Hmm, so it's that low on TCGplayer already. Thanks.
Well, bought almost all my expensive cards from SCG in the past years .. so it became a habit to check them out first. They're a big name in the mtg community, so I'm sure they can be trusted.
Anyway, about the scam that happened here in my country... as far as I know, the fakes were all regular cards, no foils. The scammer put the fake scalding tarns in double sleeve before handing them to the victim / buyer. The fake cards were well made, and since they were sleeved, the buyer did not notice that he was being given fakes. Before that, there was a similar incident which involves the original duals that are also fake. So for now, I'm not buying anything expensive here - will just order what I need online.
Wait to see if goyf finds itself in iconic masters. I'm pretty sure it will be in the 25 masters set too so it's OK to wait. (also, it might be the vanilla mythic teased by MaRo, it was timeshifted afterall, and the next block has dinosaurs so maybe it and the vanilla anthem petroglyphs will show up? Doubtful though.)
Hmm, so it's that low on TCGplayer already. Thanks.
Well, bought almost all my expensive cards from SCG in the past years .. so it became a habit to check them out first. They're a big name in the mtg community, so I'm sure they can be trusted.
Anyway, about the scam that happened here in my country... as far as I know, the fakes were all regular cards, no foils. The scammer put the fake scalding tarns in double sleeve before handing them to the victim / buyer. The fake cards were well made, and since they were sleeved, the buyer did not notice that he was being given fakes. Before that, there was a similar incident which involves the original duals that are also fake. So for now, I'm not buying anything expensive here - will just order what I need online.
Unbelievable; pretty ballsy move trying to scam players with fakes face to face. But yes, SCG is one of the secondary market titans and it's very unlikely a counterfeit would make it's way into their possession, get graded, and shipped out to the consumer. My go-to online sources for cards are TCGplayer and eBay; the TCGplayer model is that of a marketplace, so prices tend to be fairly competitive and usually the lowest around, in my experience. Vendor sites such as SCG and Ch. Fireball set their own prices and those tend to be higher than market value; I'm assuming this is most likely due to the fact that players can buy list cards for store credit, which naturally can only be spent in their store. I've never had any counterfeit issues w/ TCGplayer and whenever a problem does arise, their customer service is actually really good about making things right. As far as eBay goes, they're great for finding deals on expensive cards, however, I typically won't buy anything valued over $50 unless it's from a recent set that displays the holofoil. If you're looking at acquiring MM15/MM17 Goyfs, then you don't have much to worry about so long as you're buying from a reputable site. If you ever decide to start trading/buying locally again, I suggest getting yourself a jewelers loupe; you can get a decent one for around $10USD and the peace of mind itself is worth the small cost. Fakes have gotten scarily accurate in recent years, but they still can't mimic the dot patterns found in legitimate prints. Once I bought my first loupe a couple years ago, I got curious and inspected a handful of value cards I had received from PucaTrade...pretty bummed to learn that two of my Snapcasters were frauds.
As far as Goyf being reprinted in either of the upcoming two Masters sets, I personally just don't see it happening. I suppose anything is possible based on how liberal WotC has been with reprints as of late, but two printings of Goyf within a year's time would be a game changer. I've been trying to find the time to sort through my collection and get rid of all the extra Modern staples collecting dust, but another Goyf reprint between now and March would be all the motivation I need to turn those cards into Revised duals.
Hmm, so it's that low on TCGplayer already. Thanks.
Well, bought almost all my expensive cards from SCG in the past years .. so it became a habit to check them out first. They're a big name in the mtg community, so I'm sure they can be trusted.
Anyway, about the scam that happened here in my country... as far as I know, the fakes were all regular cards, no foils. The scammer put the fake scalding tarns in double sleeve before handing them to the victim / buyer. The fake cards were well made, and since they were sleeved, the buyer did not notice that he was being given fakes. Before that, there was a similar incident which involves the original duals that are also fake. So for now, I'm not buying anything expensive here - will just order what I need online.
