I really like your SB options with the enchantment-artifact hate. Seems more reliable than just a pair of Vapors haha.
Have fun
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- Matt
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Very rarely do I see a pro player signed card sell for more than it's non-signed value. The exceptions almost always lie within invitationals (Bob Maher on Dark Confidant, Tiago Chan on Snapcaster Mage, etc.) and are almost exclusively dependent on playability though, since a lot of the older stuff does not command premiums (Sylvan Safekeeper, Avalanche Riders, Rootwater Thief, etc).
Generally no signed card is worth more anyways, but if it is it's because it's signed by Richard Garfield or the artist. In my experience, pro player sigs on random cards are also really hard to move compared to even unplayable commons signed by their artist.
This isn't totally true... there are plenty of gem mint (9-10) graded cards out there, even artist altered.
Technically it can be sometimes, but the real answer is it's proper etiquette to always tip. I'll explain a little more how it works below:
There's two ways to get cards signed: The first, is at a convention where you bring your cards to their artist booth; the second, is mailing the cards to their art studio or PO box. In both cases, artists will usually have a limit to the amount of cards you can get signed in one trip (usually 8-12 cards at conventions, could be a lot smaller in the mail). Most are happy with whatever you are fine to tip/donate (and when mailing will ask for return postage) but some have set prices for different quantities. You should always leave something regardless of how few or many you are getting signed.
Artist alters are almost always commission only, but the prices range from only a couple dollars (Anson Maddocks and Mark Tedin were doing $1 alters last I saw them - they use fine tip sharpies only) to $5 each (rk post usually does this - uses a fine tip sharpie and a silver sharpie) to $20 each (Steve Argyle, for instance only uses his paint pens) to more as they get more intricate/time intensive.
No question is a dumb question.
I thought a lot about the FNM Watchwolf, too.
This exactly. The low post count usually would denote that they are new to the forum and therefore aren't as attentive to things like thread dates or rules (not all necro is banned online).
Conspiracies are way more fun though
How intriguing! The artwork is beautiful, but there is so, so many other real basic lands with very appealing artwork already to choose from. Though, that's not really the case for EDH staples or planeswalkers (which I see get "printed" a lot). Maybe it's the foiled border extension that grabs people in; like getting a card physically altered but keeping the same original artwork. Maybe it's just another way to be different like a foreign language or misprint. The missing artist credentials makes it feel so incomplete to me. I'm probably being harsh because my favorite part of a card is seeing the artwork and who made it.
Thank you for your examples
$5 tops.
Really though, I like each mod for what they bring to the table.
Never have I seen any in my time gaming, either. I have always wondered where these go. I'm assuming that most are bought by the few that play in small groups with shared similar interests.
I'm also curious about the printed foil stuff (like alteredprints). I know there is a lot of drama about that right now but I have always been curious because this kind of thing has been selling "well" for a few years. Does anybody actually know people that buy them? I find it fascinating because they are always sold for much more than the real card.
I'll mention some popular examples for anybody that wants to google them to follow along: Like Markers said, a lot of artists have a habit of only signing a certain way such as an ultra fine black sharpie (Heather Hudson) or a metallic silver roller (Franz Vohwinkel). So owning something out of their ordinary would sometimes feels strange for me. Sometimes I enjoy dates if it is the year the set was released or early stuff like 1994 on an Arabian Nights card. If I am getting more than a set I like when artists use complimentary colors to sign instead of just black for all of it (Chris Rahn and Steve Argyle do this a lot). I think the only thing I don't like is when a sig won't show up well, and a good example of this is like a thin light silver on a newer artifact card.
For me, nothing is better than a little doodle they have left. I have commissioned for the "quality" alters before when getting cards signed and they are really great but I love the more subtle drawings artists will use to often poke fun or make a silly version of their own art. Almost always it's just with an ultra fine black sharpie but there is something about them that makes me cherish it even more.
Sometimes I agree, but sometimes I think a regular sharpie is the only thing that makes sense for a particular card or artist. You mentioned the Sol Rings Mark Tedin does and that is exactly what popped into my head before I read it. I'm not sure if I would find another marker more appropriate for his sig because Mark will always be a sharpie guy to me. And I've seen so many of his altered Sol Rings that the thick black ink on the dark brown card frame has sort of become the classic example of Mark's place in Magic. Well a lot of the original artists have that for me and still only sign in sharpies. Maybe that's what it is.
I interpreted this in a few ways.
A nice sig will always make me pay more. I won't bother with sigs I don't like or are sloppy (not the artists fault, conventions are hard) because I know it will always bug me.
