I wanna buy some cards soon. Question is, which would be the best to invest in? Zendikar? Workdwake? Innistrad? who knows?
The lorwyn block? Probably shadowmeir
Quote from: Birdbrain on March 27, 2013, 10:11:56 PM
The lorwyn block? Probably shadowmeir
Jeez,this. Basically, if you pull a rare, it's gonna be worth a bit. Seems like this was an expensive block.
Zendikar is pretty inflated because of fetchlands, full art lands, treasures, and a billion cards that are good - I don't know if you'd get amazing value from it.
A power investor (which I'm not), may recommend buying the newest sets and then using card evaluator knowledge to sell at the right time. I've delved into investments several times: recently (a month or 2 ago) bought into several {Sphinx's Revelation} at $11, because {Skullcrack} was spoiled for GtG and thus, overrated. Sphinx value bounced back (because I knew Skullcrack was overrated) and doubled my money.
Buying older boosters in hopes of actually pulling money cards is as likely as buying a current booster box and doing the same thing. The secondary market is set up that way. Given exactly the same odds, pay less and you'll benefit the same. Spending $400 on Zendikar and pulling about $200 (or less, gambling on more) is the same as putting $200 into RtR and hoping to pull $100 or more.
Edit: No secondary seller is going to give value away for free. If you didn't buy 9 Zendikar boxes and sit on them all this time, then you aren't getting value. The power seller, the person who makes a living off this game: they know what the deal is. If you're buying, then they are selling. If they're selling then they have the security.
Basically everything on the secondary market is calculated pretty well; they are not fools. Power seller moves (like the one I admitted to) is chump change to them.
Power sellers have purchased 25%+ of all the {Force of Will}, and more recently someone attempted to purchase every {Ajani Vengeant} because it is making a splash onto the Modern scene. What do they gain from it? Price control. They can make you pay twice as much for it from them, make you pay twice as much for a booster of Shards in hopes of pulling one, and if you've got one? You're selling it for the price they set.
Also: a card evaluator greater then me, they would have bought into {Sphinx's Revelation} at $3 when they just came out (because of rarity), and sold them at PTQ's and GP's at 10x-20x.
The kitchen table dudes like us, buy things for what they say they are. Wholesalers and bulk buyers gain all the benefits. The only way to dodge this is to buy new sets at cost ($100) and use our skills to make money. Having the capability of buying 300+ boxes (like StarCity, Coolstuffinc, TCG) allows them to dictate prices. When {Hellrider} is $16, we can sell for $10. When {Hellrider} is $8, we can sell for $4.
Edit: I pulled a {Jace, Architect of Thought} from a fatpack for $39, I sold him for $35 BIN on eBay, sold in 7 minutes. I was called crazy. I missed his peak value (nearly $50), but I tripled his current value, because I knew he wasn't that good. In the future, lets say he's the greatest ever and I didn't evaluate it properly...I maximized what I could get given all the information and evaluations I had at the time. Guys like us have to catch wind of these things and work harder to get value.
If you are willing to invest in Zendikar, I suggest you take that money and invest in Dragon's Maze.
I just have to chime in here about the Zendikar treasures yet again on this forum.
!!WARNING!!
If you're looking for the treasures, ensure the box you buy is from the first print run. It will have an "A" on the barcode. If not, the chance of finding a treasure turns from extremely low, to ZERO.
That being said, good luck finding one. As far as I'm concerned, ALL first print run boxes/packs are gone.
You've been warned.
Another incredibly shady move is that these huge resellers finance pro players - they know what the hot cards are going to be ahead of time! When LSV (my favorite pro) builds decks for GP and Pro Tour, Channel Fireball knows his deck list and drives up prices (banking on him doing well).
The Magic secondary market is a capitalist rouse that we are not invited to unless you're skills are up to par.
Rise of the Eldrazi in Zendikar has some kick butt cards.
I just bought a dissension fat pack for 65. Seeing it online for a 100 from amazon. So I think ill hold into it. Maybe sell it in a year or so.