That's how I feel about this. Once you are spending over 5 figures on an item why not fly and get it in person.
The people who spend 5 figures on an item probably make several (or many) 5 figure purchases in a year. No one is going to fly out to grab every item they collect.
That's how I feel about this. Once you are spending over 5 figures on an item why not fly and get it in person.
The people who spend 5 figures on an item probably make several (or many) 5 figure purchases in a year. No one is going to fly out to grab every item they collect.
My uncle in Florida tells me that wealthy people in the Venezuelan oil business used to fly into Miami regularly just to have breakfast back in the 70’s. One of my senior co-workers here in NC tells me he used to date a wealthy real estate agent and she would regularly take flights to New York just to go shopping..
Why in gods name would you send that through the mail. They should have known better, both of them. Mail is risky, no matter who you send it through USPS/UPS/FedEx just all of them can't be trusted.
Either way, I feel that it should have been gone about a better way. Maybe they couldnt come up with a time that either of them could go to the other one, but I believe if someone just paid me 60k I would do whatever was necessary to get them their purchase. I mean if i just made 60k I would call in to work if I had to. Same way if I were the buyer and I just spent 60k I would take a day off and go get it. IDK, but seems to me that if I had that much money I would, but I can't say because I havent ever had that much money, and probably never will. So just makes sense to me, but I don't deal in that high priced stuff so *shrug*
Something different, but Nicholas Cage had his Superman Comic stolen. It was found 11 years later. I believe his Batman Comics is still out there somewhere.
I'd fly/drive/ride a mule/etc. to ensure that kind of stuff gets to it's destination. Multiple transactions wouldn't stop me and knowing the risk on how stuff get's lost for an item that's $4, what makes people think there's any less of a risk for $60K?
I'd fly/drive/ride a mule/etc. to ensure that kind of stuff gets to it's destination. Multiple transactions wouldn't stop me and knowing the risk on how stuff get's lost for an item that's $4, what makes people think there's any less of a risk for $60K?
For the amount it would cost to insure something up to $60K, it would certainly be way cheaper to fly to the seller, or buy a ticket for the seller to hand deliver to you. While I have shipped 5 figures through the mail several times, I don't like it. I lose sleep over it. And I constantly worry about it. If done correctly though, it's generally a safe option. Once you start insuring and declaring packages at large amounts of money, it draws attention to the package. I've had the best luck declaring at a small amount, and shipping overnight or the fastest available option. It's terrible that this happened, but it could have been avoided.
I should also point out, that it's no fun carrying 5 figure items through busy airports.
For the amount it would cost to insure something up to $60K, it would certainly be way cheaper to fly to the seller, or buy a ticket for the seller to hand deliver to you. While I have shipped 5 figures through the mail several times, I don't like it. I lose sleep over it. And I constantly worry about it. If done correctly though, it's generally a safe option. Once you start insuring and declaring packages at large amounts of money, it draws attention to the package. I've had the best luck declaring at a small amount, and shipping overnight or the fastest available option. It's terrible that this happened, but it could have been avoided. I should also point out, that it's no fun carrying 5 figure items through busy airports.
Looks like $5,000 is the limit on postal insurance, anyway.
Disagree on the worry about busy airports, though. Anyone that travels for business probably carries a few thousand worth of raw hardware, plus has tens of thousands of dollars worth of business trip that would be wasted if that hardware was lost or damaged.
Way easier to keep a pokemon card safe and secure in your backpack than the kind of damage that can befall a laptop.
So, just so I'm clear, what's the most a Black Lotus ever gone for? Are Pokemon now worth more than MTG cards? I never imagined this day would come but I have to give it to Nintendo-- they really know how to make true collectible products.
Alpha graded black lotus sold recently for over $100,000
Yeah wouldn't the insurance be the amount of a plane tix?
Damn it's crazy
So ups is gonna pay 60k and with the type of card it is and markings if someone buys it a makes it public
The owner can just claim it back
Was wrong about the $5,000 limit, since that is only with standard shipping.
Looks like Registered Mail goes up to $50,000 (as it should, since it is traveling from safe-to-safe and is handled separately).
Insurance on registered mail for the maximum looks like it is: $81
That is still a pretty wide gap from hand delivery... but on an item this pricey, the risk of loss so greatly exceeds the few hundred dollar difference in cost to send, that it would be how I would handle it personally.
