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Hey everyone, Kelly Reid here. I'm the guy who does the majority of work on this here site, and I'd like to take a minute to address a few points about Quiet Speculation.
First of all, I want to thank and welcome all my new readers over the last few weeks! Many of you have found the site via Evan Erwin's Magic Show, and to those guests I'd like to say "thanks for watching!" A few people have commented that updates have been a little less frequent lately, and I'd like to address that.
The long and short of it is that between my day job, working GenCon, working out the hardware and software kinks for my segment of the Magic Show, and other such mundane tasks, I've been slightly pressed for time. As such, longer articles have fallen by the wayside for the moment. With GenCon winding to a close, regular updates should begin again shortly.
Don't think I've forgotten about the weekly schedule either - the time between sets is usually light on news - the recent set's stopped spiking and dipping in price and the new spoilers aren't out yet. With Zendikar spoilers just starting to break, we'll be ramping up the updates again. I just want to assure my readers that Quiet Speculation hasn't fallen off the face of the earth!
The same goes for what is meant to be a weekly segment on The Magic Show. Evan and I have been working together to figure things out from a technical aspect - A/V was never my strong suit, but with Evan's guidance we're getting the lead out. My initial hope was to follow up the first show immediately with a second, but due to technical issues we've had to push my second appearance back a few times. I've since acquired some new hardware which should make things go smoothly from here on out.
In other news one of my earliest readers, Amistod, was kind enough to help me acquire an iPhone over the weekend. Aside from giving him a big shout-out, I'd like to ask the readers to leave some feedback about a possible QS iPhone app. What features would you like to see? What price point would you expect? I'm all about making this site the best it can be, and part of that ethic is reader feedback. I can't implement the features you want if I don't know what those features are, so be free and generous with your feedback - I literally read every email, comment and tweet directed my way and try to respond to as many as I can.
That's it for now! Stay tuned for some info about From the Vault - Exiled as it starts shipping out and selling out. For those curious where the price will end up, just keep in mind that you could have sold yours to Star City Games at GenCon for 75 dollars in cash. The hype is unreal, and it's probably justified. If you can get these things at MSRP or thereabouts, it would be wise to acquire a copy or five. If the print run is as limited as they say it is, this set will be worth big bucks eventually.
Best regards and thanks for reading!
--Kelly B Reid
What I imagine to be the best card price app is something looking akin to a Scrye/InQuest – two or three columns in list form. Perhaps it uses FindMagicCards.com to live update the prices. But next to the "Real Value" it has a QS "percieved value" like +2.00. So the relatively stable prices are in black, green for rising, red for dropping, and orange for QS evaluations. And if it really delivers something like that, EVERYONE would rather pay 99 cents for a auto-updateing Scrye. If it didn't always need internet access then you're suddenly more reliable then FindMagicCards, and thus you've got value. It would be a huge bonus if it's more user friendly then FindMagicCards too.
What do you mean by the QS perceived value? I simply cannot make my own prices for each card in Magic for so many reasons 🙂 Do you mean only onselect cards, like the ones we think are a good pickup? That could be a cool feature. It would certainly work offline, using the last known data.
Well, yes, the QS percieved value would come from your head – in QS we trust. I would guess one or two dozen cards from a current set would have this. Or just give a star for Things that are a good pickup. Maybe another symbol for something that is Overvalue because of a tournament this week or something similar.What we (the royal we) are looking for is getting your knowledge in our hands. The more of that knowledge the better, so actual value in $'s is much better than just gold stars.
Here's a story:In our gaming group there is a guy who works at a card store. Whenever anyone trades cards, inevitably the traders ask him what all of the cards are worth. This gets old quickly.When I trade I look up all the cards in question on FindMagicCards. This can take awhile, and if a computer & internet access isn't near I just don't trade.Which is why I'm interested in your app. I like to play Magic, and to trade cards, but I don't like to rip off 12-year-olds, and I don't like treating my friend like a human encyclopedia.Scrye and InQuest don't have accurate prices; they're outdated before they hit the shelves. FindMagicCards is the only reliable source for current card prices and once you leave your house, it's not likely you'll have an internet connection.Additionally, FindMagicCards gives you alot of raw data – is Elspeth $30 because of block PTQ or because people realized she's worth it. What about Sarkhan Vol? It says berserk goes for $40, but there isn't a single one listed on FindMagicCards. I think there is definitely room QS to help interpret the data.Perhaps hyperlink the "cards to watch" to articles that mention them.That's all I got. Goodluck.
for pricepoint: my company does some iphone development and the word around here is $0.99 is the best price for most apps, because any more than that and people won't buy them on impulse/novelty. However, your user base is more likely to know exactly what they're looking for/getting.
Any luck/traction so far? I'm really Jones'in for a price app…Am I better off putting together one myself?