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Author
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Topic: MOTL getting less popular?
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booker
Member
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posted February 24, 2015 06:26 AM
      
I dont see much posts around, especially with the influx of rippers n stuffs.Not much overseas or international trade, probably due to the jack up shipping fees. I personally also stopped using MOTL though I would still love to. And it seems like most of the popular traders also stopped using? Will a once great site like MOTL close down?
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LandDestroyer
Member
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posted February 24, 2015 07:01 AM
 
quote:
Originally posted by booker:
I dont see much posts around, especially with the influx of rippers n stuffs.Not much overseas or international trade, probably due to the jack up shipping fees. I personally also stopped using MOTL though I would still love to. And it seems like most of the popular traders also stopped using? Will a once great site like MOTL close down?
Ya, for the most part I've stopped 'trading' via MOTL for a number of reasons Increases in postage have made potential losses in value worse
It's easier for me to buy what I want and then just sell of my extra
I can often find better deals on the Facebook High value Group
Ebay bucks are nice
The search engine basically doesn't work anymore I actually post in the general/tv/magic gen forums more now than I did 10 years ago...but I traded a ton back then. I still search for deals but since right now I'm primarily searching for played versions of cards at cheap prices that is more difficult to find here than I can from non-california people on the FB HE group.
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paragondave
Member
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posted February 24, 2015 07:06 AM
Obviously, with the apathy that the administrators of the site show it and the lack of proper maintenance that a site like this needs, it will eventually be replaced by something else. Some poor BTA rulings have also left their marks. It still functions, just not as well as it used too. I still get a trickle of trades so I'll continue to use it when possible. It's still a free albeit dwindling repository of magic players and collectors.
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AGO
Member
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posted February 24, 2015 07:13 AM
The salt in the wound is the updated front page........Also most prices on here are higher then TCG low and they still want you to pay shipping. A lot of seller have moved to TCG or just got out of the game. Mabrapper's list was the milkshake that brought all the boys to the yard.
[Edited 1 times, lastly by AGO on February 24, 2015]
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mm1983
Member
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posted February 24, 2015 07:37 AM
I still use MOTL on a fairly regular basis but I've been trying to do more selling here and then buying what I need from other people on the MOTL sales board or buying on TCG rather than trading for what I need. MOTL price guide which was once used by 80% or more of the people who used MOTL and search engine have not been updated since during Gatecrash. I still have a trade list posted but does not get nearly the hits as it used to due to being mostly standard stuff which can't be found on a search engine unless its reprint stuff such as pain lands or fetch lands. I will continue to use MOTL as long as it stays up and running as I am a very well established trader here and I would hate to have to start over on another trading board to build up references and go back to sending first. Aside from MOTL I've always just done Ebay in the past for selling but I would still prefer to sell on MOTL as it avoids any of the ebay/paypal fees.
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counter_spell
Member
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posted February 24, 2015 08:19 AM
i haven't made alot of trades in here in quite some time. I personally think that the majority of people on here have the "wont sent to Canada/you send first" or "USA" only. Yeah i know the price for shipping has increased by alot over the years, but i find MOTL used to be fun back in the day... oh and having fake cards being made? thats just down right obscured making some people not to do trading online. Not only do i trade on MOTL, i have made trades on Pucatrade and youtube. thats just my 2 cents.__________________
e-mail & MSN: motltrader@hotmail.com
if i do come across a ripper: Rippers will be beaten, stabbed and stomped. survivors will be prosecuted
Facebook Group for MOTL
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JayC
Member
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posted February 24, 2015 08:54 AM
I come here out of habit more than for actual transactions, I think. Every once in a while I do something but there's a far better community to buy and sell from @ QuietSpeculation and it's easily worth the $11 a month considering the value you can have day in and day out. Imagine that - if you have an updated site you can even charge for your features! Woah! Everything else can be done via Facebook these days or just bought @ TCGLow / eBay.
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slurpee
Member
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posted February 24, 2015 10:23 AM
I think for international, MOTL would still good a place, but the euro right now is in the toilet so that is why you are seeing less. Sure international shipping is really expensive but their buying power has eroded so much that the profit has gone with it.On a domestic side,MOTL is dying. Most for the reasons already listed. I don't know that their are any dealers even left on here. Now I think you have people with large collections that are selling purely to avoid fees from other websites. I continue to repost my sales list and sell less and less, I took on another role at my company so I don't have the time to give it the proper attention of updating and pricing. But to be fair the sales on list are less also because I have restocked a lot less. To me though if you are going to try and sell cards that are less then 1k in inventory you will struggle to find the people who find the cost of shipping worth their time.