It doesn't say in the link whether they mailed it "registered mail", or not, but if they did, they should get the big-boss postal inspector involved.
Dang. Whould definitely trade that for a house. lol
My lady friend bought a MTG proof (Same as retail cards, but has a white back) from a MTG artist when we were at Megacon and had him sign it. Not sure what that'd be worth (I even forgot what card it was), but I'm sure stuff like that's pretty rare. Probably not as rare or as expensive as a Black Lotus though.
Yeah wouldn't the insurance be the amount of a plane tix?
Damn it's crazy
So ups is gonna pay 60k and with the type of card it is and markings if someone buys it a makes it public
The owner can just claim it back
Was wrong about the $5,000 limit, since that is only with standard shipping.
Looks like Registered Mail goes up to $50,000 (as it should, since it is traveling from safe-to-safe and is handled separately).
Insurance on registered mail for the maximum looks like it is: $81
That is still a pretty wide gap from hand delivery... but on an item this pricey, the risk of loss so greatly exceeds the few hundred dollar difference in cost to send, that it would be how I would handle it personally.
It doesn't say in the link whether they mailed it "registered mail", or not, but if they did, they should get the big-boss postal inspector involved.
Probably fine for the trading cards, but not all items can be shipped Registered mail.
Probably fine for the trading cards, but not all items can be shipped Registered mail.
Sure, it has to fit in their safe.
Only registered mail I have ever had sent to me was a Krugerrand, since coins/rounds can't be insured otherwise.
I have sold stuff worth a little more than that (the Krugerrand, that is) and just shipped it Priority wth adequate insurance. (games/vintage toys)
But if I had been in 5 figure territory (CERTAINLY if I had been selling an item > $50k), I would have done a lot of soul searching on my risk tolerance and probably would have eaten the cost of a plane ticket and the opportunity-cost of a day off to seal the deal and know that it was done with minimal risk.
Because on a deal that big, as the seller I am AT LEAST AS CONCERNED about the buyer managing to reverse a payment as I am about the item being lost or damaged in transit.
Dang. Whould definitely trade that for a house. lol
My lady friend bought a MTG proof (Same as retail cards, but has a white back) from a MTG artist when we were at Megacon and had him sign it. Not sure what that'd be worth (I even forgot what card it was), but I'm sure stuff like that's pretty rare. Probably not as rare or as expensive as a Black Lotus though.
Artist proofs are fairly easy to get, but cool nonetheless. Signed cards are considered damaged by most people, so the signature can easily drop the value of the card.
Dang. Whould definitely trade that for a house. lol
My lady friend bought a MTG proof (Same as retail cards, but has a white back) from a MTG artist when we were at Megacon and had him sign it. Not sure what that'd be worth (I even forgot what card it was), but I'm sure stuff like that's pretty rare. Probably not as rare or as expensive as a Black Lotus though.
Artist proofs are fairly easy to get, but cool nonetheless. Signed cards are considered damaged by most people, so the signature can easily drop the value of the card.
Even if it's by the original artist? Dang. lol
I'll be honest to say that I don't know how the MTG community values things, so I guess it's kinda like how anything else is signed with it being a more sentimental thing or a certain type of collector has to be into it for it to be valued as something.
Oh well. lol
I'm going to another con here soon, so if you want me to pick you up any artist proofs (if I see any), hit me up. Since I know you're into magic, signature's will be optional.
Dang. Whould definitely trade that for a house. lol
My lady friend bought a MTG proof (Same as retail cards, but has a white back) from a MTG artist when we were at Megacon and had him sign it. Not sure what that'd be worth (I even forgot what card it was), but I'm sure stuff like that's pretty rare. Probably not as rare or as expensive as a Black Lotus though.
Artist proofs are fairly easy to get, but cool nonetheless. Signed cards are considered damaged by most people, so the signature can easily drop the value of the card.
Even if it's by the original artist? Dang. lol
I'll be honest to say that I don't know how the MTG community values things, so I guess it's kinda like how anything else is signed with it being a more sentimental thing or a certain type of collector has to be into it for it to be valued as something.
Oh well. lol
I'm going to another con here soon, so if you want me to pick you up any artist proofs (if I see any), hit me up. Since I know you're into magic, signature's will be optional.
Even if they're signed by the artist, a lot of folks still see it as damaged (myself included) because they're either a.) covering up some of the artwork, or b.) covering up text on the card. To put it into perspective, I have a signed Mox. I absolutely hate the thing because it's signed (it's in otherwise NM condition). I can't trade a 1:1 condition copy because it's signed and most people I've come across see it as a damaged card, so at worst, I get the low end of the market value.
