GAVE: 2 Phyrexian Metamorph ($18), 2 Gideon ($20) Total=$38
GOT: 2 Snapcaster Mage ($50), Vampire Nocturnus Promo, beat to hell($7.5), Shared Fate, Leveler Total=$57.50
PROFIT=$19.50
THOUGHTS: First deal of the day and it was great. Trading for just the Snapcasters would have been solid, but also getting the Promo Vampire Nocturnus was nice, as it was a throw in for him since the bottom right corner was bent and starting to split. I also got him to throw in a Shared Fate (sentimental reasons) and a Leveler.
GAVE: Immerwolf ($1), Stromkirk Captain ($1) Total=$2
GOT: Predator Ooze ($2.50)
PROFIT= $.50
THOUGHTS: The kid really didn't have many good cards that he wanted to part with, so I decided to upgrade some smaller cards for a bigger one, with a little bit of profit. While this isn't a home run like the previous trade, it is important to try and trade with as many people as you can, and try to get some sort of advantage (either some value or upgrading smaller cards for bigger ones).
GAVE: 2 Buy A box Day of Judgment ($16), Foil Day of Judgment ($4), 2 day of Judgment ($6) Total=$26
GOT: Promo Zombie Apocalypse ($8), Garruk Relentless ($15), Gravecrawler ($10) Total=$33
PROFIT=$7
THOUGHTS: Picking up Gravecrawlers and Messangers seemed to be the way this weekend was going to play out, since they were valued in between 6-10, and picking them up at anything less than 10 was going to be a great profit. The guy really just wanted lots of DOJ, which was fine, since I got some profit. I think Garruk Relentless is going to jump when Scars rotates, so picking them up at $15 seems like a good price. I think that I might take them out of my trade binder and horde them until rotation. The promo Apocalypse isn't really listed on any site, but asking $8 for it seems reasonable.
GAVE: Crucible of Worlds ($25), Vendilion Clique ($35), 3 Time Reversal (4.50) Total=$64.50
GOT: marsh Flats ($10), 2 Verdant Catacombs ($20), Flusterstorm ($16), Ancient Tomb ($10), Riptide Labratory ($13) Total=$69
PROFIT=$4.50
THOUGHTS: Not the greatest trade for me, since I gave up two real playables in Crucible and Clique for some Zen Fetches and other stuff. The Flusterstorm was a great pick up, because they are very rare, and the Tomb and Riptide are Legacy fringe playables, so I was alright with it. Honestly, I thought Clique was only $30, not $35, so the trade was a lot better in my head. It happens though. The fact that there was enough profit built up in my mind means that being wrong on a price won't really burn me. Also getting rid of Time Reversals for $1.50 each was great.
GAVE: 2 Gravecrawler ($20), Phyrexian Obliterator ($25) Total=$45
GOT: 3 Foil Go for the Throat ($12), Foil Geralf's Messanger ($15), 2 Game day Memnite ($8), Buy a Box day of Judgment ($7), Foil Diregraf Ghoul ($2.50) Grim Lavamancer ($3.5) Total=$48
PROFIT=$3
THOUGHTS: Again, I was off on some of the values. I thought that the foil Go For the Throats were around $6-8 each, which would have given me another $6-12 in profit. However, I might be able to move them at $8, which would be sweet. Getting the Foil Messanger was nice, since I planned on moving it at $20.
GAVE: Snapcaster Mage ($25), Falkanrath Aristocrat ($7) Total=$32
GOT: 3 Promo Goblin Guide ($45)
PROFIT=$13
THOUGHTS: People really undervalued the Promo Guide since they were all over. I hope to be able to move 4 of them as a set to try and get some really good modern or Legacy playables.
GAVE: 2 Foil Isolated Chapel ($30), 2 Foil Galvanic Blast ($8) Total=$38
GOT: Foil Cryptic Command ($25), Isolated Chapel ($10), Gravecrawler ($10) Total=$45
PROFIT=$7
THOUGHTS: This was a time when I had no real idea what the Foil Cryptic was worth, so I had to guess. I put it at $20 for him, but thought it might have been worth $40. It was only $25, so I didn't get as much profit out of the deal as I wanted. It seems like I was off on a few estimations, but even though that was the case, having high profit built in helps to avoid getting burned.
