commander 2013 costs
Economics forum
Posted on Nov. 2, 2013, 2:31 a.m. by MrKnify
anybody else encounter these new commander decks costing 80$?
Really??? thats crap, they advertised them for 29.99 and we end up having to fork over crazy$. Yeah I'm angry with this.
November 2, 2013 3:08 a.m.
Smith_and_Tonic says... #4
the $29.99 is MSRP which is Market Suggested Retail Price. Stores can charge whatever they feel like for the actual products. Wizards said they would print more if the demand was high enough so eventually the price will drop. The best thing you can do is preorder the decks, which you can typically get for the MSRP unless there is crazy hype over the set.
November 2, 2013 3:17 a.m.
The Doctor says... #5
Or go to Walmart/Target/K-Mart, where they cannot legally sell it for more then the MSRP.
November 2, 2013 3:17 a.m.
It's how marketing works. Often an LGS shoots for a "competative" price. I paid MSRP only for what I preordered in full. Everything else is expensive.
November 2, 2013 3:25 a.m.
I went to kmart today and asked a sales assitant where the commander pre-con deck were, and he said the manufacturer stopped supplying mtg products to them.
:(
November 2, 2013 4:16 a.m.
MaliciousMac says... #8
The ones I've seen online are all correct price except the Grixis and Esper ones. I requested the bant one from my LGS since he already presold them all, but if he tries to charge me more than $30 plus tax, I'l' just get it elsewhere.
November 2, 2013 4:20 a.m.
my LGS was mentioning that the grixis one (red/black/blue) pre con is going for so much because of the True-Name Nemesis in it...and i assume the bant one is the Unexpectedly Absent causing the price hike...which is silly it is at the same point as Scavenging Ooze ...it makes it hard for people who want to get into commander and enjoy those colors...that's just my thoughts though I'm going to be content with getting the decks all together for 30 a piece.
November 2, 2013 4:31 a.m.
MaliciousMac says... #10
That's exactly what it is. I didn't know about Unexpectedly Absent though. But I agree, completely. Bant one is still normal price on TCGPlayer. Good, I didn't want one of the expensive ANYWAYS. [':
November 2, 2013 4:36 a.m.
NobodyPicksBulbasaur says... #11
My LGS was selling the Grixis one at $35 :)
I still only got the Esper one, though.
November 2, 2013 5:14 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #12
Technically, MSRP is Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, not market.
Game shops are businesses. They need to find a balance between making profits and keeping the customers happy. They also know that if demand is high for the product (which it is - everyone wants to get their hands on the Grixis deck), they can afford to market it at a higher price because it will still sell.
From the customer's standpoint, this can seem unfair. But you need to realize as a customer that the business has a right and a need to make money. They don't promise you MSRP - they promise you the product (and sometimes they don't even do that). If you don't like the price, let your wallet talk. Take your business elsewhere. My university LGS lost a TON of business over the past several years because it had, and continues to have, problems getting product in stock and problems marketing product properly to customers.
November 2, 2013 5:37 a.m.
I spent a good hour or so going to targets and walmarts with my buddy to find them. The last stop on our list finally had them and they had 2 of all except Grixis, which I got the last one of. My buddy was gonna get Esper, but his GF had picked up Jund for him so he just stuck with that XD
I then went to my LGS and they had Jund for $35, Naya, Bant, and Esper all for $40, and Grixis for $52.
Very glad I got mine for $29.98+tax.
November 2, 2013 5:39 a.m.
Love my LGS. Selling all 5 for MSRP. Another LGS in my area has a "special". $40 each. Buy 4 get fifth free.
November 2, 2013 9:43 a.m.
the3rdH0kage says... #15
My LGS sold them for MSRP. and I preordered the Grixis deck (and I don't plan on taking it apart to sell either), I also traded in some stuff and got the Esper edeck.
November 2, 2013 12:28 p.m.
It's still frustrating when you see 50/50/60/60/70 as the prices on things with an MSRP of 30 each. I mean, for the set of 5 that's from 150 to 290, an almost 100% markup on top of what was already a built in profit margin.
That said, for anything besides a proper printing of a set in a block, most of us have resigned ourselves to the fact that we will never find them at MSRP unless we have an in somewhere.
I paid 177 + tax for my set of 5, which is $35.40 each before tax which is "ok" especially when you compare it to the $58 average on Starcitygames.