Also, getting cards signed isn't difficult at all. In fact, Mark Tedin will sign cards for $1 a pop, and alter them for you as well (I don't know the price on the alters), and all you have to do is send him some cards and a small amount of $$. I bet if I asked super nicely, I could meet Melissa Benson and get some cards signed for the cost of a lunch (she lives fairly close by), and a lot of these artists seem to be thrilled that folks are still interested in their artwork, sometimes decades after they created it.
And no, it's not a P9 Mox It's still one of the more expensive ones (Mox Diamond), but yea. A signed card is slightly more difficult to sell than a non-signed, and an altered card is worth $0 IMO.
(Alters are where people draw/paint over the original artwork to make it look like something else - some folks have done this on rather pricey cards, and yeah.... fuck that habit)
As for the con - do you know which artists are going to be there? I really should go to Hascon one of these years.
Because on a deal that big, as the seller I am AT LEAST AS CONCERNED about the buyer managing to reverse a payment as I am about the item being lost or damaged in transit.
I get your point, but based on the article, I wouldn't be surprised if the buyer and seller have known each other for a while and trust each other.
I do send pricier packages from time to time and honestly, the best safety measure is knowing who you are dealing with and trusting them completely. So, speaking for myself, despite the fact that it might seem like common sense to worry about it, I'm literally never in the position of being worried about anyone reversing a payment because anyone I'm dealing with on a deal like that will be someone I'm thoroughly, thoroughly comfortable with. For example, I've been dealing with bucky for 15 years and he's dealt with a million others and he's never robbed anybody. If he's sending me a payment the chance of him reversing it is essentially nil.
I can't speak for everyone, but I assume a good number of people including quite possibly these two, are in the same boat.
Big deals in and of themselves aren't necessarily that risky. Big deals with strangers, sure, but you try and build safeguards and/or vet them first if that happens. Realistically though, transactions like that don't go down on ebay or otherwise with strangers. So where do they go down? Between collectors that know each other , or perhaps buys/sells with an auction house, and in either scenario, you're dealing with reputations not strangers.
Now my lost package, its someone I know for a fact would never rob anyone, but its someone I dealt with only once so far. 99+ times out of 100, that's all you need - a long term solid reputation on the other end. Unfortunately this is the other 1% (or less), because the tracking has gone awry. What happens now remains to be seen.
Because on a deal that big, as the seller I am AT LEAST AS CONCERNED about the buyer managing to reverse a payment as I am about the item being lost or damaged in transit.
I get your point, but based on the article, I wouldn't be surprised if the buyer and seller have known each other for a while and trust each other.
True. I was thinking from the standpoint of selling to the random/otherwise-unknown big buyer, though that is certainly going to be less common than people that have developed a reputation and are known to each other.
(doesn't change my thoughts on shipping risks for this level of sale, though, when it comes to anything that easily and safely fits in carryon)
Is that card some crazy power in the game or an extremely hard pack pull?
Definitely going to keep my eyes out on people selling MTG. Most have no clue what they have. Could easily see finding one in a lot at a garage sale
Quoted from the article in the OP: "The Mewtwo card was originally awarded to the 3rd place winner of 1999's Secret Super Battle tournaments in Japan. Along with the 1st and 2nd place copies, it's estimated Pokemon only awarded nine to 18 sets of the three cards. Only 12 of the individual cards have ever been submitted to PSA for grading."
Is that card some crazy power in the game or an extremely hard pack pull?
Definitely going to keep my eyes out on people selling MTG. Most have no clue what they have. Could easily see finding one in a lot at a garage sale
You won't find a Black Lotus in any misc MTG collection. Alpha only had ~1100 copies of each rare printed, and between the heavy play and lack of care back in the day, a good condition one is incredibly rare. Same with Beta (though higher print numbers), and again with Unlimited (even more print numbers).
Alpha is $150k+
Beta is around $15k
Unlimited is around 9-12k
It's the most iconic magic card, and probably less than 4000 exist. It's also incredibly powerful and is on the restricted list in the format it's allowed in, which is legacy or vintage, and the other formats it's banned entirely. Same with the other Power 9 cards.
Comments
For 60k im buying a 500$ plane ticket, sorry.
