Cardsphere Year Three in Review

Happy Birthday to us!

That being said, right out of the gate we've got to admit that Year Three posed some significant challenges for Cardsphere. WotC's product direction with Project Booster Fun and Mystery Boosters caused some real issues with our automated processes for retrieving card and pricing data from multiple external sources, who all indexed the variants in their own way. We had to shelve a lot of user-facing feature development to work on backend tools to manage the incoming telemetry, and this was very time consuming. At the same time, Michael built the tools needed to correct mistakes that had crept into the database over time, also a substantial task. The good news is, this back end development is mostly completed, and we're excited to begin offering new user facing features very soon.

Another challenge came from a now-defunct competitor with millions of dollars of funded marketing pushing out a lot of fear, uncertainty, and doubt about the rate and risks of counterfeits in the Magic community. Don't get me wrong – this is a serious issue and we pursue its defeat passionately. Depending on the circumstances we have worked both with WotC and law enforcement when counterfeiters have tried to exploit the Cardsphere community, but the very least we do is protect our users by holding funds in escrow and by having Cardsphere owners work all customer service, including counterfeit investigations. The real challenge which resulted from the defunct competitor's marketing was an enormous amount of false positives, and the unpleasant experiences and extra time burden that result from their investigation. This all said, we remain confident that our processes afford the maximum protection to our users, and we continue to remove bad actors from the system quickly.

And of course, there's the big one. The corona virus.

Cardsphere has survived the virus remarkably well. Sure, our unique senders went way down to our lowest points since our earliest days operating, mail timelines have been extended, and some countries are still not currently able to fulfill trade with one another, but all things considered, our model has been very successful: We have no warehouses, require almost no staff to operate, and the same low operations costs that allow us to offer our unbelievable margins insulate us from economic downturn. No one's pretending there was no nail biting and clutching of pearls, but with paper Ikoria getting into users' hands, things definitely appear to be normalizing.

We are of course so thankful to our hardcore users who continued to ship through the worst periods. You are our engine, and we appreciate your work very much.

And to everyone using Cardsphere: we remain more committed than ever. We have seen that we can weather adversity well, and are gearing up for the next round of user improvements.

The Data

As we have before, we'll present the data in lists, tables, and charts below, but will also provide links to download more complete data in CSV format.

We have kept using social media organically -- we do not pay for advertising, likes, or follows. We do not use giveaways to inflate our social media numbers.

As we continue to see competitors use social media spending to little success (or outright failure), we believe we're correct in not pursuing social numbers too heavily. Instead, we continue to invest in sponsorships and content creation to get the word out.

Number of Reddit subscribers: 1,352 (+156)
Number of Facebook followers: 431 (+25)
Number of Twitter followers: 1,546 (+503)
Number of Discord members: 882 (+187; inactive users purged quarterly)
Number of articles published: 347 (+114)

Sponsorships

While being one of the smaller marketplaces running, Cardsphere has remained dedicated to getting money back out into the community of Magic creators, and almost certainly spend a greater percentage of our profits this way than any other marketplace. In the past year we have seen some relationships end and have founded new ones, but we are proud of all the creators with whom we've worked, and consider our current stable of sponsored creators to be the strongest we've ever had.

The best part is that we've been able to continue to work with people whom we truly admire. Whether it be for skillful play, media adeptness, or straight up charm and personality, this crew is amazing. If you haven't checked out their work, please do!

AlbyMtG
Allison Waters (Skybilz, of @OXG_Esports)
Ben Werne (Mister Metronome)
Daniela Diaz
DeQuan Watson - Color of Magic Podcast
Elizabeth Rice (Ellie of the Veil)
Ethan Saks (Lord Tupperware)
Jana Amari
Pixie Kitten

Cardsphere Draft and Sealed Simulator

Another part of our marketing strategy is the Cardsphere Draft Simulator.

Total Number of Drafts Completed: 134,619
Total Sealed Pools Opened: 65,795
Number of Draftable Sets: 21
Most shared single draft:
Number of ads displayed: 0

Top 10 Formats by Drafts Completed

ELD-ELD-ELD (23,707)
THB-THB-THB (22,719)
M20-M20-M20 (17,177)
WAR-WAR-WAR (16,149)
MH1-MH1-MH1 (15,163)
RNA-RNA-RNA (13,165)
IKO-IKO-IKO (11,228)
GRN-GRN-GRN (3,656)
UMA-UMA-UMA (3,020)
DOM-DOM-DOM (2,418)

