First off, Adriodr (Adrian) was notorious for not giving a crap about trading. He was notoriously famous amongst moderators of the Market Street for his open threads against him. His banning was a long time coming. The final straw was a 6-7 dollar trade that he didn't send out of principle (he was mad at the user) and took the ban. A month later he sold his sicko collection on ebay for the downpayment of his house.
However, FPS is right, time is really important. Amount of refs, not so much. I feel more comfortable with doing a deal with someone with around 100 refs and 5 years invested than 100 refs and 6 months invested.
So, I am the writer of this article. I used to be a trade moderator here and left mtgs shortly before joining CFB. I am interested in how people are jumping on the "These guys are beggars" campaign or "These guys just rip you off" boat. Any of the financial writers who have taken the time to try a pack for power type of activity will be the first to tell you that they are not in it for the money. In fact, it's simply not worth the effort and time invested. We do it for entertainment purposes.
The Foil Trade Routes story in this article was simply for that reason. If you were one of the few people who traded with me this day, you knew exactly what I was doing and why I was doing it.
For those who brought up the fact that Hoard Smelter Dragon and Carnifax Demon are block staples, no non-pro player will be able to participate in this format in anything larger than an FNM. Also, this card is literally .25 online and is certainly considered bulk.
@Jack
I didn't sell my whole collection. I moved all my high-end tournament foils. I de-pimped all my decks from foil to BB.
Also, from the major events that I've attended, I've never run into this "archetype" that Kijin describes. Has anyone else? I mean really? I've run into sharks and grinders, even the "Pseudo-Dealers" with all the prices prelabeled inside their binders, but never a guy slinging a sob story, begging for cards.
To address the archetype, maybe understanding how I approached people, ask yourself this, "If you have a bunch of cards that have sat in your trade binder for years, stores were only offering 10 cents for it, wouldn't you trade two of them for a card that you actually want?"
Now obviously at different points in this story, i got some pretty good stuff. However, the big red flag for everyone is diplomatic immunity. The trade started before I even got to see that this card was there. To obtain the 8 foil pages of cards, I literally handed over my binder and told him to take whatever he wanted. He took 6, 7 or 8 cards, I don't exactly remember and handed me the pages. He didn't care one bit about what was in there and even said, that he didn't care what was in there, he was just tired of carrying the binder around. Did I make a killing? I don't think so. Especially now that I know that the Diplomatic Immunity was only two bucks.
When I traded this card away, I was under the impression that it's value was significantly higher than it was. Do I feel bad about the trade? Not really.
Now before all of you blow up, let me explain. At the time of the trade, the person who wanted the card had been searching for it for a long time. Now obviously I got X% more in value out of this deal and the next time I see him (as he is a local player) I will make up the difference to him. Despite popular belief, I don't go around trying to take advantage of the overly generous and those with a kind heart.
By now, he's definitely read the article and has also read this thread and I am sure he feels the same way I do. I didn't intentionally rip him off to gloat or brag, nor did I write this article for that purpose. In fact, of all the Financial writers online, I feel like I am probably the most humble. Other writers brag and gloat over their readers and proclaim how "good" they are at trading.
The reality is this, good traders keep track of margins and they pay attention to trends. Unfortunately, even the best traders will be off on a margin, and someone will get the short end. Unlike most people, the trades that I make and those that I write about are under constant scrutiny and the entire story is left untold. I think that most people who have traded with me in the past would agree that I try and be as fair as possible. I don't intentionally mislead people for personal gain, nor do I sling nickel and dime cards for the intention of making mad bank.
Understanding why booster prices are high is important. For example, Xavier pointed out that Weatherlight, the Dark, Homelands, etc were terrible because the most valuable card that you are able to pull is worth about the cost of a pack. In terms of Homelands, the cost of the booster is actually more expensive than any card that you can pull.
If you really dead set on investing in boosters, 30-50.00 is not enough money to buy one worth investing in. If you were going to spend the money, I would suggest an eng legends booster. Revised have all been searched, so the odds of getting a "dual" is very low. If you plan to never open the packs, investing in a factory sealed booster is the way to go. Specifically, investing in a foreign box such as Korean Tempest would be cool. A few years ago, I opened a box of Korean Tempest and pulled 3x Wastelands and two intuitions which at the time, paid for the box.
Overall though, if your looking to buy something for investment purposes, your best bet are going to be staple cards for either legacy or vintage.
So 7 people have voted on this. I don't think revamping is going to do anything unless we get more people in here.
I propose that we do start over though. In the next few days, I am going to archive all the threads in the competitive section. I will then look for people to create actual primers for the decks.
