rodrijuarez MTG Sealed Price Check (Argentina vs US)
Compares Argentine retailer pricing against the current US market to determine if a sealed product is a good deal, average, or overpriced.
When to use
- User pastes a price list from a Buenos Aires MTG store
- User asks "is X price good for Y product?"
- User is deciding between multiple stores for the same sealed product
Constants and assumptions
- Exchange rate: ALWAYS ask the user for the current ARS/USD rate — Argentine peso moves weekly, never assume from memory
- Acceptable Argentine markup: +0-30% above US is fair, +30-50% is typical, +50%+ is overpriced
- Cash/bank transfer discounts: typically 5-15% off list price — always factor these in
US reference price sources (verify each, don't trust memory)
| Source | URL pattern | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| Manapool | https://manapool.com/sealed/<set>/<product> |
Often best for current market price |
| TCGPlayer | https://www.tcgplayer.com/product/<id>/... |
Authoritative US market |
| MTGGoldfish | https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/<set>/<product>-sealed |
Price history graphs |
| PriceCharting | https://www.pricecharting.com/game/magic-<set>/booster-box-collector |
Charts and trends |
| Card Kingdom | https://www.cardkingdom.com/mtg-sealed/<product> |
Usually marked up vs market |
Critical rule
NEVER invent or recite US reference prices from memory. Always verify via WebSearch or WebFetch before saying "US price is $X."
Sealed prices move 10-30% within weeks. Always re-verify on TCGPlayer first before quoting any number.
Required first step (before any markup math)
Open TCGPlayer for the product and read the current Market Price. Search pattern:
https://www.tcgplayer.com/search/magic/<set-slug>?productLineName=magic&ProductTypeName=Sealed+Products- Or direct product URL if known:
https://www.tcgplayer.com/product/<id>/...
If WebFetch returns 403 on TCGPlayer (common), use WebSearch with: "<product full name>" tcgplayer market price. The search results often surface the Market Price even when the page itself is blocked.
Cross-check against Manapool or MTGGoldfish only if TCGPlayer is unavailable.
Process
Step 1 — confirm exchange rate
Ask the user: "What's the current ARS/USD rate you're using?" Never assume.
Step 2 — convert ARS to USD
price_USD = price_ARS / rate
If there's a discount (e.g., "10% off cash" or "8% off promo"), apply it: final_USD = price_USD * (1 - discount).
Step 3 — fetch current US price
WebSearch for "<product name>" sealed booster box price <year> current or fetch a known retailer URL directly.
If WebFetch returns 403 (Cardmarket, PriceCharting, TCGPlayer often block), try WebSearch with retailer-specific queries:
"<product>" Card Kingdom sealed price"<product>" Manapool current price
Step 4 — compute markup
markup_pct = (final_USD / US_market) - 1
Step 5 — produce the report
Use this verdict scale:
- ≤ +10%: Excellent (essentially US price)
- +10-30%: Fair (normal Argentine markup)
- +30-50%: OK (mediocre)
- +50-80%: High markup
- +80%+: Skip / terrible markup
Bundle/Scene/Draft Night warnings
These are typically priced at 70-150% markup in Argentina. Almost always skip:
- Bundles (especially Scene boxes priced near Collector Box levels)
- Draft Night packs
- Single Commander decks at $80+ (usually $30-40 in US)
Time cost factor
If a cheaper store requires significant travel, factor in your own time cost (your hourly rate × travel time). Sticker savings need to exceed this hidden cost to be worth the trip.
Suggest shipping ($10-25 typical in Argentina) over driving when feasible.
What NOT to do
- Don't say "this is a steal" without verified US comparison
- Don't recommend products purely because the user mentioned them — give an honest assessment
- Don't push for the cheapest store if it's overpriced internationally too (Argentine market floor matters)
- Don't suggest shipping bypass schemes — Argentine import tariffs are real
- Don't assume an exchange rate — always ask