Top 10 Formats by Sealed Pools Completed

THB-THB-THB-THB-THB-THB (22,356)
ELD-ELD-ELD-ELD-ELD-ELD (15,931)
M20-M20-M20-M20-M20-M20 (9,467)
IKO-IKO-IKO-IKO-IKO-IKO (6,625)
MH1-MH1-MH1-MH1-MH1-MH1 (2,082)
WAR-WAR-WAR-WAR-WAR-WAR (1,512)
UMA-UMA-UMA-UMA-UMA-UMA (1,161)
KLD-KLD-KLD-KLD-KLD-KLD (945)
MM2-MM2-MM2-MM2-MM2-MM2 (780)
ISD-ISD-ISD-ISD-ISD-ISD (713)

Community

Number of accounts: 28,720 (+6,959)
Number of business accounts: 310 (+97)
Number of premium accounts set to renew: 195 (+79)
Number of users referred: 1256 (+550)
Number of countries with Cardsphere users: 102 (+9)
Number of messages sent: 397,493 (+145,318)

Top 10 Countries by User Count

United States of America: 22,257 (+5,535)
Canada: 2,168 (+536)
Great Britain: 659 (+137)
Australia: 553 (+101)
Italy: 429 (+44)
Brazil: 305 (+29)
Germany: 218 (+56)
Portugal: 158 (+30)
France: 142 (+31)
The Netherlands: 128 (+31)

This Complete Data Set

Top 20 All-Time Senders (Number of Cards)

36,750 - Brax
29,601 - jkatz
18,806 - DogonSiereht
14,829 - Green Sleeves
13,851 - Cyric
13,726 - Harmless Offering
12,282 - Geoff
11,620 - Doug Montalvo
10,977 - CheckMyWants4chaff 🚮🗑️♻
9,321 - Vinvasion
9,225 - Krause94
8,663 - Getting There Games
8,147 - OldSchoolCardsPls
7,365 - MtGJOE
7,287 - poxpower
7,189 - BevMo
7,101 - SA Cards
6,114 - Merlin76
6,816 - EGXR
6,718 - Bfellow

The top twenty users account for 18% of all items sent, down from 22% last year.

This Data Set to 50th Place

All Time Top 20 Traders By Count Per Country

Top 20 All-Time Senders (Value of Cards)

$88,405.14 - Peter Twieg
$65,693.29 - MtG Underground
$57,662.67 - Woadworks
$49,708.88 - Doug Montalvo
$36,652.40 - Atomic Planet Comics
$35,018.93 - FeedTheClan
$34,725.34 - Cyric
$29,361.46 - DogonSiereht
$26,872.24 - Brax
$24,944.90 - MES
$24,934.57 - Malcolm Moss
$24,681.95 - BrevKicks
$21,321.41 - Getting There Games
$20,371.80 - Bfellow
$20,133.86 - Settlers
$19,736.06 - poxpower
$19,529.67 - I <3 Control
$17,530.96 - gunhoe86
$16,262.88 - SA Cards
$15,424.04 - Palinchron

The top twenty users account for 15% of all value sent, down from 18.5% last year.

This Data Set to 50th Place

All Time Top 20 Traders By Value Per Country

Top 10 High Volume Trader Pairs

Otherwise known as the "People will say we're in love, Clarice" list. The number shown is how many packages moved between the two traders.

Top 10 Earned Badges

First Volley (Received a card)
Courier's Capsule (Sent a card)
Rise of Eagles (Sent to USA)
Foil (Sent a foil)
Thieving Magpie (Received a foil)
Gold Token (Deposited funds)
Trade Caravan (Moon) (Sent a card worth over $25)
Treasure Cruise (Received 100 cards)
Merchant Scroll (Sent 100 cards)
Into the North (Sent to Canada)

Unearned Badges

Crusading Knight - Sent to Malta
Duskwatch Recruiter - Referred 50 users
Imperial Recruiter - Referred 100 users
King Macar, the Gold-Cursed - Received 5000 foils
Lurking Chupacabra - Sent to Mexico
Sengir Nosferatu - Sent to Romania
Sorcerer's Strongbox - Sent 500 sealed products
Trained Condor - Sent to Chile
Whirling Dervish - Sent to Turkey
Zedruu the Greathearted - Sent 5000 foils

Rank of Country Badges

We introduced the "send to a country" badges to increase our international trading. Anecdotally, I know it works with many users who hunt badges. This is the ranking of the badges from most to least awarded.

