Card Stock
Tracking trends in the
card game market
THE MAGIC MARKET SOFTENS
Those of you who peruse the Magic por-
tion of the InQuest Price Guide on a regu-
lar basis are sure to have noticed that in
recent months, the blue price-going-down
bars have outnumbered the pink price-
going-up bars. That trend continues with
this issue of InQuest.
Retailers across the country are acknowl-
edging that the market for single Magic
cards has softened. Rare cards selling for $5
to $6 six months ago now have asking prices
of $3 to $4. Prices for many uncommons
have been slashed in half. Rory Malone of
Hansen's Hobbies in Wilmette, Ill., admits,
"We've lowered the prices on many of the
rares. As for commons and uncommons,
there is not a lot of interest."
According to Malone, certain Magic
cards are holding their price guide values.
"I sold three Beta Black Lotus cards recently,
each in excess of $200. I easily sell cards
like Deflection, Jester's Cap and Jester's Mask
at price guide prices."
Tracking trends in the
card game market
THE MAGIC MARKET SOFTENS
Those of you who peruse the Magic por-
tion of the InQuest Price Guide on a regu-
lar basis are sure to have noticed that in
recent months, the blue price-going-down
bars have outnumbered the pink price-
going-up bars. That trend continues with
this issue of InQuest.
Retailers across the country are acknowl-
edging that the market for single Magic
cards has softened. Rare cards selling for $5
to $6 six months ago now have asking prices
of $3 to $4. Prices for many uncommons
have been slashed in half. Rory Malone of
Hansen's Hobbies in Wilmette, Ill., admits,
"We've lowered the prices on many of the
rares. As for commons and uncommons,
there is not a lot of interest."
According to Malone, certain Magic
cards are holding their price guide values.
"I sold three Beta Black Lotus cards recently,
each in excess of $200. I easily sell cards
like Deflection, Jester's Cap and Jester's Mask
at price guide prices."
Malone happily adds, "Despite the fact
that we've cut prices on most Magic cards,
the dollar volume for single card sales in
our store has not decreased. It's merely a
situation where gamers are becoming more
selective in what they buy. Last summer a
gamer might [have bought] three $4 cards,
but he's now saving up to buy a $10 to $15
card."
So it appears that many retailers are deal-
ing with customers who have become more
selective and more interested in getting
quality than quantity out of their purchase.
Scott Micheel is the store manager of
one of the two shops operated by Comic
Warehouse in Albuquerque, N.M. He agrees
that the softening of the Magic market is for
real. Micheel says, "Yes, we've lowered prices,
plus two of our competitors in the area
recently held month-long half-price sales."
How much further will the market
soften? "I see lots of room for further soft-
ening, especially cards in the Revised and
Fourth Editions. There seems to be a grow-
that we've cut prices on most Magic cards,
the dollar volume for single card sales in
our store has not decreased. It's merely a
situation where gamers are becoming more
selective in what they buy. Last summer a
gamer might [have bought] three $4 cards,
but he's now saving up to buy a $10 to $15
card."
So it appears that many retailers are deal-
ing with customers who have become more
selective and more interested in getting
quality than quantity out of their purchase.
Scott Micheel is the store manager of
one of the two shops operated by Comic
Warehouse in Albuquerque, N.M. He agrees
that the softening of the Magic market is for
real. Micheel says, "Yes, we've lowered prices,
plus two of our competitors in the area
recently held month-long half-price sales."
How much further will the market
soften? "I see lots of room for further soft-
ening, especially cards in the Revised and
Fourth Editions. There seems to be a grow-
ing lack of buyer interest in cards that have
been reprinted several times - we call them
the common rares. I don't think Magic prices
are ready to stabilize just yet."
Star Wars Still Streaking
Has the Star Wars CCG cooled off? Not
yet, as most retailers indicate that sales of
Star Wars starters and boosters matched or
exceeded that of Magic during the month of
February. Jeremy George, who oversees CCG
sales at several of the seven Heroes & Fan-
tasies stores in the San Antonio, Texas area,
reports, "Star Wars is easily outselling Magic.
Actually, Star Wars sales for the month of
February were greater than in January."
Retailer reports indicate that the key Star
Wars character cards continue to sell in the
$20 to $40 range. Says Scott Micheel, "It's
the collectors, not the gamers, who drove
the prices up on cards like Vader. I don't
expect the prices on the biggies to decrease
any time soon."
While the Vader, Skywalker and Solo
have hit a pricing ceiling, there has been
upward movement with related cards such
as Devastator, Han's Heavy Metal Blaster,
Millenium Falcon and Vader's Lightsaber.
been reprinted several times - we call them
the common rares. I don't think Magic prices
are ready to stabilize just yet."
Star Wars Still Streaking
Has the Star Wars CCG cooled off? Not
yet, as most retailers indicate that sales of
Star Wars starters and boosters matched or
exceeded that of Magic during the month of
February. Jeremy George, who oversees CCG
sales at several of the seven Heroes & Fan-
tasies stores in the San Antonio, Texas area,
reports, "Star Wars is easily outselling Magic.
Actually, Star Wars sales for the month of
February were greater than in January."
Retailer reports indicate that the key Star
Wars character cards continue to sell in the
$20 to $40 range. Says Scott Micheel, "It's
the collectors, not the gamers, who drove
the prices up on cards like Vader. I don't
expect the prices on the biggies to decrease
any time soon."
While the Vader, Skywalker and Solo
have hit a pricing ceiling, there has been
upward movement with related cards such
as Devastator, Han's Heavy Metal Blaster,
Millenium Falcon and Vader's Lightsaber.
Enter the Dragon Dice
It's not exactly a collectible card game,
but reader demand has been large enough
that values for the Dragon Dice collectible
dice game can now be found in the InQuest
Price Guide.
If you've never checked out TSR's col-
lectible dice game, here's a brief synopsis:
Players build a customized army of 18 dice
and then battle for supremacy. As the dice
are rolled, spells are cast, armies attack,
troops retreat and counterattacks are
launched. An average game takes about 20
minutes to play.
How popular is Dragon Dice? "Except
for Magic, it has outsold all of the CCGs I've
carried," indicates Tim Martin of Comic
Town in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. "I can't even
