Is it worth to keep cards from modern, legacy, commander, t2... you're not using?
Economics forum
Posted on July 8, 2017, 8:45 p.m. by Teufell
So, here is my problem: I currently own cards I don't intend to use in any format. They range from fetch lands to sorceries. Some people tell me to sell them, but i don't feel sure about it. In 2016, I sold 3 Collected Company, which at the time I did not know they were being played in modern. Now I am afraid to make the same mistake. I don't want to regret selling some, or all, of these cards, but i sure don't like most of the decks they're been played in. One of them is Marsh Flats.
So, please, can someone help me make up my mind? I need your advice.
If there are cards you want then get rid of the cards you dont play and get them. I have been a long time trader and collector and I wanted some pricey cards so I sold a lot of cards I was not using and never looked back. Having cards sit around hoping they dont go up if you sell them is just a waste of time. Personally I would say something like marsh flats or most fetches wont go up any time soon at least not by more than like 5 dollars.
July 8, 2017 9:34 p.m.
Oloro_Magic says... #4
If you don't ever see yourself using the cards there is no point holding onto them. So you can either trade them or sell them and that kinda depends on the value you believe you can get. Realistically if you are not selling Marsh Flats independently you will likely get $20 for it by selling to a shop, with something like Marsh Flats however it is likely worth trading it as it's status as a staple means it is desired and people would be more inclined to give increased value for it because it is so essential. My first piece of advice when selling however if you go that route is to check the price history and look at the trends of the card price and then find out what decks it is played in and how often it is played. For example, a friend of mine sold all his Aether Vial's when Darksteel was released as he didn't like the card, they now can go for $40 a piece, so you really want to be checking if the card is trending up or down in price. It is impossible to predict if a card is going to skyrocket in value as we don't know what cards are in development, but as a general rule of thumb if the card is nearing $40 then the price is likely going to be pretty stable unless something drastic happens, even then you sold the card at a high price and you don't have to worry about not making a profit. Generally staples stay around the same price so they are not changing drastically anytime soon.
July 8, 2017 10:03 p.m.
emrakulinsmugglers says... #5
if they are bulk cards that you have no use for, you should just sell them.
If they have any value above a dollar, it's better to put it in a tradebinder and try to keep it in mint / near-mint condition, as you get more value from trading rather than selling. For example, a Zendikar Sorin Markov is currently around 17 dollars on Mtggoldfish, if it's in mint/near mint. You could easily trade that for another card of same value, however, if you sold it, stores would definitely take it for less, say, around 13~14 if you're lucky, and generally only 10 dollars.
July 8, 2017 10:24 p.m.
landofMordor says... #6
Here's kinda how I break down card-selling decisions in my own mind:
Your Giant Growths are too common to be sold or traded, so make a Pauper cube or give them to a nice home.
Your Delver of Secrets Flip sees a decent amount of play, even though it's cheap and won't be good for selling, so you might as well hang onto it in case your little sister decides to make a Delver deck.
Stuff like Jace, Unraveler of Secrets or Canopy Vista are only expensive right now because they are Standard-legal, so they're most likely to only go down in value. Either keep them if you'll play them, or sell/trade them now. The chances are low that some new set will totally break one of your bulk rares and suddenly spawn a new Modern archetype, so safe money is in the low-risk-low-reward option.
Your Serum Visions are Modern staples, so they won't depreciate unless they're banned (which WotC tries to avoid), but they're in the limbo range of frequent reprints and only moderate price, so this one depends on if you'll use the card in the future.
Marsh Flats, on the other hand, is so popular that it will retain value (like a previous poster said). You can sell them now or 5 years from now at about the same price, unless Wizards suddenly decides to stop reprinting them (which they won't, because it would raise the price of competition and shut off new players).
If you truly won't use ANY of the cards you're contemplating, sell them or trade them! If you'll never use Black Lotus and you're never going to sell it, then it's just a piece of painted cardboard. $6500 potential dollars is still $0 in the bank.
July 8, 2017 11:26 p.m.
Winterblast says... #7
I never just sell cards for money unless I really need the money or I see the price skyrocketing for some temporal reason (like being played in a certain format until the deck finds his master in a different strategy or until cards get banned). But that's because I like to have a huge card pool of top rares for commander. When I build a new deck I don't want to buy everything from nothing but at least have all duals, shocklands and fetchlands available, all mana rocks, the better planeswalkers, counterspells and so on.
I rather trade these cards for other expensive cards that I really need, especially when I have too many copies of one card. For example I've recently traded a taiga and a volcanic island with a severe bend against a judge promo of both elesh norn and gaddock teeg and a FTW Iona. That's reserved list cards against newer stuff which most likely won't get reprinted in the same version either, so it was fine. I would not just sell a Taiga for money at the moment even though I still have 6 left. I made that mistake 10 years ago and sold underground seas for 80 euro and was happy with the profit I made...and look at the price now! Never again!
July 9, 2017 4:23 a.m.
Thanks guys, I will probably sell the fetches for now and and soem of the others for money.
I also use to run into another problem while trying to do business with my cards:When trying to trade/sell them, players from my state always tend to bitch about the price and DEMAND a really lower price. Last month I tried selling/trading an invocation Cryptic Command for it's 69,99 dollars price, since it's near mint an well protected, and players decided that I'm not allowed to sell them for less than 5 dollars since I'm not a store owner. So, selling/trading stuff around here it's pretty rough. And some players just tell me not to sell them at all, to keep them for later or to keep it for them to buy, also, later.
yeaGO says... #2
This thread was moved to a more appropriate forum (auto-generated comment)
July 8, 2017 8:52 p.m.