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Collecting for the love of it is one thing, but sooner or later the question comes: am I making money? The answer lies in comparing what you paid for your cards with what they're worth today. DarkDex does exactly that sum and tells you, card by card, whether you're up or down.
Let's look at how you actually measure a collection's return, without illusions and without spreadsheets.
In short. Your gain is the difference between current value and purchase price. You need to record what you spent on each card: from there, the comparison with today's market value tells you profit or loss, on the single card and on the whole collection.
Gain = value today minus what you spent
It sounds obvious, but almost nobody tracks it. To know whether you're making money you need two numbers per card:
- what you paid for it (the purchase price)
- what it's worth now (the updated market value)
The difference, summed across every card, is your real profit (or loss).
Why "by feel" doesn't work
Without numbers, it's easy to convince yourself you're up because one card rose, while forgetting the ten that fell. Only a systematic comparison of spend versus current value gives the honest picture, and shows which cards pull and which drag.
The sum done for you
With DarkDex you record each card's purchase price and it compares that with the updated market value. The dashboard shows you profit and loss per card and on the total, so you see at once where you're really gaining.
Find out if you're up. Add your cards with their purchase price on DarkDex and you'll have profit and loss worked out automatically, always current.
FAQ
Do I have to remember what I paid for each card? Yes, the purchase price is the basis of the calculation. You can enter it as you add the card; for cards bought in bulk you can estimate an average cost.
Does the profit update on its own? Yes: the market value changes, the profit changes. The comparison with what you spent stays current.
Is it only for investors? No. Even collectors in it for the love find it useful to know value versus spend, if only to insure or sell well.
In short
Knowing whether you're up isn't a feeling, it's a sum: value today minus what you spent. Record your cards with their purchase price on DarkDex and keep profit and loss always in view.