Signed Cards
Economics forum
Posted on Feb. 10, 2015, 4:41 p.m. by lotusofblackness
Okay, I know this is pretty popular topic and I know people have make threads like this before.
Braces for hate
Anyway, I wanted to know if any of my signed cards were worth anything. They are signed by the artist (if you were wondering). My friend said that signed EDH staples are worth more money. Is this true?
One of my favorite singed cards is Animar, Soul of Elements. Is he worth any more than $15?
Thanks!
Rhadamanthus says... #3
Artist-signed cards are only worth more to a person who specifically wants an artist-signed card. How much more? It depends on how much that person wants it. To a store/dealer, artist-signed cards are generally considered to be "slightly played" condition at best.
February 10, 2015 4:49 p.m.
Yep. Was buying random EDH stuff and ordered a SP version of Evacuation (it's either the 8th, 9th Stronghold art, don't remember which version) and it came with the artist's signature on it. Surprised me a bit but wasn't much bothered by it. The card itself is around $1.50, and I doubt the signature adds anything to it, but was cool to get.
February 10, 2015 4:53 p.m.
FTR Channel Fireball sold me a signed revised Taiga for SP prices at GP Phoenix. I know of a few vendors who do increase the prices, but some do keep to their standards.
February 10, 2015 5:32 p.m.
TurboFagoot says... #6
"Some people pass some BS about the card being SP because it's written on (dealers also adopt this position until they're selling signed cards to you on the event floor)."
I don't see how you can call it BS when dealers (The people whose opinions matter most on MtG economics) adopt it as well. You obviously know this, you just wrote it. So if we're trading cards, why should I trade for it at NM price, when it's impossible for me to get that equivalent back when trading to a dealer? (NM dealer price, which is of course less than retail) You're essentially demanding I lose money.
People are free to walk away from trade, but it's a far cry from "bull shit" to not want to get screwed on a trade.
February 10, 2015 7:55 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #7
Dealers adopt it because they don't have a standard for selling signed cards. They buy and sell as SP (some do negotiable pricing when selling at event booths) because they don't bother creating that standard. If SCG felt like having some kind of category for it like they now have for misprinted cards (which they only recently implemented), they could easily make extra cash on every signed card.
And if you're trading for a signed card over an unsigned equivalent, then you put some kind of value in the signature. If you're just looking for some way to pay less, you can go find a version that doesn't have higher potential value. It's not about whether you want to sell back to a dealer; you'll lose money on anything you sell back to a dealer.
The fact that many players do ascribe higher value to signed versions of cards means that they're more valuable. If you don't happen to think so, then I'm not trading you any of my signed cards.
February 10, 2015 8:14 p.m.
TurboFagoot says... #8
You lose money on anything, but you lose more money on something you sell at SP but intentionally trade at for NM. There's a larger discrepancy than in your standard trade.
Many people do give them higher value, so I agree you shouldn't trade them for less. However, I believe smart traders will mark down signatures, and alters, accordingly. Smart traders with signatures on their cards will up the price.
February 10, 2015 9:14 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #9
And I'm speaking from the perspective of a smart trader who has a signed card and wants value from it. If someone tells me it's SP, they aren't getting that card.
That's what I said back in post #1.
February 10, 2015 9:17 p.m.
I going to have to agree with Epoch on this. The person who wants the card might value it at SP or try and get you to trade it at SP, but someone will value it higher than NM. Whether that's on ebay or whatever.
February 10, 2015 9:21 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #11
Also, a dealer doesn't really have the resources to properly authenticate a signature when buying from you. As far as they can tell from just a first glance, it could be any random jackass writing on the card.
Epochalyptik says... #2
Signed values are subjective. Some people don't value them any more than unsigned. Some people pass some BS about the card being SP because it's written on (dealers also adopt this position until they're selling signed cards to you on the event floor). From an economic standpoint, they're more valuable because you can easily find people who will pay/trade more for a signed card. If someone tells you that they value it less or the same, then tell them you aren't interested in selling/trading it to them.
You could probably get up to $20 for a signed Animar, Soul of Elements because it's a popular commander and because the signature for that artist isn't super common. Artists like Matt Stewart, on the other hand, sign more cards, so their signatures aren't as exclusive.
February 10, 2015 4:46 p.m.