My LGS is now selling them at 40/40/45/45/55 which is up to 225, but they are still selling the set of 5 at 177. That is a pricing setup I can get behind because all of the eager EDH players are going to be buying all 5 anyway, and there's only an additional markup if you want just the one with the expensive card in it.
November 2, 2013 12:50 p.m.
@Devonin I can get behind that too, but my local area refuses to sell like that, if you want all 5 its over 280$
November 2, 2013 2:32 p.m.
If they insisted on the markup for the whole set I was seriously going to just tell them "Sell them all to me for the proper price, and I'll just open the Grixis box right here and GIVE you the merfolk"
November 2, 2013 2:35 p.m.
My LGS was selling them for MSRP, but they do that with almost everything.
November 2, 2013 4:23 p.m.
eBay sells them for $30 ...
But without Baleful Strix and True-Name Nemesis .
November 2, 2013 6:15 p.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #22
My walmart has yet to put them on the shelves. I'm not spending $60 for any of the boxes, even if my LGS has them at a $200 for all five special. I want to save $50.
November 3, 2013 12:46 a.m.
True-Name Nemesis such a ban worthy card If I have ever seen one! way too overpowered. Yes there are ways around it, but seriously I enjoy 1 on 1 matches and this card is not for 1 on 1. I can see any match with it will quickly become 2 on 1 or more.
Baleful Strix I like this card, its not too overpowered and will fit in well in any commander deck.
November 3, 2013 1:18 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #24
@MrKnify: True-Name Nemesis is definitely not ban-worthy. It's a 3/1 with no ability besides protection from a player. It's only good in 60-card. It's bad in EDH. Also, Baleful Strix is an established Legacy staple, but it's terrible in EDH. It doesn't really do anything for a Commander player.
November 3, 2013 1:26 a.m.
Epochalyptik there are plenty of ways to abuse them, but first you need to get them out. I just cant see how one card can be worth 20$+. That being said I do hope they release more decks, but keep it on an attainable level.
Hey who knows maybe they will release booster for it.
November 3, 2013 1:33 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #26
@MrKnify: "Abuse" is a very subjective term here. Realistically, they're bad in EDH. They don't offer to the format anything broken or even powerful. They're $20+ because they're played (or will be played, in the case of True-Name Nemesis ) in Legacy, where their abilities can really shine. They've also only been released in special products.
November 3, 2013 2:13 a.m.
It really is a shame then, so many will lose out on any sealed deck gaming for commander . It does not matter who gets hurt as long as what they make sells.
November 3, 2013 2:27 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #28
@MrKnify: You're overdramatizing things a bit, eh?
Special products are how WOTC tests certain cards. Because Legacy, Vintage, and EDH are eternal formats, special releases can be used to introduce small numbers of new card designs into the card pool and watch what happens without affecting Standard or Modern. This is important because some designs may be deemed good enough for wider release (e.g. Scavenging Ooze ) while others may warrant further testing or non-curricular release (e.g. Baleful Strix ).
Besides, WOTC is in a lose-lose situation with your outlook. If the MSRP of a special release is less than the market value of its components, then people feel slighted. If MSRP is greater than the market value of its components, then people will rush to buy the product. It's better for WOTC not to concern itself directly with the secondary market - and that's exactly what it does. The secondary market is used as a metric to gauge demand, and WOTC considers that while designing products, but there's far more involved than simply playing price regulator.
November 3, 2013 3:05 a.m.
I find it hilarious how MaRo and Gottlieb (who designed TNN) constantly deny that they designed True name nemesis for legacy, claiming it is meant to be for EDH. Seriously? They even made it a merfolk, and they want us to think that's a coincidence.
November 3, 2013 3:20 a.m.
I just want a product that is not completely inflated due to poor supply.
November 3, 2013 11:59 a.m.
C13 will get another print run if wizards deems it necessary though.
November 3, 2013 12:13 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #32
@MrKnify: Who's judging inflation and supply?
And it's impossible to release any product and not have low supply in the beginning. Once more decks are available, and more people trade out their Baleful Strix es and True-Name Nemesis es, there will be higher supply.
November 3, 2013 2:49 p.m.
MaliciousMac says... #34
I don't really know anything about Legacy, but True-Name Nemesis has got to be the most broken cards I've ever seen for any 1 vs 1 match. It shouldn't have been printed at all, in my opinion... but I'm sure I'm not the only one saying that.
