How Do You Price MTG Cards? What Should You Sell? - Ask A Shop Owner #2

Ask us! [e-mail]
#1. How much square feet for a small store? 0:45
#2. What should you specialize in? 3:50
#3. Is MTG the best seller? 5:10
#4. How do you gauge interest? 5:53
#5. Should you sell comics? 7:46
#6. Should you sell sports cards? 9:02
#7. Should you sell Warhammer? 10:40
#8. How do you price your MTG cards? 12:46
Playlist : • Q&A - Ask a Shop Owner!

[@AustinSlack]

This video is two years old now so who knows if you are still offering it but the fact that you did at one time offer for people to call you and ask for advice is really cool. Very humble.

[@DeriumsCCGs]

eBay is what we use for things like that. MTG prices just bounce around really fast, most other things come out high, but settle down after a few days that they have been released. If that becomes annoying, trollandtoad, coolstuff and sites like that will be "known" for the go to place.

[@mcrdjunky]

I find your videos so far really enlightening. I am a military member looking to get out so and these video are so good. Trying to find someone to be this open about a hobby shop this way it actually really hard to find. Makes me feel a bit more confident about wanting to start my own. Also glad to see we have the same taste in shirts, lol. I have all the ninjas from that artist. Good luck to you and tanks again.

[@johnbags401]

This is really good. I can't find much information about opening a store anywhere else. Keep it going!!

[@TheKuharski]

Dude, awesome video! I'm all for just hearing you ramble! Any stories you have are just great!

[@fandresgu]

Great videos dude!! I never cut them before the end, i feel that all the info that you give its so substantial that if i skip a part or end the video before even 20 seconds i'll miss something extremely important. Thanks a lot for all of this man specially since you don't have to do it and even so you do it just to help us out.

[@gusmagana4703]

This is great! Even though I am not interested in opening a store or anything, but this is extremely interesting. Plus, I enjoy your guys channel, keep up the great work. SUBSCRIBED!

[@SimoYT]

Really like watching these, gives a good insight how stores work and run. Thanks

[@pheano]

This is really helpful, we are making a store right now and we are at the point where we are starting to get ready to transition from an ebay store to a brick and mortar

[@rachelschofield4340]

Thank you so much for all of your videos! I see there are many, so I need to catch up on them, but they are really helpful. I currently work at a Magic/Game store and we are looking to start doing singles. If you already have a video on how to start this up, great! If not, I would love some info. Thanks so much again for doing these!

[@JamesMellis39]

I know this video is old, but I hope you've tapped into sponsoring military. There are plenty of soldiers who play, especially MTG. Local bases have places called warrior zones (army) who host game play events of many different types, and will often buy prizes from you for them to offer. You get the exposure of sponsoring an event, letting soldiers know where you're located, and most importantly that you have an online store. (all important to deployed soldiers who are looking to kill the time and stay within regulation for different types of game play). Offer great prizes (go halfsies with the venue as I'm sure they'll help monetarily since they only thrive when soldiers arrive) and you have yourself new loyal clientele both in town and out. Government gives to military programs such as this based on soldier usage; I'm sure they''d welcome anything that gets soldiers scanning their ID's and coming through the door. Just a suggestion from a SGT in Germany playing MTG.

[@BrentsCardsAndCoins]

#1 I sell trading cards at a Flea Market as a side income while in college. Due to not having a lot of money, I really can't do much advertising and, where I live, you have to pay $30 per square feet to put a sign up on the side of a building. In order for someone to be able to read the sign you would need at least 20 square feet ($600) and if someone vandalizes it, you get fined. I am only renting 2 tables for $100 a month and the owner sells for me when I am not there for a 10% commission. You really don't need much space at all. I sell Pokemon, YuGiOh and Magic: The Gathering and what I do is I have all my rare cards alphabetized and the $0.25 - $0.50 rares are stored in card boxes marked "$0.25 - $0.50 Rares." Then I have a box for $1-9 rare cards (tied the box to the table). The $10 and up cards are displayed as well as a few of the cheaper cards. I am getting a little cramped as my inventory grows, so I hope to upgrade to a booth for $200 a month soon. Never-the-less, the amount of space you would need depends on how you want to show your cards. You can fit 50,000 cards in 50 long boxes that are 14 x 3 3/4 x 2 3/4 inches and stack them in a space of less than 8x9x9 feet. However, I am using a total space of about a height of 6 feet, width of 16 feet and a depth of 2.5 feet.

