So in my eternal quest to clean up my collection (that's not gonna happen until I get some free time and an actual room again), I came across a handful of prerelease promos from the last couple years, all still sealed in plastic. Now, I ran a poll a couple years ago when prerelease cards went from "Oh, there are five factions" to "Almost anything can be a prerelease card", which was soon followed up by "Psych! ANYTHING can be a prerelease card!", and the results were pretty inconclusive. Most people thought that the prerelease cards would be about the same value as a pack foil, and mostly that's borne out. With a few exceptions, most prerelease cards are within 10% of the pack foil versions.
So, a followup question: does being sealed in the original plastic wrapper add any value to the card? I made an offer to a seller some time recently, and they counteroffered, citing the fact that their copy was sealed as a selling point. But is it really? I can't play with a sealed copy (which, to be fair, may help preserve its condition). It's definitely genuine, because the prerelease stamp and bag seem like too much work to fake if a counterfeiter had already gotten a good copy (why not just try to pass it off as a pack foil?). And there are people who collect sealed product. But is there anyone out there actually collecting sealed prerelease cards? Nobody has ever expressed interest in the ones in my trade binder, so I'm wondering if any of you have ever encountered anyone who specifically wanted sealed prerelease cards and was willing to pay/trade a premium for them (if they're the same price, I'll definitely take the sealed copy because it's less likely to have been scratched). Your thoughts?
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I think that anything sealed will go up in value over time... This is especially true if Wizards for whatever reason stops putting prerelease foils with date stamps on them. Who knows what the future will bring with that.
I think that anything sealed will go up in value over time... This is especially true if Wizards for whatever reason stops putting prerelease foils with date stamps on them. Who knows what the future will bring with that.
Agree with this.
Disclaimer, this is wild speculation based on my own observations and tinged by my own preferences. The sense I get is that the market for people buying prerelease cards is already based on rarity. I know plenty of people who like playing with date stamped cards that they opened or traded for, but I can't say I've run across anyone who prefers them to pack foils as an aesthetic choice and would go out of their way to buy them over the pack foil (not to say they don't exist). If the demand for them stems from having fewer copies in circulation, it's more of a collecting motive than a playing motive. That's the group that's more likely to be interested in sealed product.
All of that said and despite my vote for "eventually", I'd be surprised if they had any significant premium over opened copies outside of the very long term.
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That's news to me. Are you talking about "Well, if you have access to a professional plastic-wrap shop, you can easily duplicate it", or "Any Timmy, Jenny, or Spike who watches this YouTube video can reseal the wrap in their basement"? Because I'd buy the first claim but will express a significant amount of skepticism at the second.
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That's news to me. Are you talking about "Well, if you have access to a professional plastic-wrap shop, you can easily duplicate it", or "Any Timmy, Jenny, or Spike who watches this YouTube video can reseal the wrap in their basement"? Because I'd buy the first claim but will express a significant amount of skepticism at the second.
It will be the 1st claim then. Shop owner that I frequent showed me how he's able to do it. Not anyone can do it easily imo
That's news to me. Are you talking about "Well, if you have access to a professional plastic-wrap shop, you can easily duplicate it", or "Any Timmy, Jenny, or Spike who watches this YouTube video can reseal the wrap in their basement"? Because I'd buy the first claim but will express a significant amount of skepticism at the second.
It will be the 1st claim then. Shop owner that I frequent showed me how he's able to do it. Not anyone can do it easily imo
Fair enough - yeah, if you have professional gear, resealing is quite possible. I don't think that most places are going to bother, since as we've said above it doesn't add much if any premium to the card's price.
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So, a followup question: does being sealed in the original plastic wrapper add any value to the card? I made an offer to a seller some time recently, and they counteroffered, citing the fact that their copy was sealed as a selling point. But is it really? I can't play with a sealed copy (which, to be fair, may help preserve its condition). It's definitely genuine, because the prerelease stamp and bag seem like too much work to fake if a counterfeiter had already gotten a good copy (why not just try to pass it off as a pack foil?). And there are people who collect sealed product. But is there anyone out there actually collecting sealed prerelease cards? Nobody has ever expressed interest in the ones in my trade binder, so I'm wondering if any of you have ever encountered anyone who specifically wanted sealed prerelease cards and was willing to pay/trade a premium for them (if they're the same price, I'll definitely take the sealed copy because it's less likely to have been scratched). Your thoughts?
Disclaimer, this is wild speculation based on my own observations and tinged by my own preferences. The sense I get is that the market for people buying prerelease cards is already based on rarity. I know plenty of people who like playing with date stamped cards that they opened or traded for, but I can't say I've run across anyone who prefers them to pack foils as an aesthetic choice and would go out of their way to buy them over the pack foil (not to say they don't exist). If the demand for them stems from having fewer copies in circulation, it's more of a collecting motive than a playing motive. That's the group that's more likely to be interested in sealed product.
All of that said and despite my vote for "eventually", I'd be surprised if they had any significant premium over opened copies outside of the very long term.
It will be the 1st claim then. Shop owner that I frequent showed me how he's able to do it. Not anyone can do it easily imo
Fair enough - yeah, if you have professional gear, resealing is quite possible. I don't think that most places are going to bother, since as we've said above it doesn't add much if any premium to the card's price.
Progenitus
Karona, False God
Nahiri, the Lithomancer
Kytheon, Hero of Iroas
Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Bruna, Light of Alabaster
Rakdos, Lord of Riots
Selvala, Explorer Returned
Atarka, World Render
Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
Iroas, God of Victory
Vorel of the Hull Clade
Jhoira of the Ghitu
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
Zur the Enchanter