A Million Cards and the Stories Behind Them

At Cardsphere, while we're not overfond of celebrating what Michael calls arbitrary decimal milestones, big numbers like one million get noticed. Yesterday we passed one million cards traded in just over two years. I thought the number was worth a little bit of attention, and asked that people in our subreddit share their Cardsphere stories.

We're very humbled by the responses we received. Telling your Cardsphere story is the number one thing each user can do to help grow our community, because these are very compelling stories, so please let's do keep this up.

I know not everyone likes Reddit, so I thought I would share some of the responses here. I've done some minor editing, but you can read the whole original thread if you prefer.

Thank you all so much.

Joined in May 2018 with the intention of consolidating my collection and hopefully turning it into some RL bangers, but also with a lot of doubts. Those doubts are currently nonexistent. To date, I haven’t linked a CC or bank account/have not deposited or withdrawn funds once. Including my current outbound packages I’m at roughly 1500 cards sent and 600 received. As intended, I’ve sent away mostly my excess rares and playable commons/uncommons (with the exception of a marquis card here and there), and I’ve received some of my more sought after RL bangers and quality real estate i.e. Gaea’s Cradle, Serra’s Sanctum, Wheel of Fortune, Grim Monolith, multiple duals, etc. Cardsphere has been a godsend for maximizing the value and liquidity of my collection and bolstering my decks.

Also, aside from the occasional grading discrepancy and one specific international shipping issue (which was partially my fault) I haven’t had any notable issues or setbacks. The minor issues I have had to deal with have been handled promptly and fairly by the mods - zero complaints so far. It’s kind of insane, actually, that 95% of my packages are sent off or received via USPS standard mail in a regular envelope, and that I typically have no contact w the sender/recipient, but that I’ve encountered fewer issues than my eBay sales/purchases. Remarkably fewer.

I’m a huge fan, avid user, and was super stoked to receive a package from a mod recently with a few stickers and tokens. Y’all have made remote trading realistic and simple and I honestly can’t thank you enough for the service. Massive.

Still remember people saying the site would fail because no one would have a balance because the second people bought funds they would have cards sent to them.. or something like that. It was always an incoherent argument. I said that if people were sending me cards at whatever prices I offered for them I would keep putting money into the site over and over again.

I ended up putting over $60k into the site so far. About $2k/month since the site started. Geez, I didn't think it was nearly that much..

I am member 711 and I found Cardsphere on accident. I had been a Deckbox trader for the longest time, but things were going so slow I started to look for other ways I could trade cards for my collection. I actually found out about Cardsphere from Reddit, but I thought it was like the other popular peer to peer trading site, so I was not really looking for a long term relationship. One send turned into two, that turned into three, and then I got some cards in and 65 Badges later I just can't stop myself!
​I have sent 15,443 cards and received 1,214 cards. I am more of a collector than a trader, and I really just want to supplement my funds for my collecting, and everything I send on this site is for my collection. I have been using the site to cash out on a lot of my extra singles that have been building up over the years, but only to be able to buy sealed product outside of Cardsphere. Over the years I have only picked up a couple of smaller collections, so most of the cards I do have is from cracking packs that I have bought. I am not one of the power traders on the site, that know really how to use the site to flip cards to make money. I just like to use the site for collecting.

​With the help of this site I have been able to accomplish my goal of collecting a playset of every card. And to my skepticism, I am actually getting cards for my single sets of ABU / AAL. I am 2 booster boxes away from my sealed collection.

​Early on I would have thought the site was just for bulk and jank, and I wrote that in the blog I keep for my collection, but I can tell you I am the guy who has sent multiple Power 9 cards on the site. I never would have thought to be able to find a site that I can get so much out of, but at the same time contribute to. Most cards I send, I really have this feeling of fulfilling a deep desire to finish a playset or deck. I am that guy willing to pay 1000% over list price to get a 4th Edition Korean FBB Earthquake and end up paying a lot more than that for it on Cardsphere.

