Second Main Phase Trading Co. - Magic: The Gathering singles, decks, collections bought
Sell your collection

Seller FAQ

the questions everyone asks, answered up front
How do you pay?

Cash, Zelle, business check, or PayPal, your choice. Cash and Zelle are the usual picks at an in-person meetup. For ship-in collections we pay by Zelle, PayPal, or a business check mailed to you, once you accept the offer.

How fast will I hear back?

Within 24 hours of your submission, every time. If you send a collection file (ManaBox, Moxfield, Deckbox, Dragon Shield, TCGplayer, or a plain spreadsheet) we can usually give you a priced range in that first reply. Ship-in collections get a firm offer within 24 to 72 hours of the box arriving, depending on the size of the collection.

How do your offers work?

In two visible parts: the valuable singles priced card by card against live market data, and the bulk priced at an honest bulk rate. You see the list and every number. What a real offer looks like walks through the math, including why no buyer pays full market value.

Do I have to be 18? Will you ask for ID?

Yes, sellers must be 18 or older and confirm the cards are theirs to sell. Every purchase comes with a short signed purchase agreement. For collections over $1,000 we also note a photo ID. That protects you as much as us: it is the record that the sale happened the way we both agreed.

Where do we meet?

A public place in the Dallas - Fort Worth area, during daylight hours: a coffee shop, a library, a game store. We will not ask you to come to a home and we will not come to yours for a first meeting. Bring the cards; we check the valuable ones on the spot (a loupe and a light), agree the price, and pay.

My collection is huge. Do I have to wait while you count all of it?

No. For a large collection we check and price the valuable cards at the meetup, then either pay a deposit and the balance after the full count, or pay in full with a signed agreement and finish the count within 24 to 72 hours. Either way you know the number before the cards leave your hands.

I am not in Dallas - Fort Worth. Can I ship to you?

Yes. In the continental US, if our estimate of your collection is $250 or more, we send you a prepaid, tracked shipping label. Pack the cards, ship them, and we make a firm offer within 24 to 72 hours of the box arriving. Below $250 you are welcome to ship at your own expense and the same 24-to-72-hour offer window applies.

From Alaska, Hawaii, a US territory or outside the US, you ship at your own expense, and any customs duties are yours. How ship-in works, step by step.

What happens if I decline a ship-in offer?

We send your cards back. In the continental US the return shipping is on us, whatever the collection's size. Anywhere else we pay 25 percent of the return shipping and email you a quote for the rest; your cards go out as soon as it is paid. Either way there is no fee for the offer itself.

What do you not buy?
  • Counterfeits and proxies. We check, and we will say so if we find one.
  • Cards that are not yours to sell.
  • Other games: we buy Magic: The Gathering only, for now.
  • Digital cards (Arena, Magic Online).

Sealed product, graded cards and unusual items: describe them in the form and we will tell you honestly whether we can make an offer.

Is there a minimum collection size?

Not for a local meetup. We buy collections, estates and accumulations of any size. The $250 figure only applies to the prepaid ship-in label.

What if a buylist would pay me more for a card?

Then we tell you. If a mail-in buylist is genuinely paying more for a specific card than our offer reflects, we will point it out, and you can sell that card there. A seller who trusts the process comes back with the next collection.

Am I obligated to sell once I ask for an offer?

No. An offer is an offer, not a contract. You can say no at any point before you sign the purchase agreement, and there is no fee for asking.

Anything else? Ask in the form, or email hello@secondmainphasetrading.com.

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