Common Misconceptions and Our Target Audience

"You are just buying bulk cards for cheap, rearranging them into decks, and selling for profit.  I'd be better off just buying bulk and making them myself."

First, I'll start by stating that we do not buy bulk cards to make our decks.  Most, if not all, come straight from booster packs and have never seen play.  Second, in regards to making decks cheaper yourself, I like to refer to what I call the "Pizza Analogy".


Pizza Analogy:

Everyone can go to the grocery store and buy all the ingredients they need to make a pizza.  They can assemble the crust, sauce, cheese, toppings, bake it in the oven, cut it into slices, and chow down. Why then, are there so many pizza chains offering delivery?  It's often more expensive than doing it yourself.  The answer... it's a service, a convenience.  Many view the options for acquiring a hot, tasty pie, and determine that paying a few extra dollars for delivery pizza is worth it.  It saves them a trip to the grocery store, time spent in the kitchen chopping up ingredients, dealing with leftover ingredients, and doing dishes.  It shows up at their door, they eat it.  Simple, easy, convenient.

Mmmm... the pizza analogy always makes me hungry.

Magic decks are the same way.  You can buy all the cards you need either from a local vendor, online, or trading with friends.  Why then, does BDB sell Magic decks?  You may be able to build the deck cheaper yourself.  The answer... it's a service, a convenience.  Many view the options for acquiring a Magic deck and determine that paying a few extra dollars for a pre-made Magic deck is worth it.  It saves them the hassle of hunting down cards from multiple vendors,  determining a mana base, and adjusting the mana curve.  It shows up at their door, they play it.  Simple, easy, convenient.

Yay!  A ready-to-play BDB deck came in the mail!

This analogy works for almost any good/service based business.  Many businesses make a profit doing things you can do yourself.  You could build your own house, fix your own car, cook your own meals, and yet many find value in having others do it for them. They buy pre-built houses, take their cars to dealerships for service, and go out to eat.  Of course, some people have the ability and find enjoyment in doing these activities themselves.  They find value or enjoyment in building their own house, fixing their own car, or cooking their own meal.  They do not find value in the good/service, so they do not buy it.  We are offering our decks to those who find value in them.




"That deck is worth $11 at best, and they are selling it for $15. What a rip-off!"

We understand this argument, but again it's based on a misunderstanding of business. It's true that many of our decks are sold for more than their "material cost".  If you were to add up the value of every single in the deck, most times it will come out to less than the selling price (In some cases, it will come out to more).  For our business to simply break even, we need to factor in the cost of  the cards, shipping, packaging, Ebay fees, and Paypal fees.  For our business to make any profit, we need to factor in the labor/time spent designing and constructing the decks, as well as providing deck lists and pictures.  Our "Mystery" decks are sold for less because we are able to skip the deck list and pictures.  Saving us time saves you money.  If you question why anyone would pay $15 for $11 worth of cards, see the Pizza Analogy above.  That markup essentially covers the extra costs we incur for running our business, and the service we provide in designing and building the deck.  We are doing the work for you, at a cost.

Visual Representation of all the work we do.

The perception of the value we provide is important.  There are many different ways to buy Magic cards.  Bulk, singles, decks, booster packs... department stores, local game stores, online retailers, etc. The perception of value for each of these is different, and it is up to each customer to determine which they prefer. An experienced player who loves building decks will often buy specific singles or bulk.  Casual players may love drafting (booster packs) at their local game store.  A brand new player may want a pre-constructed deck from online or a department store.  We at BDB have tried to find our niche, offering whatever we can to as many different customers as we can.  If we don't offer it, it's likely because we don't feel we can add anything of value to that niche.




"These decks are terrible.  They wouldn't stand a chance in a tournament!"

Terrible may be a matter of perspective, but it is true that most of our decks won't compete at high level tournaments.  Tournament-competitive decks are often very expensive, which is the reason a niche has been created for Budget Deck Builders to exist.  Here is a breakdown of different types of Magic players, and how we feel we can serve them.

Competitive/Tournament Players (Any format):  Sorry, we probably don't offer much that interests you. Competitive tournament decks are often well above what we consider budget. Some of our decks could be considered fringe competitive for Standard (and we may dabble in Pauper in the future) but this is not the focus of our business.  Your best bet would be our "ORN" original decks - We save up mythics and rares to make some more unique and competitive decks.
Search Ebay store for: ORN

FNM Standard Players:  The Standard "meta" shifts from week to week, making it hard for us to keep up with whatever the hot deck is at the moment.  With that said, we do offer a decent selection of Standard playable decks capable of competing at FNM.  For players confident in their deck building/tweaking abilities, some of these decks will be a great starting point for something truly dominating. This quick starting point may be helpful each time a new set comes out and Standard rotates, making your last deck obsolete.
Search Ebay store for: Standard

