Following the Commander Thread, I decided to look at the prices for Scorched Ruins. AN EXAMPLE: Let's say I have a LP copy & take it into the LGS by me. They immediately go to the Buylist Market Value and immediately go to that value. Forget that the current selling prices go from MP condition (@ $15.99) to the next price is NM @ $17.98.
Shops used to wither go my the Medium price, or they would look up the prices of the card you have w/ the same condition.
Buylist Market has thrown that all away now. Now shop's have an "accepted" way to rip of the player. "Accepted" is in quotes because it seams no one cares; the current play base has just rolled over and died, accepting what meager scraps they get.
Any else annoyed and outraged by this, or am I the only one?
Attached is a screenshot w/ highlights of the prices difference per condition.
Buylist market price is the average value of what stores on TCGplayer are actually paying for the card. If there's a large discrepancy between that and listed prices, it typically means that stores on the whole don't think the listed price is sustainable or that there's demand at that price, which is generally a safe assumption during and immediately after a spike. TCGplayer listing prices based on what cards are actually moving isn't trying to rip anyone off, it's providing more accurate information about sales. Adding market price for sold cards was a great move to increase transparency and mitigate the price impact of buyouts (also note that market price for Scorched Ruins in your screenshot is only $13, so cards aren't necessarily moving at the listed prices). It makes perfect sense that they would provide that information for buylists as well.
If you want to get list prices for cards, list cards instead of buylisting them. It's tough to be sympathetic when the price trend of the card over the last month looks like the spoiler below and you're complaining that you can't easily sell into a spike.I will admit that I wished their algorithms for calculating market prices were more transparent. It's not clear how many sales or what time frame market price represents, so there's still room for improvement.
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Yeah, Stooge, you're complaining about spread. Stores offer to pay on a buylist at the lowest they can in order to get the stock they need. They're not trying to legitimize ripping people off, they're trying to get inventory. If no one sells at 4.00 and the demand is there (or the store thinks the demand is there) then the buylist goes up.
I agree with Weebo that using a card that just spiked (and had spiked before when The Gitrog Monster was spoiled and then came back down) and expecting stores to buylist at a post-spike price is a little unrealistic. The card will most likely not sustain this price based on the last spike (it will be higher than it started though). So, stores are not dumb enough to adjust their buylist price in the wake of a spike like this.
A good example of a buylist price that seems pretty accurate is that of Mox Opal from Scars of Mirrodin. You can currently buy a NM copy on TCGPlayer for $66.85 (including shipping). The buylist price is $38.18. This means that the buylist price is 57% of the cost it would take to buy it. Cardkingdom will buy the card for $48.00. SCG will buy it for $40. The TCGPlayer price is above 50% and pretty close to SCG's Buylist price. This seems pretty accurate and fair. If you don't agree, what would you expect to get for this card so as not to be "ripped off"?
Also worth noting that to sell that same card on TCGPlayer at that price, you end up with the following:
The thing to remember is that a store needs to make money too. Buying your NM Mox Opal at $60 means they lose money. Buying at $50 leaves them very little room for profit, especially if they can't move it at the lowest price. Maybe they need to list it for $63 which cuts into potential profits.
So, yes, the $38 you get from buylisting is less than what you would get for selling directly to someone but it should be and there is a convenience to buylisting cards. Ignoring cards that have spiked, the buylist price is probably fairly accurate. I would say if someone is offering lower than 50% in general, there is probably cause for concern but the example in your post is not a concern.
I agree with Weebo that using a card that just spiked (and had spiked before when The Gitrog Monster was spoiled and then came back down) and expecting stores to buylist at a post-spike price is a little unrealistic. The card will most likely not sustain this price based on the last spike (it will be higher than it started though). So, stores are not dumb enough to adjust their buylist price in the wake of a spike like this.
A good example of a buylist price that seems pretty accurate is that of Mox Opal from Scars of Mirrodin. You can currently buy a NM copy on TCGPlayer for $66.85 (including shipping). The buylist price is $38.18. This means that the buylist price is 57% of the cost it would take to buy it. Cardkingdom will buy the card for $48.00. SCG will buy it for $40. The TCGPlayer price is above 50% and pretty close to SCG's Buylist price. This seems pretty accurate and fair. If you don't agree, what would you expect to get for this card so as not to be "ripped off"?