Are you located in Japan?
My guess would be the fakes are coming from China. I get nervous buying from individuals located on the west coast of the United States for fear that those places are the receivers of incoming fakes from China. Its always good advice to be wary of who and where you buy from. Best wishes to you.
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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."
Hmm, so it's that low on TCGplayer already. Thanks.
Well, bought almost all my expensive cards from SCG in the past years .. so it became a habit to check them out first. They're a big name in the mtg community, so I'm sure they can be trusted.
Anyway, about the scam that happened here in my country... as far as I know, the fakes were all regular cards, no foils. The scammer put the fake scalding tarns in double sleeve before handing them to the victim / buyer. The fake cards were well made, and since they were sleeved, the buyer did not notice that he was being given fakes. Before that, there was a similar incident which involves the original duals that are also fake. So for now, I'm not buying anything expensive here - will just order what I need online.
I'm sad to think of how much you've overspent buying exclusively from scg. Their prices are generally considered the max of a cards value. There are tons of reputable sources available to get cards, even highly sought ones, for 10-20% less.
Hmm, so it's that low on TCGplayer already. Thanks.
Well, bought almost all my expensive cards from SCG in the past years .. so it became a habit to check them out first. They're a big name in the mtg community, so I'm sure they can be trusted.
Anyway, about the scam that happened here in my country... as far as I know, the fakes were all regular cards, no foils. The scammer put the fake scalding tarns in double sleeve before handing them to the victim / buyer. The fake cards were well made, and since they were sleeved, the buyer did not notice that he was being given fakes. Before that, there was a similar incident which involves the original duals that are also fake. So for now, I'm not buying anything expensive here - will just order what I need online.
I'm sad to think of how much you've overspent buying exclusively from scg. Their prices are generally considered the max of a cards value. There are tons of reputable sources available to get cards, even highly sought ones, for 10-20% less.
I agree. I don't deal with SCG at all and never have. I admit I do like Card Kingdom out of Washington state. They are rocket fast and have GREAT customer service. If you shop around on certain lesser demand cards you can get good buy prices. As with others a lot of the in demand cards are overpriced. You need to be a picky buyer. I also purchase quite a bit over ebay but only from members with at least 30 or so feedback scores and with usually 99-100% positive feedback. And there are big name dealers on ebay that I won't touch as they are slow and have poor shipping practices. (If you want to know PM me and I'll let you know who they are.) I'm not selling right now so I can't comment on that. But if you are a buyer/collector. Use your head, be patient and shop around. You will find what you want at a fair price. Also remember the absolute cheapest price may not be the BEST for you depending on the seller. If the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
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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."
Hmm, so it's that low on TCGplayer already. Thanks.
Well, bought almost all my expensive cards from SCG in the past years .. so it became a habit to check them out first. They're a big name in the mtg community, so I'm sure they can be trusted.
Anyway, about the scam that happened here in my country... as far as I know, the fakes were all regular cards, no foils. The scammer put the fake scalding tarns in double sleeve before handing them to the victim / buyer. The fake cards were well made, and since they were sleeved, the buyer did not notice that he was being given fakes. Before that, there was a similar incident which involves the original duals that are also fake. So for now, I'm not buying anything expensive here - will just order what I need online.
I'm sad to think of how much you've overspent buying exclusively from scg. Their prices are generally considered the max of a cards value. There are tons of reputable sources available to get cards, even highly sought ones, for 10-20% less.
