some examples:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Singing-Tree-ARABIAN-NIGHTS-SIGNED-MTG-MAGIC-PSA-8-/300468153450?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f54c2c6a

Singing Tree at 40 bucks? It's tough to find someone who will give 20!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Clay-Statue-ID-3487-ANTIQUITIES-GRADED-MTG-BGS-9-5-/270796588493?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f0cbc05cd

...it's a Clay Statue.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mox-Sapphire-UNLIMITED-MTG-MAGIC-GEM-MINT-BGS-9-5-/270658282537?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f047da429

triple the value really? I understand it's hard to find a mox in this good shape, but a Sapphire is worth say 550.00. We don't put it at 550.00 assuming that all Sapphires are beat up or even just gently played. We put them at 550, period.

So is a BGS / PSA wrapper worth 1000 dollars on a mox if it has a 9 in the corner? What exactly are we paying for? ...proof that the card is in near mint condition? why not just look at the freakin' card. Its becoming hard to find an old staple that isnt graded and inflated... kinda discouraging really.

Sorry for the rant, but what do you guys think? Passing fad, or is this just the way it is now?

And as slinga said, just because some moron wants 10k for their widget does not make the widget worth 10k.

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A) Many early players are grown up and have become collectors of things they used to play with, and have the money to spend.

B) Graded 9+ versions of these cards are getting harder and harder to find. 10 years ago, it wasn't too tough to find a really nice Mox Whatever, but now, for a truly mint one, you'll have to shell out some serious money.

C) There is competition amongst collectors to have the nicest version of a complete set. For instance, while many of us may never own a complete set of Alpha, those that do spend the majority of their time upgrading their sets, i.e., exchanging all their 8s for 9 or 10s. BGS and PSA are measures that help them do this.

This isn't some new trend of taking nice looking cards and having them graded just to get the value up, it's just a new trend for Magic. This sort of shenanigans has been going on in baseball cards for at least 25 years. While 3x the normal rate may be a bit optimistic, a 40% premium is what you'd typically expect to pay for identical cards (at least for baseball cards).

For whatever it's worth, I use the following graders for cards of these eras:

A good example of the difference in a 8.5 and 9.5.
8.5 Juzam
http://bit.ly/w2viqb

9.5 Juzam
http://bit.ly/zjZj5m

quote:

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Originally posted by Jace Tezzeret:
Does anybody actually buy cards from ABU Games?

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I've bought a lot of alpha/beta/legend/arabian night stuff from them at really good price.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Jace Tezzeret:
Does anybody actually buy cards from ABU Games?

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Yeah, the whole reprint thing would drive me nuts if I had a bunch of graded stuff!

I guess that's just another unintended consequence of a secondary market in a gaming world when monetary value is at stake.

Edit:

@ "Does anyone actually buy from ABU"
-JaceTezz

No, of course not. That's how they've been in business for like eternity...

(sorry for being rude... but c'mon bro!)

quote:

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Originally posted by timmerman121:
grading cards is for people to feel better about themselves

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