Ok so here we go, what is this site all about?
This is a Magic the Gathering card exchange site. You will have your inventory posted to your profile, and the site will match your cards to what people are looking for. On the other hand, you can also post your "Wants" on the site, and again the site will match you up to what others have allowing them to send you cards.
Boom! Easy!
How the hell do I get cards then? People will just send me cards I am in need of for free?
No you Timmy, you need to do something in order to get something. So, what happens is you need to start to send cards in order to get a $ balance. That $ balance will then open up your "Wants" to the other Cardsphere members to send you cards. You will not get any cards without sending some first, and this is how you build up your equity within the site. Build up enough equity, and anyone can send you anything at that price. So if you have 100 $0.01 cards on there, and you have $1.00 worth in your balance, anyone can send you those 100 $0.01 cards.
So really, all you are doing at first is sending cards in order to build up a balance within the site, and then you wait for people from the site to send you cards. Or, if you are not all about sending cards to get cards, then you can charge your credit cards to get cash added to your balance. This would be the same if you sent cards on the site to get cash.
Easy right? So let's get started.
Import "Haves"
First thing is you need to add your collection to the site. They made it so their import tool will take in a Deckbox export file, few things here.
Basic Lands
Deckbox are inventoried differently. That means you need to go through all the lands and add (#XXX) to each card number, or for the earlier basic lands you need to use a (A), (B), (C), and so on. They do make this somewhat easy to find, you just need to go to the Explore link and search the set you are trying to import.
Make the names of the cards listed in the sets to look like the ones you are trying to import.
Multiple Art
So another thing that is different on import are the cards that have different art on them. Again, all you need to do is go to the Explore link and look up your set, and use the names of the cards they have posted. They did make it really easy because they used the artist as the differentiator. And if a card has different art by the same artist, they found something that is different and posted it on the name.
Example:
Fallen Empires - Tidal Flats (Rob Alexander) (Lake)
Fallen Empires - Tidal Flats (Rob Alexander) (Sunset)
Tokens
With tokens I think they handled it better than deckbox. Instead of having a different set just for the tokens, they just added the word "Token" to the end of the name of the card per set. And if there was a token with the same name, they let you know which difference you should be looking for.
Example:
Modern Masters 2017 - Beast Token (3/3)
Modern Masters 2017 - Beast Token (4/4)
I like this way of doing it more than Deckbox because all those cards are included with the set, and you don't need to look at another set listing to see all the cards for that set. I also think it is just cleaner.
Error on Import
Another great feature is that once you do an import, and there are errors, they will provide you with an output with those errors. So you can just fix the ones that have an issue, and import them on their own. Great thinking on their part.
I would have to say that the only thing I hated about this part of the process was reading Reddit. There was a AMA with the Cardshpere folks, and they were touting how easy it was to import, and you could just import without any issue. A minor mistake, but still it bugged the shit out of me because I am just like that. At least tell me you need to do some work to get the cards in, don't make it seem like it is monkey proof.
Import "Wants"
Same thing here, just do an export and import after some massaging and boom...
Send
Alright, you have your "Haves" in there, and your "Wants", but now you have to do your part and start sending cards to others on the site to build up that balance. You are going to want to hit that Send link to get to the next level.
Here is where you will see all the folks looking for cards and have a running balance to accept cards. Since you can't get any cards without having a balance, you can only send cards to folks that have already sent cards, or paid to get a balance. So really, all you need to do is find a match, make sure you have the cards, and accept the offer. That offer will then disappear from the Send section, and you will have a new order in your Sending area.
Sending
If you can't tell, I am not actually using screen shots of the pages, and that is cause I don't want to get in trouble with the site and sharing customer info, so these link pics will have to do.
But here under this link, you will see that offer you decided to fulfil. Under here you can click buttons to start a chat, or see their address. Once you have everything all packed up and in the mailbox heading to the Cardsphere member you can click on the Cards sent button. I think that will inform the other end that the cards are coming. I do know I get notified when someone sends me new cards, I am just not sure if it is on the offer acceptance, or if it is when they actually hit the send button.
Receiving
I am not going to post another link picture because it becoming redundant, but you get the gist. Once you get a balance and other people can send the cards on your "Wants" list, you can see them here.