[@Umba]

Man, this is just interesting. Ramble on Derium!

[@surielao4162]

super detail starting a store and all costs associated and all materials needed would be a great video series. I'm stock piling sealed product and plan to open a store within 2 years. I'll take any advice I can get. I've run grocery stores for a few years now and I'd like to run back to what I'm really passionate about. Thanks!

[@ITAmich]

Very good and informative again!!! If I ever leave my country and end up somehow in Ohio, I'll definitely go to your store and say hello!!!!

[@beachybum68]

Thank you so much for these videos.

[@matthewgeary1811]

Last year, my store was robbed and couldn't recover. They closed last week. The video game store right next to it is going to try and buy it then host magic, but right now they only have a few booster boxes and a fat pack. I'm happy to say i was the first person to buy a booster pack! (Even if it was Gatecrash lmao)

[@josephpinette321]

Another great vid keep em coming

[@posiden666]

great series!

[@edgardlp3327]

Again thanks man You're awesome! Helping out a lot...I had a question though...did you got school before you opened your shop?

[@cardcrazy85]

Hey Derium, Thanks for the answering the questions im still looking to get my store going im in the slow beginning prosses. Your advice has help alot. Thanks Also i sent ya a message

[@papaiolar3380]

you guys have any video of a tour at the store? couldn't find it ... nice vids!

[@Dragonite43]

LOL. I would enjoy watching a Gordon Ramsey Game Store show. :P

[@kinggkuppa]

Great series

[@residentzombie]

Also understand that all prices are derived from supply versus demand. This is why the most sought after Mythics in MTG are the most expensive. Less supply and much demand. Pro Tour Top 8 decklists create much demand for the best and rarest cards from that set. Also once cards rotate out of Standard, they loss tremendous value unless they will be used in other formats like Modern and Liliana of the Veil.

[@eveplayer12]

Brilliant stuff.

[@bradleyadkins3144]

Dude, thank you so much for saying that TCG wasn't a reliable source for pricing cards. Every card shop in my area prices off of TCG. And they all get a confused look on their face when I ask 'Well what happens if I go on TCG and put up 100 copies of this card for way more/less than what its actually worth?' I only use StarCityGames to price cards. Sometimes if a person doesn't like SCG, I'll use CoolStuffInc. They're just reliable sources of pricing.

[@DJotterpop]

Bradley Adkins I tend to use MTGgoldfish as a fallback for pricing.

[@DeriumsCCGs]

Vanguard is taking hold, some places that use to run WoW are now running Vanguard instead. As for Yu-Gi-Oh! it's still a solid game, but check and see if there is a dedicated store in your area first. Those play groups normally are not willing to move to a new store (typically it's a younger group and they don't have transportation at will).

[@mcdj0nt]

my LGS sells boosters for 3.99 a piece. I have no idea how they actually sell packs. Hearing about your 4 for 10 deal sounds awesome

[@trevorschroeder1547]

that IS msrp

[@mcdj0nt]

Trevor Schroeder yea I understand this. My point is they charge MSRP when you can turn around and order packs online for just about 2.50 a piece. How they sell packs is beyond me. I wouldn't mind supporting my LGS if I didn't feel like I was getting ripped off every time I went in there

[@Silversnorlax204]

I love the cases you use for MTG singles. Any idea where I could get those? Or something close to those? Or were they custom built? Thanks!

[@lucablankenship9247]

Silversnorlax204 they actually say that they are custom built in a future episode :(

[@Silversnorlax204]

Yeah I caught that episode actually. Helpful to know though, thanks for the follow up!

[@MightyMoriar]

dude your cool as hell. I am involved with a small local that does warhammer and magic. would be cool to shoot the shit and have a beer with you. thumbs up bro.

[@turnstyle518]

Ramble on brother!

[@SimoYT]

Also any chance your gonna do a walkthrough of the new store on cam soon?

[@Leo_Quinto]

(you should add the social network links in the description of the videos)

[@kingmax318]

more! =D

[@Krazykatman101]

I saw in your video that you have a case with magic cards that are priced in a case. How do you do that when magic singles go up and down everyday

[@AntiRedSon]

damn, i wish your shop was near me!

