FAQ: Why can't we have value lists to make it easier to trade?
Trade values reflect demand and supply. In CUE, the main demand factor is playability. If a card is important in strong decks then lots of people want it to put into their decks, demand is high. Other demand factors include having cool art. Supply is exactly what it sounds like, the number of copies held by active players. If lots of people want a card but only a small number are available to trade, then the value goes up because the people with more stuff are willing to pay more to get the cards they want. If nobody wants a card, then the value goes down.
What is different about CUE is that demand and supply are constantly changing. Avid release new cards every day and any of them can change what decks are strong. And different league rules make decks stronger or weaker each week, which changes the priorities of the people who need lots of cards. Avid also reprints cards constantly, so cards that were scarce yesterday might be easily bought from the store today. As a result, trade values are also constantly changing (or should be).
Price lists tend to make values sticky. The list becomes an official set price instead of changing to reflect actual demand and supply. If it's not reflecting the true trade value, then a list does more harm than good because people who understand the market can identify cards that are badly valued in the list.
Value lists also make people think there is a 'correct' price. But there are different types of players in CUE - some want to build decks to play, some want to own every card, some enjoy trading, and many people do all three. Each player values cards differently, based on their own priorities. If they didn't then trades wouldn't happen at all because both people would want the same side of the trade. A list leads to arguments because anyone who values differently from the list price is seen as taking advantage of others.
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