Nothing says summer like a road trip with friends across the beautiful countryside. Taking in the fresh air and scenery can be a very relaxing, much-needed break in the working man's life. Over the past few months, I have ventured on a few road trips not only to relax, but to make some cold hard cash while I am at it. This week, I want to cover the road trip experience: the stores, the collections, and the best way to approach a trip of this caliber. A friend and fellow trader Jason Alt was along on most of these road trips and has already written about them, so if you are looking for even more details and information, check them out! Here are his Part 1 and his Part 2.

I don't want to overload you with reading material, but these are certainly worth the read. If you haven't already checked out my previous articles on the road trip process, that might be a good idea as well—in order to bring you up to speed. Here are my Part 1 and my Part 2.

Ready?

Picking through cards takes time, as do negotiations, so plan ahead, and don't be unrealistic about your goals. After doing this a couple times, I can say you will be unlikely to spend less than half an hour in a store that is worthwhile, and though some stores are easy walk-ins, walk-outs most worth visiting will take time. It is also important to know not only the store hours but also the hours the owner will be present. Lackeys are rarely allowed to negotiate numbers, so ensure that you have a schedule showing the big man's hours so you aren't just spinning your wheels.

It is also important to make contact with those that you have to skip over. If they are close enough, plan another time and date to meet up; if not, at least thank them for their time and let them know you won't be coming due to time constraints. This ensures that you have established a good relationship with them through communication, and it allows you to visit at a later time if the opportunity presents itself.

This goes without saying for the most part—and ties into what I was discussing earlier in regards to patience—but always expect the worst. If you don't leave yourself enough time, you will find what can be a relaxing road trip turn quickly into a nightmare. Leave extra time so that when you are hungry, you can eat, and if you need more time to visit another shop not on your radar, you can.

Since doing a few of these trips, I have also learned that stores are not the only places to find great deals. Up until now, I had always used Craigslist in my local area to find collections and scout for sales. With this last trip, I started taking that one step further by contacting individuals who had cards to sell on the way to each of these events. Just as with shops, it is good to make early contact to find out whether the collection is worth picking up and when they are available. Keeping a list with all of this information will keep it from becoming a clutter and properly allow you to plan. Once you have an idea of both stores and people you would like to meet with, contact them again and set up a window to meet. Telling people an exact time will only come back to haunt you, but leaving yourself an hour or two window usually allows things to run smoothly. Worst case scenario, you end up with a free hour at the end of a day, and you can use that hour to trade at the last shop you visit or get some well-deserved shut eye.

When dealing with individuals, remember that this can take more time than just handing them money and taking the cards. This is typically people’s childhood you are buying. A lot of memories are in these cards for them, so take a few minutes to talk with them; it will not only ease them, but it may also gain you future sales if you leave a good impression. Chances are that anyone who played Magic also had friends who used to play, and if they still have cards, it is not uncommon for someone to refer them to you.

Moving Out

Moving on from the acquisitions process, I want to talk a little bit about the best way to out cards once you have acquired them. If you are just returning home, the process is very different than if you are ending up at a Grand Prix. If you are just planning a small trip around your state, it is usually best to take advantage of buy lists—this allows you to compare prices and take your time rather than rush.

If you are attending a Grand Prix and are looking to out a large quantity of cards that are better than bulk, I would suggest “Ogreing” your boxes. This is a term in the financial community in reference to a floor trader whom everyone calls Ogre; if you saw him, you would know why. His process of sorting better-than-bulk has been adapted by a lot of floor traders, including me, over the past year.

Instead of allowing the dealers to make the prices and haggle from there, he takes boxes and labels them with dividers marked with what he needs for that particular section of cards. This not only cuts out a lot of the hassle on the traders' parts, but it is also great for the vendors because they don't have to look through unorganized boxes of cards for the few hidden gems, and they may even pay slightly more than their list numbers because of the convenience. Keeping everything organized in this way allows you to shop your cards far quicker to more dealers than ever before, and what you are left with can either be kept because you feel it is worth more than what they are offering or you can lower the prices and make another run through.

Before I depart for the week, I want to discuss one other outlet you can use in your arsenal of money-making tools: eBay. I know I have discussed buying and selling on eBay before, but I just want to quickly touch on the subject in regards to selling better-than-bulk. If you or someone you know has an established store, it can be a great outlet not only for your good cards, but for your better-than-bulk as well. Listing lots of Commander or Legacy staples, if done properly, can net you a great amount more than buy-listing them. I am no eBay expert, as I just don't have the time to learn the ins and outs of it, but I guarantee with a little research and a few hours each week, you could see a healthy stream of money coming in.

I just got back from a long weekend in Indy at the Invitational, and I am heading into two more weeks straight of events, so if you see me any time this month, be sure to come say “hello” and give me some feedback. If you have anything you would like me to cover specifically, let me know; otherwise, I am going to try to push an article out about buy lists for commons and uncommons next week—that seems to be a common thing people are looking for.

As always, leave me some feedback in the comments section or hit me up on Twitter. Thanks for reading, and see you all next week!

Ryan Bushard

@CryppleCommand