They only have FedEx shipping options available right now, what gives? (I'm in the US by the way, and talking singles.) I was considering selling them a bunch of cards but if the shipping is going to cost $10 that's not going to happen.
I found it odd so I decided to go check and sure enough, only fed ex options available, probably an error of some kind with their website shipping part, since it does say "USPS transit times are an estimation, please select a Fed-Ex option if you need a guaranteed transit time." Thus for whatever reason its leaving off the USPS shipping options. Hopefully they will fix it soon :).
Their "played" cards border on heavy play though, just letting you guys know
It depends. Sometimes you'll order played cards, and they'll look almost mint. I picked up a set of Breakthroughs from them listed as played (the price was right), and they sent me some cards that looked pretty much unplayed. Other times I ordered Enlightened Tutors, and got one that was lightly played, and another that I might have been better off ponying up for unplayed.
You really never know. So, yeah, as a rule assume moderate-to-heavy play and weigh the price against what it's worth to you. You might get lucky, but you might not.
I have not dealt directly with their website before, but I have purchased many cards through the ABUGames store on eBay. I was looking to foil out an EDH Demon deck, so I was purchasing some fairly pricey cards from them. I was just hoping not to get burned, but everything I got arrived in fantastic, NM condition, and I had them in under a week's time. I would have to recommend them based on that experience.
Just thought I would let everyone know about a great experience that I had with them this last week. I ordered a bunch (6) of 9-pocket portfolios to hold some sets that I'm collecting, and received 4-pocket portfolios instead. When I let them know, they shipped out the correct product and had it in my hands within three days. Told me to keep the 4-pocketers for my troubles, about $30 worth of product.
I buy a lot online, and ABU had always been a secondary choice for me when shopping online, mostly due to their prices, but they've made a friend in me. I'll be shopping there a lot more often.
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I'd just like to comment that since my last post in this thread, their prices have generally gone quite a way up, from "Slight premium for good service and great stock" to "Wait, $120 for Underground Sea?" In general, their pricing for staples is atrocious now, which is a shame, and basically leaves them only good for EDH and foils.
I'd just like to comment that since my last post in this thread, their prices have generally gone quite a way up, from "Slight premium for good service and great stock" to "Wait, $120 for Underground Sea?" In general, their pricing for staples is atrocious now, which is a shame, and basically leaves them only good for EDH and foils.
I've never bought from ABU before, but I've always noticed their prices (from their eBay storefront) are exorbitant, sometimes many times higher than I think is reasonable.
But $120 for Underground Sea is actually the lowest price you can get for an unplayed copy from a retailer on TCGPlayer.com, so I'm actually surprised ABU is on the lower end of that spectrum.
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Due to real-life obligations, I am taking a long break from Magic which may include missing the local Legacy GP. Apologies for not being able to keep my threads updated.
I'd just like to comment that since my last post in this thread, their prices have generally gone quite a way up, from "Slight premium for good service and great stock" to "Wait, $120 for Underground Sea?" In general, their pricing for staples is atrocious now, which is a shame, and basically leaves them only good for EDH and foils.
Probably just trying to do like many of the big online stores these days who try to keep everything in stock if possible and trying to get ahead of the current upward curve of prices. If correct, then their current prices will eventually be correct, and will be something they wont have to worry about for a while. I think for many stores, its become an issue to where they got bought out and are having to go into the normal market like the rest of us (ebay or otherwise) to restock, and thus when they sell them on their site, their price is going to be higher. For the present time though, it means their sales on such cards are likely to slow considerably as people may not be willing to pay the premium at the current time.
Probably just trying to do like many of the big online stores these days who try to keep everything in stock if possible and trying to get ahead of the current upward curve of prices. If correct, then their current prices will eventually be correct, and will be something they wont have to worry about for a while. I think for many stores, its become an issue to where they got bought out and are having to go into the normal market like the rest of us (ebay or otherwise) to restock, and thus when they sell them on their site, their price is going to be higher. For the present time though, it means their sales on such cards are likely to slow considerably as people may not be willing to pay the premium at the current time.
By pricing their NM Scrublands at $70 and their BGS 9 Scrublands at $65? Sometimes I wonder...
By pricing their NM Scrublands at $70 and their BGS 9 Scrublands at $65? Sometimes I wonder...
lol, looks like someone there missed a price update then. I suppose time will tell whether their higher prices pan out, if not, then they'll probably lower them down a little until the cards start selling again.
I've sold plenty to them no trouble, I would say however that I would NEVER buy foils from them, their NM/Played set up leaves to much room for error on foil cards, often getting the scratches or heavily faded foils, and they will generally refuse to show other examples of said foils.
Non-Foil wise, condition is fairly straight forward and simple, yet to have any hassle on non-foils...
