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In my previous article, I promised you a new trading system. While it’s still in the testing phase, I feel that it’s developed enough for me to publicly present. I’m not saying this is going to turn you into the Warren Buffett of your local shop, but with a bit of work and minor tweaks to it, I think it could be used to generate a larger trading base, and a stable flow of cards.
The 4 Tier Trading System is a rather large project, which uses four folders and requiring you to constantly update your stock based on activity for cards over the past week. It has potential to create an attractive market for yourself and those you trade with. If anyone wants to undertake this project with me, please let me know since more research and results are always a good thing.
Tier 1/Folder 1: High value, low volume. It contains any rares $10 or more, and all mythics that have proven themselves as usable, above $5, or those with a high opportunity to rise. Due to the nature of this folder, it will be a low volume folder, and has the highest profit potential.
Tier 2/Folder 2: Low value, High volume. Any proven commons will be included in here such as Lightning Bolt, and Mana Leak. Uncommons that have been proven, and have a demand for them will also be included. Good candidates for this would be Condemn, Everflowing Chalice, Pyroclasm, and Contagion Clasp. Any rares that carry a value between $1 and $9.99 are also included, and all mythics not in the Tier 1 folder also reside here.
Tier 3/Folder 3: Medium volume, medium value. This folder is for all of your MPR cards, foils, promos, FNM, altered art, misprint or anything else that distinguishes them from the rest. The value in this folder can vary by wide margins, from .10 cent foil commons to your foil Koth of the Hammer. Because this folder is full of promos and other specialty cards, you can make large profit margins trading to the right people through this folder.
Tier 4/Folder 4: This is the folder that will generate your repeat business, and I call it the freebie folder. All rares not in Tiers 1 and 2 fall here, as well as many uncommons that see local/casual demand, but nothing worth separating them for. Mind Control is a great example. This folder is used ONLY FOR REPUTATION BUILDING. NOT FOR TRADING OUT OF. It’s a sort of “Thank you” system, used to give your trading partner something of their own choice just for completing a trade. Don’t even mention it until the deal is done. While not everyone will take anything, most newer players, EDH players, and casual players will find something in it, letting them walk away happy. If you’re trading with someone and they find something in here, but not in the other Tiers, just give it to them, within reason of course. Remember we had discussed public relations here in my second article? Well this is one of those tools that can really provide a boost to your public image.
Working with the idea of the fourth tier folder, I have some general ways I use it based on the trade. For every incoming mythic, I give away 1 card. I also give away 1 card for every 5 rares that I traded for, giving them at minimum 1 card. If that sees your freebie folder emptying out quickly, you can switch to a dollar value system. For every 5-10 dollars of incoming value, give away 1 card. However, if your freebie folder is emptying quickly then you’re doing it right.
I’m sure many of you have already seen how the fourth tier can be used to create bigger deals of incoming value and number of cards for you. People love free stuff, and when they find out that trading with you gets them free stuff, they will be much more interested in creating and completing deals. This is also a marketing tool that will, given time, speak for itself. This also has a huge potential for abuse, and while I can’t control how you use this, I can give you this piece of advice.
“Before you can do well, you must first do good”
While it’s backwards to the traditional way of thinking in the business world, in the Magic trading world, you first have to do good. Good for your market, community, self, and store. This will build your reputation and through that, you will then do well, as in making a ton of profits while maintaining a positive image.
Lastly, I wanted to touch on the concepts from my previous article that I didn’t go over when talking about marketing, the five ideas outside of the “four P’s”; Economy, Law, Technology, Competition, and Culture.
Economy: This is the one that we care about the most. A stable and flowing economy provides the biggest opportunity to make profits. If the same cards are circulating through the shop you attend weekly, your market is stagnant. Read my first article and use that to fix it.
Law: There really is no law when it comes to trading cards. You can’t go to jail for insider trading, you can’t be charged taxes on your “profits”. It’s basically the Wild West out there, and everyone just adheres to a commonly accepted code of conduct.
Technology: Except it’s the Wild West with lasers and robots. Almost everyone has a phone they can use to check prices on hand, and sites like this one are out there for people to read. Use this to your advantage, sign up for Twitter and follow the writers and other financial minds. It’s up to you to figure them out, but do some research of your own. It’s far more rewarding that way.
Competition: I went over this section last week. Competition is healthy, and promotes a better market all around.
Culture: This is one that a lot of people forget about when it comes to trading. There is still the human aspect involved with it and a culture aspect as well. Understand this, and you stand to do both good, and well.
That’s all for this week, I will be switching from a bi-weekly column to a weekly column starting next week. There are tons of great things coming up for Quietspeculation.com, and I hope you’re all around to be a part of them.
Until next week,
Stephen Moss
MTGstephenmoss on twitter
mtgstephenmoss@gmail.com
