Starting a Magic the Gathering Business
Economics forum
Posted on April 14, 2014, 7:04 p.m. by Tharium
Hello everyone! I am passionate about magic and the market and am excited to meet the people here at Tapped Out!
Throughout my college years, the majority of my income came from Magic the Gathering. It seems that every month the Magic community is expanding and new formats are bringing in more players. A lingering question, however, as the market for magic expands, is how can a person make a profit from it? As a college student, or individual looking to get serious about magic, I feel that making a part time income from Magic is very appealing. I am starting this post for two reasons. The first is to ask my fellow magic players what selling techniques have proved efficacious for them in the past, and the second is to ask individuals to check out my guide. I currently am working profusely to try and help individuals interested in getting wholesale product and bulk selling magic.
All feedback is welcomed. Thank you.
The listing for the guide is attached:http://www.ebay.com/itm/271454324731?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
Interesting! I have never heard of that! I always appreciate hearing feedback from people in different countries! I have sold guides in the US, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, China and Australia. To my knowledge I haven't sold to anyone in the UK or heard about that arbitrage.
April 14, 2014 7:22 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #5
Seriously though, I'm praying for a credit card to magically appear in my hands. It sounds like a really neat idea, and I'd love to have the chance to make money on the game I love.
April 14, 2014 7:27 p.m.
Import costs that wizards have to pay and the relative scarcity of the cards drives prices up. If you undercut shops you may the price difference in profit.
April 14, 2014 7:29 p.m.
i consistantly buy bulk rares from locals, other college students, or try and get trough ins for trades. I then bring them to stores, and have them pull whatever they need for more than bulk, usually get 25c or more per cash, then everything thats left over gets me 20c store credit. Not a lot you think but this adds up when youre bulking 400 cards and turns into mox opals, commander decks, sleeves, food, etc lol.
One store gives me 100% trade for cards it needs, i turn these into boxes, or cards im specing on, picking up boxes for $90 trade credit, and then trading packs at $3/4 each is amazing deal, sometimes even better as i can usually trade my packs at $3/4 and the cards get 60% value unless its something i need or can flip stupid easy.
You need capital to go big, recently bought 4 FoW and 1 trop for $337, those FOW alone will sell for $300+, and the trop for $140. But at the same time i had $270 to buy a box of Rise of Eldrazi, at 1/2 the ebay price, so having capital to spend can help bigger returns vs nickle and diming every trade. Which can be more difficult in college, but you can build up to through smart specs.
Speculating is something thats also growing as magic grows, people buying 30+ copies of cards and holding waiting for them to be abreak out card. This also goes true for ban lists updates, bitterblossom became unbanned but secluded glenn shot from $3 to $15 on tcg and i dumped the ones i had, and faeries didnt perform well at the PT, and glenn is back down, ban lists updates effect more than the card being banned/unbanned. But also having an eye for all stars, I was trading for descration demons back before theros spoilers, i thought the card was good and needed the right home, i made out on that one, and same goes for things like my foil prophets, commander loves them, or buying every snap caster i saw under $20 and dumping playsets at $120 a piece happy with my profit.
Facebook is your friend, using fb groups you can move things at a much greater reducded cost (8-10% less fees) and also get things cheaper than anywhere else. Zendikar lands are $2 where i play, i get them online at 75c and can buylist for easy $1 or trade at more, such as a bunch of zen lands for a $ rare, which i sell online for even larger profit.
April 15, 2014 11:18 a.m.
Probably the best thing you can do is use Magic to support your main income. Honestly once you get a good job and you're bringing home over $1000 a day it makes everythign else look really small-time compared to that. One you have that buy whatever you want.
April 15, 2014 11:41 a.m.
that lol, unless you own a store, or are in college and just want to make a few bucks, its all for fun anyway, i just like to play for free while im in school
April 15, 2014 11:43 a.m.
@ChiefBell "once you get a good job" at 365,000/year? must be nice
April 15, 2014 1:14 p.m.
You have to put everything into perspective. The minimum salary for a professional in the UK is around $40,000. I don't see people who own independent shops earn anywhere near that.
You need to think about whether you want to go fully with magic, or become a professional and then also sell magic as well.
April 15, 2014 1:38 p.m.
Sorry, I think that sounded really awful (comment 7) when I didn't mean it like that. What I meant is explained better in comment 11. You just need to decide about whether you're always going to scrambling for that $100-$200 profit with every trade or if you're going to try and get a 'real job' and go from there.
April 15, 2014 1:42 p.m.
Yeah I hear what you are saying. Making a full time living with magic is tough. Getting wholesale product has made it easier for me to sustain, but still not at living wages by any means. Still just a fun supplement.
April 15, 2014 4:01 p.m.
Didgeridooda says... #15
You could always try to work a deal with the site to offer sealed product or something. Or at least advertise here, and some of the other sites. Mtgmadness advertises here I think.
Getting your name out, offering promotions that seem too good to be true, competitive pricing. Those are the things you need to work one of those sites on the internet.
People want a deal. It is easy to look up competitors. Offer free packs, 10-20% rewards system (keeps people shopping from you), free shipping. There are many things you can do. Just make sure you still get a fair cut. Making 2% would not be worth it.
Hope this helped a little. I was not sure if you were looking for advice, or just a sly way of looking for customers. No idea what that link is, did not click. Account is new. Few flags there, but no biggie.
April 15, 2014 6:13 p.m.
Hey Didgeridooda, I realize this is a new account, I apologize if it seems weird. I was being candid with my original post. I am looking to learn from individuals and to help others who are looking for ways to make money with magic. I definitely was trying to look for new potential customers but was not attempting to be duplicitous or sly!
Everyone here seems really knowledgeable though and I love all the feedback. Thank you.
April 15, 2014 10:22 p.m.
Didgeridooda says... #17
Those are just some of the things I think about when I see a new account asking that. If you stick around, and become part of the community I think you will greatly benefit as I hope we will benefit from having you here.
Ebay is a tough way to make a living on MTG. The best would be making a site if you know how to do that. Ebay takes that % which can really cut in to your profit. Hobby maybe, living probably not.
April 16, 2014 1:53 a.m.
eBay has its challenges, that is for sure. I look forward to getting to know the community!
ChiefBell says... #2
I guess you just buy low and sell high. I'm pretty lucky here in the UK because our prices are massively inflated so I can buy cheap from US and sell using UK prices, occasionally for 100% profit. I never went legit, and also lost a bit of money on bad investments. I used excel spreadsheets to calculate 50 and 60% price intervals for cards based on current starcitygames prices. I'd buy them for that and then sell for 100%, most commonly. Like I said though, sometimes I got away with charging 200, 300, 400% + due to price differences. It was really quite easy, but then I figured I'd get a real job. If I wanted to do it properly I'd probably start an ebay shop and webstore, but meh. Medicine is serving me better than magic could.
April 14, 2014 7:10 p.m.