Does anyone know if any vendors or exhibitors coming to the show might be interested in bulk Magic: The Gathering cards? I am looking to slim down my collection, and my LGS doesn't really deal in bulk cards.
If every previous year is an indication, there should be plenty of opportunities to do this. PAX has always seen a good number of MTG vendors, one of which usually hosts a large scale tournament, and appraisers are not very hard to find in various vendor booths.
This being said...
I actually tried to do this last year and ended up keeping my stock, reason being that I could have spent a better part of the day just trying to find a deal that I was comfortable with, and there was no sign that I could do better or worse than doing this back home. The process is time consuming to say the least, and the only way to help is to have a well documented list of your cards ready and available (which I had, actually).
You said "bulk". Am I to understand that you want to sell off your collection? If so, most buyers that I've had experience with prefer not to do that (though if they do, it will usually be for a pittance). Instead they will have something called a "want list" which shows the cards they are looking for and how much they ware willing to pay for them, so you need to know what you have and see if the amount they are paying feels right for you. Some places also have appraisers who will take a look at your collection and sort out the cards they want/like by value - a process that decimates any sorting you may have already done.
As I said, either method requires a good deal of time. For starters, most vendors have key members who will be in charge of doing this, and they are often busy doing just that with other clients who were in front of you. The actual appraising/negotiation process itself varies on how many cards you have and how well prepared you are, but 30 minutes per client is not out of the ordinary. Speaking of other clients, most people tend to trade in cards for credit, and they will themselves be shopping for cards that may interest them (this is not so different than doing a reverse appraisal). Now imagine going through all of that only to learn the price they are offering you is not to your liking? Pro tip - Study the want lists or ask the appraisers if there's anything they fancy in your collection before going through the actual process, that way you will at least get a hint if this whole thing will be worth your time. If this is your first time, it may also be a bit overwhelming. Most vendors will make their want lists public (its in their best interest), so you may want to look up which vendors are going to show up and scout out their web sites.
But wait, there's more... If there are any tournaments going on (and without checking, I'm sure there will), vendors will be flush with offers from experienced players who have nothing else to do with their freshly opened packs than to have them appraised / traded. Vendor stocks will most likely fill up, thus affecting the market value of certain cards should they have more than they think they can get rid of as they don't actually need more of those Garruks. I've seen this happen at a Grand Prix event - A vendor straight up said he did not need any more planeswarlkers of any kind!
So the real question is, is PAX East the best place for you to sell your collection? Depends on how you see it. The question I would ask you is: Is there any other place where you could do this at your own convenience without having to deal with too much pressure? Are there any FLGSs in your area that could cater to your need? Even if that means taking an acceptable road trip? At the very least, I would check out the internet and study up how one can sell their cards or collection. The thing is, MTG events and vendors are not that unique, and because there is so many other things to do at PAX, you may want to think ahead about how much time you want to dedicate to this endeavor.
I myself ended up selling my stock to a work colleague and had no regrets. Less hassles, plus I felt like we both made a good deal out of the whole thing. Bonus points to knowing that my collection is in good hands.
Sorry if I seem to be raining on your parade. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, heck you may even end up being lucky and get rid of everything on your first hour! But at the very least you should know what you are getting into.
The best success I had when it came to MTG and PAX was to bring a trade binder containing any chase items that I was ready to part with. A lot of people will be ready to trade, which in turn helped me make even more friends at PAX.
TL;DR: It':s totally doable but you may want to see if PAX is your only option to do so.
Toad & Troll is usually selling bulk, but I would imagine PAX is a super busy selling show for them. Maybe contact them on the web and sell outside of the show.
Tried selling my cards from a draft tournament last year since I got some nice pulls. I feel they lowballed me so I ended up not selling out of spite. (I don't play/collect anymore). I doubt you will get a fair offer at PAX. Private sale would be the best bet I would think, but there's no harm in trying.
