Whenever you click on a card in Essential Magic, you see a page that shows you detailed information about that card. One piece of information that we show you is the value of that card. Also, when you're looking at a deck, we show you the value of that deck. But where do we get these prices? Do we just guess at them or do we get them from Scrye? How accurate are they? These are some of the questions that we will answer on this page.
- Where do the prices come from?
We get our card prices from the Magic Online Trading League (MOTL) price lists. These price lists are generated by Cloister's Pricelist Generating Software using data collected from EBay.com. - How accurate are the prices?
Prices are averages of cards recently sold on eBay. They include cards which are used in quality, and include when a card is sold in multiples. We believe these prices to be a fairly accurate representation of the value of purchasing a card from an individual, not a shop.However, keep in mind that some inaccuracies in our prices are bound to occur due to the way the raw data for these lists must be collected. Because of this, Essential Magic and MOTL do not guarantee that these prices can be attained when purchasing or selling cards.
- What currency are the prices in?
All prices are listed in United States Dollars (USD). - Does Essential Magic buy or sell cards?
No. The prices listed on this site should not be considered an offer by Essential Magic or MOTL to purchase or sell cards. - Where do deck and collection prices come from?
Whenever you see the value of a deck, sideboard, collection, or any other group of cards, this value is simply the sum of the values of each individual card. Essential Magic does not specifically store the values of certain decks or combinations of cards. - Why are Pre-constructed Decks so expensive?
When looking at the value of a pre-constructed deck (PCD), keep in mind that this value is just the sum of the values of each individual card. So, while you could easily buy the PCD at your local game store for $10, it may be listed as being worth $30 on Essential Magic. The price listed on our site is how much it would cost for you to buy each card individually.The same rule applies to collection values. When viewing the total value of your collection, keep in mind that this is just the sum of the values of each individual card. If you decide to sell your collection, it is very unlikely that you will get this price for it, because people expect to pay less when buying several cards at once than they would if they were buying each card individually.
