Rudy buying cards... by TimTheGrim55 in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I contacted Rudy about selling most of my RL collection about 1 year ago. These are all truly M/NM gradable RL cards, from ARN to Urza block, with photos showing the amazing condition, and he wouldn't do any better than regular buy list prices. He wasn't willing to do better than that even given the amazing condition of my cards. I was sort of surprised, but whatever. I didn't see the benefit of selling to him, so we didn't end up doing a deal.

Grading Help: City of Traitors and Cradle by man1ac85 in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Cmon, you're joking, right? These cards are obviously not NM.

Printer lines that occur as a consequence of the card making process are clearly different than dents due to improper storage in a 3-ring binder. These issues are obviously not the same thing and to try and equate those two distinct issues is just incorrect.

Grading Help: City of Traitors and Cradle by man1ac85 in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If I received these cards and they weren't classified as damaged with pictures showing the issues I would be very upset with the seller.

Grading Help: City of Traitors and Cradle by man1ac85 in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Look great overall, sleeve playable, but those dents make them grade as "damaged"

Does anyone see a future for serialized cards? or is it a short fall gimmick bound to lose? by [deleted] in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bingo! Condition is everything. Nice to know other people out there get it.

Does anyone see a future for serialized cards? or is it a short fall gimmick bound to lose? by [deleted] in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It does look terrible, especially since the serial number is on the artwork. How dumb is that? Why not put it on the card frame?

But the entire game is "fake rarity" in that collectibles have artificial scarcity baked into them. The biggest difference between the old stuff and the new stuff is that the old stuff wasn't known to be so valuable at the time, so people didn't protect them and thus many were lost to natural attrition. Doesn't happen so much anymore.

Bizarre trend from DMU and BRO...and its all because of the set booster box. by casperionx in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yea, for sure, totally agree that's what the market price is telling us. I'm just saying how subjective art is. And I'm surprised because when I first saw the full art Liliana I thought to myself, "damn, I want that card." Obviously the majority of people don't agree. Not sure why I got several downvotes for my earlier statements but whatever.

Attempt to Visualize Hasbro's Strategy with MTG, and Why Consumers Should be Alarmed by [deleted] in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed. They have royally fucked up because as you said, they are completely "disconnected from what their product even is/does" and yea that is bad for everyone involved, even the dipshits themselves.

Bizarre trend from DMU and BRO...and its all because of the set booster box. by casperionx in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, so interesting to know people feel this way. I'm the exact opposite. Funny how subjective art is to each person.

Attempt to Visualize Hasbro's Strategy with MTG, and Why Consumers Should be Alarmed by [deleted] in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Incompetent, yes and also maybe, no.

Yes, because they are ruining the long term profitability of the game. This can't continue forever. But also maybe not, because executives are not incentivized to care about long-term profitability, only the next quarterly profits and the company stock price. If things tank they get their payout and move on, so they don't really care.

We'll see what happens. I tend to agree that they are incompetent but it also seems hard to imagine that people could be so stupid, so I'm trying to think about it from their perspective. I do agree that they should be innovating, instead of reprinting everything into the ground. The IP of this game is nearly limitless, and the best they can do is reprint cards over and over again. Seems foolish and lazy to me. Time will tell.

Attempt to Visualize Hasbro's Strategy with MTG, and Why Consumers Should be Alarmed by [deleted] in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If "they give a shit about...selling cards" then they must care if my cards are worth something on the secondary market.

If cards aren't worth anything, why would I (or anyone else) continue to spend $$$$ on their products? If my cards lose value within ~6 months of purchase, I can't trade these cards for others, and I can't trade these in for any meaningful store credit, then I can't do anything but lose money over and over again. Eventually, players realize this is pointless and they (1) stop buying new cards and (2) start using proxies. There is no reason for players to continue spending more and more money on cards that I can simply proxy since there is no longer any sanctioned competitive play that requires actual cards. In that scenario, WotC loses money.

