In Economics a complementary good is a good whose use is related to the use of an associated or paired good; for example, if more people want tires, it will also mean more people want gasoline. The two items are related to each other.
This concept is applicable to FUT as well.
When a new special card (that is hyped up) comes out, the demand for cards that are related to it go up as well. For example, when inform Manolas came out, the price of blue Florenzi increased. This pattern has been occurring even last year, but the addition of player picks makes this effect even more evident. Think about it from your prospective; if you got a red Manolas, what sort of cards would you look to get to fit him in your squad? Your mind probably wondered to blue Florenzi. With the introduction of a special Manolas, others would think the same way thus, increasing the demand for blue Florenzi.
This is a wonderful method to making coins, if you act swiftly. You need to quickly identify which cards to go for.
Firstly, you need to find this new special or hype card. Look for new (or potential) TOTW/MOTM/SBC for cards that are relatively hyped; those that have good stats, are talked about in the community and people are generally excited to use. Once you identify this card I suggest asking yourself the following questions:
- What are some good strong links that I could use to fit this card in my team?
Look for cards that are meta and good in game - Are these strong links relatively rare and expensive?
If a card is packed a lot supply will be more than demand and you won’t see the rise of it, thus I suggest looking for other specials or more expensive golds but not too expensive. You wouldn’t be looking at Neymar for a special Cavani. It is too expensive for people to “test” out or put in their squad. A more appropriate option would be IF Di Maria (who was only 55k at that time) - Have they gone up already?
Look at Futbin graphs to see if the prices have gone up already, if not then you still have time to buy. I would recommend bids or snipes a few k below bin to protect yourself.
Here are some examples to help you better understand what sort of cards you should go for.
I had a suspicion Robertson would make TOTW so I went with Mane, as he provided a nice strong link as well as being one of the best cards to use. Within 1 hour of Roberston’s announcement blue Mane shot up in price. His gold also went up after rewards. In this case I sold a bit after the announcement as there was CL sbc incoming that would flush more blues in the market.
Similarly, the same concept applied with Mendy. I saw Sane in TOTW, so I quickly picked up Mendy. Mendy, is one of the better LB of the prem as well linking with Sane. The lack of alternatives made this a very appealing card to go for which I was able flip after rewards.
Here is the aforementioned Florenzi, which I was able to get around 75-77, again the lack of alternative made it a great option.
When to sell these cards?
Try to sell after rewards if it is related to a new TOTW unless there is a reason for the card to go down (as mentioned with the Mane). If, however, the card goes up a lot and you feel that there is no more room to go up I recommend to sell. For example, Florenzi went up 25k on announcement I felt it was hard to go up further.
I know I mostly, gave examples of blues but it works for informs as well!
Hopefully, this gave a little insight on this trading method and hopefully you can test it out. You might not be successful every time, but you can only learn it if you try it out.
Don’t forget to tweet us some of the flips you manage to do using complimentary trading!