​I am a filthy casual EDH player, but I do have a really big collection since I have been around since 1994 that has never sold out. I am a silent member of the Discord, but I speak up every once and a while. The collecting keeps me happy, but the community keeps me around. I actually got to do a meetup at my FLGS and met one of the founders Michael, which was a real treat! So I am just that guy in the corner that sends cards to get more cards for a collection that never ends.

At some point, I hope to use Cardsphere in my retirement so I can liquidate my collection and ride my Magic: the Gathering hobby into the sunset. Not just to cash out, but to actually give me something to do when I can tell my day job to shove it.

Well, that is if my son does not like the game. 🙂

I found CS off one of the first reddit posts back when everyone was still using another site and made an account super early on (user# is <300!) because I knew this was the future of online trading. I haven't used it as much as some, but I foiled a modern deck and some of a cube off it. Love the site and the community, here's to a million more!

Before Cardsphere I had a mild card collection addiction. I now have a want list in the tens of thousands. I add money every week and enjoy seeing how quickly it goes. Have not been able to make my balance last a day yet.

I only play Limited, Pauper, and EDH, and even EDH participation is waning. I've been able to unload all of my limited winnings to upgrade and foil out my EDH decks, build over 10 pauper decks, and cashed out around $500 to put towards my 1 year anniversary vacation with my wife (she likes this part about Cardsphere the most).

I was able to experiment with a bunch of different EDH decks. I was also able to turn a lot of bulk rares and stuff no one IRL wanted into a gaea's cradle! Being active in the Discord is always a fun time and I get to talk to cool people everyday!

Edit: I forgot to mention that I traded away pieces to a legacy deck I didn't play anymore to fully pay for my Nintendo Switch!

I have basically used the platform by loading money on, and filling my Wants list with cards at the value I want them at. It has been working very well for me! I have received over a thousand cards and still going strong!

Joined in September 2017, but didn't send anything until I opened an Ensnaring Bridge in my first pack of Masters 25. Found the reddit linked in a thread on the subreddit for another site where people were trashing Cardsphere for being a ripoff. Came here, saw how earnest the founders were, and decided to give it a try since I hadn't managed to send anything on the other site for over a year at that point.

Cut to just over two years later and I love Cardsphere as much (possibly more) than I did in the three years I was a power user on the other site. My personal finances are in a much different place than they were when I was on that other site and Cardsphere is allowing me to turn cards I don't want into cards I want much more efficiently than through buylists (or if not as efficiently at a much better margin).

I built almost all of my Pauper cube and a very high percent of every EDH deck I've built in the last few years almost strictly through the site and fully intend to keep doing so.

Thanks for the platform and proud to have been a small part of those million cards.

Cardsphere has taken me from zero duals to eight duals. Still missing the two marquis blue ones, but one day soon I hope!

Cardsphere has been a dream when it comes to buying, selling, or just trading cards. I tried eBay, tried TCGPlayer, and that other site for around 2 years. However, when that other site's currency collapsed, there was no point in continuing the inflation trend (like Germany after WWI ended).

A friend told me about Cardsphere, and at first I was hesitant. It was weird to get my head around selling/buying cards for under value, but then I tried it. Two and a half years later, and it is my preferred primary method to exchange cards. People in my play group often ask for cards, and it doesn't take long to get it via Cardsphere- often at a discount.

Was excited to see we hit the 1Mil mark this morning, and looking forward to when we hit the next.

I foiled burn with cardsphere! It's beautiful!

I used Cardsphere to fill out a pair of really awesome modern decks and put together some janky home brews too. I also used it to send off all my “bulk” from standard past... you know.. all my kaledesh stuff, check lands, and other piles of recently spiked stuff for pioneer xD.

Love it. I've traded all sorts of things for spicy commander foils.

Cardsphere changed my entire MTG finance business model, and contributed to creating what will soon be a legal LLC. Cardsphere creates jobs, I guess?

I'm an old-school player from 1994, a filthy casual through-and-through. My favorite part about the hobby, especially back in the 90s, was trading. I loved swinging deals. Took a lot of breaks along the way, but always loved the game and our friend-group would inevitably find its way back into kitchen table games.

