Our site just launched!
Economics forum
Posted on Aug. 21, 2014, 6:03 p.m. by sixsamuraisoldier
Sorry if this is the wrong forum but our store has just launched! Check us out for great rates as well as an awesome buylist!mtgquickshop.weebly.com
Buylist (better prices than competitors): mtgquickshop.weebly.com/buylist
sixsamuraisoldier says... #4
We're in the process of acquiring a domain, however, since weebly does not support PHP, it poses a major problem.
We have better offers than channel fireball and hope to expand our buylist in the future.
August 21, 2014 9:03 p.m.
slovakattack says... #5
ThatBlueMage: I think you're being a tad hard on someone who is clearly just starting out.
However, there are a few things that deeply concern me. The fact that you have a 'buy list' at all is weird as heck. If I want to unload my foil Jace, the Mind Sculptor , will you not take it? How about my slightly played Ancestral Recall that I found in the back of my closet?
If I have to go through your "tech support" just to unload a card at, to be perfectly frank, noncompetitive prices, I'll just do so at a bigger online retailer. It'd be better for you to put a general tagline like "We buy singles!" or something (and considering orders on a case-by-case basis), because what you are saying now with your buy list is that:
A. You do not trust yourself to move the card (and if you can't move a Jace TMS there's something fishy going on :P)
B. You are kind of going for a specific set, which feels pretty unprofessional.
Both of those things will keep people away.
The other big thing that I'd like to add is putting "hard to find" after your RtR box is kind of patronizing your potential consumer base. People who are going to go out of their way to look at your website will probably know that RtR rotates out soon, and is out of print. Screaming it at them will elicit more eyerolls than agreeable nods, if you catch my drift.
Remember, you need to provide either comparable service or superior pricing in order to contend with TCGplayer and other, bigger online retailers such as Star City Games. I wish ya luck!
August 21, 2014 9:16 p.m.
Named_Tawyny says... #6
At the risk of asking a silly questions, what's Medomai the Ageless doing in a Mono-Green tournament deck?
August 21, 2014 9:20 p.m.
Servo_Token says... #8
It's an ok Genesis Hydra target, I guess.
Considering that I'm 5 months into the process of making my own shop with a small group of dedicated players and traders, I just feel that this (to be frank) poor attempt at a business is both an insult to all the work that I / we have done, and a bit of an embarrassment to anyone else in the same boat. Anyone worth half their salt can throw this website together in an afternoon. I've spent at least 3 months putting in hours of work setting up just our purchasing system for our site; not even having gotten to the point where I can put in an inventory yet. Regardless of the quality of the website itself, just the general lack of professionalism is enough to make me cringe. And then to advertise yourself as a legitimate business when you actually just have no idea what you're doing...
Anyway, I just very much disagree with the fact that this guy thinks that all it takes to open up a business is a couple of hours of free time and a Channel Fireball buylist to mark up. It's obvious that he hasn't got a clue, and I don't want to give the false impression that it's okay for someone to just hop on what they think is a gravy train to cash-in-hand city when other people around them are putting in legitimate hard work.
August 21, 2014 9:34 p.m.
MSU_Iced_Z says... #9
Sorry, charging $650 for a deck that's just under $400 on tcgplayer ($398.41) doesn't seem like it's gonna attract much business. And your $40 "budget" deck comes in at $12.79.
August 21, 2014 9:37 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #10
Well, clearly I didn't explore the site carefully enough.
August 21, 2014 9:47 p.m.
slovakattack says... #11
ThatBlueMage: I hear ya, man. If you'd like, mind giving me a link to your site when you get done with it? =)
The more I look a the site that this guy posted, the more it weirds me out, to be honest. And I didn't even check the actual prices on those tournament decks...
August 21, 2014 10 p.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #12
@slovakattack Thank you for your suggestions, at this moment, we are working on expanding our buylist, we also invite you to compare our buylist offers to channelfireball's as we show on our buylist page.
August 21, 2014 10:08 p.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #13
As our inventory increases, our prices will get lower, but I am very intrigued where you find brand new, mint condition cards that low, mind posting a link?
August 21, 2014 10:10 p.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #14
@ThatBlueMage No problem! If you don't like our site, you are welcome not to use it or to just enjoy the blog! Also, good work on your site! Link? I would love to check it out! :) cheers.
August 21, 2014 10:11 p.m.
