www.pojo.com/marvel
5.28.04 - Card shopping/selling Part 1 of 2 part series on safe shopping/selling
By- Jon Budler
We have all been there before: Building the killer deck, and you are a couple cards shy of getting the deck built, and not to mention that PCQ or tournament is right around the corner, the local card store is either to expensive or doesnt have the card in stock. These series of articles are the ones for you! Here, some tips and secrets to get those cards easy and at a cheap price as well!
First things first, this is no way whatsoever a promotional plug whatsoever. This is just tips and tricks I have picked up along the way through my Magic years and now works just as well, if not better, in the VS world. Secondly, This is tips based on my many years internet shopping and selling cards on internet auctions, and many of you may have the same experience. There may be some new tips to you, never know. If you post feedback saying "I already know how to do this, tell me something new, this article sucked", well, I warned you and maybe you should actually read an entire article before responding and making yourself look foolish. (sorry to be harsh here, but sometimes people just don't get that, savvy?)
Now, the good stuff :)
Obviously, the traditional ways to getting the cards you need are packs, boxes, and cases. In my case, I usually buy 2-3 boxes. However, you are never guaranteed to get the playset (4 of one card for those new to the TCG world) of that one card you need. Perfect example: Savage Beatdown. I know people in my circles that have bought a case or two and only pulled 1 or 2 Savage Beatdowns, and many multiples of unwanted cards. What to do.... change those unwanted cards into the cards you need! The best source is of course those internet auction sites.
Selling on internet auctions.
A few keys to getting the best value of your cards. Always set a buy it now. There are people out there that are in your shoes: they need that one card that you have and they dont and are willing to pay the highest value for the card. What is the highest value and how is it determined you ask? A quick way to find out is to search the auctions on that internet auction site and see how much they are going for. I recommend doing it this way because not all prices are equal on different auction sites, same can be said for trade forums (I'll get to that on part 2). Do not base your high value on card webstores. Most of the time, they are set at high prices, and not to mention the high shipping costs. People go to internet auctions to get their cards at the best bang for their buck, remember that. Now, you say "well, if these internet card shops sell their cards so high their buy price is pretty good, has to be". Not likely. A certain well know website store (will go unnamed) buys there Sub-Mariners for $2, and yet they turn around and sell for $8. Now yes, there out to get a profit, but $8 is pretty spendy, and selling it for $2 is just ripping yourself off. What sounds better.... selling your Sub-Mariner for $2 or $4-$6. No brainer. By the way, I am not saying all card shops are bad, far from it.
Now, back to your auctions. Lets say you have that extra Sub-Mariner and you are just short of that Savage Beatdown you need for your deck. You look through the auctions ending for the day and see one that ended at $4.34 and another at $4.10, its a good bet to set that BIN at $4.99. Now why $4.99 and not $5?? Simple, the lowest amount always looks better. If someone shopping for that card sees your $4.99 auction compared to that $5 BIN auction, obviously the brain will register that the $4.99 looks pretty good and that $5 may be to expensive. A PENNY DIFFERENCE!!! Believe it. There have been studies for years and the reason those big departament stores sell their products at those annoying $14.99 or any $.99's is the fact that the price will look cheaper to the consumer. Funny how our brains work, huh. OK, so BIN of $4.99. What about a starting bid. I always, and I mean ALWAYS recommend a starting bid of $.99 and set the number of days to 7, NEVER 5 or 3 because you will not get as much exposure as your auction deserves, and that $.99 starting bid will probably end much lower than you expected. I find that many 7 day lots listed end up getting more than the BIN about 1/3 of the time. Shows how important a week of exposure can be.
Now, I am not going to go into the shipping or whatever. There are many ways to do that and that all depends on you. I recommend strongly to keep your shipping as low as possible. I only charge $.50 and is part of the appeal to the consumer. I've seen many nice lots not sell well at all because of a $4 card with $2 shipping. Its riddiculous.
Ok, You got that extra cash for your card, now get that card!!!!!
Buying on Internet Auctions.
Buying is not tricky at all, its finding those nice lots. Heres some tips. First thing, everyone searches those keywords "Marvel VS TCG", problem is thats all and they expect to find cheap lots that way. You and thousand other people out there. Change those search options. For awesome Buy It Nows or Get Its, search under options newly listed, ending latest. All the new lots that have listed as BIN or Get Its will list first. These are many time gems. Why?? Story for you: I was searching on ebay for some nice VS foils on ebay. I did a Savage Beatdown search on ebay under BIN, Newly Listed, and Ending latest. A FOIL savage beatdown showed up for only $15 and only $1.00 shipping! I read on and it turned out the guy tried the game, did not like it, and was selling all of it off. Needless to say I bought it and made a little profit from it myself (usually dont sell my cards, but in this case had to). Now, was this a safe ebay auction??? Obviously it was, but here are a few tips: Feedback is crucial on internet auctions. Check their feedback. I never buy from someone with a feedback less than 91%. Second, pictures are important. Many times they have copy pics which are pictures from spoilers, internet sites, ect. In the case of a no picture or a copy pic, I never make a purchase unless I email or IM the seller and as if the card is in good condition. Some cases, and auction may be seconds away from ending or is a broken deal that you have to bid or buy now and have no time to ask for a picture. If the feedback of the seller is at a comfort level for you. Get it!
Now, many auctions you run across have no BIN or Get Its. Que the Bidding process! Now, it is beyond me, but why on earth bid when there is 3 days left or 22 hours left?? Proxy bidding is recommended only IF you cannot be at your computer or internet at that time. If you cannot, wait til the very last moment before you have to go to bid. Many times a single bid or two can draw attention to an auction and will attract more bids, and worst yet, there is a problem on many of these auctions where sellers will have what they call "proxy bidder" who are there to up the price on their lots (DO NOT TRY: this is very much illegal and many auction sites like ebay are cracking hard on these cheats). You dont what that. If you run across an auction with many bids and you have to proxy bid, either wait til last moment or pass the auction. Now, if you can make it for the end, wait til the end before bidding! This is important for the same reasons above. The best way is a stop watch. Wait for the auction to get about 6 minutes or so before it ends. Start the timer and keep track of the time til about 20 seconds left. at the 20 second mark, MAKE YOU FINAL BID. There have been countless times I have won auctions for cheaper that they should have been simply because I waited. Again, evil proxy bidders and bidders who wait til very last second will be beaten with this method, not to mention the people who bidded way to early and now their outbidded and have no time to rebid. Now, if you need that card for a tournament thats soon, it is very important to let the seller know that before you make your final bid. There are times a seller cannot get their lots out on time or they ship one day per week. Make sure they know you need that card!
Once again, as far as paying is concerned, I will not get into that. Whatever you are comfortable with. I do have to say one thing.... NO CASH!!! Sending cash is just asking for it. There are many problems that come with sending cash, its not worth it.
Thats it for my first of two articles on finding cardsfor that killer deck of yours. Article two will cover the tips of trading on those trading forums. Many trades from these forums can be the risky, I will give you tips on how to protect yourself and to ensure your cards get there safe without argument.
Until then, goodnight!