Back in 2013, I realized that I could profitably buy collections and offload the pieces individually. If nothing else, I figured I could fund my MTG hobby this way, and it was enough like my old binder trading model to make me happy. I started with eBay, but eventually found my way to that other site. That was great for a while, but we know how that story ends.

I was on that other site's subreddit and read posts from these random guys who were coming up with a better idea for a site, so I then joined the cardsphere sub and lurked for a while. I wasn't actually a fight clubber, but I do remember what 'cuts' were, so I have my OG cred. I kept that idea in the back of my mind. eBay wasn't doing what I needed anymore, and I viewed TCG as more of a store-based site.

In 2017, a friend asked me to help liquidate her cards and she had a few high-value ones. I remembered Cardsphere, so I created my account and saw that some people had big offers on the cards I needed to move. The first card I ever sent was a Gaea's Cradle. The second was a Mox Diamond. Those trades went smoothly, so I went all in.

Initially, my idea was to use this like that other site - move out bulk to trade up to staples. That worked just fine! I joined Discord and found a thriving community of goobers just like me, and soon realized there were other ways to use this site. I shifted my focus and started buying standard cards along with staples, and moving out cards that I had originally received on the site, often at a profit. I turned my personal account into a buylist. Funny thing tho, I've never deposited a dime into Cardsphere. I've managed to fund all of my personal trading through sends, and I don't cash out all that often - most of my profits go back into the site.

In mid-2018, a handful of us from the Discord got together with some other MTG finance people and came up with an idea to pool our resources. Instead of everybody doing their own thing, what if we created a big buylist that bought everything? And sent everything back out? That's where MTG Underground was born. Originally Woad ran the trading, but I took it over when he and his wife had their second kid, and I've been running it for about a year now. Our primary business model is the Cardsphere churn - we buy at low prices and move cards back out at slightly higher ones, and earn profit by flipping back and forth.

We have a business model, we track our financials, we have active partners and silent partners, and we're very close to legitimizing this into a real business by forming an LLC. This is partially the power of the Internet, since we'd never have met otherwise, but we owe a huge debt to Cardsphere. This site works smoother than any I've ever used. Ted, Michael and Efren manage the tricky balance of being accessible but also responsible, and they handle disputes reasonably and efficiently. They've created a marketplace with enough buyers and sellers to make buylisters like me successful enough to literally create a business.

Between my personal account and MTGU, I've sent almost 15,000 cards and received over 12,000. My relationship with MTG finance and the game itself has evolved considerably in just two years, and it's thanks to this vibrant, incredible marketplace. You guys do amazing things - here's to the next million!

Cardsphere has hands down been the best way to build decks for me as well as trade in my standard playables that I pick up from draft. I have not sent many packages out, but I regularly receive packages (especially now that pioneer is a thing). It's like a little christmas every time I check my mailbox. And I get the best bang for my buck while also helping out others that want to sell without huge fees or absurdly low buy list prices.

Sometimes I still have to pick up cards elsewhere if I only need 1 or 2 more to complete something, but since I've become a member, 95% of all my buys have been through Cardsphere. Excellent service for the community.

Joined early on (user 312) after originally being on that other site. I'm not a big trader (180ish cards sent and a similar amount received) but love how the site operates. Would love to see a growth in users in the UK as there is not much going on here CS wise. I set up a facebook group for users in the UK to try to get things moving (originally on that other site and then switching to cardsphere when that launched) which had some initial success but has died down a lot recently. It would be great if the site can grow over here as it works really well.

I came in late (user 16994 - Dec 2018). Tried to stick with that other site - even though they destroyed themselves with the new site design and wrecking the point economy. I was bitter to say the least.

No regrets except waiting as long as I did. To date I've sent 1,746 cards and received 865 - mostly foils and judge promos.

Last night I put together 30 packages with a pile of 74 shocks from GRN and RNA I had laying around.

I joined Cardsphere in May 2017 as part of the beta crew (user #19) after hearing about it via other subreddits. I had a lot of experience with other online trading platforms, but I was hopeful that CS could help supplement the services I was already using to continue turning cards I didn't want into cards that I did. What I was not expecting was to gain a whole lot more than just some new Magic cards.

