Star City Stops Shipping Sealed Product To the EU

[Jebus]

Link

Out of respect for our relationship with Wizards of the Coast, StarCityGames.com has agreed to no longer ship sealed Magic the Gathering product (boxes, tournament decks, fat packs, etc.) to any country within the European Union. This is effective immediately.

I am not at liberty to discuss this matter beyond what I've already stated (publicly or privately), and have only posted this message in order to inform our European customers of this new policy.

So, something crazy going on eh?

I've heard rumor that there will be a new tournament policy regarding what cards are legal in a tournament of a particular country based on the language of the printed card, but I felt it was sketchy and didn't get very good info on exactly what that meant.  I'm still waiting to hear more about that.

Or is it less sinister and WotC doesn't want to see it's European retailers have to compete with Starcity.

Or is it just something completely different?

So, what does it all mean?

[rvs]

I can fill you guys in from our domestic situation. If people order boxes from online stores (there's a very, very good exchange rate right now between the euro and the dollar), then they are not buying boxes from the LICENCED distributor. THAT distributor is the one that organises PTQ's and stuff. So basicly, if they don't sell, they can't organise PTQ's and such, and then the magic scene might die alltogether. I know this is a much debated issue (or used to be) on a dutch website.
I must say I actually agree. If you see the budget the OP-Manager has here, it's really pathetic. If you win a PTQ, the prize money often isn't enough to even buy the plane ticket, so it's a really bad deal to attend a PT. In germany, for instance, the full airfair gets paid for (or so I heard).
So it's an important issue.

[rozetta]

Agreed. For example, here in Finland, a box normally costs 120 EUR, but if you can buy online from US for $60, even with shipping and toll, you can save as much as 40 EUR per box. Even during the times when the exchange rate was in favour of the US dollar, it was still cheaper to buy from overseas.

[Smmenen]

I don't agree that that is a reason to tell SCG to stop shipping - that is a quirk of exchange rates - and arbitrage is a good thing.  I imagine it is happening all over the world in many different sectors of the economy.  Simply forcing distributors or manufacturers to stop doing business is not a healthy solution.

Steve

[rvs]

Steve: I'm truly amazed you don't recognise the issue at hand. It's the support of Organised Play in a specific country. Read my post again. It's a bit messed up to read, but it does get the situation across. If not, let me know, and I'll take some time on monday to write about it in greater detail.

[Dr. Sylvan]

Steve: I'm truly amazed you don't recognise the issue at hand. It's the support of Organised Play in a specific country. Read my post again. It's a bit messed up to read, but it does get the situation across. If not, let me know, and I'll take some time on monday to write about it in greater detail.

Is it that they aren't allowed to organize PTQs unless they sell a certain amount of product? I don't think I understand the mechanics of the market exactly.

[CF]

They are allowed, but can't afford it if they don't sell product ;o)

--
Chris

[Jacob Orlove]

If Starcity can afford to sell boxes for $60, why can't the organized play people do the same?

[rvs]

If Starcity can afford to sell boxes for $60, why can't the organized play people do the same?

Because they overprice their stuff a little so they can put that into the OP-budget. Isn't that like totally obvious?

[Jacob Orlove]

If Starcity can afford to sell boxes for $60, why can't the organized play people do the same?

Because they overprice their stuff a little so they can put that into the OP-budget. Isn't that like totally obvious?

No, it's not totally obvious. That doesn't make economic sense.

What they should be doing is just charging an entrance fee high enough to cover their costs, and selling boxes at market prices. Trying to subsidize organized play through box sales just leads to hideous inefficiency.

[rvs]

Don't forget they also have to pay OP-managing staff, and the licence that makes them the official distributor of WotC products in a country. You can't charge it all on the tourney-player - if you make them too expensive, you will die down there.

[Jacob Orlove]

Don't forget they also have to pay OP-managing staff, and the licence that makes them the official distributor of WotC products in a country. You can't charge it all on the tourney-player :o - if you make them too expensive, you will die down there.

Wait, so they essentially have additional costs that SCG does not? There seem to be serious flaws in this whole scheme.

Why does Wizards charge them money to be the official distributor, if companies like SCG can do it more cheaply?

[CF]

There are some differences between the US and Europe that shifts the prices on boosters:

1) In the US, wizards sells displays directly to stores (like scg), in Europe they sell to the distributors - who then sell them to the stores

2) European distributors, unlike US stores, are REQUIRED to spend parts of their income from displays on advertising and organized play. Thus, the stores in Europe pays a higher price on display from the official distributors.

3) The European market has less competition on selling boosters and the singles market is far smaller than in the US. In the US, the big stores will sell boosters with almost no profit to draw people in so they can cash in on singles. Which is not the case here, at least not on the same level.

--
Chris

[The Atog Lord]

If you win a PTQ, the prize money often isn't enough to even buy the plane ticket, so it's a really bad deal to attend a PT

That is not limited to Europe. I play in New England, and I've had a similar experience. I have twice qualified for Pro Tours in Japan; the prize money both times was $500. $500 is not close to enough to purchase tickets to and from Japan.

[kl0wn]

Don't forget they also have to pay OP-managing staff, and the licence that...

Not to nitpick or anything, but it's actually spelled "LICENSE" and not "LICENCE". Please stop spelling it that way, it makes me cry.

[stijndon]

Aren't there enough different sites you could still buy your boxes from for cheap? I don't think that SCG's closure to europe will be impactive, or something.

[Jacob Orlove]

Distributors/Shops are forced to pay import duties, and collect sales tax, as well as actually pay for overheads, whereas individuals can purchase boxes from SCG directly for around 2/3rds the price, because there are no overheads to worry about (leasing shop space, for example), and import duties and sale tax don't usually apply to small purchases, such as one box of boosters.

Thanks muchly!
Craig Hall a.k.a. Godder

[/quote]

[dandan]

Slovakia joins the EU and SCG stops shipping cards to the EU. For God's sake I don't buy that many cards, honestly. This is a complete overreaction.

[Dr. Sylvan]

Slovakia joins the EU and SCG stops shipping cards to the EU. For God's sake I don't buy that many cards, honestly. This is a complete overreaction.

*swoon*

[st00mie]

ive got a question... how is starcity underming european stores by eliminating the costs of a storefront, etc, any different than starcity underming US stores the same way?  at the shop i work in, we sell boxes for 10% off suggested retail, which is well over $100 after all is said and done.  starcity, as well as other internet stores, greatley undercut this price.  why are the europeans getting special attention in this matter?  it is important to note that the store i work in is closing its doors at the end of this month due to online competition such as starcity.