I think that any major restructuring should be done all at once. However, I like urweak's suggestion. Maybe something like this:
Vintage General
>Competitive
>>Blue Based Control(Decks like Tezzeret, Keeper, and Oath)
>>>Developments and Critiques
>>Workshop-Based Prison(Decks like Stax, MUD, and Metalworker)
>>>Developments and Critiques
>>Ritual-Based Combo(Decks like TPS, Long, and Confidant Tendrils)
>>>Developments and Critiques
>>Fish/Aggro Control(Decks like Fish and R/G Beats)
>>>Developments and Critiques
>>Bazaar-Based Decks(Decks like Dredge and Dragon)
>>Miscellaneous(Decks that don't fit the above categories. Open to all)
>>>Developments and Critiques
>Budget Decks
>>>Developments and Critiques
>Tournament Announcements and Reports
The major changes were to separate the development sections. A bulk area gets cluttered.
I added an announcements and report section.
Also, TMD stands for The Mana Drain. Which is a website dedicated specifically to Vintage.
I am fine with a FTV: Power 9. That means we get more people to start playing this format.
I own a full set of P9 (All A/B) and if they did this, I would still buy it, but I would be so pumped for the fact that there will be 50,000 potential players who might come from it.
I am here. I was talking to some friends about this today. As Cabal Chan has stated, we have far lower traffic than any of the other subforums. However, I would be open to the changes.
I would be interested in what the rest of our small community thinks. What justifies and archetype to get its own subforum? Do decks like Worldgorger get a forum even though it only sees fringe play? Could we do something else?
So far, the friends I talked to who play vintage feel that the threads get a little cluttered and many of the threads we have for the decks are outdated. I don't know if making the admins create new subforums would help this community or continue to clutter it up.
Auction Rules:
You pay first.
I will ship with Delivery Confirmation anywhere in the USA for free. International Shipping will require registered shipping costs at the purchaser's expense (unless waived).
I accept Paypal + fees (unless gift payment is used). Other payment methods must be discussed prior to bidding.
Auction 1:
1x ITA Mana Drain (EX)
Bid 60.00
BIN: 80.00
Auction 2:
1x ITA Mana Drain (EX-)
Bid 57.00
BIN: 75.00
Auction 3:
1x ITA Mana Drain (EX+)
Bid 60.00
BIN: 82.00
Auction 4:
1x ITA Mana Drain (EX)
Bid 60.00
BIN: 80.00
Auction 5: Purchased by Cirno
4x Force of Will (Ex+)
Bid: 120.00
BIN: 140.00
Auction 6:
1x Time Walk (Unlimited) (Ex)
Bid: 325.00
BIN: 350.00
This auction will have the option of upgrading with insurance for 3.00 (1/2 the cost)
Auction 7:
1x Time Walk (Unlimited) (Ex+)
Bid: 340.00
BIN: 365.00
This auction will have the option of upgrading with insurance for 3.00 (1/2 the cost)
However, FPS is right, time is really important. Amount of refs, not so much. I feel more comfortable with doing a deal with someone with around 100 refs and 5 years invested than 100 refs and 6 months invested.
The Foil Trade Routes story in this article was simply for that reason. If you were one of the few people who traded with me this day, you knew exactly what I was doing and why I was doing it.
For those who brought up the fact that Hoard Smelter Dragon and Carnifax Demon are block staples, no non-pro player will be able to participate in this format in anything larger than an FNM. Also, this card is literally .25 online and is certainly considered bulk.
@Jack
I didn't sell my whole collection. I moved all my high-end tournament foils. I de-pimped all my decks from foil to BB.
Also, from the major events that I've attended, I've never run into this "archetype" that Kijin describes. Has anyone else? I mean really? I've run into sharks and grinders, even the "Pseudo-Dealers" with all the prices prelabeled inside their binders, but never a guy slinging a sob story, begging for cards.
To address the archetype, maybe understanding how I approached people, ask yourself this, "If you have a bunch of cards that have sat in your trade binder for years, stores were only offering 10 cents for it, wouldn't you trade two of them for a card that you actually want?"
Now obviously at different points in this story, i got some pretty good stuff. However, the big red flag for everyone is diplomatic immunity. The trade started before I even got to see that this card was there. To obtain the 8 foil pages of cards, I literally handed over my binder and told him to take whatever he wanted. He took 6, 7 or 8 cards, I don't exactly remember and handed me the pages. He didn't care one bit about what was in there and even said, that he didn't care what was in there, he was just tired of carrying the binder around. Did I make a killing? I don't think so. Especially now that I know that the Diplomatic Immunity was only two bucks.