I agree. I don't deal with SCG at all and never have. I admit I do like Card Kingdom out of Washington state. They are rocket fast and have GREAT customer service. If you shop around on certain lesser demand cards you can get good buy prices. As with others a lot of the in demand cards are overpriced. You need to be a picky buyer. I also purchase quite a bit over ebay but only from members with at least 30 or so feedback scores and with usually 99-100% positive feedback. And there are big name dealers on ebay that I won't touch as they are slow and have poor shipping practices. (If you want to know PM me and I'll let you know who they are.) I'm not selling right now so I can't comment on that. But if you are a buyer/collector. Use your head, be patient and shop around. You will find what you want at a fair price. Also remember the absolute cheapest price may not be the BEST for you depending on the seller. If the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
My experience has taught me that SCG isn't always the worst place to buy from, in fact, sometimes I found SCG to be the least expensive. I tend to buy from eBay, Card Kingdom, Channel Fireball, SCG, and TCG, and I almost always check all of them before committing to a purchase. You'd be surprised how many cards are lower at SCG especially foils, though I'll admit that, in general, SCG tends to be the most expensive. I do, however, like SCG card quality/condition as their SP cards can sometimes be in better shape than other etailers' NM. Keep in mind this is just my experience and I've never had any problems with any of the stores, except for a couple of Inkmoth Nexus's from Card Kingdom which looked fake but turned out to be from the event pack.
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Modern
Competitive: GW Hatebears - UG Infect - BGW Liege Rhino
Casual: GR Titan Ramp - BR Aggro
WIP: BUW Control Mill
I lived in Roanoke where scg is located and it was still almost always cheaper for me to order online and pay shipping than it was to buy from scg even in the store. I have seen a few times where they have ok prices, but it is uncommon or the prices are low because they are sold out and didn't bother updating yet.
Also I preordered 4 grim flayers at $4 each from them and they cancelled my order so I was pretty salty about that.
I will agree that they have the best quality rating system of any store though. If you are paying for a near mint older, expensive card, you can be pretty confident it will be near mint.
Star City is good for availability and not much else.
Although once they sent me a foil gemstone mine instead of caverns. So maybe they're looking out for us?
(This was years before the price of caverns went up)
I shop at SCG sometimes and have had nothing but great experiences, plus I like supporting them since they do so much for the game. When I want to order a large volume of lower cost stuff, I always use them. I also do my "buy list" sales through them and choose the store credit option, which I've used to build a couple Modern decks.
When I want higher value cards, I use ebay because the best deals are to be had there. But to get the best deals, you have to bid on auctions, which takes some attention and effort. For example, I recently got 4 Thoughtseize (Theros) for $58, which is pretty darn good.
I shop at SCG sometimes and have had nothing but great experiences, plus I like supporting them since they do so much for the game
Slippery slope right here. Have you ever noticed that a card may sometimes spike/nose dive suddenly and then disappear from the market, only to show up later at an inflated value? This is common of random buyouts involving RL cards and those from smaller sets, but it also happens to cards from new/newer sets and that widespread sense of "intuition" is highly improbable without insider information. In my humble opinion, it's naive to think that there's zero collusion/insider trading occurring in a market that's as lucrative as the secondary mtg market. It's perfectly legal considering there's no Securities and Exchange Commission-esque organization watching over the market, so it almost becomes inevitable when you have employees from WotC and the secondary market constantly rubbing elbows. There's no denying that SCG provides great event coverage, but due to shady business practices by them, in addition to CF and a select few others, I actively avoid giving them my business whenever possible.
I shop at SCG sometimes and have had nothing but great experiences, plus I like supporting them since they do so much for the game
Slippery slope right here. Have you ever noticed that a card may sometimes spike/nose dive suddenly and then disappear from the market, only to show up later at an inflated value? This is common of random buyouts involving RL cards and those from smaller sets, but it also happens to cards from new/newer sets and that widespread sense of "intuition" is highly improbable without insider information. In my humble opinion, it's naive to think that there's zero collusion/insider trading occurring in a market that's as lucrative as the secondary mtg market. It's perfectly legal considering there's no Securities and Exchange Commission-esque organization watching over the market, so it almost becomes inevitable when you have employees from WotC and the secondary market constantly rubbing elbows. There's no denying that SCG provides great event coverage, but due to shady business practices by them, in addition to CF and a select few others, I actively avoid giving them my business whenever possible.