MSU_Iced_Z says... #15
They're NM graded on tcgplayer.com (the highest grade on the site). For the record, the cards on your site aren't marked with any grade. And even if they were, since you're totally independent I have to say my level of skepticism that what I get will be 60-300% more valuable is gonna be high.
August 21, 2014 10:17 p.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #16
That is your choice, as I said before, you're welcome to not buy decks, and instead to check out our supplies or just enjoy your blog. :)
August 21, 2014 10:28 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #17
So I did some checking for your $350 mono green list.
Just checking prices if you look he's about $10 less than TCG high price. But a whopping 100$ MORE than TCG mid, which is the benchmark for NM cards on that site. Everyone either goes by SCG pricing or by TCG mid.
Shit, I've been trying to sell my Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto modern affinity deck for $500 and I've had no bites. That includes the sideboard and everything I have for a legacy conversion kit. If I can't get bites for that kind of value what makes you think you're going to get any business from educated and informed people with the internet at their fingertips.
August 21, 2014 10:32 p.m.
Servo_Token says... #18
Well, since you've mentioned the Blog, I'll also point out that all of your spec info is totally off. Half of your specs are just plain incorrect (such as Abrupt Decay being 'inflated by it's presence in standard'? Are you dumb or just ignorant?), and the other half have zero justification for why they are or are not a good pickup. You should probably do some research before posting another one of those.
As for my site, it is only ~25% completed. We aren't going to publish it until it is 100% done, and we have our brick-n-mortar shop ready.
August 21, 2014 10:36 p.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #19
Good luck with your deck sale! Note that card price is not the only thing we take into consideration, each decklist has been playtested extensively by us to ensure that they perform the best.
August 21, 2014 10:37 p.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #20
Abrupt Decay will probably drop by a dollar, THEN, it will be a great buy! Good luck with your site!
August 21, 2014 11:52 p.m.
@sixsamuraisoldier: Are you insane? $350 for Mono-Green? $650 for Jund? There's no way anyone would pay for the extra time you spent "playtesting" when I can look on MtGTop8 at a Jund deck that, you know, actually won a professional event, then order the cards on TCG Player.
On top of that, the decks you have don't offer much value. As in, I'd have to add a Courser of Kruphix , two Scavenging Ooze , and multiple rare removal cards.
Anything over $300 and I'm looking at a decent Modern deck. $500+ and that deck can have fetch lands. But $650 for a Standard deck missing pieces and hasn't proved anymore reliable than something I can Google from the last major Pro Tour? You really should reconsider your prices.
August 22, 2014 1:23 a.m.
Anybody who honestly thinks you should be dumping Abrupt Decay is an idiot. Please sell me your copies. I'll gladly take them off your hands.
August 22, 2014 1:40 a.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #23
@sylvannos It is always your choice whether or not you want to buy it, in my experience I find that adding Coursers of Kruphix increases dead draws a bit too much for my liking.
August 22, 2014 1:43 a.m.
slovakattack says... #24
sixsamuraisoldier: Look, man. I'm gonna give it to you straight:
Why are you here?
If you're here to sell the community things and to drum up business for your site, I respect that- but you aren't going to find anyone foolish enough to take your offer here, for the reasons stated before me.
If you're here to get advice and feedback on your site, I would suggest internalizing the critique we've been giving giving you. "If you don't like it, don't shop here" is a really bad attitude to take (although it's an understandably defensive one in reaction to the aggressive critique of some). In the end, it'll only hurt you.
I'm not going to lie to you, I haven't been playing MTG long. I've been theory-crafting for about 6 months, and am still working on building my 'breakout' Modern deck. But when I look at your website, all I see is a scam. And if that's what I see, then imagine what people who've been playing for years and know the meta inside-out think! Those are the people you want to attract, the repeat customers who will spend upwards of 100 dollars on singles, etc.
I find it incredibly suspicious that you urge people to dump their Abrupt Decays (a move that is contrary to what anyone with the slightest knowledge of mtg knows.) while also having the card conveniently listed on your "buy list."
I find it appalling that you expect people to pay upwards of 200 dollars slapped -on top- of whatever value the cards actually have.
I find it straight-up confusing that you advertise singles as "mint", when there exists no such official category for singles.
I know it may seem like I'm being mean, and just kicking everything you've accomplished to the curb.
And you know what? I am- for your own good. I'd advise you to pick up the pieces, learn from the experience, and improve your service. If you don't, then I'm afraid that you will learn the same lessons, in far more brutal a fashion.
August 22, 2014 2:30 a.m.
