Where do you buy your cards?

[Anonymous]

Hi!

Where do you buy your cards (singles)? I'm asking because I have this problem: There is no cheap store in my area (Germany, Bavaria). German Online Stores are also relatively expensive. I found 2 really cheap US Online Stores: CardShark and StarCityGames. Are there any other cheap US Online Stores? Hmmm, and yeah, inexpensive and secure shipping is very important to me!

Thank you a lot

Yeti

[j_orlove]

Well, E-bay is usually cheaper than online stores.

[Anonymous]

eBay is fine as long as I don't get carried away in a bidwar.  There's been times where I spent more in an auction than if I had just went to Star City Games.  On the other hand, the other day I won a pair of Morphlings for $30-definately a better deal than the $23 price tag sold at online stores or locally at Cardhaus in the University District of Seattle.

- Bell of Ygg

[Anonymous]

Often times, your local cardshop will have commons and uncommons cheaper than anywhere on the net. This is usualy because there is no shipping at the store.

Ebay is probably the best place to purchase rares. I've found in some instances, that some cards are cheaper at the store (Morphlings sell for 15 near me), however this is usualy not the case. Bidwars are a thing to avoid, and sniping is the best way to win auctions. Simply placing a bid so close to the end, that noone is able to bid after will keep you from becoming involved in crazy bidwars.

[iceman]

card shark is great but the shipping really adds up. I like to order from strikezoneonline.com when i need a whole lot of commons and uncommons.

[Schmakt]

StarCity has been really great about shipping quickly/condition/customer service every time I've ordered.  alphabetaunlimited has some good Beta prices, and THE fastest shipping time around. (plus, it's free for > $75)  But, for just buying random commons, uncommons, and sometimes rares, cardshark is the shit.  Don't always buy the card for the cheapest price available.  I usually add 2 or 3 of the cheapest of a card to my cart, and then, when I'm finished, I consolidate to just 1 or 2 sellers so I don't get nailed by shipping...

[ScoobyDoo]

I've personally used Troll and Toad and E-bay, E-Bay for a mox, and didn't have any problems.  Hopefully soon I'll hit up Starcity or Troll and Toad again for some more power.  As for Troll and Toad, I know around here, I've heard people knock it, but it isn't too bad price wise, that is if you don't care about card condition.  Anyways, happy hunting.

[Anonymous]

Sadly, I rarely buy cards anymore, when I do, I just go to the local card shop.

[xrobx]

if you learn how to use ebay efficiently, it can be a godsend.
some examples: (all prices are in Canadian Dollars unless stated otherwise)

Fireblast (visions common) retail $0.25 at local card store
i saw 4 go for $7.50 US the other day.  dont ask why, they did though. retarded.

Stroke of Genius (urza's saga rare - Foil) retail $125 at local card store
purchased one awhile back for $30, traded it for 2 morphlings and some other blue rares.  i've also seen this one go between $25-$45 on ebay.

phyrexian negator (urza's destiny - rare) retail $7-10
i picked up 4 on ebay for $16. not bad.

foil yawgmoth's bargain (urza's destiny?? - rare - foil) retail $35+
i picked up one on ebay for $8. cant beat that.

yawgmoth's will (urza's something maybe, i cant think too clearly right now - rare & best black card) retail $6-8
i picked up 3 for $10 on ebay.

tek (invasion dragon, sucks - rare)
bought 4 for $2.  why? because at the time they traded for about 6.  thats $22 profit.

as you can see, the prices fluctuate and you have to know how to use ebay efficiently to maximize profits and minimize losses.  with mtg, its about supply and demand, as well as little kids. for example, a friend of mine traded four $6 rare cards in some stupid  wwf wrestling CCG for 4 3rd edition sinkholes.  he then sold the sinkholes to a lam for $70.  meanwhile, the 4 cards he traded were purchased for $2.  he is a smart kid, and did a good transaction, profitting $68.  

basically what you need to know about buying/selling mtg (trust me i know, i do it a lot) is Supply, Demand, Buyers, Anti, and Little Kids.  if you can scam cards from little kids that don't want them, perfect example was sinkholes for WWF RAW cards, then do it.  they are happy, you are happier.  once you are good enough to play anti, play anti and win cards.  make sure you know what you're doing here though, it takes a lot of time to learn how to play effectively and how to make your opponent feel like he's winning/going to win, then take the cards you really want when you need to, kinda like poker.

if all else fails, steal...er...trade them. haha. dont steal, unless you hate jesus in which case steal away!