GAVE: Snapcaster Mage ($25), 2 Elspeth, Knight Errant Promo ($40), 2 Thorn of Amathyst ($5), Akroma's Memorial ($15), 3 Baneslayer Angel ($21), Urborg, Tomb of Urborg ($18) Total=$124
GOT: Underground Sea ($140)
PROFIT=$16
THOUGHTS: This was a great trade for me, since I was able to move a lot of random smaller cards for the best dual. On some sites, duals are priced at around $120, so I was fine putting it at that. I was happy moving the Elspeths and Urborg, since they are modern playables, which should drop some in the next few months. Baneslayers went up in price a little bit (Thought they were $5 each), and Memorial is a real casual/EDH card that is hard to move. This completed my set of Dual Lands, so I was happy about that.
GAVE: 2 Vorinclix, Voice of Hunger ($8), Elspth, Knight Errant ($30) Total=$38
GOT: 3 Geralf's Messanger ($30), Promo Goblin Guide ($15), 2 Birds of Paradise ($8), Champion of the Parish ($6), 2 Time Reversal ($3) Total=$62
PROFIT=$24
THOUGHTS: These are the kind of trades that I strive for. The guy really devalued most of his cards, which means I was really able to get value trading down. This gave me a set of Promo Guides, helped gie me some more birds, and 3 Messangers will help to fuel more trades later on.
GAVE: Drowned Catacombs ($7), 2 Sulfur Falls ($12), 3 Foil Basic Lands ($3) Total=$22
GOT: 4 Goblin Guide ($24), Ratchet Bomb ($10) Total=$34
PROFIT=$12
THOUGHTS: This was like the previous trade where the guy NEEDED something, and was undervaluing cards so he would get the lands he needed. I was happy to get some value and boost my binder.
GAVE: 2 Gravecrawler ($20), 3 Geralf's Messanger ($30), Glissa the Traitor ($3.50), Thalia, Guardian of Thrabin ($4), Gideon Jura ($10), Daybreak Ranger ($2.50) Total=$70
GOT: 4 Sulfur Falls ($24), 3 hinterland Harbor ($15), Batterskull ($15), Karn Liberated ($15), 3 Grim lavamancer ($10.50)= Total=$79.50
PROFIT= $9.50
THOUGHTS: This guy was severely undervaluing the Innistrad lands ($4/$3 respectively) so I was able to move some staples for lands (Lands are a lot easier to trade) and pick up some cards I might actually use, like Karn. I am picking up some lavamancers, since they are low in price, and if red gets 1-2 strong cards in the next set, RDW might be positioned to return.
GAVE: 3 Ratchet Bomb ($30), 2 Geralf's Messanger ($20), Gravecrawler ($10), Huntmaster of the Fells ($30), Geist of Saint Traft ($25), 3 Champion of the Parish ($18) Total=$133
GOT: Steam Vents ($30), Foil Aether Fial (MP)($20), city of Traitors ($25), 3 Lotus Cobra ($18), Tiaga ($70), Melira ($1.50) Total=$164.50
PROFIT=$31.50
THOUGHTS:This trade was nuts because he was really undervaluing his cards. He put Vents at 20, the Vial at 20 (it had a crease in the bottom right corner, but it is a foil and should be able to trade for $25), and put his City of Traitors at $18. While the trade looks really good, taking a deeper analysis shows how much I killed in it. All of the cards I traded were standard, and I picked up mostly Legacy staples. These trades are the ones that really help boosting a binder and protecting the value of your cards from devaluation.
GAVE: 6 Arid Mesa ($60), 3 Scalding Tarn ($45), Scavenging Ooze ($20), Misty Rainforst ($15) Total=$150
GOT: Wooded Foothills ($22), Tundra ($120) Total=$142
PROFIT=$-8
THOUGHTS: I will admit that I thought that Wooded Foothills was $35, which would have given me a $5 profit. While it seems like I was off on a lot of prices this weekend, that will happen a lot when dealing with all Magic cards. I hated getting rid of Ooze, but moving it for a dual was fine, and losing out on a few bucks doesn't bother me when I move 10 Zen fetches for a Tundra. Sometimes trades are losses, and it is important to limit them. Even though this was a loss, converting Modern cards for Legacy stuff has a value to it as well, so I won't lose sleep over it.
