Same. Got my 40 in paper and on MTGO since I’ll likely use those for a while, and moved onto other pastures.

Agree with you on Shock Lands. I have been accumulating them over the past few months. I have my set of 40 now at a minimum, plus a few extras. I could go deeper, but I liked Innistard booster boxes better :).

defensive portfolio steals from relatives, aggressive sacrifices to jim cramer

if you question shockland plays, you must think modern is going to do nothing. modern players will want these even if they were not also forest/island/mountain/swamp/plains because they can come in untapped when you need them that way. less conditional than fastlands for example.

nothing wrong with easy.

how much is your magic stuff worth? buying a sealed product looks like a big investment until you compare its value to other stuff in your inventory. this is just sticker shock. get over it and make some money.

another nice way to address risk is proper card evaluation. identifying constructed playables, 4 ofs, etc make sinking cash into mtg easier.

Thanks for your comment, Sebastien! Glad you appreciated the article. It’s taken me a while to realize that my strategy has been more emotional-based and not based on true goals. If I just want to profit from Magic, I can do that with much less effort by buying safer things rather than trying to catch every quick flip. I will try to live by this.

Thanks for the comment! I will say that I have heard that booster boxes are tougher to move in Europe. I’m not sure if it’s just a difference in player base or in culture.

To the risky aspect – only the magnitude of the purchase makes sealed product seem risky. But let me ask you this: what’s riskier? A $1000 investment in Intel stock or a $100 investment in AMD stock? The magnitude of investment is higher on Intel, but I would argue the reliability of the company far exceeds that of AMD. Therefore even though the initial layout of capital is higher, the likelihood of making profits vs. the likelihood of losing money is much different between the two stocks. I’d argue booster boxes are like a stable stock because they rarely drop in price, (never do, these days). Some singles may run up and down more rapidly, but carry much more risk (and demand more of your time to watch closely).

Jim, thanks for the comment! I’m glad the theme resonated with you, and we are all indeed in the same boat family-wise. 🙂 This quick flip thing is really tough because large quantities need to be purchased, acquired quickly, and sold right away in some cases. That’s time consuming and risky. Standard staples in RtR block are stable and more reliable. Something like Deathrite Shaman or Abrupt Decay may not grow 1000% in a week, but they should creep up in a few months to a year and yield you better profits per unit time of effort.

You bring up valid concerns. I’ve considered those closely as well, and I have still netted out with the decision to buy into some Shock Lands. They may not rise the same percentage that Innistrad Duals did when those spiked, I will grant this. BUT, compare the price chart of Clifftop Retreat and Snapcaster Mage. Clifftop has been on steady decline as rotation nears. Snapcaster Mage has kept a solid $20+ price tag despite those headwinds. I’m thinking Modern will help keep Shock Lands afloat as rotation approaches. Then, by the following year Shock Lands will become scarcer and the price will remain solid.

I’m not saying I can promise you Shock Lands are cheaper now than they’ll ever be again. But I think these are relatively safe compared to something like Advent of the Wurm or Jace, Architect of Thought.

Warren Buffet said one should invest in what they know – if you know Magic more than stocks, I cannot fault you for your move. But stock market can provide faster gratification because shifts are faster.

Hi Vincent,

Thanks for the comment! You are really thinking next level with this now. I try to come up with percentages to target in my stock portfolio, but I have never stopped to reapply the same concept to Magic. But the concept should translate in a way you described. And you could easily expand upon it too. Defensive blue chips doesn’t have to be sealed product – it’s just want I’m very confident in. But stuff like Reserved List and Alpha rares are also not likely to drop in price. I have a few graded NM Alpha rares I’m sitting on for long term myself. They don’t move easily, but they should not drop in price as long as the game is strong. That’s the only real downside risk on most defensive bets – it’s still betting on a game which is run by a company. It’s not like Hasbro is “too big to fail” and the government wouldn’t bail the company out. So we gotta make sure the game stays popular 🙂

Corbin, that sounds pretty amazing. But how do you have the time to do all this?!

I focus on Standard now since the demand is consistent and the format is easier to stay on top of via SCG opens and twitter. Standard cards also sell very quickly on tcgplayer.

I haven’t been able to bite the bullet on sealed specs but I’m thinking of buying some $89 RTR boxes and sitting on them. Seems like a no-brainer to hit $150+ in the next 12-18 months.

I worked out a deal with the local store where I’m running the case and handling all the walk-ins… the collections in the first month have been insane.

15+70+20=110% : /

20+20+55=95% : /

Also, regarding sealed product: what are your thoughts on Modern Masters boxes *as a long-term investment*? I think buying a box at current prices to crack and flip or flip immediately is clearly bad, but do we see them climbing to 400 in a couple years?

We don’t invest in stocks because you should always invest in your “circle of competence”. I don’t know shit about how most businesses and markets work, but I’ve been playing Magic for 20 years and following the card market for 5, so I invest in it because I know it well.

I feel that diversifying our portfolios may be the answer. I’d love to get your feed back on some sort of rule that says something like

Remember even aggressive stock portfolios have some blue chips in them:

Defensive Portfolio:

Always have: 15% liquid in cash or pay pall or Store credit for quick pick ups.

have 75% in sealed or shocks

have 20% in spec targets but no more then 5% in a single target.

Aggressive Portfolio:

have 20% in cash or store credit for quick pick ups

Have 20% in Sealed or shocks

have 55% in spec targets with no more then 10% ever in a single target.

course the problem is I’m an artist and sure maybe for one day I keep up with my investments but then loose focus and just buy random stuff that makes me feel good.

Also we don’t invest in stocks because we would rather read about tournament play and play at prereleases then reading stock prospectus.

I love buying collections, but thanks to SCG nowadays people seem to think they should get SCG’s sell prices for every card in their collections. I’ve sent out numerous emails only to get replies that list card for card what’s in the collection with like SCG or TCG High next to each card and people unwilling to budge…I miss the days of people pricing out a collection based on just the top 2-10% of the cards and letting me enjoy finding the treasures in the other 90-98%.

Christopher, thank you very much for your comments! I know exactly how you feel. I have a full time job and I have a young one at home which both keep me very busy. Buying into steady growth such as key staples and sealed product just makes more sense for me. Quick flips can be fun and exciting, but I get burnt just often enough to make the endeavor hardly worth it.

I’ve looked into collections on occasion but I haven’t ever found anything compelling. Often times this requires checking Craig’s list daily and sending out lots of messages without ever getting responses (kind of like MOTL). And it’s difficult for me to meet up with people since I work full time and have the baby at home.

So net, I love buying collections and I definitely condone the strategy, but they take up more time than I have at the moment. With booster boxes, I can buy them and sit on them for three years to make easy profit with minimal effort.