Howdy, everyone. If you are just joining, part 2 can be viewed HERE. This week has been a bit busier then usual and I was able to get a few trades in that should help accelerate our portfolio growth a bit. Rather than sitting in front of the computer for one hour, I switched to a more convenient strategy: scanning the boards for a few minutes for deals and then doing other things only to come back later to see if anything new came up. This proved to be much more efficient, as you usually see more new ads if you wait for a few hours or come back another day. As usual I started scanning the boards for good offers or trade opportunities, and this time it took only a few minutes to spot the ad from diem02 that basically says: “Want to get rid of my cards. Open and take what you want.” Well, I am not waiting for him to repeat that statement… I message him and ask him if I can get a few cards and the result is the following:
Encouraged with yet another bunch of free commons, I spot a player that is selling Wall of Omens for one Event Ticket. As the card is currently very hot I use a technique that has proven to work many times for me in the past: I buy the card for a good price and flip it immediately for the same price. Only that I ask for a few cheap rares to be added. Most people don’t care much about bulk rares and are happy to add them to get the card they want for a good price. The result can be easily summarized in 2 screenshots:
That was a good result for us. The Twincast is actually a popular Casual card and could appear in a few more serious decklists, too. Hopefully we can use those additional rares to facilitate additional trades.
Trading with players is not the only way to increase the value of your collection. Always keep your eyes open to good offers from bots. Yes, you CAN get a good deal from bots sometimes. I scan a few bots and one deal grabs my attention: one selling the “Elves vs. Goblins” version of Siege-Gang Commander for less then the regular versions from the other expansions. That must be a good deal. I buy the foil Commander for 2 Event Tickets and plan to either resell or trade later.
This is quite encouraging. All the trades came rather quickly and I still have time left for a few trades if anything comes up. While waiting for something interesting to pop up, I decide to scan the most recent prices of cards and feel as if Linvala, Keeper of Silence is a sleeper. She shuts down a lot of mana producers and utility creatures and even though she would cost me my last 2 tickets I grab her in hopes to see her price go up in the next few weeks. We shall see if this was a good choice. You can never be sure, of course.
A quick look the next day and I spot an ad that is looking for Twincast! I quickly message him and he is more then happy to trade. What then develops is rather interesting as he doesn’t really care much about card prices and offers a foil Phyrexian Negator and a Voltaic Key for my Twincast and two random cards. The price disparity did not bother him at all and I find myself with a hard to sell but sweet foil card in my trade binder.
The last quick trade of the day was a Sejiri Refuge for a Everflowing Chalice. Nothing major, but a small upgrade nonetheless.
Current value of collection according to bot buy prices: 17.8 Event Tickets
We made some good progress this week. The Negator, while potentially high in value, is hard to sell. We shall see how it works out. A short notice for everyone that is looking to expand their collection in a cost efficient manner: I have a method for you that is free and comes with additional benefits! Sign up for our free Newsletter now! Not only will you receive tips, tricks, and exclusive “Newsletter Only” freebies, but you will also participate in our raffle that will be held end of June. We are giving away cards worth over 100 tix(!) among all subscribers. We do not spam and it takes literally only 15 seconds to sign up. The subscription box is right on our front page. Quick, Easy, Free!
Take care everyone,
Marin (AKA: Plejades)
The Negator trade certainly seemed quite good.
I can’t see to find the newsletter subscription link for some reason. Maybe I’m just crazy?
Hello Marxkip,
there is a big blue box on the right hand side of the front page (sidebar) that reads “MTGOacademy Newsletter”. Just put in your name and email and then you are done!
I couldn’t see the subscription box either. Just had to unlock it in the noscript or whatever your are using that can block java or flash.
I’m terrible at trading with real people. I think I’m too nice
Ah he was right. One of my scripts was blocking the box.
You should allow ads and scripts on the page to see the newsletter box.
It’s an external service and therefore you must allow script execution from the domain aweber.com.
Good article, Im looking forward to seeing how long this is going to take you.
I wish I was competant in the pricing and demand of enough cards to eve attempt this but I just get over my head every time I try to trade up for things!
Did you mention the price disparity between Twincast and Negator/Voltaic Key to him and then find out he didn’t care or did you just thank your lucky stars and take the deal?
I’d be hard-pressed to pass up a deal like that, but I think I would at least mention it’s a deal that would commonly be seen to be in ‘my’ favor.
Zage, he mentioned it by the trade itself in the article.
“What then develops is rather interesting as he doesn’t really care much about card prices and offers a foil Phyrexian Negator and a Voltaic Key for my Twincast and two random cards. The price disparity did not bother him at all and I find myself with a hard to sell but sweet foil card in my trade binder.”
So the guy knew the prices, but didn’t care.
@Thrawnseg: I appreciate the attempted answer, but that wasn’t exactly the question I meant to ask. Let me try to rephrase.
I am wondering if Plejades is the one that told him about the price disparity/asked him if he knew, or that he found it apparant the guy didn’t care about it from the way he traded.
It might not sound very interesting, but I never claimed it was an interesting question. It was just something I wondered.
That player must of had alot of tix or something if they don’t care to much about prices. Thanks for the heads up about the newsletter.