GAVE: Foil Geralf's Messanger ($15)
GOT: Geralf's Messanger ($10), 2 Mosswort Bridge ($4), Foil Ad Nauseum ($4) Total=$18
PROFIT=$3
THOUGHTS: I was happy trading a foil card for a regular copy and a lot of value. While Mosswort Bridge isn't really popular, it sees some modern play and I can probably move them. Beyond that, getting a foil Ad Nauseum is cool because I can probably move it at $7 to a Legacy player.
GAVE: 4 Goblin Guide ($24), Foil Slash Panther ($1.50) Total=$25.50
GOT: Garruk Relentless ($15), Thalia, guardian of Thraben ($4), Promo Grim lavamancer ($3.5), Foil Frost Titan ($4) Total=$26.50
PROFIT=$1
THOUGHTS: While I didn't really gain too much on this, I felt that picking up Garruk would be a good longer term investment, and that the Foil Frost Titan might trade for $6 to someone who wanted it for a cube or EDH deck. Also Goblin Guides won't be in demand in a month, so converting them to cards I can move should help my binder generate quicker.
GAVE: 4 Asceticism ($8), Foil black Sun's Zenith ($12), Sunpetal Grove ($3) Total=$23
GOT: Phyrexian Obliterator ($25)
PROFIT=$2
THOUGHTS: The BSZ sees play, but the other cards are really on the sidelines right now. Moving them to get something I can quickly move should help keep the binder fresh, and trading up for a profit is one of the best things you can do in terms of trading.
GAVE: 2 Drogskul Reaver ($10), 2 Sorin Markov ($12), 3 Geralf's Messanger ($30), Dungeon Geists ($6), 4 Endless Ranks of the Dead ($8), 1 Mikeaus the Lunarch ($4), 4 Stromkirk Noble ($32), Bloodline Keeper ($7), Balefire Dragon ($2), Massacre Worm ($5), 2 Etched Champion ($10), Sunpetal Grove ($3) Total=$126
GOT: Foil Qusali Pridemage ($4), 2 Mishra's Factory (Russian) ($12) Foil Chinese Black Sun's Zenith ($15), Underground Sea ($130)= Total=$161
PROFIT=$35
THOUGHTS: I was able to kill on this trade because he was fine putting the Underground Sea at $100, since it had some play on it. I wanted the BSZ and Pridemage, since foils trade well. The Factories were cool, and I wanted them because I want to run them if I ever play Factory in Legacy. The guy only went through my Standard binder, which was nice, because getting rid of standard for Legacy and making a profit is the best way to trade. Having separate binders really helped this weekend with standard to legacy conversion.
GAVE: 2 Jace the Mind sculptor ($110), Death Baron ($10), Serra Ascendent ($4), Life from the Loam ($15), 4 Blinkmoth Nexus ($60) Total=$199
GOT: FBB Scrubland ($145), 4 Vampire Nocturnus ($80), Volrath's Stronghold ($20), Witchbane Orb ($1) Total=$246
PROFIT=$47
THOUGHTS: Initially, the guy was valuing the Scrubland at around $225. I told him that I wanted to trade for it, but that there was no way it was worth that much. He said that he couldn't go any lower, but I was able to reason with him and get him to come to his senses and price it correctly at around $145. I hated giving up Jaces, but in reality, it was the only way I could get the Scrubland, and I really wanted that Scrubland. Foreign Black Border dual lands are very rare, and they are the "Pimp" version of dual lands (since most people are priced out of Beta duals). I figured that since I paid $30 cash for a Jace, and traded a Huntmaster of the Fells and a Mox Opal for the other, I really was getting a great deal on it if I took into account how I got them initially. I was able to make such a huge profit because he severely undervalued the Nocturnus and Stronghold ($12/$10 respectively) and while they might not be the easiest cards to move, I know that I should be able to dump them for something big, or move them for value to someone else who wants to try and get profit from the casual players.
