EMA booster box. Wait to sell or open?
Economics forum
Posted on June 20, 2016, 4:37 a.m. by LikesGuys
Title says it all. I bought one and didn't quite see the demand the weeks following that I think everyone thought there would be with a limited run. I'm wondering if I should wait to see if the price changes in the future or just open it and potentially get some decent cards.
Punderstorm says... #3
Sorry to break it to you, but you bought the wrong set to try to make money on. If you're lucky, you'll break even.
June 20, 2016 4:57 a.m.
I opened two boxes and got a lot of good staples, but not much that was amazing.
I had fun playing sealed with them, though.
June 20, 2016 5:05 a.m.
Yeah I pre ordered kind of on the fence. I wasn't too incredibly impressed with the set list and figured worst case I open it and get a mythic I don't have. Sounds like I'll be opening though based on what I'm hearing.
June 20, 2016 5:12 a.m.
To be honest I did get some of the decent mythics.
Maze of Ith was also a nice surprise. As was Dack Fayden.
I mostly bought the boxes to boost my collection of staples for EDH.
In that regard it was great: Counterspell, Mother of Runes, Swords to Plowshares, Humble, Hydroblast, Pyroblast, Vindicate, etc.
June 20, 2016 5:19 a.m. Edited.
That is exactly what you should NOT do - EV right now is below the MSRP of the box, and 1 year from now, this box will be worth at least 50% more than what you paid for.
Heck, Force of Will is on track to surpass its pre-EMA prices. Everything is appreciating, but not as much as sealed product.
June 20, 2016 5:23 a.m. Edited.
PistonGolem says... #8
Well, the price started increasing, and it will keep on going. The run was extremely limited (hehe draft pun), so if you wait on it, the sealed product will be harder to find, therefore decreasing the supply with the same demand, increasing the price to your favor. I would wait on it. However, I find it hard to wait with a load of unopened packs next to me.
June 20, 2016 7:36 a.m.
aeonstoremyliver says... #9
Well, WoTC is out of boxes and distributors are jacking up prices of boxes. Therefore, the LGS charges more. I picked up a pack for $20.00, which is double the MSRP. I lucked out and pulled a Wasteland and Cabal Therapy, but I digress.
The value in the box probably won't come up to the absurd price they're going for currently. You could draft it with friends, or sit on it for at least a year. It's a Gamble either way.
June 20, 2016 9:18 a.m.
My box only had one mythic in (albeit a Jace- but conversely it could have been a Worldgorger or Sphinx), but a plethora of staples like Maze of Ith, Sylvan Library, Toxic Deluge and so on (although none of the staples, from uncommon to rare, I pulled were in multiples). At the time, I had made back 133 GBP from the 165 GBP I paid on the box, although that figure has surely plummeted.
Tempted to buy another box (pretty sure I'll be able to buy at same price), but it will be cheaper to buy the 230 gbps worth of singles that I still need (notably Vamp Tutor, Force of Will, Wasteland, Top and Crypt, along with other rares).
June 20, 2016 10:40 a.m.
Yeah part of me thinks that the original cost was so much higher than msrp I don't know if it'll go up much higher than it already was.
June 20, 2016 1:26 p.m.
aeonstoremyliver says... #13
@Argeaux Much thanks! I have a box waiting to be split betwixt friends. I'm excited about the Limited experience and obviously hope to pull some money. The box is evenly split four ways at $250.00.
This set has soooo many jank rares that it's ridiculous. It's highly unlikely that the four of us will break even.
June 21, 2016 12:56 a.m.
Yeah it's a weird set.
Almost has been set up perfectly for Limited, but not much good stuff for Constructed.
June 21, 2016 3:34 a.m.
But they are not making this set for constructed purposes, are they? How can you make any product with random cards in the booster definitively good for Constructed? Also, what kind of Constructed playability do you want from a product aimed at Legacy, Vintage, Pauper and Commander? With this premise they set up, it is impossible to satisfy everybody buying this product. Not to mention, it is necessary to be all of the above.
For example, if the rares and mythics were only 30+ dollar cards, do you think you would get even close to a 40$ draft? No, it would probably be more like 40$ per booster, which would be a commercial flop and foil the whole point of increasing availability.
Boza says... #2
If you wait for prices to increase, you will have to wait at least one year.
If your 4 mythics and 24 foils have low value, you will lose out a lot.
If your 4 mythics and 24 foils do have a lot of value, you will not win much.
June 20, 2016 4:52 a.m.