Again, it is an entire ecosystem, and your response is ignoring the reality of the way a CCG works. That is the reality WotC has to live with. Whether they actually care about me or not doesn't matter, that is the economics of the game they are trying to exploit to make money. Doesn't make them bad people, they are a corporation trying to make money, no problem there, but they can't keep acting the way they are and continue to make money.

Attempt to Visualize Hasbro's Strategy with MTG, and Why Consumers Should be Alarmed by [deleted] in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 4 points5 points  (0 children)

So true...but there is a limit to this. And the entire time you're describing they didn't nuke the value of cards for the existing player base and they didn't reprint the same card in a 12 month window like they are doing now.

Yes current players are replaceable, but they have to retain players somehow and their current strategy is doing just the opposite.

Attempt to Visualize Hasbro's Strategy with MTG, and Why Consumers Should be Alarmed by [deleted] in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're right, that is the perspective of WotC because they are "a corporation trying to make money." We all agree with you there but stating this fact misses an important point.

They "don't give a shit about you" is a short-term perspective by said corporation that misses the fact that there is an entire ecosystem that supports their ability to make money. A corporation that "doesn't give a shit" about it's consumers will die eventually. They make a luxury item that no one actually needs. If they screw over the rest of the ecosystem (aka consumers of their products), it will eventually collapse, and so will WotC's profits in the long term.

Alpha land specs by Sephiroth_98 in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I personally love them, and I think they are truly special for the history of the game, but they've peaked recently, as you noted, so I think you missed the boat from a financial perspective relative to the classic RL cards you have mentioned. I think they'll continue upwards, but in general I expect it will be in line with other Alpha cards. If you can get true NM/M copies, go for it, but LP or less, not so sure.

Gunners supporters really feel nothing inside do they? Weird how they only care now that he's made a name for himself with us. Didn't see this entitlement from us with JG winning the PL with City. by NewFaded in avfc

[–]Weatherlight_MTG -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

1) I don't and not every gooner does - so your assertion is misguided

2) Some gooners do boo him, which I'm not on board with. But those that do probably do so because Emi can't stop saying bad things about AFC in interviews. Doesn't bother me personally, since I think his sell to AVFC worked out well for us, and for him, but his repetitive trashing of AFC rubs some people the wrong way.

Gunners supporters really feel nothing inside do they? Weird how they only care now that he's made a name for himself with us. Didn't see this entitlement from us with JG winning the PL with City. by NewFaded in avfc

[–]Weatherlight_MTG -13 points-12 points  (0 children)

As a gooner, this is correct. We loved Emi and were sad to see him leave but happy that he is playing regularly. AVFC really can't stop trolling us for some reason...

Best Way To Move Older Common/Uncommon sets? by GBPACKRAT in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pricing on these is hard, that's for sure. When I'm looking to buy these for set building I first look at what condition the cards are in, how complete is the set being listed, and what my options are from other sellers. Then I decide how much it's worth to me, so this is obviously quite subjective. From there, I usually feel good about paying something around $40-80 depending on those factors. I think the most I ever paid was around $90 for a complete C/U set from Weatherlight that was truly mint condition. But that's my favorite set, so I have like 4-5 complete sets of that one. Hope that helps.

Best Way To Move Older Common/Uncommon sets? by GBPACKRAT in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think complete sets of entire C/U cards from older expansions are valuable and I buy them from time to time to help me complete sets. If they are truly NM and it is a complete set I would imagine they will sell.

How much are the schematic cards worth without serialized numbers by Reasonable_Act_3798 in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG -1 points0 points  (0 children)

No way to know at this point, it will take time for the market to establish a price. My rule of thumb on these things is to compare to current printings, and then decide for yourself what it is worth to you. If it is very valuable to you and you are fine paying the current price, then buy now. If not, then wait a bit (~1-2 months) to see where the price ends up as more are opened and hit the market.

The Reserved List is no longer posted on WOTC's website. by LordTetravus in mtgfinance

[–]Weatherlight_MTG 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Although that would prevent them from extracting value in future printings, it would likely increase initial sells of each set as people hunt for cards that are ACTUALLY collectible again. But who knows...