Using Magic to get funds to pay for editing

[Incanus]

My cousin and her new husband have been playing Magic: The Gathering lately, and we talked about it at Christmas. I mentioned having played the game in the 90’s, when it was pretty new.

Then came this question: “Do you still have those cards? You know they’re worth money, right?”

That got my attention. Went home and found my old box of cards in the closet, and started doing a little research on that interweb thing.

While I don’t have anything outrageously special, I’ve got some interesting stuff. I have cards from two early editions: Unlimited and Revised. I also have some expansions from that same era.

All told they should be worth around $3000 bucks, which I can sell, probably, to a store for upwards of $2000 (visited a game store last night and confirmed all this). I could probably do a little better if I put in the time and effort, but it’s a win-win for me no matter what. While I enjoyed the game at the time, I don’t think many folks play with cards this old. I’m fond of the idea that I can turn in pieces of 30-year-old cardboard and come up with an amount of cash not to be sneezed at.

I figure the money can go toward pro editing when my novel is ready for it.

Anyway, I thought a few Scribes might get a kick out of this little story.

 

[pmmg]

Wow, that much?

I have a huge set of these, but I've never really played it. I'd have to dig them out. I think I have 5 or 6 full decks. I'd thought of just giving them away to some gamer who might use them.

I also have bunches of Pokemon and Yugioh cards that I bought when the kids were young. Pokemon was alright as a card game. Yugioh was just confusing.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I hate to guess what my buddy who spent years in the Navy has in Gathering cards, seeing as he spent a couple of grand on cards to have something to do while at sea, LMAO. They'd be damned old cards, too.

 

[Incanus]

Wow, that much?

I have a huge set of these, but I've never really played it. I'd have to dig them out. I think I have 5 or 6 full decks. I'd thought of just giving them away to some gamer who might use them.

I also have bunches of Pokemon and Yugioh cards that I bought when the kids were young. Pokemon was alright as a card game. Yugioh was just confusing.

You might want to look into that. If those Pokemon cards are from the 90's, they are probably worth trading in. When are your Magic cards from?

The different editions make a BIG difference. My Unlimited cards are all valuable, even the most basic common cards (land cards) are worth a buck or two. I think I have around 180 from this set. They add up. I have handfuls that are worth 30, 40, 60, 80, and a few between 100-200.

I'm not normally a collector, but this is definitely worth following up on.

I wish I'd known about this 3 years ago or so. They were even more valuable then.

 

[Incanus]

I hate to guess what my buddy who spent years in the Navy has in Gathering cards, seeing as he spent a couple of grand on cards to have something to do while at sea, LMAO. They'd be damned old cards, too.

Oh, boy. If he has Alpha or Beta cards, he'd be sitting on a gold mine. A few handfuls of those might be worth 10 grand, or much, much more potentially.

One Black Lotus card sold for 3 million at one point.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Well, I'll just say that's insane, heh heh. I'm assuming he never got rid of them, but it was back when the game first came out, so it wouldn't shock me if they're worth a pile. He was in the Navy at the time the game came out, so... Yikes.

I feel bad for not buying cards now, LMAO.

I should note that with his luck, he gave them away or had them stolen, heh heh. Poor dude got Hepatitis from a tattoo, lost hearing in one ear (he answered my call one day and the ear he answered with, well, he went deaf that day... Maybe I am a curse) and had a liver transplant. So, whatever he might get from those cards might not have been worth that tattoo.

Oh, boy. If he has Alpha or Beta cards, he'd be sitting on a gold mine. A few handfuls of those might be worth 10 grand, or much, much more potentially.

One Black Lotus card sold for 3 million at one point.

 

[ThinkerX]

I sold 98% of my mostly 2nd Edition AD&D books for about $700 last year to two different local hobby shops. I probably could have doubled that by going online, but it wasn't worth the effort.

 

[Stace]

I really thought that this thread was gonna be about the Law of Attraction

 

[Incanus]

I really thought that this thread was gonna be about the Law of Attraction

Apologies for my 'false advertising'! It was my attempt at making a clever title, something a tad misleading, but ultimately true.

I've been sorting the cards here and there. I think I'm about a week-and-a-half from completing the draft of my novel. I'll take care of this when that's done.

So close, so very close...

 

[Stace]

Apologies for my 'false advertising'! It was my attempt at making a clever title, something a tad misleading, but ultimately true.

I mean, there is something a little magic about finding something valuable just when you're anticipating needing some extra cash!

 

[Dylan]

Using magic to fund editing, Now that’s creative, If only we could conjure up some cash for all those writerly expenses. Until then, maybe crowdfunding or freelance gigs could work. Either way, keep the magic alive in your writing.