Arena Club alternatives: sites we recommend instead

Why don’t we recommend Arena Club?

Adding money and opening packs went smoothly. Then we tried to ship one card and to list it for sale. Shipping is charged separately, and our account balance could not pay for it, so it needed a second payment, which was declined on three credit cards, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay and Link. Arena Club then took the instant offer off our card, and its fixed-price and auction listing tools did not work for the card either. The test ended with a balance left in the account. Our Arena Club review gives each step.

Which sites sell graded packs?

At Phygitals, the site we recommend instead, six of the seven packs our test records gave a graded slab, and every pack page lists its value ranges with how often each comes up. GrailCart and Collector Crypt sell packs of graded cards, GrailCart for Pokémon alone. Rips by Triumph sells each card either graded or raw. Our guide to slab packs explains how a one-slab pack and its pool work.

Which sites sell packs for the same games and sports?

• Pokémon. Every card rip site we list carries it, among them Rips by Triumph, GrailCart and Collector Crypt. See Pokémon card rips.
• One Piece. Rips by Triumph, Collector Crypt, Phygitals, Glyde, Ripz, TiltRips, Boxed.gg, Shiny, Packed, Gotya, Drip Shop Live, Packs.com, OpenThatPack, Pullmarket and Slabz carry it. See One Piece card rips.
• Baseball. Rips by Triumph, Collector Crypt, Phygitals, Boxed.gg, Packed, CrownRips, Gotya, Pullmarket, Slabz and PackDraw carry it. See baseball card rips.
• Basketball. Rips by Triumph, Collector Crypt, Phygitals, TiltRips, Packed, CrownRips, Drip Shop Live, Pullmarket, Slabz and PackDraw carry it. See basketball card rips.

For every sport the sites we list carry, see our sports card rips page.

Which sites shipped our cards?

Phygitals and Rips by Triumph are the sites we list whose shipping we tested. At Rips by Triumph, each card ships in its own package to a US address for a $6 flat fee you can pay from your account balance: the step where our Arena Club test stopped. We had a UPS tracking number within 2 days of asking. At Phygitals, the processing estimate the site showed for its Alt vault was accurate. Our guide to shipping a graded card home covers what to check before you pay for shipping and when the card arrives.

Which sites keep your cards in a vault?

Phygitals keeps a card in its vault until you ask for it to be shipped. Our guide to keeping a card in the vault or shipping it home covers what to weigh.

Which sites make an instant trade-in offer?

At Phygitals the offer was 85% or 100% of a card’s listed value, set by pack and shown on the pack’s page. Rips by Triumph offers the app’s own value for the card, set when you buy the pack and good for at least seven days. Each Collector Crypt pack page we saw states an instant trade-in offer at 85%, 90% or 93% of listed value, depending on the pack. At Boxed.gg the card a box gave could be sold back for the account balance as soon as it opened, at MrLoot the result screen offers to sell back what a box gave, and at Ripz the collection page has actions to sell cards back to the site. Our guide to judging an instant trade-in offer shows how to set one beside a recent sale.

How did we choose the sites on this page?

Every site on this page is one we list that shares at least one game or sport with Arena Club. How we rate sites explains the scores, and the best rip sites gives our full ranking.