Since we’ve been open I’ve had several people ask to see our buylist, or simply ask if we buy individual cards for Magic: the Gathering, Pokemon, or Yu Gi Oh*. While the point-of-sale (POS) we use does allow the establishment of a buylist, the system hasn’t been reliable enough for me to consider using it. Instead, I prefer to look at what people have and make them an offer for the cards I’m interested in. I thought I’d explain how I determine my buying offer:
- What is the current market demand for the card?
- Have people been asking for it?
- Is it an older card that is hard to find?
- Is it a special or promo version of a high demand card?
- What is the condition of the card?
- Condition range includes Near Mint, Lightly Played, Moderately Played, Heavily Played, and Damaged. For more information on card condition, please refer to TCGPlayer.com’s Condition Guide.
- What do I think I can sell the card for? This is the trickiest part of the equation.
- Is it something that has been selling quickly?
- Has the market price been steady or volatile?
- Is it something that is high value, but may need to be sold on online markets such as TCGPlayer.com or eBay?
Generally speaking, I will offer half of what I believe I can sell the card for in store. In some cases I may offer less if I think it’s something I will eventually have to sell online, or if it’s a card with a more volatile market price.
If you decide to bring in cards to sell and have any questions about how I came to the offered price, please ask and I will tell you. I believe in transparency.
*At this point in time, we are not buying Pokemon or Yu Gi Oh! cards.