Trade History
Wait, you just have a dollar amount circled here. Yeah, fucking stupid, but that is where you will go to find out your complete history on the site. This will show what cards have gone out, and come in with the prices of everything. You will also see a fee on every card in every transaction. I am only assuming that dollar amount is how the site makes money. But what that money is, I am not sure. It might also be a way to control the inflation? So if things get crazy, they can remove cash from the system through a fee structure. Seeing as how there are so few users of the site, maybe that is why the fees are so low?
Cash Out
This is a pretty interesting option. You can send all the cards you have, and build up a nice little purse of cash. And then let's say you just want out of the site and spend that money somewhere else to get the cards you are looking for. Well, this option will allow you to pull money out of the site for a fee. That fee is $10 or 10% of the transaction, whichever is higher. So that means if you pull out $1000 from the site, you will be paying $100.
Thoughts
So what I like about the site is that you don't need to have a trade. It is just a way to send cards others are looking for, to build up a balance. That then allows others to send to you. This is a really great way to just get cards you are looking for.
You are also able to adjust the prices you are looking to get for the cards you are looking for which an interesting concept. That way, you can request to pay only $5 for that $9 Fatal Push, and if someone else agrees to that price, they can send the cards you are looking for.
On the same topic, you can also inflate the price of a card you are really looking for. So let's say you have a $0.50 card, but it is the last one you are looking for, you can actually offer $2.00 for it and hope someone will send it. Right now I am just setting all my "Wants" at list prices. There are some Korean 4th Edition cards I am doubling the price I am willing to pay, but I highly doubt I will get those.
I have been able to get in multiple packages, and really only had issues with my first package that was sent to me. The cards were not NM, and I sent a message in, but I already accepted the cards, so there was nothing I could do. In those cases, I should have hit "Dispute" on the cards coming in, and something would have happened.
It is very interesting, I have been able to just get the fodder I have been looking for, and it seems to be coming in pretty hot and heavy. I can only assume that people are sending me my "Wants" because it is an easy way for them to build up their balances to get higher priced cards they are looking for. It also peeks my interest to be able to send a lot of bulk that I have and build up a balance myself. The only issue I am having is that I can't really keep a balance because people just keep sending me cards. Don't get me wrong, it is a good issue to have.
I am finding out that it is a lot easier to get things done. With Deckbox, it is really difficult to get responses from traders. There is a scoring system that people pay a lot of attention to, and to find someone that has the cards you are looking for, at the same time where you have cards they are looking for, and then coming up with a trade that you can each agree to? Well it takes a long time.
It is also a consideration of critical mass. I can see how the more people join and use Cardsphere, the more value you can get with the inventories. But I can also see what could happen if they do not maintain their economy. You can get crazy inflation if they are not careful. Like right now, the prices of the cards are fairly close to market, but if there is a massive influx of coin to the site, then inflation will take effect. Let's see how they handle it, but considering that we are pretty early in the sites existence, and I am getting a constant stream of cards I need, I might be at the site at the right time.
I am hopeful, and with only needing less than 550 cards left for my collection Phase 1, I have high hopes in getting everything I need. With that being said, I plan to use this site for Phase 2 as well and considering the way the site works, I might actually try and get my ABU cards I am still looking for. Of course I am not looking for the Power on here, but just the fodder that I am missing.
I have really found having your entire trade collection present on the site, it really opens up what people are looking for, and I am able to build up my balance pretty quick. The only thing holding me back is the amount of packages I already have sent out. I am really just trying to keep my balance closer to $0 while the cards are still coming in. I guess the best way to put that, is I don't want too much of a balance sitting on the site with no cards coming in. That to me, would seem like I have just given away cards for nothing, and I would be at a loss. So as long as I keep getting cards in, I will keep sending cards and building a balance. Lets just see how many more people join the site and send cards.
I am still very hopeful for the site. It is a very interesting concept and I really like that they use cash as the currency and not some stupid point system that means nothing. It is also really cool that the only way to get a balance is by sending cards, or putting in your own cash. It really does look like there is an economy and I have high hopes for it. I am going to keep using the site along with Deckbox.
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