The Big Chart of Regret

I’ve finally admitted to myself that I’m not likely to play Warhammer 40k any more. I’m not at the right time of my life, nor in the right mindset, to do Warhammer justice. I don’t have the time or inclination to paint and assemble models, and I’d rather play several twenty-minute games of Magic than a single three-hour game of Warhammer.

So I’m selling my figures off, and immediately plowing the proceeds into Magic cards that I normally wouldn’t buy due to their cost.

Why?

Let me tell you a story of regrets.

Between May and August 2007, I eBayed my most valuable cards in order to put a dent in my student loan debt. I wasn’t really playing Magic anymore anyway, I thought, so why not get some use out of them?

While it helped keep my loan payments down, I should have known that I’d get back into Magic and would be happier with the cards.

Because I’m a glutton for punishment, I ran the numbers and figured out how much more everything would have been worth if I had kept them (not that I'd sell them).

Here’s a chart comparing how much I sold each card for (adjusted for inflation), and how much it would cost to buy the same card off of StarCityGames.com or eBay now.

Regreeeeetttt

The biggest surprise was that every single card I sold appreciated, and vastly outpaced inflation. The pooled average increase was about 2.5x.

The only cards that came close to holding their value were the Italian Legends Mana Drains, which only appreciated 20% over what I sold them for.

But, man, those dual lands.

My two Revised Tundras? Sold for about $20 each, now worth $130 each.

My two French (black-bordered) Revised Tundras? Sold for about $75 each, now worth $300 each.

If ever I think that I should sell some of my more valuable staple cards, all I'll need to do is stare at this chart until my mind blanks out.