FNM Modern (/Frontier) Players:  The Modern "meta" moves more slowly.  Only a small percentage of cards are considered playable, causing their prices to go up, making most decks expensive.  Some decks we offer may be able to catch your local FNM meta by surprise, but we can't promise that they will compete in the format consistently for any length of time.  With that said, any of our Modern legal decks can be a starting point for you to test your meta, and upgrade as needed.
Search Ebay store for: (all non-commander decks in our store are modern legal)

Casual Players:  This is where BDB shines.  Most of our decks focus on a specific strategy/theme that is a lot of fun when played correctly.  We have a huge selection so that most players can find a deck to match their play style.  If you enjoy playing at the kitchen table with friends each week, we can keep you happy for a long, long time!
Search Ebay store for: *Anything that looks exciting to you! Ask us for help picking one out.

Commander Players:  This is something we have just recently gotten into, but we want to expand. Commander decks are different from any other format.  They are masterpieces, slowly crafted over years by each player, and are almost always unique.  Whenever a new rare is acquired through trading or opened in a booster pack, it can be added to the deck.  It can be intimidating to build a Commander deck from scratch. so our intention is to provide Commander decks that serve as a great starting point.  They get you into the action quickly with the style of deck you want, but can easily be upgraded as you acquire more cards.
Search Ebay store for: COM

New/Returning Player:  You've come to the right place!  We can get you playing Magic quickly and affordably. We have a huge selection to fit any play style.  The decks can easily be upgraded once you become more confident in your deck building abilities.
Search Ebay store for: *Anything that looks exciting to you!  Ask us for help picking one out.

Bored Player:  Again, you've come to the right place!  If you and your playgroup get tired of playing the same matchups over and over again, we offer a huge selection of decks that can spice things up. Besides our normal listings, we also offer "Mystery" decks.  The value of these decks is in the experience they provide.  You and a friend open up couple of decks on Friday night, and enjoy a few hours of gameplay from a mystery matchup.  If the deck is interesting to you, it can be updgraded!
Search Ebay store for: Mystery


In summary, BDB is focused mostly on casual players.  We try to maximize fun per dollar, not necessarily wins per dollar.  We absolutely do not want any customer to feel ripped off.  We have a perfect feedback rating on Ebay and have surpassed 15,000 followers on Facebook.  We want to keep our fans and community happy, as it is crucial to the future success of our business.  Our niche of products may not appeal to everyone, unfortunately, so we apologize for that and want you to know that we are always striving to improve and expand.

Thanks for taking time for the long read!

- Patrick, Nathan, & Pete

BDB Origins - Patrick

BDB Origins! Last but not least:

Patrick - The Entrepreneur

Patrick was the last to join Budget Deck Builders, seeing the potential of the idea that Nathan and Pete had started. He wanted to help grow BDB from a hobby into a business. His primary role now is brewing Mystery Decks, branding, and marketing (running the Facebook page), but he also assists with deck design, assembly, and card sorting. Most of the content you see here was written by Patrick, and if you message us on Facebook, he will be the one responding.

Patrick began playing Magic with his brothers in 1998, with the release of Stronghold. He now plays mostly draft with friends, but has a small arsenal of Modern and Pauper decks for the occasional duel. He sporadically follows pro level play by watching Grand Prix and World Championships on Youtube and Twitch. Along with reading/watching content from other sites, he enjoys interacting with the BDB community on Facebook. He has already completed one of his goals - collecting all the Duel Decks - but still wants to attend a Grand Prix with friends.

Magic has been a long time hobby for Patrick, and it combined with his passion for small business through watching TV shows like Shark Tank and The Profit. He sees BDB as both a way to stay involved with a game he loves and continue to develop business skills to help him in his future career.

Art from Elvish Mystic by Wesley Burt

BDB Origins - Pete

BDB Origins! Next up:

Pete - The Rules Guy

Pete was the next to join Nathan in Budget Deck Builders. His primary role is now accounting (aka stops us from buying all the Magic), but he single-handedly ran the business for some time during the startup years. Pete basically has Magic's comprehensive rules memorized, so we are constantly asking for his ruling on different gameplay scenarios and whether a new combo will work. Whenever you guys ask a tough question, I'm usually checking with Pete before providing an answer.

Starting in 2002 with Onslaught, Pete now plays mostly draft and sealed with friends. He is always up-to-date with the latest Magic news, as he spends his free time consuming various articles, videos, steams, blogs, and forums including LoadingReadyRun, Tap Tap Concede,Reddit.com/r/magic, MTGGoldfish, Tolarian Community College, Channel Fireball, and Limited Resources (you guys get the idea). Pete's favorite decks also tend to be control, and he has aspirations to move into the Modern format once he finishes constructing his Jeskai Control Deck. He is carefully monitoring all the Magic Online changes as he plans to play more online in the future.

Art from Electrolyze by Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai