I have a question that I'm totally serious about, because I'm a noob.
I see a lot of cards with signatures on them at tournaments from experienced players. Some of these are quite expensive cards. I'm assuming that these signatures are from well-known players.
My question is, are these cards more valuable than non-signed cards since they're signed by someone who is famous in the Magic world? Or does it depreciate the value?
The answer is: it depends. There are plenty of people who would value a card higher due to a signature, and plenty who would value it lower.
Often cards are signed by the artist, making them of greater value to those who especially like that artist's work. Other times they are signed by Magic's developers, such as Mark Rosewater or Richard Garfield. Never seen a card signed by a pro player, but I'm sure it happens, especially those who got to design their own cards, such as Shadowmage Infiltrator.
Signatures are often from the artist of such a card, not a player, and they generally increase the value.
Although, there's one exception, being Richard Garfield, people just try to get him to sign anything, and there's a rule in casual circles, that cards altered by him are officially changed.
STATISTICS.
All of these "Let's eliminate bad cards" crusades are simply ignorant. And when they start to devolve into "WotC is conspiring to give us crappy cards," they just become embarrassing. MATH is conspiring to give you crappy cards.
Usually sigend by the artist who made the card-art. As for value the truest answer is: it depends.
And I really should refresh before answering to a thread that's been open in a tab for 10 mins.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Quote me for replies.
Did I write something useful? Leave a like.
Any new cool Daretti cards printed in the latest set? Tell me about it!
Rules Advisor
I have a question that I'm totally serious about, because I'm a noob.
I see a lot of cards with signatures on them at tournaments from experienced players. Some of these are quite expensive cards. I'm assuming that these signatures are from well-known players.
My question is, are these cards more valuable than non-signed cards since they're signed by someone who is famous in the Magic world? Or does it depreciate the value?
Let the flames fly for my noobishness?
It depends.
Strictly speaking, a signature counts as a mark on the card. If you get it appraised, it will be graded lower than what it could have been.
However, some people like signed cards, and will pay higher for it.
It also depends on who's signature it is.
I have a friend with a signed City of Brass by Garfield. With a doodle of bird. Signed with a ballpoint. HARD. Can't sell the thing for squat because it so obviously a marked card that its only worth is a conversation starter, or maybe a proxy.
Strictly speaking, a signature counts as a mark on the card. If you get it appraised, it will be graded lower than what it could have been.
However, some people like signed cards, and will pay higher for it.
It also depends on who's signature it is.
I have a friend with a signed City of Brass by Garfield. With a doodle of bird. Signed with a ballpoint. HARD. Can't sell the thing for squat because it so obviously a marked card that its only worth is a conversation starter, or maybe a proxy.
I guess, I mean I was more thinking in the nature of things like signings from artists, where usually they're pretty careful.
Are you sure a signature counts as a marked card? I've seen signed cards played in SCG tournaments, at the upper levels.
STATISTICS.
All of these "Let's eliminate bad cards" crusades are simply ignorant. And when they start to devolve into "WotC is conspiring to give us crappy cards," they just become embarrassing. MATH is conspiring to give you crappy cards.
In general, signatures do increase the value of cards. Uniqueness and all.
However, authentication is an issue, though. A person trying to trade or sell a signed item should include some kind of proof, especially if they're asking for a big mark up on the normal prices. (Normally, sig expert check the sig in question against verified articles.)
If the sig is judged a fake, an argument could be made that the card is defaced and has lost value. I've rarely seen this happen, though.
In general, I rarely see signed cards and I've never personally seen anyone trade for them. They are technically more valuable than foils (if authentic), but the relative pimp/appreciation factor seems much less.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'm officially proposing we retire the word "insane" from the MtG vocabulary.
"The best way to be different is to be better" - Gene Muir
In general, signatures do increase the value of cards. Uniqueness and all.
However, authentication is an issue, though. A person trying to trade or sell a signed item should include some kind of proof, especially if they're asking for a big mark up on the normal prices. (Normally, sig expert check the sig in question against verified articles.)
If the sig is judged a fake, an argument could be made that the card is defaced and has lost value. I've rarely seen this happen, though.
In general, I rarely see signed cards and I've never personally seen anyone trade for them. They are technically more valuable than foils (if authentic), but the relative pimp/appreciation factor seems much less.
They are not more valuable than foils the vast majority of the time. Unless the card is near worthless originally, or the signature is extremely rare.
It wasn't just written on. It's like braille. You could feel the indentations of the writing on the back of the card.
Could always try taking a clothes iron to it. Stick a piece of paper between the iron and the card and don't use any steam setting
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Quote me for replies.
Did I write something useful? Leave a like.
Any new cool Daretti cards printed in the latest set? Tell me about it!
Rules Advisor
Personally, only cards signed by Richard Garfield or the Artists are considered legitimate signatures. I can make an exception for Invitational Cards that were signed by the creator themselves and for cards with an obvious real-life person reference to be signed by that person (Maro signed by Mark Rosewater would be considered fair game for me.)
That said, I don't collect signed cards at all - I don't like playing with signed cards - if I attend a Grand Prix I would still get a few good cards I don't play in my binder to get them signed, but those cards usually stay in the binder and retain their original value (I won't raise their price or lower them when I sell) - I know there's a market for signed cards out there, so if I run into someone who wants the signed card - I can sell it to them. I wouldn't call it a "good deed", to me, getting them signed was part of the Grand Prix experience.
My question is, are these cards more valuable than non-signed cards since they're signed by someone who is famous in the Magic world? Or does it depreciate the value?
Very rarely do I see a pro player signed card sell for more than it's non-signed value. The exceptions almost always lie within invitationals (Bob Maher on Dark Confidant, Tiago Chan on Snapcaster Mage, etc.) and are almost exclusively dependent on playability though, since a lot of the older stuff does not command premiums (Sylvan Safekeeper, Avalanche Riders, Rootwater Thief, etc).
Generally no signed card is worth more anyways, but if it is it's because it's signed by Richard Garfield or the artist. In my experience, pro player sigs on random cards are also really hard to move compared to even unplayable commons signed by their artist.
when you get artists to sign your cards is it free?
Technically it can be sometimes, but the real answer is it's proper etiquette to always tip. I'll explain a little more how it works below:
There's two ways to get cards signed: The first, is at a convention where you bring your cards to their artist booth; the second, is mailing the cards to their art studio or PO box. In both cases, artists will usually have a limit to the amount of cards you can get signed in one trip (usually 8-12 cards at conventions, could be a lot smaller in the mail). Most are happy with whatever you are fine to tip/donate (and when mailing will ask for return postage) but some have set prices for different quantities. You should always leave something regardless of how few or many you are getting signed.
Artist alters are almost always commission only, but the prices range from only a couple dollars (Anson Maddocks and Mark Tedin were doing $1 alters last I saw them - they use fine tip sharpies only) to $5 each (rk post usually does this - uses a fine tip sharpie and a silver sharpie) to $20 each (Steve Argyle, for instance only uses his paint pens) to more as they get more intricate/time intensive.
No question is a dumb question.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
:watched:Always looking for signed cards.
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I see a lot of cards with signatures on them at tournaments from experienced players. Some of these are quite expensive cards. I'm assuming that these signatures are from well-known players.
My question is, are these cards more valuable than non-signed cards since they're signed by someone who is famous in the Magic world? Or does it depreciate the value?
Let the flames fly for my noobishness?
Often cards are signed by the artist, making them of greater value to those who especially like that artist's work. Other times they are signed by Magic's developers, such as Mark Rosewater or Richard Garfield. Never seen a card signed by a pro player, but I'm sure it happens, especially those who got to design their own cards, such as Shadowmage Infiltrator.
Although, there's one exception, being Richard Garfield, people just try to get him to sign anything, and there's a rule in casual circles, that cards altered by him are officially changed.
And I really should refresh before answering to a thread that's been open in a tab for 10 mins.
Did I write something useful? Leave a like.
Any new cool Daretti cards printed in the latest set? Tell me about it!
Rules Advisor
Thanks for the answers y'all.
It depends.
Strictly speaking, a signature counts as a mark on the card. If you get it appraised, it will be graded lower than what it could have been.
However, some people like signed cards, and will pay higher for it.
It also depends on who's signature it is.