Rise of Eagles - (USA)
Into the North - (Canada)
Didgeridoo - (Australia)
Conqueror's Galleon - (Portugal)
The Monarch - (Great Britain)
Irrigated Farmland - (Netherlands
Path of Bravery - (US APO/FPO Military)
Festival - (Brazil)
Saprazzan Cove - (Belgium)
Jacques le Vert - (France)
Ninja of the Deep Hours - (Japan)
Traverse the Ulvenwald - (Germany)
Spirebluff Canal - (Italy)
Hot Springs - (Iceland)
Sheep Token - (New Zealand)
Iceberg - (Norway)
North Star - (Finland)
White Knight - (Poland)
Rishadan Port - (Singapore)
Horned Helm - (Denmark)
Aisling Leprechaun - (Ireland)
Karn, Silver Golem - (Argentina)
Tropical Island - (Taiwan)
Merrow Commerce - (Hong Kong)
Mox Diamond - (South Africa)
Lightning Bolt - (Slovakia)
Snow Hound - (Switzerland)
Misty Rainforest - (Malaysia)
Satyr Hoplite - (Greece)
Coastal Tower - (Croatia)
Battleflight Eagle - (Austria)
Horned Troll - (Sweden)
Elite Inquisitor - (Spain)
Castle - (Czech Republic)
Awaken the Bear - (Russia)
Trained Condor - (Chile)
Crusading Knight - (Malta)
Lurking Chupacabra - (Mexico)
Sengir Nosferatu - (Romania)
Whirling Dervish - (Turkey)

The Trades

All-Time Dashboard

Average package size: 4.01 items (+0.12)
Largest package: 1154 (no change)
Average value of traded cards: $3.24 (-$0.19)
Number of cards available for trade (excluding multiples per user): 5,065,291 3,807,635 (+1,257,656)
Including those that are non-English: 122,905 (+27,893)
Number of Wants (excluding multiple copies per user): 387,582 (+115,759)
Including those that allow more than one language: 16,918 11295 (+5,623)

Top 20 Traded Sets

Number is the count of items from the set which have traded.

Dominaria (44,642)
Modern Horizons (43,715)
Ixalan (36,746)
Guilds of Ravnica (33,173)
War of the Spark (32,191)
Amonkhet (29,667)
Ravnica Allegiance (29,157)
Kaladesh (27,995)
Core 2019 (25,367)
Battle for Zendikar (25,098)
Throne of Eldraine (24,166)
Core 2020 (22,227)
Rivals of Ixalan (21,228)
Shadows over Innistrad (21,227)
Khans of Tarkir (20,443)
Aether Revolt (20,433)
Hour of Devastation (20,207)
Theros Beyond Death (19,491)
Iconic Masters (18,435)
Ultimate Masters (18,180)

Complete Data Set

Top 20 Most Wanted Cards

People still like lands. This list never changes much.

This Data Set to 50th Place

Top 20 Most Owned Cards

This Data Set to 50th Place

Top 20 Most Traded Non-Foils

This Data Set to 50th Place

Top 20 Most Traded Foils

This Data Set to 50th Place

Data Set Showing Combined Foil/Non-Foil to 50th Place

Top 5 Most Valuable Trades

Ancestral Recall (Unlimited, SP @ 93% index or $2,600.00)
Mox Pearl (Unlimited, SP @ 94% index or $2,357.48)
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale (Legends, SP @ 84% index or $1,900.00)
Mox Ruby (Unlimited, SP @ 95% index or $1,800.00)
Mox Jet (Unlimited, SP @ 77% index or $1,700.00)

This Data Set to 20th Place

Delivery Times

We previously published an article about Country to Country delivery times. Here's an update to the data set.

This table shows the 75th, 50th, and 25th percentile delivery time in days, broken down by our top ten country pairs. The all-time count of cards traded is also listed.

Country to Country Delivery Statistics

Cash In and Out

Number of times funds were added: 18,489 (+6,907)
Number of users who added funds at least once: 2,772 (+690)
Number of users who added funds more than once: 1,892 (+532)
% of those who cashed in who did so more than once: 68% (+3%)
Most times a single user added funds: 197 (+45)
Largest cash out request: $5,555.56 (no change)
Total amount cashed out: $1,148,113.93 (+$490,024.21)
Most money ever in escrow (value of cards in transit): 65,075.13 (no change)
Money held by all users (size of economy): $197,376.10 $191,968.82 (+$5,407.28)

In Summary

More of the same in Year Three, it seems. While we have figured out how to make a smaller amount of people very happy, we still haven't figured out how to bust into the mainstream. And that's what what would likely need to happen if we want to see the kind of exponential growth year over year that we saw the first two years of Cardsphere's young life. If you've read this far you know that Cardsphere improves with the amount of people using the system already.

So, we plan our upcoming development focus in part based on the objective to widen the community. We have some ideas about doing so, but will be engaging in a lot of discussion with the community as always, in the Discord server. We'll also be working with a secondary focus of adding more incentivizing features to Premium membership. You'll see a few long-hanging fruit features pushed out shortly.

Of course, we're still okay with being a small market, as long as we like the way we are doing things, how we are doing it, and who we're doing it with. And we do. The Cardsphere community provides plenty of opportunity for really wonderful, inspiring moments and funnily enough, some really positive human connections. You wouldn't think that a platform designed with the express purpose of eliminating as much communication around trade as possible could bring people together. But it does, and that's some good magic.

Cardsphere Year Three in Review

The Data

Sponsorships