That's how I feel about this. Once you are spending over 5 figures on an item why not fly and get it in person.
The people who spend 5 figures on an item probably make several (or many) 5 figure purchases in a year. No one is going to fly out to grab every item they collect.
I was refrencing the seller.
Never knew any pokemon cards even came close to this price.
Same. Last time I checked on my Charizard only 1st editions were getting bids.
i have a sealed promo Mew (might be Mewtwo) from attending the first movie and that hasn’t gone up either.
For 60k im buying a 500$ plane ticket, sorry.
That's how I feel about this. Once you are spending over 5 figures on an item why not fly and get it in person.
The people who spend 5 figures on an item probably make several (or many) 5 figure purchases in a year. No one is going to fly out to grab every item they collect.
My uncle in Florida tells me that wealthy people in the Venezuelan oil business used to fly into Miami regularly just to have breakfast back in the 70’s. One of my senior co-workers here in NC tells me he used to date a wealthy real estate agent and she would regularly take flights to New York just to go shopping..
just sayin, some people do it
So if anyone does see this pop up on eBay or some other site, email that address
I'd fly/drive/ride a mule/etc. to ensure that kind of stuff gets to it's destination. Multiple transactions wouldn't stop me and knowing the risk on how stuff get's lost for an item that's $4, what makes people think there's any less of a risk for $60K?
because people are naive!
I have a feeling had the card just been mailed as a typical package without insurance, it would have arrived.
That was my thought exactly.
I should also point out, that it's no fun carrying 5 figure items through busy airports.
Probably got sent in a clear envelope. Not a good move, buddy.
That's it. The next time I sell a card for over $25k, I'm just going to ship it in one of these:
For the amount it would cost to insure something up to $60K, it would certainly be way cheaper to fly to the seller, or buy a ticket for the seller to hand deliver to you. While I have shipped 5 figures through the mail several times, I don't like it. I lose sleep over it. And I constantly worry about it. If done correctly though, it's generally a safe option. Once you start insuring and declaring packages at large amounts of money, it draws attention to the package. I've had the best luck declaring at a small amount, and shipping overnight or the fastest available option. It's terrible that this happened, but it could have been avoided. I should also point out, that it's no fun carrying 5 figure items through busy airports.
Looks like $5,000 is the limit on postal insurance, anyway.
Disagree on the worry about busy airports, though. Anyone that travels for business probably carries a few thousand worth of raw hardware, plus has tens of thousands of dollars worth of business trip that would be wasted if that hardware was lost or damaged.
Way easier to keep a pokemon card safe and secure in your backpack than the kind of damage that can befall a laptop.
Damn it's crazy
So ups is gonna pay 60k and with the type of card it is and markings if someone buys it a makes it public
The owner can just claim it back
So, just so I'm clear, what's the most a Black Lotus ever gone for? Are Pokemon now worth more than MTG cards? I never imagined this day would come but I have to give it to Nintendo-- they really know how to make true collectible products.
Alpha graded black lotus sold recently for over $100,000
Yeah wouldn't the insurance be the amount of a plane tix?
Damn it's crazy
So ups is gonna pay 60k and with the type of card it is and markings if someone buys it a makes it public
The owner can just claim it back
Was wrong about the $5,000 limit, since that is only with standard shipping.
Looks like Registered Mail goes up to $50,000 (as it should, since it is traveling from safe-to-safe and is handled separately).
Insurance on registered mail for the maximum looks like it is: $81
That is still a pretty wide gap from hand delivery... but on an item this pricey, the risk of loss so greatly exceeds the few hundred dollar difference in cost to send, that it would be how I would handle it personally.
It doesn't say in the link whether they mailed it "registered mail", or not, but if they did, they should get the big-boss postal inspector involved.
https://www.polygon.com/platform/amp/2019/3/5/18251623/magic-the-gathering-black-lotus-auction-price
$166,100 for a Black Lotus
https://www.polygon.com/platform/...
Dang. Whould definitely trade that for a house. lol
My lady friend bought a MTG proof (Same as retail cards, but has a white back) from a MTG artist when we were at Megacon and had him sign it. Not sure what that'd be worth (I even forgot what card it was), but I'm sure stuff like that's pretty rare. Probably not as rare or as expensive as a Black Lotus though.
Yeah wouldn't the insurance be the amount of a plane tix?