I have a friend with a signed City of Brass by Garfield. With a doodle of bird. Signed with a ballpoint. HARD. Can't sell the thing for squat because it so obviously a marked card that its only worth is a conversation starter, or maybe a proxy.
"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
Great question and to kind of piggy back on your question with a noob question of my own: when you get artists to sign your cards is it free?
Legacy: Goblins:symb::symg: Loam Pox
My Trade Thread
I guess, I mean I was more thinking in the nature of things like signings from artists, where usually they're pretty careful.
Are you sure a signature counts as a marked card? I've seen signed cards played in SCG tournaments, at the upper levels.
In general, signatures do increase the value of cards. Uniqueness and all.
However, authentication is an issue, though. A person trying to trade or sell a signed item should include some kind of proof, especially if they're asking for a big mark up on the normal prices. (Normally, sig expert check the sig in question against verified articles.)
If the sig is judged a fake, an argument could be made that the card is defaced and has lost value. I've rarely seen this happen, though.
In general, I rarely see signed cards and I've never personally seen anyone trade for them. They are technically more valuable than foils (if authentic), but the relative pimp/appreciation factor seems much less.
I'm officially proposing we retire the word "insane" from the MtG vocabulary.
"The best way to be different is to be better" - Gene Muir
Cubes:
Modern Banlist Cube
Monocolor Budget Cube
They are not more valuable than foils the vast majority of the time. Unless the card is near worthless originally, or the signature is extremely rare.
It wasn't just written on. It's like braille. You could feel the indentations of the writing on the back of the card.
"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
Could always try taking a clothes iron to it. Stick a piece of paper between the iron and the card and don't use any steam setting
Did I write something useful? Leave a like.
Any new cool Daretti cards printed in the latest set? Tell me about it!
Rules Advisor
Normally no, but that's if it's just 1 or 2 cards.
But if you want anything signed in bulk/multiples you should be paying them.
Personally, only cards signed by Richard Garfield or the Artists are considered legitimate signatures. I can make an exception for Invitational Cards that were signed by the creator themselves and for cards with an obvious real-life person reference to be signed by that person (Maro signed by Mark Rosewater would be considered fair game for me.)
That said, I don't collect signed cards at all - I don't like playing with signed cards - if I attend a Grand Prix I would still get a few good cards I don't play in my binder to get them signed, but those cards usually stay in the binder and retain their original value (I won't raise their price or lower them when I sell) - I know there's a market for signed cards out there, so if I run into someone who wants the signed card - I can sell it to them. I wouldn't call it a "good deed", to me, getting them signed was part of the Grand Prix experience.
Very rarely do I see a pro player signed card sell for more than it's non-signed value. The exceptions almost always lie within invitationals (Bob Maher on Dark Confidant, Tiago Chan on Snapcaster Mage, etc.) and are almost exclusively dependent on playability though, since a lot of the older stuff does not command premiums (Sylvan Safekeeper, Avalanche Riders, Rootwater Thief, etc).
Generally no signed card is worth more anyways, but if it is it's because it's signed by Richard Garfield or the artist. In my experience, pro player sigs on random cards are also really hard to move compared to even unplayable commons signed by their artist.
This isn't totally true... there are plenty of gem mint (9-10) graded cards out there, even artist altered.
Technically it can be sometimes, but the real answer is it's proper etiquette to always tip. I'll explain a little more how it works below:
There's two ways to get cards signed: The first, is at a convention where you bring your cards to their artist booth; the second, is mailing the cards to their art studio or PO box. In both cases, artists will usually have a limit to the amount of cards you can get signed in one trip (usually 8-12 cards at conventions, could be a lot smaller in the mail). Most are happy with whatever you are fine to tip/donate (and when mailing will ask for return postage) but some have set prices for different quantities. You should always leave something regardless of how few or many you are getting signed.
Artist alters are almost always commission only, but the prices range from only a couple dollars (Anson Maddocks and Mark Tedin were doing $1 alters last I saw them - they use fine tip sharpies only) to $5 each (rk post usually does this - uses a fine tip sharpie and a silver sharpie) to $20 each (Steve Argyle, for instance only uses his paint pens) to more as they get more intricate/time intensive.
No question is a dumb question.