Balls...

So yeah...

Card Kingdom!  Really starting to like this site.  As I do more business with these guys, maybe I will do a post on them.

Yup, broke down and started my journey into picking up sealed product for the collection.  These purchases will be from 1-2 boxes a year unless I get some crazy bonus at work, or some massive gain on one of my investments.  The way it is working, I have a specific savings account just for these purchases.  I put money into that account every month and save up enough money for a buy.  Once I get a lump sum of cash in the account I will go out and buy something.  With that being said, it is not the same as the yearly budget spend.

I spoke about this in one of my more recent posts.  I have my yearly spend for new product, my singles purchase, and my sealed product bucket.  I have since then split off my sealed product from my yearly spend and singles purchase budget.  How it works is I put money into that bucket every month and I also put any credit card rewards into that bucket.  That is where I will spend out of to pick up any sealed product I need for my collection.  This is not for speculation, but for actual collection sealed product.  None of this product will ever get opened, and it is just for the collection.

I also will not go into debt for any of these purchases.  It would be completely stupid to have to pay interest on these types of purchases, that would only increase the cost basis of anything I bought like that.  It is something I want for the collection, but there is no need to go into debt to get them.  I will not buy any large purchase with debt.  I will use a credit card to buy it, but I will pay that card off within the next billing cycle.  It took me forever to get out of debt, and I don't plan on paying a bunch of interest for no good reason.

Think of it like this, why would you pay a credit card company to get something here and now, and pay every month to pay it down?  Why don't you just save every month and then buy what you can afford when you have enough cash to do so?  That way the credit card company does not own you, and you get to own your cards.

Now that I have made this purchase I will keep putting more money into that account to increase the balance.  Once this purchase has been recouped I will then look to make another purchase.  These purchases will more than likely be highest price to lowest.  That way I can get the more valued sealed boxes out of the way.  Once I start getting to the $200-$300 booster box range, then I think I will be able to pick up the speed of buying.

I also want to point out, I never spend all the cash in my reserve account.  This is for the purpose of running into a great deal and needing the equity to do a buy on a moment's notice.  For instance, buying a collection.  Normally people selling collections are in rush, and have a big desire to cash out quick.  This is always a buying opportunity for me, and ends up with the most gain.

So yeah, I am not expecting to pick up another sealed booster box for the collection until next year.

Please use this great reference for authenticity.
YouTube: Alpha Investments - "MTG: Counterfeiting / Re-Sealing Boxes - Nasty Side of Investing"


Next...

So watched this video about owning a gaming store and I was like WTF!

YouTube: Magic: the Gathering - "What's in Store: Owning Your Own Local Game Store"

That sounds like Lodestone Coffee and Games would be near my house!  So big thanks to Maria from Magic the Amateuring for bringing this store's existence to my attention.  I decided to head up there and see what it was like.  After I go up there more, I might post something here for a LGS review.  But yeah, first glance it was a really cool place.

But as you can see, I picked up some Masterpiece Inventions and Masterpiece Invocations for the collection.

And this...

Why this?  Why not...  I am not much of a Promo guy, but it is very rare that I do see something like this in a LGS that I really would want.  They did have a couple other things that I am interested in, so I might head up there again later today to see if I can grab some more stuff.

And since I am in the market for a new LGS, this might be a great place to go from now on.

Edit:
Was able to get up there again and pick up some Unlimited Dual Lands.  Had to come home to get my Dual Lands and a loupe to make sure they were real.