When I traded this card away, I was under the impression that it's value was significantly higher than it was. Do I feel bad about the trade? Not really.
Now before all of you blow up, let me explain. At the time of the trade, the person who wanted the card had been searching for it for a long time. Now obviously I got X% more in value out of this deal and the next time I see him (as he is a local player) I will make up the difference to him. Despite popular belief, I don't go around trying to take advantage of the overly generous and those with a kind heart.
By now, he's definitely read the article and has also read this thread and I am sure he feels the same way I do. I didn't intentionally rip him off to gloat or brag, nor did I write this article for that purpose. In fact, of all the Financial writers online, I feel like I am probably the most humble. Other writers brag and gloat over their readers and proclaim how "good" they are at trading.
The reality is this, good traders keep track of margins and they pay attention to trends. Unfortunately, even the best traders will be off on a margin, and someone will get the short end. Unlike most people, the trades that I make and those that I write about are under constant scrutiny and the entire story is left untold. I think that most people who have traded with me in the past would agree that I try and be as fair as possible. I don't intentionally mislead people for personal gain, nor do I sling nickel and dime cards for the intention of making mad bank.
If you really dead set on investing in boosters, 30-50.00 is not enough money to buy one worth investing in. If you were going to spend the money, I would suggest an eng legends booster. Revised have all been searched, so the odds of getting a "dual" is very low. If you plan to never open the packs, investing in a factory sealed booster is the way to go. Specifically, investing in a foreign box such as Korean Tempest would be cool. A few years ago, I opened a box of Korean Tempest and pulled 3x Wastelands and two intuitions which at the time, paid for the box.
Overall though, if your looking to buy something for investment purposes, your best bet are going to be staple cards for either legacy or vintage.
I propose that we do start over though. In the next few days, I am going to archive all the threads in the competitive section. I will then look for people to create actual primers for the decks.
Vintage General
>Competitive
>>Blue Based Control(Decks like Tezzeret, Keeper, and Oath)
>>>Developments and Critiques
>>Workshop-Based Prison(Decks like Stax, MUD, and Metalworker)
>>>Developments and Critiques
>>Ritual-Based Combo(Decks like TPS, Long, and Confidant Tendrils)
>>>Developments and Critiques
>>Fish/Aggro Control(Decks like Fish and R/G Beats)
>>>Developments and Critiques
>>Bazaar-Based Decks(Decks like Dredge and Dragon)
>>Miscellaneous(Decks that don't fit the above categories. Open to all)
>>>Developments and Critiques
>Budget Decks
>>>Developments and Critiques
>Tournament Announcements and Reports
The major changes were to separate the development sections. A bulk area gets cluttered.
I added an announcements and report section.
Also, TMD stands for The Mana Drain. Which is a website dedicated specifically to Vintage.
I own a full set of P9 (All A/B) and if they did this, I would still buy it, but I would be so pumped for the fact that there will be 50,000 potential players who might come from it.
I am fine with this change if Cabal is.
I would be interested in what the rest of our small community thinks. What justifies and archetype to get its own subforum? Do decks like Worldgorger get a forum even though it only sees fringe play? Could we do something else?
So far, the friends I talked to who play vintage feel that the threads get a little cluttered and many of the threads we have for the decks are outdated. I don't know if making the admins create new subforums would help this community or continue to clutter it up.
thoughts?
You pay first.
I will ship with Delivery Confirmation anywhere in the USA for free. International Shipping will require registered shipping costs at the purchaser's expense (unless waived).
I accept Paypal + fees (unless gift payment is used). Other payment methods must be discussed prior to bidding.
Auction 1:
1x ITA Mana Drain (EX)
Bid 60.00
BIN: 80.00
Auction 2:
1x ITA Mana Drain (EX-)
Bid 57.00
BIN: 75.00
Auction 3:
1x ITA Mana Drain (EX+)
Bid 60.00
BIN: 82.00
Auction 4:
1x ITA Mana Drain (EX)
Bid 60.00
BIN: 80.00
Auction 5: Purchased by Cirno
4x Force of Will (Ex+)
Bid: 120.00
BIN: 140.00
Auction 6:
1x Time Walk (Unlimited) (Ex)
Bid: 325.00
BIN: 350.00
This auction will have the option of upgrading with insurance for 3.00 (1/2 the cost)
Auction 7:
1x Time Walk (Unlimited) (Ex+)
Bid: 340.00
BIN: 365.00
This auction will have the option of upgrading with insurance for 3.00 (1/2 the cost)
Please PM me with any questions.