Have you heard anything about CardKingdom? I don't see them out sponsoring teams like SCG and CF (whom I also stay away from). But if they are I may rethink my position. I'm with you, I think those 2 (SCG and CF) are far to cozy with Wizards not to be colluding. Of course you never know even with the ebay crowd as well. I try to keep up with what gets hot and as you say it sure gets fishy at times. Do you have some trusted sellers you could recommend? Thanks.
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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 shop at SCG sometimes and have had nothing but great experiences, plus I like supporting them since they do so much for the game
Slippery slope right here. Have you ever noticed that a card may sometimes spike/nose dive suddenly and then disappear from the market, only to show up later at an inflated value? This is common of random buyouts involving RL cards and those from smaller sets, but it also happens to cards from new/newer sets and that widespread sense of "intuition" is highly improbable without insider information. In my humble opinion, it's naive to think that there's zero collusion/insider trading occurring in a market that's as lucrative as the secondary mtg market. It's perfectly legal considering there's no Securities and Exchange Commission-esque organization watching over the market, so it almost becomes inevitable when you have employees from WotC and the secondary market constantly rubbing elbows. There's no denying that SCG provides great event coverage, but due to shady business practices by them, in addition to CF and a select few others, I actively avoid giving them my business whenever possible.
Have you heard anything about CardKingdom? I don't see them out sponsoring teams like SCG and CF (whom I also stay away from). But if they are I may rethink my position. I'm with you, I think those 2 (SCG and CF) are far to cozy with Wizards not to be colluding. Of course you never know even with the ebay crowd as well. I try to keep up with what gets hot and as you say it sure gets fishy at times. Do you have some trusted sellers you could recommend? Thanks.
I can't say I've heard much from CK at all aside from the promos they get from Tolarian's Youtube channel. When it comes to the secondary market, literally anybody with ties to R&D, marketing, production, etc has the potential to use/share their knowledge for financial gain. For example, those who knew fetches would be printed in MM17 had the opportunity to make a boatload of money both by unloading their own copies in addition to sharing that information with an outside source(s). I won't point any fingers, but up until the actual MM17 spoiler announcements, many Reddit users and folks here at MTGS reported that certain big-name buy lists were dragging their feet when it came to confirming offers for Zen fetches. Again, perfectly legal, but it does raise quite a few ethical concerns. I've never done business with CK directly (only through TCGPlayer), but they're trying to run a successful business and compete with established secondary market titans, so what do you do if you happen to come across some insider information pertaining to Iconic Masters? Well, you wouldn't be doing your job if you didn't use it to your advantage. Long story short, the executives/employees from these companies share many of the same circles as those at WotC/Hasbro.
As far as trusted sellers go, I generally just go with the lowest TCGplayer price for whichever condition I'm looking for so long as the seller's feedback isn't atrocious. This is largely in part due to TCGplayers phenomenal customer service; I'm confident that if a transaction were to ever go wrong, TCGplayer would step in to make it right (most individual sellers are also excellent when it comes to communication). eBay is a different animal and with them, I mostly read through feedback if it's a considerable purchase I'm contemplating and poor grammar/spelling & general lack of concern within item descriptions is usually a deal-breaker for me. I do have a list of TCGplayer sellers who I try to buy from even if they're charging a bit more, because I've dealt with them in the past and genuinely feel like they give a *****: Pastimes, Chicagoland Games, Miniature Exchange, & Card Titan are some of the notable sellers that come to mind. Best advice I have for any sort of online commerce is to read feedback! Don't assume 100% means your golden nor think 95% means that seller is a no go; the devil is in the details.
I shop at SCG sometimes and have had nothing but great experiences, plus I like supporting them since they do so much for the game. When I want to order a large volume of lower cost stuff, I always use them. I also do my "buy list" sales through them and choose the store credit option, which I've used to build a couple Modern decks.