Damn it's crazy
So ups is gonna pay 60k and with the type of card it is and markings if someone buys it a makes it public
The owner can just claim it back
Was wrong about the $5,000 limit, since that is only with standard shipping.
Looks like Registered Mail goes up to $50,000 (as it should, since it is traveling from safe-to-safe and is handled separately).
Insurance on registered mail for the maximum looks like it is: $81
That is still a pretty wide gap from hand delivery... but on an item this pricey, the risk of loss so greatly exceeds the few hundred dollar difference in cost to send, that it would be how I would handle it personally.
It doesn't say in the link whether they mailed it "registered mail", or not, but if they did, they should get the big-boss postal inspector involved.
Probably fine for the trading cards, but not all items can be shipped Registered mail.
Probably fine for the trading cards, but not all items can be shipped Registered mail.
Sure, it has to fit in their safe.
Only registered mail I have ever had sent to me was a Krugerrand, since coins/rounds can't be insured otherwise.
I have sold stuff worth a little more than that (the Krugerrand, that is) and just shipped it Priority wth adequate insurance. (games/vintage toys)
But if I had been in 5 figure territory (CERTAINLY if I had been selling an item > $50k), I would have done a lot of soul searching on my risk tolerance and probably would have eaten the cost of a plane ticket and the opportunity-cost of a day off to seal the deal and know that it was done with minimal risk.
Because on a deal that big, as the seller I am AT LEAST AS CONCERNED about the buyer managing to reverse a payment as I am about the item being lost or damaged in transit.
$166,100 for a Black Lotus
https://www.polygon.com/platform/amp/2019/3/5/18251623/magic...
Dang. Whould definitely trade that for a house. lol
My lady friend bought a MTG proof (Same as retail cards, but has a white back) from a MTG artist when we were at Megacon and had him sign it. Not sure what that'd be worth (I even forgot what card it was), but I'm sure stuff like that's pretty rare. Probably not as rare or as expensive as a Black Lotus though.
Artist proofs are fairly easy to get, but cool nonetheless. Signed cards are considered damaged by most people, so the signature can easily drop the value of the card.
$166,100 for a Black Lotus
https://www.polygon.com/platform/amp/2019/3/5/18251623/magic...
Dang. Whould definitely trade that for a house. lol
My lady friend bought a MTG proof (Same as retail cards, but has a white back) from a MTG artist when we were at Megacon and had him sign it. Not sure what that'd be worth (I even forgot what card it was), but I'm sure stuff like that's pretty rare. Probably not as rare or as expensive as a Black Lotus though.
Artist proofs are fairly easy to get, but cool nonetheless. Signed cards are considered damaged by most people, so the signature can easily drop the value of the card.
Even if it's by the original artist? Dang. lol
I'll be honest to say that I don't know how the MTG community values things, so I guess it's kinda like how anything else is signed with it being a more sentimental thing or a certain type of collector has to be into it for it to be valued as something.
Oh well. lol
I'm going to another con here soon, so if you want me to pick you up any artist proofs (if I see any), hit me up. Since I know you're into magic, signature's will be optional.
Originally posted by: BouncekDeLemos
Originally posted by: dra600n
Originally posted by: BouncekDeLemos
Originally posted by: dra600n
$166,100 for a Black Lotus
https://www.polygon.com/platform/amp/2019/3/5/18251623/magic...
Dang. Whould definitely trade that for a house. lol
My lady friend bought a MTG proof (Same as retail cards, but has a white back) from a MTG artist when we were at Megacon and had him sign it. Not sure what that'd be worth (I even forgot what card it was), but I'm sure stuff like that's pretty rare. Probably not as rare or as expensive as a Black Lotus though.
Artist proofs are fairly easy to get, but cool nonetheless. Signed cards are considered damaged by most people, so the signature can easily drop the value of the card.
Even if it's by the original artist? Dang. lol
I'll be honest to say that I don't know how the MTG community values things, so I guess it's kinda like how anything else is signed with it being a more sentimental thing or a certain type of collector has to be into it for it to be valued as something.
Oh well. lol
I'm going to another con here soon, so if you want me to pick you up any artist proofs (if I see any), hit me up. Since I know you're into magic, signature's will be optional.
Even if they're signed by the artist, a lot of folks still see it as damaged (myself included) because they're either a.) covering up some of the artwork, or b.) covering up text on the card. To put it into perspective, I have a signed Mox. I absolutely hate the thing because it's signed (it's in otherwise NM condition). I can't trade a 1:1 condition copy because it's signed and most people I've come across see it as a damaged card, so at worst, I get the low end of the market value.
