I’ve been playing Magic: The Gathering since late 2019 and since then, I’ve become somewhat of a collector. While I don’t go for the really old cards whose value is half of my student debt, I have a bulky folder where I collect one of each card in the sets I like.
But ever since I was laid off from my work, as well as the cost of living crisis, collecting hasn’t been much of my priority lately, but I have a few sets that need to be completed. So rather than spending too much money that could go towards bills, I found another solution that saved me hundreds… literally.
Have you considered trading?
Let’s get straight to the point – I trade my cards to game stores for store credit.
The idea of trading has been around for a very long time, beyond the TCG space. Back when people were exploring on boats, explorers would trade with different nations for spices and materials. Even using money is another form of trading. Rather than giving out items, we use pieces of paper and metal that hold value. I remember watching this trend on TikTok during the pandemic where people would attempt to get a house by trading bobby pins for goods with higher value. Last time I checked, the woman managed to get herself a car after months of exchanges.
But despite this being a viable solution to save money, it’s also something that not many people consider. For one, not every store wants to buy your cards. Perhaps you were told that game stores are trying to rip you off (a constant message that my parents told me). Or you just don’t want to let go of what you got in boosters.
But here’s the thing – unless your LGS is super shady, there is no harm in giving away your cards. Yes, it was hard to say goodbye to my rares and mythic, but I hardly ever use them in my games, nor do I have plans to build a deck that revolves around those cards.
Which trading cards “sparked joy”?
If you remember that time in 2019 when everyone was following Marie Kondo’s organizational and minimalistic habits via her Netflix series, I gave my cards a look and asked which ones “sparked joy” (kinda funny because plainswalkers have sparks, which allows them to travel to different worlds).
So I put all my cards in a pile and figured out which ones I’d like to keep and which ones I’m not too fussed to say goodbye to. Not gonna lie, I had to go through my entire collection once more to find the ones that either have some value or are categorized as mystic and rare because I know most of those would have some value.
I knew the types of decks I play and the types of mechanics I go towards. From there, I started taking out the ones that my LGS would be willing to buy from me.
My LGS’ trade prices
There were two LGS that I had my eyes on when trading cards. But the one I went with was located in the city, just 30 minutes away from me. It’s called Plenty of Games and while I’m currently unsure if the rates changed, what they offered at the time was somewhat fair.
If you want better value, you’re better off selling cards in Facebook and Discord groups because most of the time, sellers would use 1:1 Card Kingdom’s selling price, which is usually higher than the buy rate. Unfortunately, nobody wanted to buy my cards because they’re either not part of the meta or just not as good.
How much were my cards worth?
I got $400 worth of store credit just by trading my cards. Sure, some of them could have been worth more if I were to sell them to individuals, but I’m somewhat paying for the convenience of getting instant value.
So what do I use that store credit towards? More Magic cards of course. I was able to trade at least over 50 rare and mythic Magic cards and I was able to complete my Kaldheim and Phyrexia: All Will Be One sets. It’s important to note that I did purchase booster boxes when the sets were first released, but a majority of the pieces I was missing were mostly those of higher value.
As for Assassin’s Creed… well not so much. Mainly because not many people bought the cards. And when they did, the store wasn’t buying them for a while as they were waiting for prices to go normalize, which took at least 2 months. And once they did, they didn’t have the cards I was after.
Was trading worth it?
It was interesting to experience this type of exchange. In a world where we use cash and other forms of currency to make purchases, I didn’t expect that the best way for me to continue my hobby in this cost-of-living crisis was to exchange goods I already own.
I will admit, that the prices the game stores were offering are lower and I would prefer selling using Card Kingdom’s selling prices. But knowing that the cards I own aren’t as great or strong staple pieces in popular formats, this was pretty much my best option.
This experience allowed me to re-evaluate the stuff I own and learn that some items still have value. And while I’m unable to get a 1:1 selling price, I know that the things I own, whether that may be trading cards or video games, still have a decent price tag. It’s just up to me to decide if I’m willing to take it.
As I’m now planning to walk away from the hobby until Lorywn comes out in 2026 (as well as moving towards the Pokemon TCG), I’m now considering selling my bulk. I have way too many cards, but hopefully, it’s enough to get something out of it.
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