After starting the relic hunt, I went on a selling frenzy at my local store. After following prices carefully for the past couple months, I knew exactly what to look for. I would find cards they were buying, then trade for those cards with other players, or I would buy them from another store or website that was selling them for less than my local store's buy price. I know, it's sneaky. But it's also very risky. Since the buy prices and eBay prices fluctuate so frequently, it's difficult to really snag a great deal all the time, so I try to settle for the small ones where you can make a buck or two easy. After getting Tundra last time, I was feeling really good about the next relic. I had done my research and found cards that they valued a bit higher than what the cards were selling for on eBay, so those are the ones to move first.
I try to pickup cards that are 'hot' or have a high demand when I find someone who doesn't really care for it or value it highly. Those cards are generally easier to move when you find something you really do want. Card shops also value their buy prices on these cards highly too, considering they are usually in low stock and in high demand. This also varies regionally, some shops may have certain meta games that favor certain archetypes, so cards in those decks or cards used to counter those archetypes tend to move quicker and at a slightly higher value in those regions. The key is to know what's hot and where it's in demand.
My list looked like this:
1x Mimic Vat
1x Goblin Guide
1x Gifts Ungiven (FTV: Exile)
2x Coat of Arms
The second list contains:
1x Myr Superion
1x Norn's Annex
1x Slagstorm
1x Mind's Eye
$7
For the two lists, you can kinda tell that most of the cards involved are casual cards that I used to use back in the kitchen table magic days. Some I picked up in trades since I knew they could move and some are just random cards my shop was buying that day. Some of the cards were extra cards that I haven't been able to trade away for a while, so I was more than ok to sell them. For the second list, the condition of some of my cards weren't that great, so they gave me a bit less on trade value. I had to throw in $7 to finish off the deal.
Both lists yielded... drum roll*
Tropical Island: valued at $95.84 and Volcanic Island: valued at $76.67
An interesting lesson in this trade was the condition of the cards. The Tropical Island was in slightly played condition, while the Volcanic Island was in heavily played condition. When obtaining relics, condition plays a huge role in the transaction. Considering both cards were considered with a vague 'played' I was unable to determine the condition before the transaction was completed. I also lost money on the transaction because of the played cards I had tried to sell. Unfortunately, back in the days of kitchen table, I didn't treat cards as well as I should have and consequentially, they lost value. This is a lesson to always play with sleeves and take care of your cards. When the time comes that you want to sell, trade, or hand off cards to friends, having them in good or fair condition can make all the difference. I was disappointed with the condition of Volcanic Island, considering I had lost quite a bit to obtain it. I eventually came to terms that the Volcanic Island had been through hell and back and must have quite a story to it. I'm comfortable knowing I would be responsible for giving it a good home for the rest of its duration. Until the next relic, Magic players!
-David J.
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