Also, getting cards signed isn't difficult at all. In fact, Mark Tedin will sign cards for $1 a pop, and alter them for you as well (I don't know the price on the alters), and all you have to do is send him some cards and a small amount of $$. I bet if I asked super nicely, I could meet Melissa Benson and get some cards signed for the cost of a lunch (she lives fairly close by), and a lot of these artists seem to be thrilled that folks are still interested in their artwork, sometimes decades after they created it.
And no, it's not a P9 Mox It's still one of the more expensive ones (Mox Diamond), but yea. A signed card is slightly more difficult to sell than a non-signed, and an altered card is worth $0 IMO.
(Alters are where people draw/paint over the original artwork to make it look like something else - some folks have done this on rather pricey cards, and yeah.... fuck that habit)
As for the con - do you know which artists are going to be there? I really should go to Hascon one of these years.
Because on a deal that big, as the seller I am AT LEAST AS CONCERNED about the buyer managing to reverse a payment as I am about the item being lost or damaged in transit.
I get your point, but based on the article, I wouldn't be surprised if the buyer and seller have known each other for a while and trust each other.
I do send pricier packages from time to time and honestly, the best safety measure is knowing who you are dealing with and trusting them completely. So, speaking for myself, despite the fact that it might seem like common sense to worry about it, I'm literally never in the position of being worried about anyone reversing a payment because anyone I'm dealing with on a deal like that will be someone I'm thoroughly, thoroughly comfortable with. For example, I've been dealing with bucky for 15 years and he's dealt with a million others and he's never robbed anybody. If he's sending me a payment the chance of him reversing it is essentially nil.
I can't speak for everyone, but I assume a good number of people including quite possibly these two, are in the same boat.
Big deals in and of themselves aren't necessarily that risky. Big deals with strangers, sure, but you try and build safeguards and/or vet them first if that happens. Realistically though, transactions like that don't go down on ebay or otherwise with strangers. So where do they go down? Between collectors that know each other , or perhaps buys/sells with an auction house, and in either scenario, you're dealing with reputations not strangers.
Now my lost package, its someone I know for a fact would never rob anyone, but its someone I dealt with only once so far. 99+ times out of 100, that's all you need - a long term solid reputation on the other end. Unfortunately this is the other 1% (or less), because the tracking has gone awry. What happens now remains to be seen.
Because on a deal that big, as the seller I am AT LEAST AS CONCERNED about the buyer managing to reverse a payment as I am about the item being lost or damaged in transit.
I get your point, but based on the article, I wouldn't be surprised if the buyer and seller have known each other for a while and trust each other.
True. I was thinking from the standpoint of selling to the random/otherwise-unknown big buyer, though that is certainly going to be less common than people that have developed a reputation and are known to each other.
(doesn't change my thoughts on shipping risks for this level of sale, though, when it comes to anything that easily and safely fits in carryon)
Definitely going to keep my eyes out on people selling MTG. Most have no clue what they have. Could easily see finding one in a lot at a garage sale
Is that card some crazy power in the game or an extremely hard pack pull?
Definitely going to keep my eyes out on people selling MTG. Most have no clue what they have. Could easily see finding one in a lot at a garage sale
Quoted from the article in the OP:
"The Mewtwo card was originally awarded to the 3rd place winner of 1999's Secret Super Battle tournaments in Japan. Along with the 1st and 2nd place copies, it's estimated Pokemon only awarded nine to 18 sets of the three cards. Only 12 of the individual cards have ever been submitted to PSA for grading."
Originally posted by: Lksoccer17
Is that card some crazy power in the game or an extremely hard pack pull?
Definitely going to keep my eyes out on people selling MTG. Most have no clue what they have. Could easily see finding one in a lot at a garage sale
You won't find a Black Lotus in any misc MTG collection. Alpha only had ~1100 copies of each rare printed, and between the heavy play and lack of care back in the day, a good condition one is incredibly rare. Same with Beta (though higher print numbers), and again with Unlimited (even more print numbers).
Alpha is $150k+
Beta is around $15k
Unlimited is around 9-12k
It's the most iconic magic card, and probably less than 4000 exist. It's also incredibly powerful and is on the restricted list in the format it's allowed in, which is legacy or vintage, and the other formats it's banned entirely. Same with the other Power 9 cards.