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Volcanon
Member
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posted February 24, 2015 12:35 PM
quote:
Originally posted by slurpee:
I think for international, MOTL would still good a place, but the euro right now is in the toilet so that is why you are seeing less. Sure international shipping is really expensive but their buying power has eroded so much that the profit has gone with it.On a domestic side,MOTL is dying. Most for the reasons already listed. I don't know that their are any dealers even left on here. Now I think you have people with large collections that are selling purely to avoid fees from other websites. I continue to repost my sales list and sell less and less, I took on another role at my company so I don't have the time to give it the proper attention of updating and pricing. But to be fair the sales on list are less also because I have restocked a lot less. To me though if you are going to try and sell cards that are less then 1k in inventory you will struggle to find the people who find the cost of shipping worth their time.
Also there used to not be so much fraud, so mail was a buck.
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LandDestroyer
Member
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posted February 24, 2015 12:38 PM
Plus, remember 10+ years ago people didn't use SCG or TCG as the gospel of what prices are. Valuations were more fluid in a lot of ways. There were cards I could get in 1 region cheaper and sell in other area for more and the reverse. Also, people were less willing to buy online. For those of us willing to buy on ebay/motl and bring more cards into the local community we were able to get a better return.Now everyone thinks they know what's up just b/c they have a mobile phone. Takes the fun out of trading 
[Edited 1 times, lastly by LandDestroyer on February 24, 2015]
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jellyfishfanatic
Member
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posted February 24, 2015 01:37 PM
quote:
Originally posted by LandDestroyer:
Now everyone things they know what's up just b/c they have a mobile phone. Takes the fun out of trading
What's a "mobile phone"????
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flam flawless
Member
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posted February 24, 2015 03:45 PM
The game has progressed a ton more than it did 10-15 years ago. The only place really to get cards were on eBay or at the LGS which was way overpriced. So we came here. It was a great place - people were friendly, trades were mostly hassle free, and both parties walked away happy. Nowadays (IMO) there isn't many trades that isn't down to the penny. There's much more "I won't downgrade this for these, because of xyz or you'll havta throw in 25% value of the card as downgrading fee". I don't even bother with this site as much as just outta habit really. The cheaper cards I can get off Tcg player or once in a while off the sales list, but for the most part, the 1-2 cards I'd be interested in isn't worth the 4% add paypal fee, $3 shipping fee and so on. It's truly a dinosaur and without any help in functionality, it's gonna go the way of them as well
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MagicPatty
Member
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posted February 25, 2015 06:16 AM
MOTL is dead....Several issues: 1. This is a great place to rip people off with no recourse. 2. Once upon a time, a 'want' list would have all kinds of goofy cards; you could trade a bunch of junk for a 10 dollar card... now it seems like most lists are guys looking for power, duals, VHTF foils, etc. When was the last time you saw someone that wanted a Necropotence, Dromar the Banisher, or maybe Plow Under? All playable, but all easily attainable. Basically, most traders only want very hard to find stuff: stuff that most folks don't want to trade. 3. Dealeritis: I have two binders, so I must be a dealer right? Even traders that will make an even trade want you to throw something in so that they don't lose .50 on shipping. 4. The player base is older... we have jobs. When I was in high school if I wanted a 10 dollar card I had to negotiate and strike a deal. It took time, but it was worth it. Now that I make a gazillion dollars at my job, I'd rather just buy what I need and save my time. 5. Again, the player base is getting older. Many of us still play in PTQs and every local event we can go to, but we also have kids, car payments, 40 hour work weeks, a spouse that wants a date night, that leak under the sink to fix, a mortgage, in-laws parties, etc. Who has time to look for someone who has a foil Marsh Flats? Even if you find it, the guy who has it has a wants list that looks like: P9
duals
SDCC planeswalkers
foil Ugin
beta duals
alpha duals
Mishra's Workshop
etc.
6. I hate to admit it, but there is a list of about 5 MOTL members who seem to go out of their way to be mean to new / uneducated players and traders. Some chum will make a post about a deck idea or something and a few of the usual suspects will put them down and rip them up for it. Why not be nice, constructive, and welcome the new member?
(edit)
also.... 7. "The post for Magic Stuff"...
That's like going to a site on how to rent out your home, clicking on the forums and finding ONE topic titled "the post for all things rental home related." I get that it is an attempt to clean up the clutter, but I like seeing a myriad of random MTG related topics and clicking the ones that interested me. When it is all jumbled into one topic I just don't care to read through pages of stuff I don't care about to find a couple things that I do. I like hearing about home brews, occasionally a tournament report, a nice weekend of trading, and a ranking of planeswalkers from best to worst. I don't want to read about 85 other topics that are also included in the one and only topic for magic stuff. One a related note. The forum is called "Magic Discussion," if someone makes a topic asking for people's description of playing deck X at tournament Y, we don't need 4 people telling them that their post belongs in the PFMS... it is posted in the Magic Discussion forum! I feel like this takes the reading and MTG opinion aspect of the site, something that once brought traffic to the site.
my .02
__________________
Got Mitotic Manipulation? Firemind's Foresight? Great! I want all bulk rares, check my H/W list!
