OK, so are the retailers then buying from MJ Holdings or the retailers buy from Wizards and MJ Holdings then is a distribution branch to those retailers? Again, just wanting to get the right information. If true, the more layers of these "middlemen" the more we are going to have to pay for the product. Makes me wish we could buy "damaged product" from the retailers without it having to go back through a middleman yet another time and seeing the price marked right back up.
Back to the topic of the Mystery boxes for those that have bought them. Do they have a plastic overwrap on them? Or could someone just pop the top and look inside to see what boosters lie within. I could see some people buying these opening them, then returning for refunds. Or I could see buying opening, taking out a more valuable booster and replacing it with a junk booster. I guess too much effort for the crime I suppose.
MJ Holding owns all the items and WM makes a portion of the profits when the item sales. That's why Wal-Mart cares so little about theft of those items. They aren't on the hook for them.
Oh man, I did the same thing on a road trip one time and stopped at every wal-mart near an exit. Found three tournament decks of urza's saga, two invasion, and three of the first set of Planechase. What was even better was it was a birthday road trip, so I never had to spend a dime.
This was what my LGS said on facebook regarding these
So, just found out that official WOTC stance is this: This is a product made by Wizards (not 3rd party), specifically for Mass Market stores. LGS's (like BCG) can't get it. It has 5 packs from Standard (not sure if that is randomized or 1 pack from each set) and 1 bonus pack from a "set in modern history" (which does not mean modern format. All the LGS's were blindsided by this product. Oh, and it comes with 1 die.
This was what my LGS said on facebook regarding these
So, just found out that official WOTC stance is this: This is a product made by Wizards (not 3rd party)
The package says "Distributed by MJ Holdings LLC" on the back of it (image earlier in thread). I kinda have to think when WotC has *Hasbro's* distribution channels to reach into bigbox stores, they wouldn't be distributing first party product through some podunk outfit in Chicago.
This was what my LGS said on facebook regarding these
So, just found out that official WOTC stance is this: This is a product made by Wizards (not 3rd party)
The package says "Distributed by MJ Holdings LLC" on the back of it (image earlier in thread). I kinda have to think when WotC has *Hasbro's* distribution channels to reach into bigbox stores, they wouldn't be distributing first party product through some podunk outfit in Chicago.
But this is how all the trading card stuff is handled. It is not a podunk outfit, this is what they do.
This was what my LGS said on facebook regarding these
So, just found out that official WOTC stance is this: This is a product made by Wizards (not 3rd party)
The package says "Distributed by MJ Holdings LLC" on the back of it (image earlier in thread). I kinda have to think when WotC has *Hasbro's* distribution channels to reach into bigbox stores, they wouldn't be distributing first party product through some podunk outfit in Chicago.
Not sure, I'm just relaying info from him. He's a small shop and pretty honest/reliable. I don't know exactly where he got the info from though or who he reached out to
So I should assume that we can't buy cards directly from MJ Holdings because they are more than likely contractually obligated to sell only through large store channels? I find the 5% Wal-Mart "tax" on MTG product to be a bit much at times.
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Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
I've purchased two to roll the dice. First Mystery box paid for itself with a Foil Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet and the second one broke even with a Chandra, Torch of Defiance and some other stuff like Hissing Quagmire. Both had packs of Return to Ravnica as the mystery pack.
MJ Holding also does the repackaged 3 packs with the 2 rares (used to be just one rare, a promo). Checked at my local WM today, none of these Misery Packs (Yes I meant to misspell it.) For kicks I picked up one of the 3 packs with the promo and extra rare. Nothing but a lot of box-mapped junk. There may be a nugget to be found every once in a while but I won't be spending my money on these unless they are offered at a DEEP discount.
As for the price question, I searched and found a thread on Reddit where someone posted a pic of these with a $24.98 price below it. My advice, save your 25 bucks and spend it on cards or packs that haven't been box-mapped.
The company doesn't waste their time on box-mapping. They repackage product whose original packaging has been damaged or otherwise wasn't sold. Trust me, they really don't have a clue about what's valuable in Magic. A few years ago, I was able to purchase one of their products that had two decks and two packs in a clear plastic case when one of the decks was the Political Puppets Commander Deck.
I got lucky with those same clear cases w/ 2 decks. I picked up the entire Animar deck and the Golgari deck from Izzet vs. Golgari (minus the foil face card) for 20 bucks about 2 years ago. I really wish I'd had enough to get 2 of them as they also had a German Oloro deck.
Doing some Christmas shopping at a local WM today and saw two of these boxes. One wrapped and intact. The other, unwrapped and COMPLETELY EMPTY, nothing inside. Looks like someone pulled the plastic, opened it and stole the contents. No wonder they charge at or over MSRP.
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Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
OK, so are the retailers then buying from MJ Holdings or the retailers buy from Wizards and MJ Holdings then is a distribution branch to those retailers? Again, just wanting to get the right information. If true, the more layers of these "middlemen" the more we are going to have to pay for the product. Makes me wish we could buy "damaged product" from the retailers without it having to go back through a middleman yet another time and seeing the price marked right back up.