GAVE: 5 Life from the Loam ($75), Noble Hierarch ($20), Watery Grave ($20), 4 Knight of the Reliquary ($44) Total=$149
GOT:3 Steam Vents ($90), 2 Intuition ($70) Total=$160
PROFIT=$11
THOUGHTS: This guy had the second best binder that I have ever seen in my life (Mine is not the best). He had pages and pages of all of the staples and duals and had 1-2 of each piece of power. He had a list of cards he needed (Noble, Grave, Loam) and I was able to get some value on him. He was a really nice guy, and I was shocked that he valued everything very fair and reasonable (he put the Watery Grave at like $25 and the Steam Vents at $22, so I was able to get a little value). We talked a while, and I learned a lot about gaining value on people and boosting my binder. I ended up saving him about $400 later on when he was trying to trade for a beta Scrubland from someone. I was going to trade for it, but I was in the middle of a trade so he got the first chance. I told him to have a dealer check it if was real, and to give a grade on it for pricing purposes. He came back and the Scrubland was split in half. It was apparently a CE card that was glued to a different card back. I was happy that it was discovered. That is why I always get cards valued over $100 authenticated by a dealer before moving them.
GAVE: 2 Huntmaster of the Fells ($60)
GOT:Foil Surgical Extraction ($12), Foil Strangleroot Geist ($6), Garruk Relentless ($15), Geist of Saint traft ($25), Elite Inquisitor ($2) Total=$60
Profit=$0
THOUGHTS: The guy pulled out his phone early and went to StarCity, so I knew I was not going to get any value. However, I was able to use this to my advantage and pick up cards I speculate were going to go up in value. Foil extraction will see Legacy play forever, Foil Strangeleroot should be moved easily, and Garruk is my sleeper for post rotation. I was having a hard time moving the Huntmasters, so I was happy to get rid of them (though I might want to run 1 in a Pod deck for FNM on Friday, so that is annoying)
GAVE: Promo Memnite ($4), 2 Honor of the Pure ($6) Total=$10
GOT: Geth of the Vault ($3.50), Eternal Dragon ($6), Sigil of the Empty Throne ($2), Captain of the Watch ($4), Student of Warfare ($3), Norin the Wary, Total=$18.50
PROFIT= $8.50
THOUGHTS: I got a lot of value off a guy because he didn't know the value of non-standard cards. If I can move them at their price, I make a lot of profit. If not, they sit in my binder and take up space and tie up money. That is the risk of value trading, but I am fine with it. I also picked up a Norin the Wary for sentimental reasons.
GAVE: 4 Scalding Tarn ($60), 2 Flooded Strand ($80), 4 Misty rainforest ($60), Stomping Grounds ($20), Crucible of Worlds ($25) 3 Life From the Loam ($45), Total=$290
GOT: Mox Pearl ($350)
PROFIT $60
THOUGHTS: I figured I would save the biggest trade for last. This trade took a while since I needed to get the Mox authenticated and valued from the SCG booth. It was MP- or HP+ based on what they said, which is close to where I thought it was. He said it was worth $350. When I talked to the guy, he seemed to want to pick up easier to move staples so he could have more inventory to move. I told him I put the Mox at $300, since it was rough on the back, and that it is something that is hard to move. He got a lot of staples out of it, and I was able to clear out a lot of modern cards. I really didn't want to give up the Strands, but sacrifices have to be made. I was really glad I kept my duals out of my binder, since he probably would have went for those.
Overall, I made around 20 something trades (don't feel like going back to count). I made $307 profit, which is pretty much like getting a free Mox Pearl for trading well. Beyond that, I took $350+140+130+120+100+70=$910 dollars out of my trade binder with the duals and Mox, as I don't plan on trading them. taking into account the profit, my binder is around $600 lighter, which is something to remember. I ended up buying some cards from the guys that I went with: Liliana+Grim Monolith for $35 (61% of SCG value), 2 Geist of Saint Traft and a Foil Dungeon Geists for $40 (69% of SCG value) and $75 in random cards I don't remember for $35. While I don't like buying singles, getting them for a very reduced rate is fine by me, as I would imagine that selling duals and whatnot should lead to at least 90% of SCG value. I am glad I finished my set of duals, though I wonder if I want to have a smaller binder (probably a Monster binder) that would hold my extra duals, revised only, that I would only trade if I got a lot of value on them. I need to think about it, but it is something that might allow me to really improve my returns on trading and help it grow.
There was really no trading to be done on Sunday, so I ended up trying to take the judge test. I really bricked the first question the guys asked me in the interview, but nailed the rest of them and was able to shadow a L2 judge for about an hour or so. I made a few rulings (was correct with all of them) and ended up passing the test. For my efforts, the head judge gave me 3 judge foils. they were Bitterblossom, Flusterstorm (worth $60), and ironically...
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