Normally, in places like reddit or Discord, I tend to be more of a lurker. I don't know if it was because of being an early adopter or if it was just Tom's eagerness and charm on the Discord as people were joining, but I decided to be more active in what was going on. It didn't take long before that feeling became reinforced by Ted, Michael, and Efren showing their dedication and desire to provide the best, most honest service to the trading community. From there, I was hooked and getting myself involved.

Now, one million cards later, I have made some amazing new friends all across the world (including having met a few of them in person) and happily volunteering my time on Discord as a moderator (tunnel snakes rule!) and on the site itself as a tester and consultant. I am confident that these trends will continue as CS continues to grow and I look forward to meeting many more of you as we swap cards or grab a beer. Cheers.

I love the CS discord server and CS itself.

Since I started on CS, I've designed and built in paper about 10 commander decks using CS and the CS discord server.

Turned bulk into an Alpha Keldon Warlord and am currently working on a foil Unstable set. Also trying to collect every version of Keldon Warlord so if you can help with either of those, my offers are great!

Thanks guys!

I picked up Cardsphere 18 months ago and used to finish multiple edh decks and my 450 card cube. It's been amazingly easy to get all the cards I want and even though mtg is on the back burner for me right now, I still find myself looking for good sends!

I came from that other site. I was an early user there. Considering I worked for that other company, I definitely had loyalty to them, and I always gave them the benefit of the doubt. I believed in the concept and worked hard to improve it. Thank goodness something was there to take its place.

The service to trade cards online and by mail is necessary, and Cardsphere has done it right so far by linking it to the dollar and keeping funds in reserve.

It’s been hard to trust again but I’ve been keeping a low profile and trying just to trade quietly. I was of course aware of the service before it opened and joined shortly afterwards. I knew the concept was sound. And instead of relying on a spirit of giving alone, Cardsphere backed cards with the dollar. I want to thank Cardsphere for being welcoming to all. I’ve sent over 200 cards now on Cardsphere. I don’t keep a big balance but feel a little more confident that it won’t be wasted like the balance I still have sitting there at the other site.

There is a certain natural tendency to trust your allies and mistrust the ones critical of your team, but so far Ted and company have done well with Cardsphere and have earned what they’ve built. The functionality of the site is excellent and much like the first iteration of that other site except with the added option to adjust percentages. I’ve received hundreds of cards on Cardsphere - even more than I’ve sent. I tend to send higher value or medium value cards and seek lower value ones. When I sold a bunch of fetchlands and shocklands I was able to spend a chunk of balance to get them back.

I hope that going forward the focus continues to be on the functionality of the site and never overly on self-enrichment. The culture of a company and of the leadership is so important, and even if it’s great at the start, sometimes success can change a person.

Congratulations on the milestone, and thank you, Cardsphere, for being welcoming to all.

With rising costs of cards here in Canada I had to cut down on my spending and limited myself to only cube singles. Around Dominaria I found it even expensive just to pick up some of the singles I wanted so I started looking into trading online as I had a bulk of extra cards from Zendikar > Dragon's Maze era. When looking into that other site, I stumbled into a reddit thread about how Cardsphere was started up in response to ill-fated practices that the other sitye engaged in and dodged a bullet.

I started very hesitant, throwing together a few packages and sending them priority with tracking, but soon I embraced the PWE method and haven't looked back. I haven't had any sends lost, although I've had the misfortune of being on the receiver end of lost/damaged packages. This is statistically understandable as I got hooked into collecting again once I started trading on CS and put up bids for every draft chaft common, so I routinely have hundreds of cards in transit my way at any given time. I've rarely had grading issues, although I'm usually not super picky besides and don't like to open disputes unless a card is completely missing or damaged. I once had a decently valued package of a single card sent to me without a toploader (just a flimsy index card alongside it). It came with a decent sized bend form transit, but I was able to flatten most of it out so that it was miraculously only SP.

I'm beginning to slow down a bit again as my most desirable sends have begun to dry up, but I've still been comfortable enough to top up my account as I'm confident in the site and service.