I'm playing a lot of Magic Arena recently, and started to miss real cards, and here you used to be able to reach good deals with people, they selling higher than what a store BL will offer, and you getting cards cheaper also.

What happened to that? Have stores reduce their margins and increased buylist prices so people don't sell to other people any longer?

It seems that now it's all TCG and stores in the United States, and Card Market here in Europe, but sometimes cards are cheaper in $ and others in €, and majority of US stores won't send cards to me.

Has the overseas deal got more complicated for political economical reasons or something? But then again my other question, do you people in the US also not sell & buy online with other people that much now?

First of all, the owners of this site abandoned it, so people have started to move away. People still trade here, but I believe there is a competitor (dunno the name). Plus, Ebay and other buy sites like Magiccardmarket work fine too, and they have certain guarantees.

Second, roughly 10 years ago there was a dramatic increase in shipping costs (globally), killing off small/medium international trades.
That is why most continental US traders won't trade overseas unless it's for an expensive card or a large trade.

Thirdly, there's nothing wrong with your English .
Hopes this helps a bit.

__________________
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Both of the sites mentioned have international trading and it seems like Cardsphere has quite a few traders in Europe.

Also, I don't know if people from Europe does use that website, and if people from outside Europe will be actually willing to send cards overseas...

I see others like DeckBox but they don't seem really active...

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Originally posted by Eyrdin:
I have been browsing CardSphere, but I find it confusing, and also I don't know if it really works and has real activity. Since I don't have cards at the moment to trade with, I would have to deposit some starting money, but then if I want to withdraw it I lose a minimun of 10 $.

Also, I don't know if people from Europe does use that website, and if people from outside Europe will be actually willing to send cards overseas...

I see others like DeckBox but they don't seem really active...

Any experiences you have are wellcome, thanks.

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Cardsphere is definitely active and a lot of people are willing to send to Europe, as long as the percentages are high enough that they make up for the long wait for receipt to be confirmed. Personally, I've sent / received well over $10K worth of cards since joining in Sep 2017, everything from bulk to revised dual lands. I don't think you have much to lose by depositing the minimum amount and setting up a list of wants. Again, just make sure that your offers are on the high side (like 80%+). If you sign up, send me your details and I can look at your set up and send you comments. Better yet, I can email you a referral link that will get both of us a month of their premium service, if you decide to sign up using it.

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Originally posted by B-Town:
Cardsphere is definitely active and a lot of people are willing to send to Europe, as long as the percentages are high enough that they make up for the long wait for receipt to be confirmed.

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And this is one of the problems. Depending on the country, it takes longer for mail to arrive (Spain, France, most mediterranean countries). If you trade with the UK, Holland, Germany or Scandinavia, chances are your trade will be quicker than a US-domesticate one. Back in the day I have, on numerous occassions, completed a simul-send trade within 3 days to the US. But mostly those took roughly 10 days (including weekends).

On average, I think that US-domestic or US-European trades are not all that different with regards to sending time. Only real difference is the postage.

__________________
I'm a geek, you're a geek. Let's trade.

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Originally posted by Eyrdin:
Really? What % do you think I should be paying to make it worth for people from all countries to ponder sending me?

Thanks!

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quote:

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Originally posted by AEther Storm:
And this is one of the problems. Depending on the country, it takes longer for mail to arrive (Spain, France, most mediterranean countries). If you trade with the UK, Holland, Germany or Scandinavia, chances are your trade will be quicker than a US-domesticate one. Back in the day I have, on numerous occassions, completed a simul-send trade within 3 days to the US. But mostly those took roughly 10 days (including weekends).

On average, I think that US-domestic or US-European trades are not all that different with regards to sending time. Only real difference is the postage.

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Over the last year, I've probably sent 30 packages out of the US, and I can say that there definitely is a time difference right now. Domestic packages usually deliver in less than a week. For international, I usually see delivery to places like Canada, UK, or NL in 2-3 weeks. Mediterranean countries usually take longer. Australia, NZ, South Africa, Asia, and South America have been as long as 2.5 months, even with packages marked as air mail.

quote:

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Originally posted by B-Town:
Over the last year, I've probably sent 30 packages out of the US, and I can say that there definitely is a time difference right now. Domestic packages usually deliver in less than a week. For international, I usually see delivery to places like Canada, UK, or NL in 2-3 weeks. Mediterranean countries usually take longer. Australia, NZ, South Africa, Asia, and South America have been as long as 2.5 months, even with packages marked as air mail.

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That's what I suspected, it is rather and economical / political question, because nowadays it seems that international commerce is a bit more restricted than it was in the past (EU inside doesn't count because it is a single market).

Probably there are also more packages inspected at customs, due to that customs fee increase. A package that we sent as individuals is not probably going to be taxed, if it's sent as a gift or without invoices of how much the cards can be market-worth, but it's posible they are being inspected more often, and that can add a lot of days to the shipments. Many reasons like that added, what could arrive in 3-4 days, ends up taking weeks...

Average for me when I traded here used to be 7-10 days, with some packages arriving in astonishing times of lees than a work week, and other taking a lot of weeks...

quote:

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Originally posted by Eyrdin:
That's what I suspected, it is rather and economical / political question, because nowadays it seems that international commerce is a bit more restricted than it was in the past (EU inside doesn't count because it is a single market).

Probably there are also more packages inspected at customs, due to that customs fee increase. A package that we sent as individuals is not probably going to be taxed, if it's sent as a gift or without invoices of how much the cards can be market-worth, but it's posible they are being inspected more often, and that can add a lot of days to the shipments. Many reasons like that added, what could arrive in 3-4 days, ends up taking weeks...

Average for me when I traded here used to be 7-10 days, with some packages arriving in astonishing times of lees than a work week, and other taking a lot of weeks...

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Most of the cards that I send overseas are just in plain envelopes with an International stamp. I don't really see the value in sending an actual package overseas unless I'm shipping $100+ worth of items. I think that's how most other traders on Cardsphere operate too, at least the ones that are sending enough volume where the price difference between plain envelopes and tracked packages accumulates to a higher value than a single lost package of less than $100.

Either way, I think you could have a good experience with Cardsphere. And I think they have a money back guarantee for new users - meaning that if you deposit funds and nobody sends you cards, you can withdraw the full amount within a certain time period.

Here's a link if you want to read more:

https://blog.cardsphere.com/new-user-money-back-guarantee/