Magic Card Selling For $38K

I remember selling dual-lands for 10$ back in the days, probably got robbed by my older friends.

There is quite a bit of money to be made in "vintage" Magic cards. Also, I can't remember the last time that a new Magic the Gathering product was released and it didn't go up in value well beyond the suggested retail price.

Side Note, for those unfamiliar "GEM MINT BGS 9.5" means that a third party has evaluated this card and assigned it a grade based on it's condition. For BGS (Beckett Grading Services), they use a 10 point scale with half points. 9.5 is almost fresh out of pack the day it was made. There is another reputable company called PSA that does grading as well. CGC is a big one too, for comics.

1) It's from the Alpha set, the very first Magic Release. It's much rarer to find, since it wasn't as popular. http://www.mtgprice.com/sets/Alpha/Black_Lotus

2) It's graded a 9.5 out of 10 for it's condition. Practically perfect for an item that wasn't initially sought as a collectors item

3) The card itself is considered to be one of the Power 9, or some of the most powerful cards in the game. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Nine

Also, the card you linked is from the Unlimited set, which would be the 3rd printing of this card.

And because it's in (graded) mint condition, which is nearly impossible to find.

And because that's just what it's listed at, no one has actually bought it at that price.