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Weekly Financial Roundup

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Brian Grewe - Selling Your Cards

First of all, congratulations to Brian on his upcoming top pair.  Selling the cards is a tough decision, but it’s wonderful that he can now support his growing family off MTG.  That’s fantastic.  Onto the article - His opening concept is solid.  He defines a minimum acceptable goal - Standard staples only.  The conditioning guide is great for newer traders who could use a good primer on the subject.  I get asked about condition a lot, and I’m still pretty awful at grading on sight.  Bonus points for nailing it on “Mint” condition.  Doesn’t exist.

The methods are all very thorough and serve as a great walk-through for a meticulously organized process.  It’s a very basic concept at the core, and it was explained flawlessly.  The article is great for newer traders, granted.  Paradoxically though, they won’t have a collection large enough to warrant such rigor.  I suppose there are some people with their old collection, now worth hundreds/thousands, that could use such advice.  Regardless, well-executed and to-the point.

Chas Andres - Go Down Gambling

Paging Mike Hawthorne; someone wants to discuss gambling.  Chas Andres used to write for us, so to see him writing on a site like ChannelFireball is fantastic.  I automatically love everything he writes, so this summary might be biased.  The intro paragraph is absolutely gripping, not something you’d expect from a Magic article.

The actual topic of the article is yet another subject I’m often asked about.  Personally, I agree with him: stay away from betting on eBay collection lottery tickets.  It’s too easy to make money by running that scam if you’re dishonest, and I don’t trust most eBay sellers innately.  He breaks down the risk factor very well, but I do wish he’d share his algorithm with us.   The “Deckmaster” bit is hilarious, because it’s so true.  I was surprised he was considering paying $3000 for that collection, since its clear the seller has a history of fraud.  Just don’t fall for it.  Another gem from Andres this week.

Jonathan Medina - Gen Con Trading Report

First of all, props for eschewing sleep for writing.  That’s dedication.  The call on Torpor Orb is spot on.  I was grabbing them all weekend. Consecrated Sphinx though?  Come on, man.  You’re telling us to get in at $10-15?  Old news.  The sad part is, though, it has every shot in the world of going to $20, so he’s actually 100% correct.  He’s right in that Shock Lands are a bubble.  I know dealers have been hoarding many hundreds of each, so it’s going to burst.  I just don’t see a full set of Shocks being necessary to Standard.  There’s no mention of the price bias in the favor of Dissension Shocks,which is crucial information to the uninformed.

He gets the “Hold” call on Dark Confident right as well, since everyone who got in at <$25 is already up a great deal.  I’m suggesting a sale once deck lists start appearing without him, but hold if he’s in lists off the bat.  It’s a short piece, but for one written during GenCon, when he should have been trading, it’s very accurate.

Kelly Reid

Founder & Product Manager

View More By Kelly Reid

Posted in Finance, Free

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