@sixsamuraisoldier: ...and just to add onto what slovakattack, this looks really sketchy and suspicious. You have a small buylist and decks for sale that are below par for what many see regularly at FNM. Most people understand that shops need to make a profit, thus offer store credit or cash for smaller values than what cards are worth. That's fine if you do that, but it looks like you're buying cards for your personal use, while selling decks you no longer want to play.
It's even more suspicious that you have loose booster packs for $3.00. That screams mapped boxes. I'm inclined to tell people not to buy from you, especially with (lol) $200 mark-ups on decks.
August 22, 2014 4:16 a.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #26
Could someone explain what exactly mapped boxes are?
August 22, 2014 8:44 a.m.
slovakattack says... #27
thispersonisagenius: Sure thing. To boil something that's actually kinda complicated to it's simplest: Wizards has a pattern in how they distribute mythic rares/foils in any given box of 36 packs. On average, there are 4 mythic rares per 36 packs, but it gets deeper than that. Through the analyzation of thousands of boxes, people have created algorithms that predict the location of mythic rares and foils, based on the position and contents of the first pack opened.
For example: First pack opened on the left row contains a mythic rare. Run that into the Return to Ravnica box mapper, and it'll tell you based on mathematical probability where the other mythic rares are.
It's a real thing, and a lot of underhanded people use it to suck the value out of boxes, then sell the next to useless packs at slightly deflated prices (to seem like a good deal).
It takes a long time to map a box, so M15 isn't gonna be mapped for a while. But if someone tries to sell you a pack of Zendikar... be wary.
August 22, 2014 8:49 a.m.
slovakattack says... #28
Actually, I think they can even predict down to what rares are in what packs. It's pretty nuts.
August 22, 2014 8:55 a.m.
Didgeridooda says... #29
Just caught this thread, and checked out the site before reading.
What I saw was that this is someone trying to find a different way to deal with his collection. Like all players, he wanted a deal on the cards he needs. Most likely decays are his #1 need. I figured he hit up a clearance sale for the supplies.
Charging extra for fine tuning decks is pretty funny though. You can view lists of the most tested decks around. What makes you better then the pros?
Also, after reading through the thread, I really do not like how you are taking the criticism. If this is an actual desire of yours, you might want to listen to what everyone is saying. Saying you don't have to buy the decks does not look good.
It just seems like someone looking to pull one over on people here. Then searched your site a little more. This is not a legitimate business.
August 22, 2014 3:11 p.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #30
@slovakattack I fully understand your concerns about box mapping, in reality, my goal is to make a profit by selling each pack from a box, 3*36=108 Which nets me a profit if I can sell them all.
August 22, 2014 3:28 p.m.
@thispersonisagenius: I keep getting ninja'd by slovakattack, but I should clear up some of the things he was unsure of in his post.
Booster boxes and packs aren't really random. WotC makes sure there's 4 to 6 mythics per box. At the booster making factory, the machines cut the sheets of cards, which are printed in a specific fashion. Here's Mark Rosewater at WotC's HQ next to sheets of uncut Beta:
You can see Mox Jet on the far right side underneath Island Sanctuary , and above Stasis and Timetwister . And if you click here, you'll find another sheet of uncut Beta. Notice how the cards are all in the same spot. Again, Mox Jet is on the right under Island Sanctuary and above Timetwister . That sheet of Beta was the sheet of rares. Here's an uncut sheet of Shards:
...where you can see the mythics and rares all together.
So after the machines cut the cards out, they sort them into booster packs. They don't do so randomly, however, because of the desire to make sure each box has a given amount of mythic rares. They have several hundred configurations for how a box is mapped out, so when a store opens the box and lets people pick packs, it appears random. It also makes sure people buying entire boxes don't feel ripped off. Or worse, someone opens a box where every pack has a mythic.
People then reverse engineer the sorting algorithm the machines are set to for sorting rares into packs. Once the algorithm is figured out, computer programs/phone applications are coded so you can input what rares you open in packs in what order and figure out which packs contain what.
So back to our examples of uncut sheets. If you open a pack with a foil Clarion Ultimatum , you know that it's beneath Sarkhan Vol on the Shards of Alara sheet of foil mythics/rares. Or, if you open a pack of Beta and the rare is Time Walk , that's above Underground Sea and to the right of Shivan Dragon on the sheet of Beta rares. Using this process, people are able to open up a few packs of any given box, then determine what rares are where based on information attained by other people on how each sheet was cut and how the machines sorted them into packs.