When I want higher value cards, I use ebay because the best deals are to be had there. But to get the best deals, you have to bid on auctions, which takes some attention and effort. For example, I recently got 4 Thoughtseize (Theros) for $58, which is pretty darn good.
Have been buying from SCG for 5 years. And most of my experiences with them are good. There's a cool guy in their customer service who kept reassuring me that the Savannah I ordered would arrive - and it did arrive. Even their manager is kind. During their promo years ago that they were giving away free SCG tokens... I asked if it's possible to give me a Spirit to use for Lingering Souls, and I was very surprised that one of the free tokens that arrived with my order is a spirit. Anyway, these experiences were more than 2 years ago... so the people that I talked to might not be there anymore.
The only bad thing that happened is a minor one... they once had these nice limited art zombie tokens for sale. I ordered and when the two zombie tokens arrived, one of them had tape and the token got a bit torn because of the tape.. :<
And for recent nice experiences. Really enjoyed their long Holiday sale, they sold khans fetch lands for only 8$ each.
Solemnity-because whatever the Melira deck is named now needed another combo piece. Edit: What I really meant to post about- Could this push up thing in the ice or help the dark depths. Legacy deck?
Value is good. But Dredgevine isn't supposed to be about value. It's supposed to be about V-8; 2000 pounds of nitro boosted war vegetables. The more velocity, the better.
Modern: DredgeVine EDH: Gisela, Blade of Goldnight Anima Standard:
Solemnity-because whatever the Melira deck is named now needed another combo piece. Edit: What I really meant to post about- Could this push up thing in the ice or help the dark depths. Legacy deck?
Yeesh, no kidding. I would've loved to have this card a year ago when Infect was tier 1 and pushing my ***** in anytime I played Bogles.
I'm not buying the collusion conspiracy theories. But I don't doubt that the big stores hold back product from their available inventory if they think it's on the rise. That's just good business, and they have every right to do that. Everyone knows they hold back sealed boxes, which is also fine, consumers do that too.
I just wish the Kaladesh Inventions were not so expensive because I love the art and the borders...
Thanks for the replies TheFluff and Joban8. Sorry I haven't gotten back to you, much appreciated responses.
And yes I just thought of Thing in the Ice with Solemnity as well. Does it work after you cast an instant/sorcery?
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():
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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'm not buying the collusion conspiracy theories. But I don't doubt that the big stores hold back product from their available inventory if they think it's on the rise. That's just good business, and they have every right to do that. Everyone knows they hold back sealed boxes, which is also fine, consumers do that too.
I just wish the Kaladesh Inventions were not so expensive because I love the art and the borders...
Oh yeah, that's fine and dandy. However, eyebrows start to raise when certain vendors delay/stop buylisting zen fetches altogether weeks before they're officially spoiled in MM17. I don't think it's collusion so much as insider information trading; WotC has nothing to gain from divulging private information to vendors, but there are literally zero regulations prohibiting anybody with said information from sharing it with vendors in exchange for compensation. Human history shows time and time again that whenever a system can be exploited for profit, it will be. They even made a whole movie about it featuring Leonardo DiCaprio; the scale is much smaller in this case, but the opportunity for lucrative profits is certainly there.
Solemnity-because whatever the Melira deck is named now needed another combo piece. Edit: What I really meant to post about- Could this push up thing in the ice or help the dark depths. Legacy deck?
I think it works like this yes.
Dark Depths would become a 20/20 instantly. (It's ability triggers as soon as it has no counters)
Thing in Ice would transform when you play your next instant or sorcery. (Because it's flip is tied to it's triggered ability)
Would be too slow for Thing in the Ice, IMO. I played Thing/Kiln Fiend off and on and if you play a T2 Thing and it lives to your untap, you can fairly reliably flip it T3 anyway. With this, you have to play the enchantment T3, Thing T4, and even if you flip it T4, it is summoning sick and can't attack. There's definitely combo enabling good stuff with this enchantment, but Thing in the Ice probably isn't it.
