As a non-hobbyist with not a lot of time, what's the best place to sell my old, rare Magic Cards and get a fair price?

November 27, 2012 11:17 AM

As a non-hobbyist with not a lot of time, what's the best place to sell my old, rare Magic Cards and get a fair price?

When I was a kid I collected a full set of Revised Dual Lands. I looked up what they're selling for recently, and some of them are in the three figures. What's the best place to sell them and get a fair price for them. I know one answer is "eBay", but will serious Magic collectors buy from me if I don't have a history on my account? (I haven't used eBay in years, so I'm guessing I'd be starting with a fresh account.) Frankly, to save time I'd rather sell to a reseller if I'm not paying TOO high of a premium to do so.

posted by tweebiscuit to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (5 answers total)

You're in Brooklyn, so Kings Games on E. 15th and Kings Highway have pre-printed lists of much they're willing to pay for certain MTG cards. If you do your research first and print out your own list and compare it to theirs, you can see if it is worth it. I don't remember if their prices are fantastic, but it's the least-effort way I can think of doing this and not getting completely ripped off (they've been in business for quite a while, host Friday Night Magic, etc.)

HOWEVER, they do not give you prices by phone/email. You have to go there.
posted by griphus at 11:31 AM on November 27, 2012

Best answer: Star City Games is the biggest Magic dealer around. You could sell to them with minimal hassle and minimal chance of getting screwed around with. Here's their buylist with prices and a link to how selling to them works. The 10 revised duals are all on there, with a total price of $550 for the set of 10. That's for near mint, condition does matter a lot. If you mean a full set of 40 rather than a full set of 10, it might be a big enough transaction that they might even offer somewhat more than that.

Anyway, I'd start by contacting them. Definitely wouldn't want to mess with selling on eBay, too much risk/hassle.
posted by Perplexity at 11:34 AM on November 27, 2012 [1 favorite]

Dual lands are great. They're like the gold standard of Magic cards. They are easily liquidated and go for top dollar. I would probably recommend hitting up this guy and asking him to buy them. He's always buying and gives top dollar on stuff. I have sold him tons of stuff over the years with zero problems. Tell him Gunslinga sent you. He will give you more money than pretty much any dealer, and probably more than selling on ebay would get you.
posted by Slinga at 12:12 PM on November 27, 2012

If you're in the northern parts of Brooklyn and not feeling like trekking out to Kings Highway you can give Twenty Sided Store in Williamsburg a shot. I'm no Magic player but the store has a focus on the game, and you can apparently email them to set up an appointment to sell off large lots.
posted by thirdletter at 12:15 PM on November 27, 2012

I know one answer is "eBay", but will serious Magic collectors buy from me if I don't have a history on my account?

Yes. Put up good photos (high-res scans of both sides if possible) and don't expect to make a fortune. I went through my old Magic cards just a couple months ago and sold the more valuable ones individually and the basic lands as a lot on eBay. Got decent prices for the condition of my cards. It didn't take much more work than selling to someone like Star City, and I didn't have to make a judgement call on the grade myself. I just listed them all as "played" and in the description said to look at the scans and judge for yourself.

I used this price guide, and figured I'd be able to sell for about an average of the medium and low prices (the ones in blue and red above the picture). It's not worth it to try to sell a card individually if the price would be less than three dollars or so.
posted by clorox at 8:29 PM on November 29, 2012