Also worth noting that to sell that same card on TCGPlayer at that price, you end up with the following:
The thing to remember is that a store needs to make money too. Buying your NM Mox Opal at $60 means they lose money. Buying at $50 leaves them very little room for profit, especially if they can't move it at the lowest price. Maybe they need to list it for $63 which cuts into potential profits.
So, yes, the $38 you get from buylisting is less than what you would get for selling directly to someone but it should be and there is a convenience to buylisting cards. Ignoring cards that have spiked, the buylist price is probably fairly accurate. I would say if someone is offering lower than 50% in general, there is probably cause for concern but the example in your post is not a concern.
A lot of that is true, I'm mostly passive-aggressively pointing a finger at LGS's and when you go in person to someone who runs a tcgplayer store front. The person I know will use the Buylist Market Price when I sell to him in person, where (from me) there is no tcgplayer or Paypal fee or shipping costs.
From the example you gave, it somewhat makes sense... But when does the buylist market value reflect the price medium? How long does a price spike need to be to no longer be considered a spike and be considered a plateau (look at the Summer of 2017, those were all spikes then, but they those prices have stuck, so is the buylist market price on par w/ median price range?).
It is hard to say how long it takes for a price spike to become "legitimate". It probably varies on the card. A spike like the one we saw with The Scarab God means the buylist price goes up quickly due to demand in Standard and other formats. A price spike like that of Scorched Ruins will probably never be legitimate so stores will wait it out.
To put it simply, it most likely comes down to whether a spike is due to demand (The Scarab God) or speculation (Scorched Ruins). A speculative spike will take months if not longer to become legitimate and have stores increase their buylist price.
Shops used to wither go my the Medium price, or they would look up the prices of the card you have w/ the same condition.
Buylist Market has thrown that all away now. Now shop's have an "accepted" way to rip of the player. "Accepted" is in quotes because it seams no one cares; the current play base has just rolled over and died, accepting what meager scraps they get.
Any else annoyed and outraged by this, or am I the only one?
Attached is a screenshot w/ highlights of the prices difference per condition.
If you want to get list prices for cards, list cards instead of buylisting them. It's tough to be sympathetic when the price trend of the card over the last month looks like the spoiler below and you're complaining that you can't easily sell into a spike.I will admit that I wished their algorithms for calculating market prices were more transparent. It's not clear how many sales or what time frame market price represents, so there's still room for improvement.
A good example of a buylist price that seems pretty accurate is that of Mox Opal from Scars of Mirrodin. You can currently buy a NM copy on TCGPlayer for $66.85 (including shipping). The buylist price is $38.18. This means that the buylist price is 57% of the cost it would take to buy it. Cardkingdom will buy the card for $48.00. SCG will buy it for $40. The TCGPlayer price is above 50% and pretty close to SCG's Buylist price. This seems pretty accurate and fair. If you don't agree, what would you expect to get for this card so as not to be "ripped off"?
Also worth noting that to sell that same card on TCGPlayer at that price, you end up with the following:
$66.85 - Sell Price
$6.85 - TCGPlayer fee (10.25%)
$1.97 - Paypal fee (2.5%) + transaction fee ($0.30)
$2.61 - Shipping with tracking
$55.42 - Total profit
The thing to remember is that a store needs to make money too. Buying your NM Mox Opal at $60 means they lose money. Buying at $50 leaves them very little room for profit, especially if they can't move it at the lowest price. Maybe they need to list it for $63 which cuts into potential profits.
So, yes, the $38 you get from buylisting is less than what you would get for selling directly to someone but it should be and there is a convenience to buylisting cards. Ignoring cards that have spiked, the buylist price is probably fairly accurate. I would say if someone is offering lower than 50% in general, there is probably cause for concern but the example in your post is not a concern.
A lot of that is true, I'm mostly passive-aggressively pointing a finger at LGS's and when you go in person to someone who runs a tcgplayer store front. The person I know will use the Buylist Market Price when I sell to him in person, where (from me) there is no tcgplayer or Paypal fee or shipping costs.
From the example you gave, it somewhat makes sense... But when does the buylist market value reflect the price medium? How long does a price spike need to be to no longer be considered a spike and be considered a plateau (look at the Summer of 2017, those were all spikes then, but they those prices have stuck, so is the buylist market price on par w/ median price range?).
To put it simply, it most likely comes down to whether a spike is due to demand (The Scarab God) or speculation (Scorched Ruins). A speculative spike will take months if not longer to become legitimate and have stores increase their buylist price.