[Edited 1 times, lastly by MagicPatty on February 25, 2015]
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LandDestroyer
Member
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posted February 25, 2015 06:48 AM
quote:
Originally posted by MagicPatty:
make a gazillion dollars at my job, I'd rather just buy what I need and save my time.
Can confirm, we're all gazillionaires :-p
[Edited 1 times, lastly by LandDestroyer on February 25, 2015]
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Tim05
Member
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posted February 25, 2015 06:52 AM
quote:
Originally posted by MagicPatty:
(edit)
also....7. "The post for Magic Stuff"...
That's like going to a site on how to rent out your home, clicking on the forums and finding ONE topic titled "the post for all things rental home related." I get that it is an attempt to clean up the clutter, but I like seeing a myriad of random MTG related topics and clicking the ones that interested me. When it is all jumbled into one topic I just don't care to read through pages of stuff I don't care about to find a couple things that I do. I like hearing about home brews, occasionally a tournament report, a nice weekend of trading, and a ranking of planeswalkers from best to worst. I don't want to read about 85 other topics that are also included in the one and only topic for magic stuff. One a related note. The forum is called "Magic Discussion," if someone makes a topic asking for people's description of playing deck X at tournament Y, we don't need 4 people telling them that their post belongs in the PFMS... it is posted in the Magic Discussion forum! I feel like this takes the reading and MTG opinion aspect of the site, something that once brought traffic to the site.
my .02
Definitely agree with this... I've been a message board ***** on a plethora of sites, and these are probably the most boring to browse through because there are about 5 new topics a month. Outside of the trading/buying/selling, there isn't a whole lot to do here in forms of entertainment and discussion.
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LandDestroyer
Member
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posted February 25, 2015 07:06 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Tim05:
Definitely agree with this... I've been a message board ***** on a plethora of sites, and these are probably the most boring to browse through because there are about 5 new topics a month. Outside of the trading/buying/selling, there isn't a whole lot to do here in forms of entertainment and discussion.
We're still happy you're spending time here, newer member 
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hilikuS
Member
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posted February 25, 2015 07:07 AM
1/3 of the topics on MOTL are about how MOTL is dead.
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Tim05
Member
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posted February 25, 2015 07:43 AM
quote:
Originally posted by LandDestroyer:
We're still happy you're spending time here, newer member
Well thank you. I enjoy the site regardless if people think it is dead. And I've done quite a few trades in my short time here already, so I've definitely gotten value out of it. No rippers yet, knock on wood, and 95% of the people I have discussed deals with have been a real pleasure to talk to.
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LandDestroyer
Member
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posted February 25, 2015 07:59 AM
I only recall getting ripped once, and that was over 8 years ago...but it was when I bought these 
1 lightning bolt beta
1 bayou
2 plateau
4 savannah
2 scrubland
4 badlands
2 taiga
http://classic.magictraders.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/004157.html
Never did make any progress on that beyond what is documented there
[Edited 1 times, lastly by LandDestroyer on February 25, 2015]
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flavor_of_the_weak
Member
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posted February 25, 2015 09:28 AM
Can't even trust trading with members with 100 refs anymore which is sad.__________________
,Get A Free Random Rare or Token Card In Every Trade!R.I.P Lucky (1997-2003).
Say Purple
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YoungQuakerBoy
Member
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posted February 25, 2015 11:40 AM
Yeah, pretty much what you all said. I almost never even look at the trading boards anymore, since I cannot search for the standard stuff I need or am trying to move. I usually only check the sales to see if I can pick up something I need a little cheaper than elsewhere, but after being ripped previously and again very recently, even that is going to be heavily reduced. Also, the lack of other conversations leaves it a little dry. When you have a site that specializes in trades stop being good at it, what are you left with? Oh well. I still come by to see what is going on anyway.
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LandDestroyer
Member
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posted February 25, 2015 12:28 PM
Am i the only person who never goes to the 'home page'. If I'm being completely honest I think I went 10 years w/o knowing there was one and then accidentally found it.I always thought this was the home page haha
http://forums.magictraders.com/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro&BypassCookie=true
for those of you like me, here is the homepage
http://www.magictraders.com/
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Tim05
Member
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posted February 25, 2015 01:18 PM
Only time I ever go to the homepage is when I need to get to the ref checker
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YoungQuakerBoy
Member
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posted February 25, 2015 01:56 PM
Lol, I am with you, LandDestroyer. I never go to the Home Page. I go directly to the main menu every time. I don't know if I have ever seen that Home Page before. :P
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Teferi Planeswalker
Member
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posted February 25, 2015 02:39 PM
I pretty much moved over to pucatrade. It fulfills my "cards in the mail" addiction and I don't have to negotiate much. Even willing to pay to get the features.
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