Earlier this month I finally started using PucaTrade. I was initially a bit of a skeptic as using this site as a trader and Ebay seller is sort of like learning Twitter if you’ve only ever used Facebook. I wanted to dispel some rumors and offer up some advice.
Haves/Wants
The system is actually pretty easy. You list the cards you would like to get rid of and create a list of cards you want. I suggest you work on getting cards you have up first and then decisively listing cards you would like in the short term when you have credit for them. Once you list a card as a WANT other users can see it and will send it to you. This will deplete your PucaPoints.
PucaPoints
The currency by which PucaTrade revolves. One is worth roughly 1 cent American. Points can be purchased, however the bulk of PucaPoints are traded back and forth in transactions.
Reverse Trade System
It seems sort of backwards that you have to choose to send cards to people in order to get PucaPoints into your account. Initially, I though this was sort of counterintuitive, until I made a few trades. I immediately realized something sort of awesome built into this system. Instead of separating my binder into Puca listed cards and regular trades I could feel free to mingle my trade binder, or list everything and still be able to trade it IRL if the need arose. Unlike with Ebay, where I have to set aside my listed cards, in the event that they sell, Puca Trade leaves the relinquishing of my collection up to me. This is great as it lets me get maximum mileage out of my collection.
Why Don’t I Hear about it Much?
Many MTG Websites are run by card stores. There’s nothing wrong with that, but card stores have a vested interest in you losing value to them in Magic Cards. Either by trading you cards and valuing your card at significantly less with the perceived convenience making up for the lost value or just but having you spend actual money on cards. None of these practices are bad per say, but a service like this threatens them a bit. If enough players stopped buying from them then they would be upset. As it stands they have nothing to gain from their sponsored players telling you how to use a site that cuts into their pockets. Luckily, Hipsters of the Coast has no such restrictions. I also don’t think of this as a replacement for buying cards as much as a way to glean a bit of extra value from cards you’d otherwise likely not use/sell/trade.
Bulk to Bullion
This last week I was able to take several cards I wasn’t using and turn them into some standard staples I’ve been without for sometime. Take a look!
4 Hangarback Walker without getting taken advantage of by a store’s cut rate buying policies, or having to find someone willing to part with his set, but “valuing” it much higher because “It was played a lot at the Pro Tour, so I think it’s worth more than what the price site we both agreed to used is selling it for”. Also those traders are the absolute worst. But that’s a rant for another time.
Checks in the Mail
So, the one thing that’s a little “inconvenient” about PucaTrade, in comparison to say unloading it at a store or trading it to another player, is that you must ship your cards. Which, I agree, is a bit of a hassle.
I have a relatively simple system:
I buy a book of Stamps and I have a bunch of Top Loaders from previous online buys.
Each order gets a Top Loader, a Stamp and an Envelope, as well as a small handwritten “Thank you note.” It literally just says “Thank you” and I sign it and put my Twitter handle on the sheet of paper.
That’s it. Once the cards are received, they are marked on the site and you get your points. It’s an extra step but ultimately worth a couple minutes to grind value from your cards.
Box to Mox
Ha, not bloody likely, but I did crack a box of Zendikar this evening. I listed every Rare on PucaTrade tonight. Over the next week I’ll be tracking my points and purchases. At the end of each Month I’ll track my gains and what I’ve accumulated. I play in 2-3 drafts a week so I’ll factor in supplies and cost of postage and such so you can get an idea of how well this is working. It’s not gonna be some super #MTGFinance article like Stefano Black’s were, but I think it’ll be pretty rad to see how far I can go from just starting with a box and some drafts.
First step is to get a playset of Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy and some Bloodstained Mires. Wish me luck! And if you wanna join up and see what it’s about, feel free to use my code! I get 300 Points for everyone that uses my code, so that’s pretty awesome!
https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/35979
The List!
Bring to Light
Aligned Hedron Network
Barrage Tyrant
Ally Encampment
Lumbering Falls
Guul Draz Overseer
Felidar Sovereign
Serpentine Spike
Veteran Warleader
Exert Influence
Quarantine Field
Brutal Expulsion
Prism Array
Sunken Hollow
Radiant Flames
Wasteland Strangler
Conduit of Ruin
Oran-Rief Hydra
Fathom Feeder
Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper
Defiant Bloodlord
Nissa’s Renewal
Oblivion Sower
Canopy Vista
Sire of Stagnation
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Emeria Shepherd
Scatter to the Winds
Drowner of Hope
Brood Butcher
Gruesome Slaughter
Painful Truths
From Beyond
Beastcaller Savant
Desolation Twin
Prism Array