I've sold plenty to them no trouble, I would say however that I would NEVER buy foils from them, their NM/Played set up leaves to much room for error on foil cards, often getting the scratches or heavily faded foils, and they will generally refuse to show other examples of said foils.
I would have to dispute this. I've bought heaps and heaps of foils from them, and never once had one that wasn't actually NM or better.
I want to submit my positive experience with this shop. I found a card for my EDH they have at lowest price at TCGplayer:
(1) Planar Chaos Foil - Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth - FOIL (R) (NM-M) @ 34.99: $34.99
I added it to my basket on site and browsed some more through the shop. When it came to check out, they still have the item in my basket, but it was already out of stock in shop. I payed for it. And today my order was shipped to VT, as ordered. Very-very good service, and btw they have no troubles with my Russian IP
I've done a lot of business with them. 30 plus purchases I think. I have had them send me the wrong card once. They fixed it super fast and told me to keep the wrong ones for my trouble (and it really wasn't much trouble, 1 phone call) . One time they forgot to ship my playmat with my order and they fixed that immediately as well. The prices can be a little high but they are good people to do business with.
I've placed several orders through ABU lately and I've noticed that their NM older cards are always in better condition than their NM modern cards. It is actually quite strange, I just purchased a good stack of Revised duals because I know they will arrive in immaculate condition, but I also purchased some cheaper cards like Daze and Brainstorm. The lands are almost gem mint, but the other cards have whitening spots around the entire card. Putting it in perspective, my duals and Beta basics are in better condition than the NM Zendikar fetches...
In summary, definitely worth the premium for older cards but can be hit or miss when it comes to modern cards.
I purchased 2x Ancient Tombs (1 NM, 1 SP), 1x Grim Monolith (SP), 1x Metalworker (NM) and 4x Crystal Veins (All NM).
The SP Ancient Tombs was in terrible shape but I decided to just keep it because I assumed that's what SP was. It was kinda weird because I was expecting the Grim Monolith to be in terrible shape, but it was NM (like the previous two they sent) despite being listed as SP. I was really happy to assume that had such strict definitions of SP, NM and Gem Mint. The metalworker, however, was in terrible shape and had whitening all over. In my opinion, it barely passed for good condition. According to their guide, I'd be correct.
A little dissapointed with the card quality listed NOT matching the cards being sent. More annoyed because it's going to take a few weeks to get it all sorted out (I live out of the states... so things take a week to reach there and a week to get back here).
I think ABU really needs 3 grades for their cards. NM, SP and P. I ordered a bunch of NM and SP stuff from them with the following standouts:
SP Foil Misdirection was 20 dollars off NM and when I got it, it was pretty much NM except for a small nick on the back. This is pretty much my experience with ABU SP cards, they are all perfect except a small imperfection.
I ordered a SP Foil mistveil plains, I noticed it was their last copy on the site but didn't think too much about it. The condition was abysmal, the back is absolutely destroyed ala heavily played alpha/beta cards. The front is so played, that it is really hard to see the text because played foil cards are hard to read for some reason. They really need to have a separate category for this as I am spoiled by ABU's usual "SP" rating which is wonderful.
In general, I have no issues with ABU's grading, they are absolutely the best with it but I'd be wary of cards that they have only 1 left off @ SP. I think they were really out of any foil Mistveil plains and had to send me that banged up one because they had no choice. I'm not gonna complain too much about a 2 dollar foil when I saved 20 dollars on my Foil misdirection. I just wish ABU had a more detailed grading scale so we know exactly what we are getting.
Well, after what happenned recently, with the break in and theft of my standard stock at the shop, I was scrambling to put it all back together with what I had left, and unfortunately scars was one I didnt have a ton of excess for. As it turned out ABU not only had the sets at a good price, but they also offered inexpensive next-day shipping. The week that happenned I was able to order 8 sets and got the sets first thing in the morning the next day. After checking my stock again this week I decided to look again for a similar offering, only to find that they once again had the sets still at the same price, so I did the same, and got them just as quickly. Fantastic service, good prices, and speedy shipping, I couldnt have asked for more, and though I dont shop with them often (before this) Ill certainly look to them first if I need something fast :).
After hearing all the horror stories with abugames, I gotta say they have been pretty reliable so far. Earlier I contested my metalworkers which weren't in good shape. I send an email with a picture and I received a quick reply the next day. I shipped the card out and got the card in two weeks tops, which is great considering I live on the other side of the globe.
As far as their buylist, it's one of the most extensive ones. I've gone through Channelfireball and abugames offers to buy more cards than channelfireball even though they charge a bit more. It's definitely worth it though!
Just shipped them 180 dollars worth of cards on friday, got payment for it today, such a painless transaction and great buy prices I'll be looking to sell to them from now on! Thanks ABU for great service!
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Went there yesterday. Finally had a decent experience. Traded some cards in, and picked up a few. Man do they not like going back up to the stock room to look for replacements that they claim are "factory defects" on NM cards.
