What it costs to ship a graded card home
What rip sites charge to ship a graded card out of the vault, from a flat fee per card to rates set by the order's total, and how to be ready for delivery.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published Updated 7 min read
Shipping a graded card home from a rip site’s vault costs a fee the site sets, and each site sets it its own way. Rips by Triumph charges one flat fee on every card. Gotya charges by the total value of the cards in one shipment. Packed shows its fee in the app, and Drip Shop Live prices shipping by the item and where it goes. Once the card is on its way, the address and the carrier’s delivery tools are yours to manage.
How does each site charge for shipping?
| Site | How the fee is set | Where it ships |
|---|---|---|
| Rips by Triumph | $6 flat on every card | US addresses |
| Gotya | By the total value of the cards in one shipment, from $24.95 | The countries on its shipping form |
| Packed | Shown in the app, with sales tax added to each shipment | US addresses, once your identity check is complete |
| Drip Shop Live | By the kind of item and where it goes | Most countries |
What does Rips by Triumph charge?
Every card carries a $6 flat shipping fee, which you can pay by credit card or from your account balance. Each card travels on its own, with a tracking number, so a bigger order costs card by card. Cards go to US addresses only, and nothing ships on a Saturday or a Sunday.
Three things to have ready:
- An identity check. You pass one before your first shipment.
- Insurance. You can add it, and a card over a set value has to ship insured.
- Sales tax. Where it applies, it comes out of your balance before the card ships.
A card can stay in the app for seven days at most before the app trades it in at its own value, so ask for shipping within the week. How Rips by Triumph works walks through each step.
What does Gotya charge?
Gotya sets one fee by the total value of the graded cards in a shipment, and that fee covers shipping, packaging and handling. Up to 20 cards can go together, so grouping them keeps the cost per card down.
| Total value of the cards | Fee |
|---|---|
| Up to $1,000 | $24.95 |
| Up to $5,000 | $39.95 |
| Up to $25,000 | $79.95 |
| Above $25,000 | $149.99 |
Cards leave from the USA with tracking. Gotya may check your ID first, and customs and import fees are extra. Raw cards cannot be shipped, only sold back, so this table covers graded cards alone.
What about Packed and Drip Shop Live?
Packed stands behind the cards in its vault: if one can’t be found when you ask for it, Packed sends one worth 125% of its value instead. Its vault holds up to 10 cards, each for 24 hours, and a card left longer is sold back for you, so ask for shipping the same day.
Drip Shop Live usually sends graded cards by USPS Priority or a similar tracked service. Drip Insider, an optional monthly plan built around shipping, costs $15 or $30 a month. A tracked service makes a graded card cost more to send than a raw one.
How long does it take?
- Rips by Triumph: a UPS tracking number within 2 days of the request.
- Phygitals: each of its vaults gives its own processing estimate, from 4 to 6 days at Alt to 2 to 4 weeks at PSA.
- Drip Shop Live: a claimed graded card reaches USPS within 3 business days.
- Gotya: 8 to 10 business days after the request.
How do you request the shipment?
At Phygitals you ask for shipping from the vault that holds the card, and its orders screen follows each request with its date, the number of cards in it, a tracking number and a four-step progress bar. Rips by Triumph keeps the cards you have had shipped on their own tab in your collection. At Drip Shop Live you claim a card from your vault, confirm your address and pay any fee.
What should you check before you pay?
- The address. Check it before you pay, because the card goes wherever the label says.
- The identity check. Rips by Triumph and Packed need one before a card ships, and Gotya may ask for one. Clear it early, because a site’s deadline keeps running while you wait.
- The cover. Shiny ships redeemed cards tracked and insured. Drip Shop Live offers Shipping Protection at checkout, which covers loss, theft and damage in transit.
How do you make sure the card reaches you?
Once the parcel is with the carrier, the tools are yours. Rips by Triumph sends cards by UPS. For USPS and FedEx, free tools help.
USPS. Informed Delivery is free. It tracks packages heading to your address, sends alerts, and lets you leave delivery instructions for eligible packages or book a redelivery. USPS Electronic Signature Online lets you sign ahead for Signature Confirmation and insured items over $500, but not for Registered Mail. Hold Mail keeps your mail at the Post Office for 3 to 30 days while you are away.
FedEx. A free FedEx Delivery Manager account sends alerts, with a photo as proof of a delivery or a delivery attempt. Through it you can:
- send a parcel to a FedEx retail location at no charge, where it is held for up to 7 days
- pause home deliveries for up to 14 days
- sign in advance, except for a parcel that needs a direct or adult signature
A set delivery time or a different home address costs extra, from $5.55 per shipment, and FedEx warns that a shipper may block some options. If a card needs a signature, plan to be home or use a pickup point.
If something goes wrong. At Rips by Triumph, contact support in the app if a parcel has not moved for 5 business days, and report a damaged or wrong card within 10 business days. A parcel marked delivered but missing goes to the carrier. At Drip Shop Live, tell support within 7 days of delivery if a slab arrives cracked or a card bent.
What if you live outside the US?
Rips by Triumph and Packed ship to US addresses only. Three of the sites here reach further:
- Shiny ships redeemed cards worldwide.
- Gotya ships from the USA to the countries on its shipping form, and customs and import fees are yours.
- Drip Shop Live ships to most countries by USPS International, UPS or FedEx International, in about 5 to 10 business days to Canada and 15 to 30 to the rest of the world. Customs duties and import taxes are not in the order total, so expect to pay them when the card arrives.
What should you do when the card arrives?
Match the cert number on the slab with your account, then look it up on the grader’s own site. At Phygitals, each card’s page in your account carries the grading company’s certificate number with a link to check it. CGC’s lookup confirms a card’s description and grade in its records. If anything differs, contact the site and keep the packaging. Our guide to whether rip site cards are real covers the checks, and storing graded cards covers what comes next.
How to keep the cost down
- Ship several cards together where one fee covers the whole shipment. Gotya takes up to 20 cards at once, and at Drip Shop Live, claiming several items together cuts the number of shipments. At Rips by Triumph every card ships alone, so each one carries its own fee.
- Compare the total with the site’s instant trade-in offer. Our guide to whether you should vault a card or ship it home weighs the choices.
- Get the address right the first time.
Fees change, so check the total before you pay. Our rip site rankings set these sites side by side, our editorial policy explains how we work, the how ripping works guides cover the rest of the process, and how to ship a graded card yourself covers mailing a card on your own.
Frequently asked questions
When does a Rips by Triumph card have to ship insured?
When its fair market value is $1,000 or more. Below that line, insurance is your choice at Rips by Triumph.
Does Phygitals ship outside the US?
Yes. Phygitals ships to most countries and territories outside the United States, and a parcel abroad usually takes 1 to 4 weeks, as customs can add time. Phygitals needs the address in Latin characters, may not deliver to a PO box, and leaves customs charges to the buyer.
Can you cancel or combine a Gotya shipment?
Yes. At Gotya, you can cancel a shipment until packing starts, with the fee refunded to your balance, and 2 open orders to one address may be packed together, with any fee no longer needed refunded. Gotya ships by FedEx or USPS and gives each order a commercial invoice for customs.
How long does Drip Shop Live take to deliver abroad?
About 10 to 20 business days to Europe or Asia and 14 to 25 to Australia and New Zealand. Drip Shop Live asks you to wait 5 business days past that window before contacting support.
How long does Packs.com take to deliver?
A Packs.com order takes 2 to 4 weeks from the order date in the US and 4 to 8 weeks elsewhere, from review and packing to delivery. It offers one shipping option per destination, with no express service.