Splinterlands Rental APR Can Lie to You: Here’s the Number I Would Actually Track

A card rental dashboard can show an attractive APR. But there is a dangerous question hiding underneath that number: APR based on what value? Suppose I originally bought a card for $20. Today it is worth $5. And its current rental income makes it look like it earns 10% per year based on the $5 market value. Did I really make a good investment? Not necessarily. Three Different Returns I think Splinterlands rental investors should separate three calculations. Yield on Current Market Value Annual rental income divided by what the card is worth today. This answers: Would I buy this card today for the purpose of renting it? Yield on Original Cost Annual rental income divided by what I actually paid. This tells me what the asset is producing relative to my historical investment. Total Economic Return This is the one that matters most to me. Rental income current card value original cost transaction/operating costs A card producing wonderful rental income can still be a bad investment if its market value collapsed enough. Likewise, a low rental yield might be acceptable if the card has appreciated substantially and I also use it competitively. Occupancy Matters Too A listed rental price means very little if nobody rents the card. I would rather own a card yielding 7% with extremely consistent demand than one advertised at 30% that sits unrented most of the season. So the metric I would really like is: realized rental income per day owned. Not theoretical APR. Not today's best listed rental. Actual money produced. If enough players publish these numbers, we could develop a much better picture of which Splinterlands assets truly generate income. What should matter more when valuing a card: current rental yield, original purchase price, resale value, or actual lifetime cash produced? [//]: # (CCC LINKS PLACEHOLDER, DON'T DELETE THIS TAG)