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I found it odd so I decided to go check and sure enough, only fed ex options available, probably an error of some kind with their website shipping part, since it does say "USPS transit times are an estimation, please select a Fed-Ex option if you need a guaranteed transit time." Thus for whatever reason its leaving off the USPS shipping options. Hopefully they will fix it soon :).
It depends. Sometimes you'll order played cards, and they'll look almost mint. I picked up a set of Breakthroughs from them listed as played (the price was right), and they sent me some cards that looked pretty much unplayed. Other times I ordered Enlightened Tutors, and got one that was lightly played, and another that I might have been better off ponying up for unplayed.
You really never know. So, yeah, as a rule assume moderate-to-heavy play and weigh the price against what it's worth to you. You might get lucky, but you might not.
I buy a lot online, and ABU had always been a secondary choice for me when shopping online, mostly due to their prices, but they've made a friend in me. I'll be shopping there a lot more often.
"In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite." - Paul Dirac
I've never bought from ABU before, but I've always noticed their prices (from their eBay storefront) are exorbitant, sometimes many times higher than I think is reasonable.
But $120 for Underground Sea is actually the lowest price you can get for an unplayed copy from a retailer on TCGPlayer.com, so I'm actually surprised ABU is on the lower end of that spectrum.
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Junk PodMagic: the BuylistingProbably just trying to do like many of the big online stores these days who try to keep everything in stock if possible and trying to get ahead of the current upward curve of prices. If correct, then their current prices will eventually be correct, and will be something they wont have to worry about for a while. I think for many stores, its become an issue to where they got bought out and are having to go into the normal market like the rest of us (ebay or otherwise) to restock, and thus when they sell them on their site, their price is going to be higher. For the present time though, it means their sales on such cards are likely to slow considerably as people may not be willing to pay the premium at the current time.
By pricing their NM Scrublands at $70 and their BGS 9 Scrublands at $65? Sometimes I wonder...
:EDH:
WR Gisela, Blade of Goldnight (HOLD/100) WR
WB Teysa, Orzhov Scion (HOLD/100) WB
lol, looks like someone there missed a price update then. I suppose time will tell whether their higher prices pan out, if not, then they'll probably lower them down a little until the cards start selling again.
Non-Foil wise, condition is fairly straight forward and simple, yet to have any hassle on non-foils...
I would have to dispute this. I've bought heaps and heaps of foils from them, and never once had one that wasn't actually NM or better.
(1) Planar Chaos Foil - Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth - FOIL (R) (NM-M) @ 34.99: $34.99
I added it to my basket on site and browsed some more through the shop. When it came to check out, they still have the item in my basket, but it was already out of stock in shop. I payed for it. And today my order was shipped to VT, as ordered. Very-very good service, and btw they have no troubles with my Russian IP
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=489747
In summary, definitely worth the premium for older cards but can be hit or miss when it comes to modern cards.
Edit: All is well. A+++ customer service.
:EDH:
WR Gisela, Blade of Goldnight (HOLD/100) WR
WB Teysa, Orzhov Scion (HOLD/100) WB
The SP Ancient Tombs was in terrible shape but I decided to just keep it because I assumed that's what SP was. It was kinda weird because I was expecting the Grim Monolith to be in terrible shape, but it was NM (like the previous two they sent) despite being listed as SP. I was really happy to assume that had such strict definitions of SP, NM and Gem Mint. The metalworker, however, was in terrible shape and had whitening all over. In my opinion, it barely passed for good condition. According to their guide, I'd be correct.
A little dissapointed with the card quality listed NOT matching the cards being sent. More annoyed because it's going to take a few weeks to get it all sorted out (I live out of the states... so things take a week to reach there and a week to get back here).
SP Foil Misdirection was 20 dollars off NM and when I got it, it was pretty much NM except for a small nick on the back. This is pretty much my experience with ABU SP cards, they are all perfect except a small imperfection.
I ordered a SP Foil mistveil plains, I noticed it was their last copy on the site but didn't think too much about it. The condition was abysmal, the back is absolutely destroyed ala heavily played alpha/beta cards. The front is so played, that it is really hard to see the text because played foil cards are hard to read for some reason. They really need to have a separate category for this as I am spoiled by ABU's usual "SP" rating which is wonderful.
In general, I have no issues with ABU's grading, they are absolutely the best with it but I'd be wary of cards that they have only 1 left off @ SP. I think they were really out of any foil Mistveil plains and had to send me that banged up one because they had no choice. I'm not gonna complain too much about a 2 dollar foil when I saved 20 dollars on my Foil misdirection. I just wish ABU had a more detailed grading scale so we know exactly what we are getting.
As far as their buylist, it's one of the most extensive ones. I've gone through Channelfireball and abugames offers to buy more cards than channelfireball even though they charge a bit more. It's definitely worth it though!
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