[@beachybum68]

Are the display cases you use to display your magic singles custom made? Can you advise the manufacturer?

[@johnsignorino4946]

what are the most important cars to buy to start a magic store

[@GRAPH1X]

Where did you find those display cases for your magic singles?

[@RB1TR4G3UR]

KZbin, and facebook are the best ways to advertise I would say, and when picking products do everything ;-) I dont mess around with sports cards personally. Very strict market now in days . When buying in MTG in Bulk , I all ways check out Buylists from various sites, like Troll and Toad , Card Kingdom , and also sell them on various other sites like TCGplayer and COMC ... There is all ways Flea Markets, and shows to go to , to move some deadweight ...

[@BrentsCardsAndCoins]

Don't forget Craigslist. That site has helped me like you wouldn't believe. I also agree about sports cards. Some people wouldn't believe all the people who come in looking to sell their massive 90's baseball collection. Facebook has been helpful, but KZbin not so much. Maybe because I just don't have time to post a lot of videos.

[@RB1TR4G3UR]

Brent'sCardsAnd Coins Yeah I had spent a lot on my Sports cards back in the day ... I had thousands of Rookies , hundreds of star Rookie players , and what happened ... AUTO/GU's Serial Numbers , Grading Services, and Steroids...

[@StonedViper]

What are your insurance costs and what does said insurance cover? Thanks

[@sengirdjinn]

What does using a stud finder on a box mean?

[@WCCNERO]

I see abandoned restaurants all the time near where I live, would those be great for a store? (ex: a Wendy's)

[@jmwilson100]

+Victory End I would imagine it would be better if it was in a strip mall

[@BigMikePlays]

Are you gonna be selling burgers :D. But seriously it depends on the architecture and it will cost a crap ton to renovate... remove the kitchen... it would be hella cheaper just to open up in a strip mall instead of trying to reconfigure an old restaurant to start with.

[@SirStriped]

Depends if the kitchen stuff is in there.I bet you could get someone that would take it all out for free if they get to keep what they take. Might need to pay them a bit. Then just turn it into the inventory room or something. That said I could be wrong :D Probably wrong.

[@residentzombie]

Prices are set by supply and demand. Capitalism means free trade and competition. You must compete against others who do the same and by you being the least greedy, best service, etc. you will slowly grow your customer base. To save time of analyzing your supply and demand, use the work of your competition like SCG and CoolStuff to set prices to.

[@keithstewart82]

Would you recommend Yu-Gi-Oh! as well as Magic and Vanguard?

[@orangerightgold7512]

my LGS prices their cards based on the median cost from different websites rounded up.

[@play4fun181]

how do i find supplier? please help me out

[@residentzombie]

You sell what your customers want to buy. Business rule 101

[@lyradf]

I ***THINK*** TCGPlayer fixed the fluctuating median price issue. This is an old video so you probably know this already.

[@lemonshamilton]

"18 x 18 x 18 x 18 square ft." That's 104,976 square ft. Or their table area is fourth (fifth?) dimensional.

[@aiRCoft]

3:23 "Dike bags" XD

[@herojohn95]

ummm just saying you could tentically make your store bigger by getting smaller table by wide and also making a few bucks adding a small snack stand.... just put some fliers soda and chips... just saying

[@benjamind.8271]

Is there a minimum size for a regulation WotC store?

[@Nanofuture87]

Well there's a minimum requirement for event size (8 for gateway level that you can't stay at, 12 for core level), so your store needs to be large enough to accommodate at least that many players.

[@raymondmccarraher4089]

I would just buy boxes and open them and sell singles

[@jonosmallbrain]

I like it

[@dreamsprayanimation]

You look like a genie.

[@nilo8615]

you desrve a likeXD

[@theredsorcerer7764]

Im in middle school and play magic

[@blindey]

+Logan Sharp I remember when I was around that age. It's really cool that you and it's a great time to start...as is any time, imo. I stopped playing then came back in a few years ago since return to ravnica. Been addicted ever since lol.

[@theredsorcerer7764]

Thanks

[@RB1TR4G3UR]

Check out SimplyUnluckys youtube channel , he has 100 thousands of views just doing box breaks , People love box breaks; another great way to drive traffic

[@kingmax318]

=D

[@colezoler1146]

open some alpha boosters mtg

[@gamingwithgoodguy443]

can I join your staff I'll do it for free