Well, bought almost all my expensive cards from SCG in the past years .. so it became a habit to check them out first. They're a big name in the mtg community, so I'm sure they can be trusted.
Anyway, about the scam that happened here in my country... as far as I know, the fakes were all regular cards, no foils. The scammer put the fake scalding tarns in double sleeve before handing them to the victim / buyer. The fake cards were well made, and since they were sleeved, the buyer did not notice that he was being given fakes. Before that, there was a similar incident which involves the original duals that are also fake. So for now, I'm not buying anything expensive here - will just order what I need online.
Nexus MTG News // Nexus - Magic Art Gallery // MTG Dual Land Color Ratios Analyzer // MTG Card Drawing Odds Calculator
Want to play a UW control deck in modern, but don't have jace or snaps?
Please come visit us at the Emeria Titan control thread
Nexus MTG News // Nexus - Magic Art Gallery // MTG Dual Land Color Ratios Analyzer // MTG Card Drawing Odds Calculator
Want to play a UW control deck in modern, but don't have jace or snaps?
Please come visit us at the Emeria Titan control thread
17 November.
http://mtg.gamepedia.com/Iconic_Masters
Unbelievable; pretty ballsy move trying to scam players with fakes face to face. But yes, SCG is one of the secondary market titans and it's very unlikely a counterfeit would make it's way into their possession, get graded, and shipped out to the consumer. My go-to online sources for cards are TCGplayer and eBay; the TCGplayer model is that of a marketplace, so prices tend to be fairly competitive and usually the lowest around, in my experience. Vendor sites such as SCG and Ch. Fireball set their own prices and those tend to be higher than market value; I'm assuming this is most likely due to the fact that players can buy list cards for store credit, which naturally can only be spent in their store. I've never had any counterfeit issues w/ TCGplayer and whenever a problem does arise, their customer service is actually really good about making things right. As far as eBay goes, they're great for finding deals on expensive cards, however, I typically won't buy anything valued over $50 unless it's from a recent set that displays the holofoil. If you're looking at acquiring MM15/MM17 Goyfs, then you don't have much to worry about so long as you're buying from a reputable site. If you ever decide to start trading/buying locally again, I suggest getting yourself a jewelers loupe; you can get a decent one for around $10USD and the peace of mind itself is worth the small cost. Fakes have gotten scarily accurate in recent years, but they still can't mimic the dot patterns found in legitimate prints. Once I bought my first loupe a couple years ago, I got curious and inspected a handful of value cards I had received from PucaTrade...pretty bummed to learn that two of my Snapcasters were frauds.
As far as Goyf being reprinted in either of the upcoming two Masters sets, I personally just don't see it happening. I suppose anything is possible based on how liberal WotC has been with reprints as of late, but two printings of Goyf within a year's time would be a game changer. I've been trying to find the time to sort through my collection and get rid of all the extra Modern staples collecting dust, but another Goyf reprint between now and March would be all the motivation I need to turn those cards into Revised duals.
Link to Discord server where anybody from MTGS can keep up with thread topics while everything is being sorted out with the new site.
Are you located in Japan?
My guess would be the fakes are coming from China. I get nervous buying from individuals located on the west coast of the United States for fear that those places are the receivers of incoming fakes from China. Its always good advice to be wary of who and where you buy from. Best wishes to you.
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'm sad to think of how much you've overspent buying exclusively from scg. Their prices are generally considered the max of a cards value. There are tons of reputable sources available to get cards, even highly sought ones, for 10-20% less.
I agree. I don't deal with SCG at all and never have. I admit I do like Card Kingdom out of Washington state. They are rocket fast and have GREAT customer service. If you shop around on certain lesser demand cards you can get good buy prices. As with others a lot of the in demand cards are overpriced. You need to be a picky buyer. I also purchase quite a bit over ebay but only from members with at least 30 or so feedback scores and with usually 99-100% positive feedback. And there are big name dealers on ebay that I won't touch as they are slow and have poor shipping practices. (If you want to know PM me and I'll let you know who they are.) I'm not selling right now so I can't comment on that. But if you are a buyer/collector. Use your head, be patient and shop around. You will find what you want at a fair price. Also remember the absolute cheapest price may not be the BEST for you depending on the seller. If the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
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."