WotC has started to take steps towards curbing box mapping by printing multiple sheets of rares (instead of all the rares on one sheet in only one order) and using more algorithms to sort packs.
Unfortunately, box mapping won't go away because people have access to other mappers via the internet. It doesn't take long for thousands of people to reverse engineer how a set is mapped.
August 22, 2014 5:59 p.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #32
@sylvannos I understand your concerns, but please be assured that we NEVER map boxes, if you do not believe that then that is your choice, but I hope you will take my word for it.
August 22, 2014 6:14 p.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #35
@slovakattack Thank you, I will try my best to make it better. :)
August 22, 2014 6:18 p.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #36
@Didgeridooda channelfireball buylists them for $8 so maybe, if i had any left. :)
August 22, 2014 6:22 p.m.
@sixsamuraisoldier: But you see the concern though, right? If I'm just browsing the web and come across your site, it looks like you are selling loose packs out of mapped boxes.
If you want to build credibility, you might try selling stuff on E-Bay under your store name and asking people to give feedback. If people can vouch for you the packs aren't mapped after buying product from you, you can use that feedback on your site.
Otherwise, no, I can't just take your word for it. This is the internet. People lie all the time, especially when there's money involved.
The other suggestion would be to get your shop set up on TCG Player. That way, you can become a respected vendor. People can follow links from there to your site. For example, here is one vendor where people can browse their inventory.
It also gives you protection from getting into he-said-she-said situations with people by providing an intermediary.
August 22, 2014 6:28 p.m.
Didgeridooda says... #38
I think that is very good advice to start on Ebay/TCG and build a rep.
August 22, 2014 6:40 p.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #39
@sylvannos Of course, that is a very good point! Thank you for your feedback, it really does help! :)
August 22, 2014 6:54 p.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #40
Thank you to all who commented, I'm just going to put it hard and be honest here, even if it hurts me, the buylist was just a couple of cards that I thought would increase in value and wanted to pick them up. I changed the blog article especially the part on Abrupt Decay, although I still think its price may drop a little, i did not mean to say that it was inflated. I have also removed the buylist and added a privacy policy and contact information. I am in the process of adding a reviews (good OR bad) page. Once again, thank you to all who commented, and we are sincerely doing our best to make it better. I have added inventory for Khans of tarkir pre-order and cheaper fat packs and duel decks, as well as from the vault: annihilation. I am also working on acquiring inventory for singles. Please check out my new site and give feedback, however harsh, in the end it helps! Cheers to all and good luck with your store, ThatBlueMage! :) mtgquickshop.weebly.com (please give feedback)
August 24, 2014 3:21 a.m.
BorosPlayer says... #41
Sorry in advance for the harsh review.
I want to note that your "exclusive art" is hardly exclusive, as it is all over the web.
Also, your reviews of individual cards are far from accurate. You seem to far overestimate the effect of the Clash Pack on Modern staples such as Courser of Kruphix . In addition, I would hardly say Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx would rise in price due to increased prominence of wedge decks. And don't even get me started on the far overpriced "Professional Tournament" decklists.
August 26, 2014 1:29 a.m.
There is no way this can seem legit if you are using weebly. I'm sorry, but there are tons of hosting companies out there, and many that are not that expensive. If you are not willing to spend a few bucks to look professional, it tells a lot about how you will be towards your clients.
I don't think your response to all the negative comments was bad. I thought you handled yourself well, and didn't start to mud sling. I wish you luck on your project, but you really need to get all your ducks in a row before you even release the page and start advertising its existence.
August 26, 2014 10:45 a.m.
Didgeridooda says... #43
It might help to give a background that includes your experience in the game. If you are offering advice, or building decks some sort of bio could help. This way people don't just see you as some kid on the internet.
Also having such a small list of singles does not really help. If you are looking to set up a shop. Open some cases, and get a decent inventory. That is how a store gets their stuff.
August 26, 2014 10:49 a.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #44
Hmmmm... Good point, see the problem is when I tried to get a domain name, there was no 301 redirect, so I couldn't link my weebly site to my domain site :(. But yes, I am working on that. Secondly, yes, I understand that my decks are slightly overpriced, I am planning a promotion for them. Thanks for the feedback!
August 26, 2014 2:18 p.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #45
we have added a support section and a reviews section!
August 26, 2014 3:19 p.m.
