Locations
Today let's talk about what it takes to be a good trader. You might be tempted to say that a good trader is someone who never loses value on trades, but you would be wrong. The truth is that a good trader knows when it's ok to lose value on a trade and he, or she, does it willingly. A bad trader never knows when they lose value on a trade and tries to win on every trade. It's kinda comical isn't it.
Here's an example. I recently did a trade with a long time trade partner Mark. I traded him some high end Legacy pimp for some non foil playables. Our trade was "even" but I let him set some of the numbers, specifically this is what he valued some of my stuff at:
Knight of the Reliquary - Foil $20
Brainstorm - Foil Japanese $70
Thoughtseize - Foil Japanese $90
Here are the prices that I know I can get if I waited for a better opportunity.
Knight of the Reliquary - Foil $25
Brainstorm - Foil Japanese $95
Thoughtseize - Foil Japanese $100
That's a $40 dollar difference! Why would I take a $40 loss on a trade? There are many reasons for taking a loss on a trade. As a matter of fact, a good trader intentionally takes losses regularly. What's important is being aware of the loss and having a purpose for it. I took the loss because Mark and I go way back and he was due for a win. I took some losses this week for different reasons. Before we look at those reasons, let's say hi to some friends.
Shout Outs
I was just listening to Yo! MTG Taps and their GP DC Coverage Extravaganza, good stuff by the way. They ran into a judge who was trying to trade up to a Gideon from a Forest. Her name was Liz Richardson and even though she's never heard of me or this quest, she is a big winner in my book. She said that once she got the Gideon, that she was going to trade it to the first kid that she seen, for a basic land. How awesome is that! Anyways, I thought it was really cool seeing similar things going on in the Multiverse. I recommend you listen to the newest Yo! MTG Taps episode to see how Liz did in her quest. In the meantime let's get back to my quest.
Trades
A couple of weeks ago I made some risky trades hoping that they would pay off in the long run. I really didn't see any results and I don't have the time to cultivate opportunities to move these cards. I changed my mode of operation to picking up payables and soon-to-be-hot cards. With that in mind, I turned some of my casual trade fodder into real trade stock.
I traded a Foil Zendikar mountain for a Lightning Helix according to CoolStuffinc.com the mountain is worth 3.99 and the Helix is 2.99, so I lost a dollar. The key is that I gain opportunity; the market for a Foil Zendikar Mountain is much less than the market for a Lightning Helix.
I also took a loss on this trade for the Kor Spiritdancer (1.99) and Mul Daya Channelers (2.49). Like I said above, I wanted stuff that I can easily move and the Nirkana Revenant (5.99) was becoming dead weight. I know that the Channelers trade for 4-5 on a regular basis out of my normal trade binder, so I hope to pick up the loss when I trade it. I also mentioned a couple weeks back that part of my strategy was to pick up Kor Spiritdancers, which I did, but I think that this may also become dead weight so I am going to try to move this one quick.
Let's switch gears here and look at some gains. Polymorph is really hot right now, so it's easy to pick up value on it. I got the Admonition Angel because it sees a little play in the mythic sideboard, it's an Angel and it's a Mythic Rare. No one cares about Admonition Angel; he valued it at two bucks and the Mind Spring at a buck.
Mindspring has been enjoying lots of play and Patrick Chapin says that it's one of the few "good" blue cards in Standard. I picked up two more in this next trade. I also scored a Malakir Bloodwitch, the Bloodwitch is a Jund sideboard card and that means that it will move quickly. This was the strongest trade of week because these cards frequently appear in Top 8 decklists.
Oops!
I made another trade during the week, online. It was as follows:
My:
His:
If you take a moment to utilize math skills, you will clearly see that I am short one, Nirkana Revenant. Who knew these things would be so hot! Believe it or not this happens quite often in the trading game. The goal is to scoop up a Nirkana Revenant before I get the Awakening Zone in the mail. The good thing about having a floating trade like this is that I know exactly what its worth when I am trading for the next Revenant, one Awakening Zone. That means if I find someone who values it at a dollar, then I get an Awakening Zone for one dollar. The problem with this is that as a trader, your reputation is all you have, so you need to make that delivery, even if it means taking a loss. I really hope I don't have to do that, because I am really gaining momentum, but we'll see how it goes next week.
Sorry for the cliffhanger but even I don't know if I am going to make the delivery.
On The Way Out
I wanted to give some quick notes on the way out. I am using Magic Online Trading League to facilitate online trades for Pack to Power; you can check my list here. You might have noticed still no camera. I have been buying Magic Collections instead, once these things start paying off. I will be sure to upgrade and you all will benefit. Until next time have a rocking week!