My experience has taught me that SCG isn't always the worst place to buy from, in fact, sometimes I found SCG to be the least expensive. I tend to buy from eBay, Card Kingdom, Channel Fireball, SCG, and TCG, and I almost always check all of them before committing to a purchase. You'd be surprised how many cards are lower at SCG especially foils, though I'll admit that, in general, SCG tends to be the most expensive. I do, however, like SCG card quality/condition as their SP cards can sometimes be in better shape than other etailers' NM. Keep in mind this is just my experience and I've never had any problems with any of the stores, except for a couple of Inkmoth Nexus's from Card Kingdom which looked fake but turned out to be from the event pack.
Competitive: GW Hatebears - UG Infect - BGW Liege Rhino
Casual: GR Titan Ramp - BR Aggro
WIP: BUW Control Mill
Also I preordered 4 grim flayers at $4 each from them and they cancelled my order so I was pretty salty about that.
I will agree that they have the best quality rating system of any store though. If you are paying for a near mint older, expensive card, you can be pretty confident it will be near mint.
Although once they sent me a foil gemstone mine instead of caverns. So maybe they're looking out for us?
(This was years before the price of caverns went up)
When I want higher value cards, I use ebay because the best deals are to be had there. But to get the best deals, you have to bid on auctions, which takes some attention and effort. For example, I recently got 4 Thoughtseize (Theros) for $58, which is pretty darn good.
Slippery slope right here. Have you ever noticed that a card may sometimes spike/nose dive suddenly and then disappear from the market, only to show up later at an inflated value? This is common of random buyouts involving RL cards and those from smaller sets, but it also happens to cards from new/newer sets and that widespread sense of "intuition" is highly improbable without insider information. In my humble opinion, it's naive to think that there's zero collusion/insider trading occurring in a market that's as lucrative as the secondary mtg market. It's perfectly legal considering there's no Securities and Exchange Commission-esque organization watching over the market, so it almost becomes inevitable when you have employees from WotC and the secondary market constantly rubbing elbows. There's no denying that SCG provides great event coverage, but due to shady business practices by them, in addition to CF and a select few others, I actively avoid giving them my business whenever possible.
Link to Discord server where anybody from MTGS can keep up with thread topics while everything is being sorted out with the new site.
Have you heard anything about CardKingdom? I don't see them out sponsoring teams like SCG and CF (whom I also stay away from). But if they are I may rethink my position. I'm with you, I think those 2 (SCG and CF) are far to cozy with Wizards not to be colluding. Of course you never know even with the ebay crowd as well. I try to keep up with what gets hot and as you say it sure gets fishy at times. Do you have some trusted sellers you could recommend? Thanks.
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."
RGTron
UGInfect
URStorm
WUBRAd Nauseam
BRGrishoalbrand
URGScapeshift
WBGAbzan Company
WUBRGAmulet Titan
BRGLiving End
WGBogles
Grixis Death's Shadow, Jund, UW Tron, Jeskai Control, Storm, Counters Company, Eldrazi Tron, Affinity, Living End, Infect, Merfolk, Dredge, Ad Nauseam, Amulet, Bogles, Eldrazi Tron, Mono U Tron, Lantern, Mardu Pyromancer
I can't say I've heard much from CK at all aside from the promos they get from Tolarian's Youtube channel. When it comes to the secondary market, literally anybody with ties to R&D, marketing, production, etc has the potential to use/share their knowledge for financial gain. For example, those who knew fetches would be printed in MM17 had the opportunity to make a boatload of money both by unloading their own copies in addition to sharing that information with an outside source(s). I won't point any fingers, but up until the actual MM17 spoiler announcements, many Reddit users and folks here at MTGS reported that certain big-name buy lists were dragging their feet when it came to confirming offers for Zen fetches. Again, perfectly legal, but it does raise quite a few ethical concerns. I've never done business with CK directly (only through TCGPlayer), but they're trying to run a successful business and compete with established secondary market titans, so what do you do if you happen to come across some insider information pertaining to Iconic Masters? Well, you wouldn't be doing your job if you didn't use it to your advantage. Long story short, the executives/employees from these companies share many of the same circles as those at WotC/Hasbro.
