Why Are Splinterlands Card Prices Decreasing? | Splinterlands #383

3 months ago

Card prices in splinterlands continue to decline, and it is no secret that many in the community have been concerned about this trend over the past 1-2 years. Let us dive and see if we can discuss what could be causing the continual price decline.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Money Printer Go Brrr (the original!)

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One of the main reasons card prices are continuously dropping is sheer supply. With every edition being released, there are more and more cards in circulation than ever before. This results in a massive oversupply of cards and it's one of the primary reasons that the prices continue to decline.

This would not be a problem in the long term if the player base were growing as demand would eventually eat up the supply, but this is not the case. The new players are not streaming into the game and the overall sentiment around NFTs is not there. Whether the marketing push that will occur in the next year will change that -- I do not know, but all we can do is be patient and continuing support the team and the community.

Why would people invest in splinterlands, when all they see is a continual price decline on all fronts? Why buy cards when there are newer cards on the horizon that will most likely be more powerful and more valuable? This type of uncertainty may be causing prices to stagnate or drop as players decide to save their funds for other avenues available in the crypto market.

Card Utility and Meta Shifts

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Another factor affecting card prices is utility. In splinterlands, there are two leagues -- Modern vs Wild. As soon as an edition moves out of Modern, its prices tend to fall off a cliff regardless of whether they are meta and still have utility. The Wild league has more players and therefore fewer rewards. Therefore, it is natural and should not come as a surprise to see prices fall off a clip.

Also, not all cards are created equal and therefore when new cards are printed, they can change the meta. Previous cards that were once considered valuable may find themselves out of favor if newer cards perform better or have better synergies with the existing or new rulesets introduced.

Broader Crypto Market

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Let us not pretend that splinterlands operates in its own little world here on hive; it is part of the wider crypto ecosystem. When Bitcoin experiences volatility, the entire crypto market is affected. When this happens, splinterlands tokens like SPS and DEC, which are integral to splinterlands, also feel the pressure.

What To Do?

i knew exactly what to do but in a more real sense, I had no idea what to do - Idiot Michael Scott - quickmeme

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None of this should be taken as financial advice, as everyone's circumstances are different. Personally, I have started to sell some of my lesser-used cards and trim my collection down to a more manageable state. But what do you do to navigate the splinterlands situation? Well, if you believe long-term in splinterlands and foresee better days then some basic strategies to consider:

Buy Low, Hold Long - There is an over-supply in the market, so plenty of bargains to be found.
Focus on Meta Cards - Look for cards that were previously meta like Pelicor Bandit as these cards are so cheap now.
Do not Buy Cards, Buy Splinterlands Tokens -- Instead of buying more cards, rather diversify and buy splinterlands tokens (SPS, DEC) as these tokens have been the focus of all the updates over the past year.

Concluding Thoughts

Look it is a sad state of affairs to look at my splinterlands collection's total market value and see it continuously be on the decline over the past 1-2 years. The reasons for these price changes can be viewed either simply (over-printing, not enough new players) or complicated (various macro/micro-economic factors). Wherever you stand there are opportunities present for those who are willing to risk it.