While since this is a forum for TCG's, I don't need to explain what those letters stand for. But the fact is that the C stands for Collectible which brought me to write this blog. I would imagine that about 95% or more folks into these games (whether it be Magic, Pokemon, World Of Warcraft or whatever) actually PLAY the games. But I know there are those who just buy the cards to collect a set and not bother to learn the rules or play at all. I don't really see nothing wrong with that (I myself am a player AND collector, I just don't buy to play, I also buy to collect) the manufacturers of the game still get their money either way.
Even though I don't see anything wrong with just buying the cards for collecting purposes only, I don't see the purpose of it other than that those "collectors" are planning on selling their sets when they become rare and make a nifty little profit. I mean look at World Of Warcraft Loot Cards. Unscratched Loots get a bit of cash on Ebay. Some don't but still I haven't seen a Loot card go for less than $20 on Ebay yet. The Spectral Tiger Mount Loot Card actually has gone over the $800 mark at one point (I haven't checked recently so I don't know if that price is higher or lower now). So with cards like that making money of folks actually PAYING that much for the cards, I can see why some folks just want to collect. I mean they will buy the boosters or even boxes of boosters and once they open them immediatly put the cards in sleeves or binder pages or both.
Again I don't see anything wrong with just collecting, but why do people insist on paying such high prices for these cards. I know about supply and demand, but frankly if folks were NOT willing to pay such high prices for cards, it would be easier for us non rich folks to complete our sets. I would like a Spectral Tiger not only to complete my Fires Of Outland set, but to use the code to get me the Tiger in the MMO game. But I literally won't pay that much for a card when I need that kind of money it costs for the card for important things such as paying rent and utilities and food and what not. Even the Fires Of Outland boosters are now higher than regular boosters (except at Wal Mart, if you are lucky you can still find some FoO boosters there at the regular price. I found some at a Wal Mart in Irvine Texas but I didn't have enough to buy all of them at the time, but I got like four and no loot), and the boxes of boosters are a pretty penny now. I guess because demand for the Tiger is so high folks are buying the boosters like mad and other folks who have the boxes and such know this and thus jacked up the prices.
Oh well, it looks like TCG's are slowly becoming like comic books as for as supply and demand for rare and or out of print cards go. I mean lots of comics go up in price just cause a certain artist or writer or whoever on it died or the story line was an important thing and folks wanted it for that or whatever. Please note that this blog is not meant in anyway to be "dissing" the non player collectors. I just wish I can be able to complete my sets of whatever series without having to spend a few thousand dollars, a few hundred I don't mind (over time of course, not all at once, can't afford it that way), but thousands is way too much. Of course the T in TCG is for Tradeable which I can trade folks for cards I need. The bad thing about that is I usually don't have what folks need where as they have what I need, and often I actually play the games so my cards are not always in mint condition, though most are since I normally use card sleeves when playing. Oh well, such is life, it is unfair. That however won't stop me from trying to complete my sets nor stop me from playing the game, just hinder me from doing so (not playing just collecting, I will continue to play regardless if I have the complete sets or not).