NotSoLuckyLydia says... #46
I'm gonna give you a review on something that has not been touched yet- the aesthetics. Your website looks BLAND. It's a white background, which is fine- if the rest of your website is exciting. I don't know much about weebly, but I know a good deal about design aesthetics and stuff being pretty in general. (That's a technical term shut up I know what I'm talking about)
When you make anything that you are trying to use to sell a product, the viewer needs to be EXCITED to see it. Or at the bare minimum, they need to be not bored. Look at other websites that are selling the SAME PRODUCT as you. You know what? I'll do it for you!
TCGPlayer? It's got a white background, just like you. First thing you notice. Rule of thirds is followed. The human eye is most quickly drawn to the lines where the screen, image, painting, whatever, could be cut into thirds. That's where their content is. The top of the page is clear, concise, very simple. Popup menus make it easier, and they have that nice big search bar! Product and promotional images take up much of the rest of the main screen, and when you scroll down it's a bit wordier. This keeps you from getting bored the second you come to the site. TCGPlayer looks CLEAN. It looks professional. It looks good.
ChannelFireball? Textured Gray Background, similar to the MTG website now has. Search bar at the top. Images, minimal text towards the landing area of the site. More popup menus! They've got that nice "deal of the day." It's an impulse buy. You see it and think "hey, I don't wanna miss out on this deal," and buy an item you wouldn't have otherwise. Again. It's pretty. I don't mind hanging out on this website, because I don't feel attacked by three images on a white wall with black text.
Star City Games? SAME THING? No way! It's like this is formulaic or something! The website is PRETTY. You know what they sell! They have images that draw the eye without making you feel ATTACKED by them! Their creature collection, a bunch of cute and friendly animals, make you feel welcome! If you wanna see a ton of text, scroll down!
That's fine and good, those are huge companies with tons of money though, right? Well, take a trip to MTG Madness! This is a new thing! It hasn't been around nearly as long, and doesn't have nearly the same standing in the community. What does their website's landing page do to your eye? It soothes it. Simple layout. Colors aren't incredibly bright. There are more images than text.
And MTG Madness does something incredibly important for a newer group. It generates credibility by using articles from people who have been playing the game longer than MTG Madness has existed, and have done well. Alessandro Lippi. Patrick Dickman(!). Emilien Wild. And it lets you know that these are people who support this website, and who they are! If you don't know any of those kinds of people, BRANCH OUT. You need to do more than liquidate your stock of cards to generate brand recognition and trust from consumers.
This was a long post, but I would love to see you succeed. But you need to do some things in order to do that.
First: GET YOUR OWN WEBSITE. I don't know what exactly weebly is, but it screams "I'LL BE GONE IN A MONTH!"
Second: Get some articles written. Get people other than you to write articles. Reach out to people who are better than you! If you wanna write about EDH, get somebody just off of this website, maybe one of the admins, or somebody who's just POPULAR in the community. If you want to write about standard, have some TO's get together and write something about the decks they've seen at FNM that were surprisingly good! They don't need to be pro players, even though that helps. They just need to be CREDIBLE and, more importantly, NOT YOU.
Third: Either learn to design a pretty website, or get somebody to design one for you!!! Even in a community of nerds like us, AESTHETICS MATTER. WE ALL LIKE PRETTY THINGS!
TL;DR: No. There is not a TL;DR for this. You need to read this whole thing if you want to succeed. Take feedback. Learn from it. Improve.
August 28, 2014 9:27 p.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #47
Yes, aesthetics is something that I am working on for sure! Also, weebly does not support 301 redirects so I can't get my own domain, although I am working to find a workaround.Thanks for your help!
August 28, 2014 9:35 p.m.
NotSoLuckyLydia says... #48
If weebly won't support it, just get off weebly. Shut down that page. Buy something that doesn't look like thrown together junk.
August 28, 2014 9:39 p.m.
sixsamuraisoldier says... #49
Yeah, I know, I've been trying to find something that works :(
Servo_Token says... #2
I'm sorry, but if you aren't willing to pay $4 a month to host your own site, then how am I supposed to trust that you're willing to pay me any money for my cards?
Also, your buylist is exclusive to 12 cards. That is not a buylist. That is 12 cards that you're willing to rip people off for. You're also selling decks, which is fine, but no one will buy them at TCG Mid prices.
If you want to make your own Magic business, that's fine, but I don't think you quite grasp just how big you need to get to become reputable and actually acquire business.
Lastly, please don't misuse the word "our", if you're the only person running this operation.
August 21, 2014 8:40 p.m.