I don't mind that some sigs are rare or command a huge premium. Sometimes I buy them, but other times I am happy to just surrender to never owning them. I am (thankfully) not a completionist. I only buy the cards I want for decks/cubes or if I particularly enjoy the artwork/artist. That means I am fine to pay a little (or a lot) extra for some Wastelands but I don't ever have to worry about tracking down an Ironhoof Ox. What Markers does with entire sets is so far beyond me. I really think only a handful of serious collectors understand the amount of dedication it takes him to gather all of those artists in one binder. Admittedly, I can't because truth be told, I have never mailed to an artist before (I'm busy... or intimidated, who knows). I have amassed 10k or so signed cards since 2012 but it's all from local shops/players, eBay, and conventions. Sometimes I have shelled out for the bigger sigs, but the real joy for me is finding the signed cards in $.50 boxes or when Star City Games has them in their cases because they get so many sigs from all over the world... it's a real treat going to conventions. Watching all of eBay feels like cheating
The other part is, I don't care about the value of the card prior to getting it signed. All my alpha/beta power is signed and I think about those a lot, like I might have tainted them or something. I always regret having that feeling because to me, I don't ever want to be afraid to harm a cards value by adding something I actually love. I mean I get my pickup truck dirty all the time because I love owning a vehicle that can do that. I don't collect Magic to have as a back burner investment or to fulfill a desire to own something pimp but I love art and I love artists and I play this game so it makes sense for me.
I didn't meant to write so much
Really great stuff! Thank you for sharing with us
Here was the response I got:
I received the payment 5 days later. In all, they had the cards for 28 days - and this was mid October/November. I honestly don't know firsthand how receiving and accounting works in this type of situation, so I am hesitant to say things like "it doesn't make sense" or "payment should be faster", but I feel like there is definitely an efficiency problem there. All I have to compare it with is Star City Games, Channel Fireball, Icarus Magic, Card Kingdom, and Cool Stuff Inc though. I will still buy from Troll and Toad, but I have since just been selling to SCG and Card Kingdom (because I like dropping off orders in person).
It's definitely a cool card to have signed, but those two on eBay are in it for the long run. Lots of big inventory sellers put their rare stuff out as feelers to watch the bites rather than leaving it up to auction. You get more value by being selective with the final price and in order to be efficient you aren't pressured by time or space to get rid of the item.
The sig is kinda rare, but more than anything it's in the pimp vintage niche and they are trying to squeeze out every penny from that market. It's not really bad of them, the difference is people who put them up for auction aren't looking for a highest value and probably don't want to sit on them forever. If you run an active store as big as these you are fine to just say a price and go over offers every day until someone hits your number. I've seen a dozen or so go through eBay $30-$70 over the last year. You also have to account the condition and signatures, which could severely hinder or embolden a cards value. The first's condition is really quite nice but the sig is just 'okay', sort of faint and loose. The second definitely has some dings on the edges and is in Portuguese, a very undesirable language in MTG. Although the sig is really nice on the second, some collectors don't like dates.
I've attached the two in question for future reference.
For a few reasons. Registered mail is great for when both parties want it. I've done it a few times at the buyers' request for special occasions and I'll touch up on my experiences:
Overall, Registered mail is a hassle and is probably the hardest to streamline in small or mass quantities out of all the USPS mailing services. USPS First Class mail requires very little information from the sender (weight, contents, value) and going economy via envelopes literally needs nothing more than the appropriate postage. Registered has physical paper forms you have to manually fill out. In addition, eBay doesn't even support that service as an alternative mailing option. This is probably because USPS is so particular with how you send Registered mail (you can only use the brown paper tape, for instance). All of this means you need to find time to go to the post office in person, fill out the forms and have them wrap up the package for you. If you are sending a lot of high-end items overseas you would probably want to get really good at packaging your items to meet regulations and have some of those forms and brown paper tape & glue at home to reduce time at the post office, but you're still spending time on it at home.
Moreover, adding $10 for shipping on to each item makes it virtually impossible to sell competitively unless the item is something of high value ($100+) or is extremely rare (pack fresh foils, misprints, etc). So you're left with small parcels that start at $6.15 (and go up fast) with tracking until it leaves the US; or, sending completely blind in an envelope for $1.10.
These experiences only reflect USPS standards; I have no idea how it works for any other country.
As they should be. The Global Shipping Program is a total mess for buyers. eBay implemented the system to make sellers feel more comfortable sending an item to an airport in KY, USA and being done there but it completely takes advantage of the person receiving. The worst one a buyer told me was $117 for shipping on 6 card listings totaling $29. Most just say between shipping, tax, and import fees they end up paying $25 - $40 on top of the $6+ bubble mailer for $20 worth of cards. Every one of them that has talked to me about this says it is driving them away from sellers who are in the program (which is everyone who didn't manually opt out).
That looks like Jerry's sig.
Don't be rude.
That's Jerry's sig and art style. Looks like he replicated his own Rishadan Port. Very cool.