PucaTrade.com is changing the way Magic cards are traded online. Using an innovative process that eliminates the headache in the typical trading experience, PucaTrade has created a new way for players and businesses to find the cards they are looking for.
When two players want to trade the “normal” way they run into the issue all barter transactions have. Each person has to find something they want in the other’s collection. It’s more than a matter of finding equal value and many potential trades don’t happen because of this.
PucaTrade has shaken up the process by removing the need for both parties to find something they want. Puca Points have streamlined the whole deal. For those who don’t know, it goes like this:
- You create an account on PucaTrade.
- You find the cards in your collection you want to part with.
- With an easy search, you find people around the world who want your cards and have Puca Points to trade.
- Ship said people said cards.
- Once the cards are received you get that person’s points in exchange.
- Other people on the PucaTrade system will then send you cards that you desire in exchange for your points.
Simple, elegant, a great way for cards to change hands. For thousands of players around the world, PucaTrade has been a boon to the trading aspect of Magic. But what about the shops and local games stores? Can they take advantage of this new trading tool? I believe they can.
Singles sales and buying collections are critical to a game store’s bottom line. The trouble is buying cards inevitably leads to accumulating stock that doesn’t sell. Occasionally cards will go into your inventory that don’t move, either due to the card’s position in a metagame, waning popularity, or over saturation in your local community.
Before PucaTrade, it was difficult finding these kinds of cards a loving home. Ebay and TCGplayer are options but they can be costly and time consuming. Lowering the price until someone buys them works but is a losing proposition. The store doesn’t make much of a profit on the sale and they train the customer to wait for a discount, neither of which we want to see happen.
PucaTrade offers a different opportunity.
Take the cards that have been rotting in your display case and ship them over PucaTrade to players who want them. With so many players on PucaTrade already and more joining everyday, you should be able to find a taker for nearly any card. The points your store gets in exchange can then be put towards cards you will sell more easily. Shipping costs are factored into the Puca Point value automatically.
Knowing which cards will sell at your store is key to using this tool effectively. Conveniently, your players are giving you the information you need already.
Keep track of specific cards as they sell, your point of sale system should be doing this for you. This is the easiest way to find out which cards are your best sellers. The other side to this strategy is to understand which formats are the most popular with your local community. Figure out that and you can determine which cards you should have on your want list.
PucaTrade can be a powerful asset for your collection. With a bit of effort, you can put it to work for your business too.
The PucaTrade team isn’t resting on its accomplishments. They are currently in the middle of a fundraising campaign on Indiegogo in order to add some exciting new features to the site. These rogues want to take an excellent system for trading paper Magic cards and integrate it with a way to trade for Magic: Online cards. This is in addition to upgrades like quantity, card condition and support for non-English cards.
With a lot of perks to choose from and some nice giveaway milestones, there are many ways you can support the PucaTrade campaign and get some nice rewards in return while helping them build a better platform. It’s a win/win.
Check out the campaign here, and if you haven’t made a PucaTrade account yet, you should do that too. Show them some PucaLove and give and let give.