Magic: The Gathering (or other TCG) Trading Ettiquite

[Switchlurk]

So, for those of you who engage in Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon or the like, what would you say are some of the unspoken (or spoken) rules you and your friends play by when it comes to trading?

Does card condition come into play? Is there a generally accepted scale of what cards are worth against each other? Or is a it more of a stricly one card for another type system in play?

Interested to hear your thoughts, views, etc.

 

[Turbulenssi]

When I used to play (Magic The Gathering) and trade card condition only came into play when trading valuable cards. We traded so that both parties were happy with the trade (so usually trades happened when both parties wanted something from each other). Also sometimes we sold cards to each other (if someone had card that he didn't need/use and someone wanted it he just bought it if the other party was willing to sell).

 

[Tallim]

I can't remember what magazine it was in but there was one that contained current prices for each card and we based our trade on that. There was some wiggle room for condition however but for the most part condition only came into it when either party was a collector on top of playing.

I've never had an especially harsh trade, though some people do like to haggle and see how much they can get away with (and fair play to them)

 

[Steve Fidler]

Scry was the monthly Magazine that offered all the up-to-date card prices sorted by Condition (from Mint to Heavily Played)

Trading was always "I want that, so I will give you this card that you want." and if for any reason one person was particularly attached to a card that you wanted, you could always throw something else in.

It wasn't until very recently that I started playing with people who cared about "Money" cards, and whether they were going to sell the card or not, or whether they were going to use it or not, just wouldn't part with it if it was worth more than $20. Which I suppose is fair enough but when you are offering as many as five cards, each worth ~$5, that the person actually wants or needs for his decks...

Well, anyways. Doesn't really matter. If you want a card, it is as easy as going online and buying it. Rarity no longer matters because the card is always available somewhere. The only purpose of Rarity these days is to jack-up the power of a card so you can sell it for ridiculous amounts of money.

 

[Ryuo]

For the majority of my friends, simply trading a cards we want from each other, regardless of price (or condition within reason). That remains the same way for all except one of my friends.

After Magic went to a great deal of money cards, he simply will not trade a card unless you trade him the exact value of the card.

There's nothing wrong with this, but the advent of so many money cards makes trading a bit more difficult.

 

[Saltyk]

When I played, rarity was the order of the day. Basically, it depended on how rare the cards were. There was some wiggle room, but you could get a large number of somewhat rare cards for a really rare one or make a even rarity trade. Depended on the people to an extent.

 

[DaJoW]

We based on a Swedish Magic site that holds private auctions and collects the sale data, showing the average price cards are sold for on their respective page. Very easy.

If you're interested, go to http://www.svenskamagic.com/cardcollection/ and search for the card you want below "SÖK KORT" near the top. If you click on the card you get a popup with average sale including standard deviations, median price and number sold below the card itself. If you're just comparing cards the currency shouldn't matter much, but to google the exchange rate the currency is called SEK.

 

[ChicagoTed]

Condition, Availibilty, and something called 'mates rates' but that only exists with a few cards but most of all is it actually playable. If a card can be splashed in most decks of that game and is good the value of the card run into hundreds of dollars for a play set i.e. Pot of duality from yu-gi-oh that sells in the UK for £60 - £80 each.