I don't know if it is a slow down, or if I have reached peak trading. I always knew there was going to be a time with collecting that there would be a massive slowdown, and I would find it harder to get the cards I need outside of just buying them outright. I was hoping that CardSphere would extend that time, but I don't think they have a critical mass yet on the site with only around 2200 traders.
I saw this with Deckbox during my Legacy phase, where I was trying to get all the older sets complete and I ended up spending $100ish on TCG to just finish all my playsets. I also recall that I did not want to mix up the Legacy / Modern lists, and wanted to completely finish up one list before I started the other. Basically I could have just added my wishlist for Modern and picked up the cards for Legacy within those trades.
To explain what is happening, we have hit a point where the number of cards I am looking to get are so varied that it is hard to trade with just a single person.
Deckbox example: I can find multiple traders with a bunch of cards that I need, but they don't need anything I have. Or, there are a bunch of cards that I have that they need, but the amount of cards that I need from them is so small, that I need to pick up cards I don't need to finish the trade.
CardSphere Example: I have a lovely balance, but the cards they have to send me is usually less than $1.00 so it is not worth it to send the card because of the shipping cost.
I really think it is a combination of each for both sites. With Deckbox I am going to have to start trades that are less than $20 just to find the cards I can get. I still have some hope with CardSphere because it is such a new site, that I will be able to see some cards trickle in. Now it could be the summer lull, or I could be seeing peak trading, but I am going to keep on the whole plan to keep trading. I really want to send out a Revised Sealed Tournament deck with the last card I need.
Here we go!
45... 45... That is how many Birds of Paradise I own in the collection. I am missing 2 7th Edition, and 1 Alpha. That is a play set in everything outside of Beta, Unlimited, Conspiracy: Take the Crown. I also have the International Collection Edition and a Korean 4th Edition BoP but we are not counting those.
And...
So yeah, all in all I am going to have to put a little more time in Deckbox trading while I wait for new players to join CardSphere. The question is what will I use my balance on CardSphere for while I wait. Right now I have about $78 for a balance, but remember most of that trading is sending out common / uncommons, so in my eyes it is all profit. I could cash out, but the cost of that is just too much.
I could think about adding some speculation cards I am looking for to use up some of that balance, but then I don't want to not have a balance for the cards I am really looking for. But then do I keep sending out cards to keep that balance going? If I do send out more cards, there is really no hedge that I can do incase there is run on the site and inflation goes crazy. I suppose everything is tracked in US Dollars, so $100 is always $100, so that could be an option and just see how much of a balance I can run up while I wait. There is still a fear that the site will not pay out too. It could just be lost cash and cards.
Either way I think I will concentrate with Deckbox as my active trading, and then keep sending out on CardSphere to build up a balance. I will think about trying to get ABU cards that I need to fill out my sets, I heard that doing that on PucaTrade was a pretty good deal.
I am just so close to finishing and want to keep this going with filling everything out on trades.
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