Thanks for the feedback all. I really appreciate the effort and opinions. I am not looking to liquidate my entire collection, just a lot of draft chaff from over the years. The piles of Pacifisms, Kinsbaille Skirmishers, Barony Vampires, Merrow Wavebreakers, Caravan Escorts and so on have finally outstayed their welcome, and I do not intend to own them by the next time I have to move. I was hoping to avoid paying a bunch of shipping by bringing them to the show, but I totally spaced on the extreme time commitment this project would be likely to take. Troll and Toad is a good place to start looking online.
Does anyone know if any vendors or exhibitors coming to the show might be interested in bulk Magic: The Gathering cards? I am looking to slim down my collection, and my LGS doesn't really deal in bulk cards.
Thanks.
If you have any photos of the lot you are looking to sell or any idea the total number of bulk cards, PM me and we can work something out. I will even meet up with you somewhere at or near the con (hotel) to make the exchange.
TJ Collectibles will be buying bulk commons/uncommons (no basic land) for $3.00 a thousand, and bulk rares for .125 each, Please contact me at tom@tjcollect.com so I could plan on getting the cards from the convention center back out. That is the biggest issue for vendors at shows such as Pax is getting the bulk home without shipping it.
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This being said...
You said "bulk". Am I to understand that you want to sell off your collection? If so, most buyers that I've had experience with prefer not to do that (though if they do, it will usually be for a pittance). Instead they will have something called a "want list" which shows the cards they are looking for and how much they ware willing to pay for them, so you need to know what you have and see if the amount they are paying feels right for you. Some places also have appraisers who will take a look at your collection and sort out the cards they want/like by value - a process that decimates any sorting you may have already done.
As I said, either method requires a good deal of time. For starters, most vendors have key members who will be in charge of doing this, and they are often busy doing just that with other clients who were in front of you. The actual appraising/negotiation process itself varies on how many cards you have and how well prepared you are, but 30 minutes per client is not out of the ordinary. Speaking of other clients, most people tend to trade in cards for credit, and they will themselves be shopping for cards that may interest them (this is not so different than doing a reverse appraisal). Now imagine going through all of that only to learn the price they are offering you is not to your liking? Pro tip - Study the want lists or ask the appraisers if there's anything they fancy in your collection before going through the actual process, that way you will at least get a hint if this whole thing will be worth your time. If this is your first time, it may also be a bit overwhelming. Most vendors will make their want lists public (its in their best interest), so you may want to look up which vendors are going to show up and scout out their web sites.
But wait, there's more... If there are any tournaments going on (and without checking, I'm sure there will), vendors will be flush with offers from experienced players who have nothing else to do with their freshly opened packs than to have them appraised / traded. Vendor stocks will most likely fill up, thus affecting the market value of certain cards should they have more than they think they can get rid of as they don't actually need more of those Garruks. I've seen this happen at a Grand Prix event - A vendor straight up said he did not need any more planeswarlkers of any kind!
So the real question is, is PAX East the best place for you to sell your collection? Depends on how you see it. The question I would ask you is: Is there any other place where you could do this at your own convenience without having to deal with too much pressure? Are there any FLGSs in your area that could cater to your need? Even if that means taking an acceptable road trip? At the very least, I would check out the internet and study up how one can sell their cards or collection. The thing is, MTG events and vendors are not that unique, and because there is so many other things to do at PAX, you may want to think ahead about how much time you want to dedicate to this endeavor.
I myself ended up selling my stock to a work colleague and had no regrets. Less hassles, plus I felt like we both made a good deal out of the whole thing. Bonus points to knowing that my collection is in good hands.
Sorry if I seem to be raining on your parade. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, heck you may even end up being lucky and get rid of everything on your first hour! But at the very least you should know what you are getting into.
The best success I had when it came to MTG and PAX was to bring a trade binder containing any chase items that I was ready to part with. A lot of people will be ready to trade, which in turn helped me make even more friends at PAX.
TL;DR: It':s totally doable but you may want to see if PAX is your only option to do so.
If you have any photos of the lot you are looking to sell or any idea the total number of bulk cards, PM me and we can work something out. I will even meet up with you somewhere at or near the con (hotel) to make the exchange.