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MTG Appraisal
Cryana
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
How would one go about getting a very large collection of Magic: The Gathering CCG appraised? Is it even possible? We realized that if the house goes up in flames it is probably one of the few things that we can't prove existed and the insurance company would probably laugh at us anyway.
Cryana on
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You can do your own cataloging / pricing online.
I've worked with them a lot in the past, both for purchases and selling off my collection. They do good business. Just be well aware that what you consider the condition of the cards, and what a purchaser considers good condition, are two very different things.
Insurance would pay replacement cost, not sale value.
The important thing is to take photographs to document what you own. That goes for everything, not just the cards.
(I still need to do that myself... ugh.)
http://www.starcitygames.com/ find where they'll be (they have events all over the country) and ask them. Or check their prices.
Your best bet is to go to a website like Starcitygames.com, Channelfireball.com, or even Ebay and type in the cards 1 by 1 to get their sale price. There isn't a lot of motivation for your local retailer to tell you exactly what your cards are worth, so you should probably do this yourself.
Two things to keep in mind:
1. Your cards will not fetch the value that they are listing for their sales, unless it is extremely rare. The higher the price of the card, the more likely it is that the price you can get will approach the price that they are selling for.
2. Bulk collections are never worth as much as their individual components.
3. The worth of these cards changes dramatically over time, in both directions, as a result of changing rarity and changing in-game value.
I realize you said that you want the appraisal for insurance and not to sell, but you should keep that in mind when you're working something out with your insurer.
It may be worthwhile to go to your Friendly Local Game Store and ask how they have their inventory insured.
3clipse: The key to any successful marriage is a good mid-game transition.
Seems like kind of a dick move, and honestly I doubt a massive collection would go for anything resembling its value unless bought or sold in pieces.
Anyone who recognizes the value of the cards likely only wants the choice stuff, the rest is just shit that adds to shipping costs, and anyone who wants to build a collection with a massive chunk probably isn't willing to drop thousands of dollars on a full pile like that.
Pricing out the choice rares/mythics/really good uncommons and then estimating a ballpark on the rest would at least be a starting point. Like, on many internet stores you can get your average common for mere pennies, so sweating whether your 4th Edition Lightning Bolt is worth 25 cents or 19 cents, while it adds up over time (and thousands of cards) is really just nickle and diming away your time. Now if you're talking chase rares in Standard and Legacy staples (or Power 9) then definitely worry about the big ticket stuff. Things you'd hate to have to replace due to rarity or value.
Also it's probably worth recognizing that especially with the nature of the rotating tournament scene, those newer cards might be worth more due to current high demand, but that might drop significantly in the coming months or years. I'm not sure how this might affect getting it appraised. I mean, in the worst case scenario of a fire or something, does an insurer care that your cards were listed at being worth 10 grand and you can replace them in 2 years for 5? I have no idea, just curious if that's a thought that has come up.
I was afraid that something along the lines of "do it yourself" would probably be the best answer. I wouldn't mind paying someone a couple of hundred to do the work for me since it really is a huge collection.
Thank you for the advice about trying to get in touch with Star City locally, we use their site all the time and love them to death.
Does taking pictures really work btw for insurance companies? I mean even taking a pic of my TV, would they go for that? I was in the army for a bit and still am via the husband so I have everything in the house inventoried and photographed for the sake of the movers already. But alas I just stare at the book case of cards and can't imagine what to do with them in case our local volcano decides to blow.
Also yes I definetly think they should be appraised, and I do understand that the cards fluctuate in price a lot due to type 2 ($70 for Jace, really?!). Maybe just a straightforward inventory and if something bad does happen fill in the price holes later? I'll have to call my insurance to see what they say but I love hearing your opinions as well.
Sad but true knowledge: Magic cards are mostly worthless unless you have the few high value cards. But cards can suddenly become popular and go supernova in value. Also they are a lot more expensive for the sought after now since mythics. At least one mythic each set will immediately crack $50 and then slowly settle down at a stupid $30-40... this was not a problem before mythics. It drove up their price but most rares are now cheaper. So... good and bad.
One fairytale story about cards sudden shift in value, and I made a lot of money on things like this, was the set Coldsnap that was so bad they'd try to get you to buy 3 boxes for the price of one. No one wanted it. A year or two ago, a random rare from it was suddenly very good with a new uncommon that came out. That .25 card was suddenly $30+ when it was in season.
Mmm, delightful.
/history & economy lesson on magic prices
That'll help you save a lot of time. No one wants the random crappy Serra Angel, but they do want Baneslayer Angels. You'd see that card pop up all the time.
edit: also find a local store and ask to copy their pricelists to price your own collection. Their prices will probably be higher than what you can get, but it's a baseline for this is valuable, this is 50 cents at STORE prices.
http://www.gradedmagiccards.com/
Disclaimer, my insurance guy is really, really good.
Photos provide some evidence of what you owned. At the very least they won't hurt and likely would help. Check this article, seems to have some good info on how you would do it.
Just take all the cards out and photograph them. Photograph them with a good camera so theyre all identifiable. Now you have a record of what you own. Call the insurance company and tell them you want to make sure your collectible cards are covered, and ballpark about double what you think theyre actually worth. Send the pictures to insurance to prove that you own the cards (or just mention that you have pictures, they may not want them).
Then, if anything ever happens to them, you have a record of every card you own. You can then send this to your appraiser along with a list of current card values and ask them to cut you a check. Saves you a lot of time and possibly expense appraising the value of the cards now, but still lets you do it later in the future if you ever have to.
This is totally assuming your collection is going to stay fairly static.
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not to say they wont cover your magic cards per se, but they would probably only cover the cost of buying you new booster packs, and wont replace the individual value for rares. *though this can vary from insurance company and different insurance policies.
your best bet is to figure how much they are worth, then buy insurance specifically for that amount, and specifically to cover the cards.
Check with your insurance provider, i'm in Canada so things might be different in the US.