I read a lot of comments on a lot of articles, threads, facebook posts, etc. I see a ton of the same questions asked. In this article I hope to bullet point some frequently asked questions because I think the value of making this decision on your own vastly out weighs asking the general populace (that likely doesn’t have your best interests in mind).

Should I sell this?

Nobody knows enough information about this except you. When I decide to sell cards I consider some criteria and hopefully by sharing it with you, you can make you own decisions about when to sell.

Am I playing this card?

Just don’t sell stuff you play with. That doesn’t make any sense.

Just don’t sell stuff you play with. That doesn’t make any sense. Am I going to play this card in the near future?

This might seem a little obvious but I’ve seen a lot of people make pretty poor decisions because they don’t consider this. I was going to FNM with a friend last night who decided to sell his Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hungers because the store was paying a lot for them. That usually makes a lot of sense until the conversation we had later that night where he says “I think I’m going to build the Eldrazi Ramp deck.” The action of selling Ulamog is completely contradictory to his idea of building the deck that uses the card. While I don’t think you should be holding cards you might play, if you’re actively considering a deck I don’t recommend selling the pieces before you make a decision.

This might seem a little obvious but I’ve seen a lot of people make pretty poor decisions because they don’t consider this. I was going to FNM with a friend last night who decided to sell his Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hungers because the store was paying a lot for them. That usually makes a lot of sense until the conversation we had later that night where he says “I think I’m going to build the Eldrazi Ramp deck.” The action of selling Ulamog is completely contradictory to his idea of building the deck that uses the card. While I don’t think you should be holding cards you might play, if you’re actively considering a deck I don’t recommend selling the pieces before you make a decision. How long can I afford to hold this?

Ah yes the ole “hold that card, it will retain value forever” argument. I see this most commonly with expeditions these days. People ask if they should hold or sell these insanely expensive and rare lands. The argument I hear from people is “hold it, it will always go up” and while that’s true, you have to consider how long you are willing to wait to get rid of it. The price trajectory of expedition has been down as people are still opening Battle for Zendikar and Oath of the Gatewatch. Unless there is a significant increase in demand, the increase in supply will continue to drag prices down. Eye of Ugin’s expedition was $180 pre-order during pre-release weekend. Today you can buy a copy for $110. If you decided not to sell that weekend, how long do you think it will take to regain that $70? How many years do you want to hold something?

Ah yes the ole “hold that card, it will retain value forever” argument. I see this most commonly with expeditions these days. People ask if they should hold or sell these insanely expensive and rare lands. The argument I hear from people is “hold it, it will always go up” and while that’s true, you have to consider how long you are willing to wait to get rid of it. The price trajectory of expedition has been down as people are still opening Battle for Zendikar and Oath of the Gatewatch. Unless there is a significant increase in demand, the increase in supply will continue to drag prices down. Eye of Ugin’s expedition was $180 pre-order during pre-release weekend. Today you can buy a copy for $110. If you decided not to sell that weekend, how long do you think it will take to regain that $70? How many years do you want to hold something? Is there a reason this card might go up soon?

This is a pretty simple one. Is there a Pro Tour, Grand Prix, or StarCity Open that is likely to feature the card I’m looking to sell? Can you wait until it’s going on? It’s very unlikely that cards will fall when they get featured on camera but it is extremely likely that they rise. You want to see what could happen? Look at the price of Auriok Champion. It spiked during an SCG Open where it got a lot of camera time.

Should I buy this?

One again, this is another question that is better if you answer yourself rather than ask others for opinions.