MJ Holdings sells and distributes these MTG products. Big box stores like Target and Walmart lease shelf space to MJ Holdings to stock all the collectible and sports card items in the store. A MJ Holdings person is given access to the store to stock the products. Because MJ Holdings is itself a distributor, it gets its supply through its network, though I believe they also acquire stock from store closings. I'm not sure if MJ Holdings gets product directly from Wizards.
While the SKUs are in the big box store's database, that is only to record the sale and then MJ Holdings and the store split the profit. That is why there is a surcharge over MSRP. If product gets destroyed or stolen, it is MJ Holding's problem, although the big box store will generally accept returns of them. The big box store then counts a return against MJ Holdings's finances. Sometimes, products are damaged or partially destroyed, so MJ Holdings will repackage whatever is salvageable.
As for why the product is so professional-looking, it is because of MH Holding's business relationship with Wizards. Wizards provides the packaging art to third parties to help them sell these loose items. I'm not sure what the exact arrangement is between third parties and Wizards, but I have read statements on Reddit by an official Wizards representative that they assist with the package art. (Because MJ Holdings and other third parties don't seem to want to hire a competent package designer themselves, which is why you often see the generic and bland-looking "3 booster pack" package with zero branding on the front. Only the boosters are visible in the front.)
Basically, if the fine print on the product box says "Distributed by MJ Holdings" or some other company, then it is a third-party product for mass sale.
Again, I wish I could buy directly through them. Cut out the box stores and their 5% surcharge on packs/sets, pay them MSRP instead and they make more profit per pack than sharing profits (and paying for shelf space). I would assume they are contractually obligated to only distribute and not sell directly to customers. Again, thank you for the detailed post.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Got one of these from my dad for Christmas. Mystery pack was RtR. Best pulls out of the pack was the UR Dual from Kaladesh and a foil Wastes in the OTG pack.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
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MJ Holding owns all the items and WM makes a portion of the profits when the item sales. That's why Wal-Mart cares so little about theft of those items. They aren't on the hook for them.
DracoBall: http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/casual-related-formats/homebrew-variant-formats/598529-dracoball-updated-3-24-15
Fantastic Fours: http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/casual-related-formats/homebrew-variant-formats/603605-fantastic-fours
So, just found out that official WOTC stance is this: This is a product made by Wizards (not 3rd party), specifically for Mass Market stores. LGS's (like BCG) can't get it. It has 5 packs from Standard (not sure if that is randomized or 1 pack from each set) and 1 bonus pack from a "set in modern history" (which does not mean modern format. All the LGS's were blindsided by this product. Oh, and it comes with 1 die.
The package says "Distributed by MJ Holdings LLC" on the back of it (image earlier in thread). I kinda have to think when WotC has *Hasbro's* distribution channels to reach into bigbox stores, they wouldn't be distributing first party product through some podunk outfit in Chicago.
But this is how all the trading card stuff is handled. It is not a podunk outfit, this is what they do.
Not sure, I'm just relaying info from him. He's a small shop and pretty honest/reliable. I don't know exactly where he got the info from though or who he reached out to
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
MJ Holdings sells and distributes these MTG products. Big box stores like Target and Walmart lease shelf space to MJ Holdings to stock all the collectible and sports card items in the store. A MJ Holdings person is given access to the store to stock the products. Because MJ Holdings is itself a distributor, it gets its supply through its network, though I believe they also acquire stock from store closings. I'm not sure if MJ Holdings gets product directly from Wizards.
While the SKUs are in the big box store's database, that is only to record the sale and then MJ Holdings and the store split the profit. That is why there is a surcharge over MSRP. If product gets destroyed or stolen, it is MJ Holding's problem, although the big box store will generally accept returns of them. The big box store then counts a return against MJ Holdings's finances. Sometimes, products are damaged or partially destroyed, so MJ Holdings will repackage whatever is salvageable.
As for why the product is so professional-looking, it is because of MH Holding's business relationship with Wizards. Wizards provides the packaging art to third parties to help them sell these loose items. I'm not sure what the exact arrangement is between third parties and Wizards, but I have read statements on Reddit by an official Wizards representative that they assist with the package art. (Because MJ Holdings and other third parties don't seem to want to hire a competent package designer themselves, which is why you often see the generic and bland-looking "3 booster pack" package with zero branding on the front. Only the boosters are visible in the front.)
Basically, if the fine print on the product box says "Distributed by MJ Holdings" or some other company, then it is a third-party product for mass sale.
Again, I wish I could buy directly through them. Cut out the box stores and their 5% surcharge on packs/sets, pay them MSRP instead and they make more profit per pack than sharing profits (and paying for shelf space). I would assume they are contractually obligated to only distribute and not sell directly to customers. Again, thank you for the detailed post.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Hey Trolls, I write magic articles. If you want something to bash on check them out here. http://www.examiner.com/user-jeffrey-carmichael
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.