As far as trusted sellers go, I generally just go with the lowest TCGplayer price for whichever condition I'm looking for so long as the seller's feedback isn't atrocious. This is largely in part due to TCGplayers phenomenal customer service; I'm confident that if a transaction were to ever go wrong, TCGplayer would step in to make it right (most individual sellers are also excellent when it comes to communication). eBay is a different animal and with them, I mostly read through feedback if it's a considerable purchase I'm contemplating and poor grammar/spelling & general lack of concern within item descriptions is usually a deal-breaker for me. I do have a list of TCGplayer sellers who I try to buy from even if they're charging a bit more, because I've dealt with them in the past and genuinely feel like they give a *****: Pastimes, Chicagoland Games, Miniature Exchange, & Card Titan are some of the notable sellers that come to mind. Best advice I have for any sort of online commerce is to read feedback! Don't assume 100% means your golden nor think 95% means that seller is a no go; the devil is in the details.
Link to Discord server where anybody from MTGS can keep up with thread topics while everything is being sorted out with the new site.
Have been buying from SCG for 5 years. And most of my experiences with them are good. There's a cool guy in their customer service who kept reassuring me that the Savannah I ordered would arrive - and it did arrive. Even their manager is kind. During their promo years ago that they were giving away free SCG tokens... I asked if it's possible to give me a Spirit to use for Lingering Souls, and I was very surprised that one of the free tokens that arrived with my order is a spirit. Anyway, these experiences were more than 2 years ago... so the people that I talked to might not be there anymore.
The only bad thing that happened is a minor one... they once had these nice limited art zombie tokens for sale. I ordered and when the two zombie tokens arrived, one of them had tape and the token got a bit torn because of the tape.. :<
And for recent nice experiences. Really enjoyed their long Holiday sale, they sold khans fetch lands for only 8$ each.
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Want to play a UW control deck in modern, but don't have jace or snaps?
Please come visit us at the Emeria Titan control thread
Modern:
EDH:
Standard:
Yeesh, no kidding. I would've loved to have this card a year ago when Infect was tier 1 and pushing my ***** in anytime I played Bogles.
Link to Discord server where anybody from MTGS can keep up with thread topics while everything is being sorted out with the new site.
I just wish the Kaladesh Inventions were not so expensive because I love the art and the borders...
And yes I just thought of Thing in the Ice with Solemnity as well. Does it work after you cast an instant/sorcery?
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."
Oh yeah, that's fine and dandy. However, eyebrows start to raise when certain vendors delay/stop buylisting zen fetches altogether weeks before they're officially spoiled in MM17. I don't think it's collusion so much as insider information trading; WotC has nothing to gain from divulging private information to vendors, but there are literally zero regulations prohibiting anybody with said information from sharing it with vendors in exchange for compensation. Human history shows time and time again that whenever a system can be exploited for profit, it will be. They even made a whole movie about it featuring Leonardo DiCaprio; the scale is much smaller in this case, but the opportunity for lucrative profits is certainly there.
Link to Discord server where anybody from MTGS can keep up with thread topics while everything is being sorted out with the new site.
I think it works like this yes.
Dark Depths would become a 20/20 instantly. (It's ability triggers as soon as it has no counters)
Thing in Ice would transform when you play your next instant or sorcery. (Because it's flip is tied to it's triggered ability)
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate