The worst thing that could happen to any eBay user is being ripped off. It doesn't matter who you are. Experienced? Not so experienced? If you're new to buying Magic: The Gathering cards, or you're just looking for a little advice, this will help you out!

Terminology:

P9 - This stands for "Power Nine", a common name for a few vintage cards that are extremely powerful (and rare), even by today's standards. These cards are as follows:

• Ancestral Recall
• Black Lotus
• Mox Emerald
• Mox Jet
• Mox Pearl
• Mox Ruby
  
• Mox Sapphire
• Timetwister
• Time Walk

A couple of honorable mentions to this list are as follows: Mana Drain and Library of Alexandria .

Be prepared to pay high prices for these cards as they are not only old, but extremely rare.

WOTC - This stands for "Wizards of the Coast", the company who makes the game!

MTG - Magic: The Gathering --> The game you're reading about!

MTGO - Magic: The Gathering Online

Playset - Four of a card. Sometimes a seller may have these varying through different sets, and they will usually specify which sets.

For example, a seller might be sellilng four howling mines, but some are from different sets. One might be from Revised, two from Fourth Edition, and one from Seventh Edition.

Foil - These are special print run cards. They are randomly inserted in booster packs.

These originally started out as pre-releases / promo's at tournaments with Urza's Saga and then were put into boosters starting with Urza's Legacy. A foil version of a card will go for a higher price than a non foil version.

With the core sets, they started out as pre-release / promo cards in Sixth edition, and then were randomly inserted in booster packs starting with Seventh edition.

Holo - For some reason or another there are some people who like to call foil's "holo", or "holographic". This is obtuse and you should regard the seller as someone who may not know the game very well. The "holographic" nature of the cards is marginal at best. Others would argue that it's just how the light reflects off of the card and there's nothing holographic about them.

(If you are a seller, please stop using this term with these cards. Instead, please use "foil". This will help your listing show up more commonly when people search for "foils". At the very least, if you would still prefer holo, please include the word "foil" in the auction. Maybe a phrase like "holo foil" would be more acceptable.)

Rare, Uncommon, Common - This denotes rarity of a card. Starting with Exodus, the rarity was color coded with the expansion symbol. Rares are gold, uncommons are silver, and commons are black.

Dual Land - These are land cards that can produce two types of mana. The better well known ones are the ones that were printed in Alpha - Revised. They are as follows:

• Badlands
• Bayou
• Plateau
• Savannah
• Scrubland
• Taiga
• Tropical Island
• Tundra
• Underground Sea
• Volcanic Island

It's important to note that Volcanic Island was never printed in Alpha, and that Plateau had an art change in Revised. There are other cards in other sets that serve a similar purpose, but work differently. For example, core sets and Ice Age have the pain lands. Ravnica has lands that give you two colors of mana at the same time, instead of allowing you to choose one or the other. The reason I'm not listing those cards specifically is because they lack the notoriety of the previously mentioned 10 cards. Those other dual lands are very useful too, so be on the look out for them if you need them. (They're also probably a little cheaper too.)

Autographed / Signed - These are cards that are usually signed by the artist. You will rarely run across any that have fake signatures, even so, try to do a google search for the artist and see if you can find a sampling of their signature. If that doesn't help try doing more eBay searches for signed material from that artist. Once in a while you will run across "well known" players who have signed cards. These will often decrease the value of the card unless the player happens to be a world champion, and even then, it could still decrease the value of the card. There is a caveat for signed cards, these are for more of a special market. Some people will find that even having the artists signature on a card will decrease the value. If you are looking for signed cards, try to find the signature done in something other than a sharpie. Gold or silver ink is highly preferable.

(When searching for these, do a search for (autographed,signed). This will show all cards that are listed as either "autographed" or "signed".)

PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) - This is a company who has their own rigid guidlines for grading cards. They do not grade cards by mint, near mint, etc... they grade them by a "PSA level". A PSA 10 card is precisely perfect in every way (Gem Mint). Anything lower than a 10 will be in worse shape. Generally, if you have a PSA 9, the card is considered to be mint to the naked eye without further inspection.

Any card that is PSA graded will go for a higher price. It may not really be worth going after a card that has a PSA rating if you can find a different card with a good scan that looks mint. Remember, as a buyer, you want to try and get something as cheap as possible in the best condition possible.

Sets - To learn more about the different names of the sets you should visit the Wizards of the Coast website. To find it, do a google search for "wotc", or for those with firefox, just type wotc in your address bar. (I'd give you the exact address, but eBay's policy prohibits that.) Not only will you be able to find different names of the sets there, but you will also be able to tell the difference. I recommend using their gatherer database. It will picture every card, and the variations of it through out time, along with current rulings / errata.

Searching and Buying

Now that we have some of the basic and more common terminology down, it's time to learn about buying.

Your first goal is to know what you want. If you know what specific card you want, type that cards name in the search field. It's common practice to put "mtg" in front of your searches. This is the most commonly used search phrase for this game. If something doesn't seem right, go back to Magic's official website and look up the card.

Now, if you're just a person looking for a good deal you could just type in MTG. It's probably a good idea to have the listings sorted by ending times. Sometimes you can find a good card cheap at certain times of the day. It varies, but a vigilant eye will catch a deal every now and then.

Lots:
These are a good way to not only increase your collection, but start your own eBay store! Often you can find people selling cards for other people, or people who just want to get rid of everything at once. You'll find spectacular deals for many hard to find cards this way. It's always a good idea to ask how many rares you will be getting in any given lot. If they won't give you a specific number or range, but the auction description states "many", or "some", the number most likely is very few to none! You need to be very careful with these sellers as they will argue with you that you will or have received a lot of rares and will refuse to come to a compromise with you. Avoid these people at all costs IF you are concerned about such matters.

Also watch for shipping prices on lots. It can become awfully expensive to ship 10,000 cards.

Repacks:

Repacks are something of a tricky subject. You are paying for random cards that have been possibly played and well handled. Many people who sell repacks promise that one out of a thousand repacks may have a P9 in it. Then we have those who promise that one in three thousand will have one P9 in it. You can receive great cards, but the chances are you won't get the P9. It's entirely up to you. Sometimes the mere chance is worth the opportunity cost, sometimes it is not. In the end, you do have more cards, so it may not necessarily be a bad thing.

There are people who make repacks that do make it worth while. When they list great rares, but not P9 worthy rares, you can usually expect a great selection. If this is their first repack auction, more than likely you'll be walking away with great deals.

Singles:
When you know what individual card you want it's a good idea to compare prices with other auctions. Take a careful look at the condition as well. If the condition of the card is poor, it should go for a cheaper price than a card rated as Mint. Sometimes sellers will just provide a stock photo. Ask them if they will provide an actual scan of both FRONT AND BACK of the card. Yes, ask to see the back. Whether you are a player, or a collector, it is very important. If the back is marred in anyway, the card is not playable unless you are using sleeves on all of your cards. And of course if you're a collector, the card is practically worthless then.

One important thing to look out for - know the current sets! Newer cards that go for $30 will often drop in price over time. Back in the day when Jester's Caps were new, they went for that much money!  Now it's roughly 1/5 of that price at the high end. Even though you may want that card now, if the oppurtunity cost doesn't mean a lot to you, you may want to wait about six months, or buy booster packs to see if you can get the card cheaper. The only aspect this is a little less  true with are foiled cards. Since these cards are meant to be "ultra-rare", the higher the rarity, the higher the price the card can fetch over time.

Antiquities, Arabian Nights, Legends, and The Dark - Knowing the Difference From Chronicles:
Many people to this day still do not know the difference between a chronicles card and it's original black border form. Follow this link to another guide (that I've written) to learn how to discern the difference.

Prices:
Always compare prices. Not only the card price, but the shipping price. Some sellers like to charge a little less for the actual price of the card, charge a few dollars on shipping, and then have a flat shipping rate no matter how many cards you buy. Some sellers like to profit from shipping. You may see a card going for ten cents, but the shipping may be $7.00! This is acceptable IF and only if that is a flat rate and you do plan on buying numerous items from them. Otherwise ask if they have a cheaper shipping option or find somewhere else to go.

Overseas shipping can also be expensive. If the shipping is going to be overseas and the seller doesn't have a price listed for that, ASK! From some countries the shipping can be as high as $30!

Keep in mind that by looking on eBay, you can at the very least get a general idea of how much card the should be selling for in case you want to sell some cards too.

Spotting Dupes / Fakes
There are a few tests you can perform on the card once you receive it to see if it is real or not.

• Comparison: - If the card just feels funny, or looks funny, compare it to another card like it. (You don't need the same exact card, just another card.) Sometimes people will print out the entire picture of the card on computer paper, cut a common in half, and then past the printed picture to this cut in half card. These are often poorly done.

• The Bend Test - Take your thumb and middle finger and put it each on either edge of the card (this should be done length-wise). Put your index finger in the center of the card. Now push your thumb and middle finger together. The card will curve, however it will not crease. A fake card often creases, or if it doesn't crease, the glue use to hold it together will wear out. You do need to be careful about this as it does leave a slight bend in the card. This is not recommended as it can ruin the "foil finish" on the card!!! (It should be taken into consideration that if a card goes through the bend test numerous times, the card will be weakened and will crease.)

• The Black Light Test - All real mtg cards will glow under a black light. It's that simple! If you find that some of your 4th Edition cards do not pass this test, you may have an Alternate 4th Edition card. Follow this link to my guide by clicking here: Alternate 4th Edition Guide
  

Keep in mind that these tests can't be done until you already have the card. This is why sellers usually provide an actual scan of the card as to show that visually, the card looks to be the real deal. And if you're unsure, use the gatherer database at WOTC's magic website.

Revised Misprint and Summer Magic
I have created an eBay guide about Summer Magic and the problem with Revised Cards. You can view my guide by clicking here: Summer Magic

A Note to Sellers (New or Current)

Please allow payments through PayPal. It is extremely convenient. Too often do I see cards that would probably go for a hefty sum, going for really cheap. There's no reason that a Time Walk (or any P9) should go for $65. Now I realize this is a great deal for a customer, but as a seller you as well do not want to rip yourself off. People, in general, are more willing to bid on auctions if PayPal is a viable payment choice. Likewise, don't make PayPal your only choice of payment. Not everyone likes using PayPal.


I hope this guide is a great help. If there's anything I missed, please let me know.