Posted: 11/27/2013 7:35:16 AM EDT
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Got a couple shoe boxes of cards and a bag of about 300 dice during an apartment cleanout. Free works for me. I see that some of these cards are big money. Anyone know the easiest way to check which ones are worth say over a dollar instead of just finding which cards are and going through my cards, as that will take forever. Any easy systems by checking dates or names etc? |
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http://www.tcgplayer.com will give you the current prices.
Depending on how old they are, the tiny set symbol on the right hand side of the card, positioned vertically in the middle, right below the artwork, will either be black, silver, gold, or red. The gold & red ones are potentially worth the most, although some of the silver ones can be worth a fair bit. If they're older than about 1997, which you can check with the copyright date at the bottom, the symbols will all be black, and you'll have to check them all manually. (Black = Common, Silver = Uncommon, Gold = Rare, Red = Mythic Rare) |
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They are if the cards are old enough.
General rule of thumb; If the cards are from the "Revised" set or prior to that they are worth money. . . . if they are newer than the "Revised" edition they're just like 90's baseball cards. Alpha, Beta, Antiquities, Ice Age, Revised can all be worth some serious bucks. |
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Quoted:
They are if the cards are old enough. General rule of thumb; If the cards are from the "Revised" set or prior to that they are worth money. . . . if they are newer than the "Revised" edition they're just like 90's baseball cards. Alpha, Beta, Antiquities, Ice Age, Revised can all be worth some serious bucks. This is not true at all. There are a number of cards far newer than revised that sell for $100 apiece. |
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Or you could toss them in the trash and spend the time looking for pie The folks at my college holed up at a comic store playing games all night on main street. Never any hot girls in there. I don't think they are as valuable as you think He's talking about selling them... |
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Quoted: Or you could toss them in the trash and spend the time looking for pie The folks at my college holed up at a comic store playing games all night on main street. Never any hot girls in there. I don't think they are as valuable as you think |
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Or you could toss them in the trash and spend the time looking for pie The folks at my college holed up at a comic store playing games all night on main street. Never any hot girls in there. I don't think they are as valuable as you think I sold about 50 particularly valuable cards from 1997-2001 for about $1500. If I wanted to rebuy those cards today, it would cost me about $6000. Throw them away only after you determine their value. Odds are fairly decent that you can find a few in the box that are worth selling. |
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Or you could toss them in the trash and spend the time looking for pie The folks at my college holed up at a comic store playing games all night on main street. Never any hot girls in there. I don't think they are as valuable as you think What a useful and helpful post. 
While I never played games like that, I DO recognize that some "nerds" make six figures as programmers and have disposable income to throw at what they perceive to be a desirable commodity. Identifying and selling to markets is how you make money. Which is why OP's question is a good one, and I hope he finds the answers he's looking for. He was wise to not toss them. |
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Several shoeboxes will take a serious amount of time, but some of the old cards are worth a lot of money. Starcitygames.com and ChannelFireball.com are two of the largest online stores. In general, they buy the cards for about half of the list price.
Are the cards very old or relatively new? The most valuable cards are 15-20 years old, but there are lots of cards worth money at all ages. Your absolute best bet would be to find a friend that plays in tournaments (at least enough to know what cards are valuable) and ask him to help you go through the cards looking for valuable things. A reasonable deal would be to split a six pack with him and offer to let him keep a few things you find. A friend that frequents local stores would be able to tell you at a glance if any of the cards are worth much. If you are located in VA, you might give StarCityGames a call and see if you can walk in with the shoeboxes. They host major tournaments around the US most weekends and will buy entire collections at those events, but are based in Roanoke. They might be willing to look through your stuff. |
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If you are located in VA, you might give StarCityGames a call and see if you can walk in with the shoeboxes. They host major tournaments around the US most weekends and will buy entire collections at those events, but are based in Roanoke. They might be willing to look through your stuff. I hope that sort of dealer isn't like gun dealers and antique dealers I have dealt with, 'cause there's some seriously unscrupulous sorts who will lowball and deliberately cheat someone who doesn't know what they have. Is there anything that auctions these for a slight commission? They would have a vested interest in getting the highest value possible for them, if so. Just make sure everything is put down in a spreadsheet. |
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Or you could toss them in the trash and spend the time looking for pie The folks at my college holed up at a comic store playing games all night on main street. Never any hot girls in there. I don't think they are as valuable as you think Neat, I have 2 Beta Lotus and a full set of Unlimited Power Nine in my 15K card collection. Not selling them, though. I still play. |
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I hope that sort of dealer isn't like gun dealers and antique dealers I have dealt with, 'cause there's some seriously unscrupulous sorts who will lowball and deliberately cheat someone who doesn't know what they have. Is there anything that auctions these for a slight commission? They would have a vested interest in getting the highest value possible for them, if so. Just make sure everything is put down in a spreadsheet. Quoted:
