Buying Decks for Resale

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MeriK
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Buying Decks for Resale

Unread post by MeriK »

Hey guys, I'm new to the custom playing cards scene and I was wondering how much someone can expect to make off of buying and reselling KS custom cards (1-time print and Limkted Edition decks). Obviously, I would only start off with the decks that reach their pledge in about a day or so, but I think it would be a good way to help pay for my living expenses in college, or even just feed my new playing card addiction.

How much can one expect to make off of one deck? I know it depends on the demand for the deck and how long after they stopped being sold, but are there any general rules of thumb to follow? I'm just trying to gauge the feasibility and risk of buying bulk and reselling popular KS decks with limited supply.
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Re: Buying Decks for Resale

Unread post by Eoghann »

That's a terrible idea I'm afraid.

Don't be fooled. Many of us have said it time and time again: playing cards should never be considered an investment. You can never know with certainty what will turn a profit. So buying decks in bulk in hopes to make lots of money is nothing but a pipe dream.

You're new to this so you're still a little starry eyed when you see Jackson, Blaine decks going for hundreds of dollars on eBay. And that's understandable. We've all been there I can assure you. But those are simply happy coincidences. If you pay attention to current Kickstarter projects, 100% of them have the common buzzwords:" limited edition, won't be reprinted, only XXXX printed!, etc".

Fact of the matter is, even if you take heavy hitters you can see that not all of their decks are turning ridiculous profits nowadays.

Many of us started buying two of each, half brick or even bricks of decks that we though we could resell. Pretty soon we were drowning in mountains of decks yet the "profitable" ones were only a handful. Most of them have been sold at cost or at a loss. Just go ahead and check the Buy/Sell section and see how many "price reduced" posts you see.

A general rule of thumb is: Buy what you love. You'll be much happier and a lot less poor. :lol:

If in the future some of them happen to be worth a lot, congrats. But never assume they all will.
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Re: Buying Decks for Resale

Unread post by MagikFingerz »

In addition to it being way to risky (as expertly outlined by Eoghann), it also usually takes quite a bit of time for projects to deliver and then decks to increase in value. So even if you beat the odds and make a profit, the income is anything but steady.
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Re: Buying Decks for Resale (wap)

Unread post by Cbkimble »

I have to agree with Eoghann. Playing investing is a long term investment and even then you may not make much profit. Consider yourself lucky if you can make more than $1 per deck. You have to consider resellers such as http://www.playingcards.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, http://www.collectableplayingcards.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, and http://www.jpplayingcards.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. These sites buy decks by the brick, possibly gross, and they sell them for KS prices, sometimes lower.
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Re: Buying Decks for Resale

Unread post by CBJ »

There's also the issue of transparency / honesty.

Just because a designer says there's only 1000/500/etc of a certain deck, doesn't make it so.
I know for a fact that sometimes there are hundreds of extras that are not mentioned.
This is even true for numbered editions. There was a super popular unbranded deck not that long ago (1000 numbered decks all sold out). But then the designer had an extra 500 decks that he labelled private reserve (that he didn't mention at all during his KS). The exact same decks with a different label on the outside of the cellophane. That's a 50% increase over the declared press run!!

I agree with the others.
Buy what you like, and if you happen to make money along the way that's a bonus.


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MeriK
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Re: Buying Decks for Resale

Unread post by MeriK »

So what's the incentive to buy more than one of each deck if I'm only buying for my collection? Also, if I'm buying for my collection, I don't want to sell them :P
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Re: Buying Decks for Resale

Unread post by Eoghann »

MeriK wrote:So what's the incentive to buy more than one of each deck if I'm only buying for my collection? Also, if I'm buying for my collection, I don't want to sell them :P
Every collector is different, and every collection is unique.

There are different types of collectors:

- ones who open all their decks
- ones who never open a single one
- ones who buy two of each so they can open one and display the other
- ones who buy conservatively
- ones who are much more liberal with their spending
- every other shade in between

The most common incentive is based off personal taste. If you really like how an artist does a deck, it's not unheard of to get a few extras.

In my case, I often buy two or more of each but largely from artists I really like. Otherwise, I just get singles.
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Re: Buying Decks for Resale

Unread post by Cbkimble »

MeriK wrote:So what's the incentive to buy more than one of each deck if I'm only buying for my collection? Also, if I'm buying for my collection, I don't want to sell them :P
The main incentive for me is price per deck. If you buy more than for your collection, you can sell the extras for cost, maybe a little more but that would only be cents not dollars. Most single decks tiers may cost $10-$15 while buying 6-12 may lower the per deck cost to $8-$12. Buying that many means you spend more and you have more decks than just your collection. Its good IF you can sell all the extras and you have decks for your collection that cost less. Selling all the extras is the problem though.
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Re: Buying Decks for Resale

Unread post by ccralleo »

I started collecting Cards by accident... I was looking for a nice set of poker chips that resembled currency... I'm sure most of you can see where this is going... I discovered Jacksons first Federal 52 set and I was hooked! I collect him exclusively. For me it's about picking a artist and sticking with everything he touches. I have been lucky so far and have all decks and versions to date... ( fingers crossed that I can snag a few BD tally-ho's) I usually shoot for 2x everything. I typically sell the other set to pay for both so I can continue to collect and if there is a profit beyond what I'm invested then I roll it over the the next project. I would never recommend supplementing any kind of income through the resale of playing cards. It's hard enough to keep up with the projects coming out. Between the emerald tally ho the Texas luxury playing cards and the wasteland series I'm in for about $1000 and haven't received any of those decks yet. That's not to say some aren't on their way but it's a lot of money to be invested for only two sets and the hope to at least pay for your initial investment. Never mind life expenses.
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Re: Buying Decks for Resale

Unread post by MeriK »

How does selling a second deck pay for your first of it only profits cents to a dollar?
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Re: Buying Decks for Resale

Unread post by Eoghann »

Because some artists are often more profitable than others in the aftermarket.

Let's take KWP for instance: Setting aside Jackson's remarkable and obvious talent, his aftermarket value is well above others because many collectors are on autopilot upon seeing the success of the Fed 52 project. And Jackson knows that. So a lot of his projects have several levels of limited items...items which collectors scramble to get their hands on, instantly selling out and instantly creating high demand, which in turn allows people to sell his items for exorbitant prices later on.

But in ccralleo's case: he's probably gonna make a nice profit when he resells his surplus. And even after several months of waiting, he's probably not gonna sell them instantly.

So I'm sure you can understand that even if you stick exclusively to KWP limited editions, it will be months before you see any profit. And that's assuming there will be a high demand for such items in the first place, which is never guaranteed.
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Buying Decks for Resale

Unread post by ccralleo »

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Above is kind of a breakdown of my "win/lose" charts. On the left is what I'm in for... For the most part, and on the right is what I have "made" the two sets on the bottom with the ** is what I project them to make. I don't typically post them for more than what I paid. Folks just bid them up. That's why there is such a difference in prices on the 52plusjokers decks. I'm hoping to recoup the $$$ spent to pick up the Scarlett Tally-Ho's. No guarantee tho and if I remove those ** numbers there is no profit at all. I don't sell for profit anyway... Just to maintain my collection. And if you don't miss a project it's pretty easy to do the same.

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I got pretty lucky and picked up a Kings Wild Collectors set around Christmas last year for $671. I was not a backer of any Sherlock Holmes cards so this was a huge savings for me. And didn't really cost me anything because I had just sold a Complete F52 set a few weeks prior for $750. So I guess if it wasn't for luck I would probably be less than even... After all the buying, selling, trading, this is what I have to show for it [emoji4]

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