Magic: The Gathering - Secondary Market

Secondary Market

There is an active secondary market in individual cards among players and game shops. Many physical and online stores sell single cards or "playsets" of four of a card. Common cards rarely sell for more than a few cents and are usually sold in bulk. Uncommon cards and weak rare ones typically sell for around US$1. The most expensive cards in standard tournament play are usually priced at $40 to $50, although a few have sold for $60 to $100. Foil versions of rare and mythic rare cards are typically priced at about 1.5x as much as the regular versions.

A few of the oldest cards, due to smaller printings and limited distribution, are highly valued and extremely rare. This is in part due to the "Reserve List", a list of cards from the sets Alpha to Urza's Destiny (1994–1999) that Wizards has promised never to reprint. The most expensive card that was in regular print (as opposed to being a promotional or special printing) is Black Lotus. In 2005, a "Pristine 10 grade" Beckett Grading Services graded Beta Black Lotus was bought by Darren Adams, owner of West Coast Sports Cards & Gaming Distributors in Federal Way, Washington, for a record $20,000. A small number of cards of similar age, rarity, and playability — chiefly the other cards in the so-called "Power Nine" — routinely reach prices of several hundred dollars as well.