannot be the target of spells or abilities.
posted on August 16, 2001 09:50:25 PM
Oh #*!@, I forgot one factor...
I think it was every 2 or 3 months, the DCI (The judging body that oversees all legally sanctioned M:TG Games) puts out Banned, Restricted, and "Watch List" calls. These affect many areas of play (theirs like 5 or so different formats, from Classic or Type I play (all cards produced in magic sets are playable, with a few exceptions), to extended to Type II (Which are usually more set-restricted formats). Also, there are permanent "Banned and Restricted Lists," some that include the older Black Lotus and Moxes.
Watch the lists carefully, as many cards that went onto these lists found their values drop significantly. I should know...I was a former Level 3 DCI Judge...and I was around when Acadamy Decks caused a massive upheaval in the game.
If I remeber correctly, the DCI put out a list just last week...I think, because they made past announcements on August 1st...
:\\\\\\\"Crystalline Sliver cannot be the target of spells or abilities.
posted on August 27, 2001 01:34:54 AM
I too recently bought a collection of cards.
What I did was sort them by expansion set then for a generalised pricing range for cards I didn't know I went to starcitygames.com clicked on the online store then singles and went by expansion to see which had more value than the others.
But hey if you don't feel like doing that email me [email protected] and I'll buy the entire lot off ya *wink* and make it worth your while.
Since we're all gathered here........I've been hititng the PTQ circuit and doing tournaments anyone from the Atlanta area or within a 4 hour drive?? Maybe I'll meet some of ya's at a tournament.
http://www.lovepotions.net