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If you are located in VA, you might give StarCityGames a call and see if you can walk in with the shoeboxes. They host major tournaments around the US most weekends and will buy entire collections at those events, but are based in Roanoke. They might be willing to look through your stuff. I hope that sort of dealer isn't like gun dealers and antique dealers I have dealt with, 'cause there's some seriously unscrupulous sorts who will lowball and deliberately cheat someone who doesn't know what they have. Is there anything that auctions these for a slight commission? They would have a vested interest in getting the highest value possible for them, if so. Just make sure everything is put down in a spreadsheet. I've had good luck with them. I covered a financial emergency with some cards I had bought many years before. On one hand it's frustrating to sell things for half the list price, but on the other hand it's much, much faster and easier than ebay. (If the online store list price is 100% of the card value, ebay will get you about 75%, and selling to the store is about 50%). StarCityGames has done an excellent job with me; the market is small enough that reputations really matter and large enough that there are other stores to buy from or sell to. |
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I hope that sort of dealer isn't like gun dealers and antique dealers I have dealt with, 'cause there's some seriously unscrupulous sorts who will lowball and deliberately cheat someone who doesn't know what they have. Is there anything that auctions these for a slight commission? They would have a vested interest in getting the highest value possible for them, if so. Just make sure everything is put down in a spreadsheet. Quoted:
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If you are located in VA, you might give StarCityGames a call and see if you can walk in with the shoeboxes. They host major tournaments around the US most weekends and will buy entire collections at those events, but are based in Roanoke. They might be willing to look through your stuff. I hope that sort of dealer isn't like gun dealers and antique dealers I have dealt with, 'cause there's some seriously unscrupulous sorts who will lowball and deliberately cheat someone who doesn't know what they have. Is there anything that auctions these for a slight commission? They would have a vested interest in getting the highest value possible for them, if so. Just make sure everything is put down in a spreadsheet. Star City is the most reputable dealer in the biz. However they aren't going to give you retail for your cards. No reseller does. The only way to come close to getting full value is to put them on eBay. eBay sells hundreds of thousands of Magic cards. |
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That thing was basically the .45 ACP Luger of Magic Cards. Still, rare cards can be worth some coin. |
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Maybe I should look through my old cards. I stopped playing around the time Ice Age was becoming popular so most of my cards are going to be pre Ice Age. Yes, you should. Wizards has what they call a 'reserve list' of cards they will never reprint. Anything on the reserve list has the potential to become very very valuable, and they are a finite resource. If you sell them back into circulation, Players everywhere benefit. |
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Got a couple shoe boxes of cards and a bag of about 300 dice during an apartment cleanout. Free works for me. I see that some of these cards are big money. Anyone know the easiest way to check which ones are worth say over a dollar instead of just finding which cards are and going through my cards, as that will take forever. Any easy systems by checking dates or names etc? Send me a PM, I can help you out. I've been playing/collecting for 15 years. |
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I've got 8 cards worth about $5,000 in total.
Black Lotus Mox Sapphire Mox Jet Mox Emerald Mox Ruby Mox Pearl Ancestral Recall Time Walk The price on them goes up faster than anything(except maybe bitcoin). If you have any of the real powerhouse older cards, I'd recommend holding onto them. The Black Lotus alone went from around $500 in 2007 to $1100 now. ETA: Check the date on the bottom of the cards. The most expensive ones are from around 1993 and 94, but certain ones since then are still worth over $100 a piece. |
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What a useful and helpful post.
While I never played games like that, I DO recognize that some "nerds" make six figures as programmers and have disposable income to throw at what they perceive to be a desirable commodity. Identifying and selling to markets is how you make money. Which is why OP's question is a good one, and I hope he finds the answers he's looking for. He was wise to not toss them. Quoted:
Quoted:
Or you could toss them in the trash and spend the time looking for pie The folks at my college holed up at a comic store playing games all night on main street. Never any hot girls in there. I don't think they are as valuable as you think What a useful and helpful post.
While I never played games like that, I DO recognize that some "nerds" make six figures as programmers and have disposable income to throw at what they perceive to be a desirable commodity. Identifying and selling to markets is how you make money. Which is why OP's question is a good one, and I hope he finds the answers he's looking for. He was wise to not toss them. Relax card lovers. Just making a joke Last time I checked the OP chose to post in GD and not an actual gaming forum. The sun will still rise tomorrow. |
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Yes, you should. Wizards has what they call a 'reserve list' of cards they will never reprint. Anything on the reserve list has the potential to become very very valuable, and they are a finite resource. If you sell them back into circulation, Players everywhere benefit. Quoted:
Quoted:
Maybe I should look through my old cards. I stopped playing around the time Ice Age was becoming popular so most of my cards are going to be pre Ice Age. Yes, you should. Wizards has what they call a 'reserve list' of cards they will never reprint. Anything on the reserve list has the potential to become very very valuable, and they are a finite resource. If you sell them back into circulation, Players everywhere benefit. I'm going to dig around at my parents house. I think I still have a bunch. I know I was playing before Ice Age came out and remember buying Ice Age stuff... |