Anyway, got the Bant C13 deck earlier for $30 plus tax. Love my LGS, the pre-con is so cool :D
November 3, 2013 6:42 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #35
@MaliciousMac: True-Name Nemesis is far from the most broken card ever printed. It doesn't withstand board wipes, and it can be countered. Legacy testing will show us just how weak or powerful it is, but I think it's wrong to be so critical just yet.
November 3, 2013 6:46 p.m.
MaliciousMac says... #36
Ahh, right. I don't play Legacy at all, nor do I know many of the cards that are rampant in it. I'm sure there are a lot of broken cards in the format, haha.
November 3, 2013 6:55 p.m.
@MaliciousMac and remember, its ability does not save it from being sacrificed, or re-animated from a graveyard.
November 3, 2013 7:25 p.m.
Gorgosaurusrex says... #38
My LGS sells every MTG product at MSRP, and the Commander 2013 sets were no exception. I picked up a few Mind Sieze decks for $29.99 each on launch day. I got there when they opened, which is a good thing as Mind Sieze was sold out by noon (two hours later). They had something like 20 of each deck.
True-Name Nemesis will be seeing play in my Legacy Merfolk deck. I love this card, but am only running two in that deck.
November 8, 2013 2:13 p.m.
Gorgosaurusrex says... #39
As a side note, no Target or Wal-Mart stores are carrying these decks in my area, although they each stock most other MTG products (fat packs, precon standard decks, boosters, etc).
November 8, 2013 2:16 p.m.
My game shop asked me if I wanted to get into commander or just sell it on ebay, so I got my grixis deck on discount compared to what it was actual retail. but alot of people just came in to turn around and sell true-name and baleful and just take the rest of the deck. But if people want to ruin it then that's their problem
November 9, 2013 1:31 a.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #41
I was able to get all decks at $36 + tax here at walmart. First time I looked I was kinda sad as they didn't have Esper or Grixis so I bought the other three. Just looked tonight when I was heading out to buy a card and gift bag for some baby gifts for a girlfriend, and the Esper and Grixis decks were there! Now I'm a happy girl, having only spent a little over $200 dollars on all the decks, saving myself easily 2-3 times that amount.
November 9, 2013 3:07 a.m.
@Femme_Fatale Your story makes me wonder if I should have waited just a few more days! Midweek I looked for what I wanted and after seeing that C13 was sold out at all the places I shop (my LGS had about 3 decks left - and by 3 decks I mean 2 of one color and one of another). While I was looking at WalMart for about 5 minutes, two other people swang buy and scanned the shelves before leaving. I decided that unless I got more serious about it than I wanted to be, I would be letting go of the deck idea that I had.
So I bought the cards I wanted as singles on the secondary market. I guess it is for the better because I would have been a person dumping True-Name Nemesis , Baleful Strix and others. In the end I paid under $100 for one deck plus a couple dozen other individual cards to "freshen up" a few of my other decks. If they had had the grixis deck then I would have spent that much money just on the deck (assuming no mark-ups) I was building and then been depending on trading to get those extra cards that I bought for other decks instead. I think I saved time and money, basically.
I'd say the demand is there for sure!
November 9, 2013 9:27 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #43
I just picked up 11 of these decks. I'll be selling them if anyone wants one.
November 9, 2013 2:24 p.m.
The Target near me has them all nice and pretty for $30, mwa hahaha.
That being said, can someone tell me which one is worth the most?
I may have to stock up and resell . . .
November 11, 2013 11:24 p.m.
The Grixis deck is definitly worth the most with True-Name Nemesis and Baleful Strix . (its about at least $40 of value)
November 12, 2013 1:34 a.m.
Gorgosaurusrex says... #48
Kravian Mind Sieze is definitely worth the most.
November 12, 2013 12:56 p.m.
target and walmart both had at least 2 of all the decks, except mind seize :-(
November 12, 2013 1:02 p.m.
00xtremeninja says... #50
walmart and target stores around me sold out right away the first weekend, and this past weekend all of them had way more inventory than before. I grabbed what I needed/wanted and now all you see are the green, white, and red boxed ones. Mind Seize and Eternal Bargain have been flying like hotcakes
j35bomb says... #2
I got the blue/green/white commander set and it cost me $55 and then the green/red/black one cost $45 at my game store.
November 2, 2013 3:02 a.m.