Clarifying what counts as a vintage card rip
Most people could consider a vintage trading card to be one that was produced anywhere between the early 20th century up to 1980. This means that all of those baseball cards from the 1930s would be included as well as cards from massive brands like Topps and Bowman from the middle of the century.
Just note that while any sports card rips for cards produced after 1980 aren't considered vintage, things are a little different in the trading card games (TCG) realm where some of those early Pokemon sets are considered vintage and this is reflected in their value. In particular, the Wizards of the Coast era from 1999 to 2003 are often defined as being vintage, while even the EX Series from 2003 to 2007 will sometimes be included as vintage.
- Sports trading cards up to 1980
- TCG trading cards usually up to 2000
What it means to make vintage card rips
Now that you know what counts as a vintage trading card, you will need to know how this works in conjunction with card rips sites. Simply put, card rips sites will let you open various digital packs that each contain randomly assigned physical trading cards.
You will never know exactly what trading card lies within that pack, but you will be given a good idea as to what cards are likely to be pulled. This is because the card rips site will categorize these packs according to things like basketball, football, Pokemon and so on, and each pack will also be priced according to various rankings.
How this works is that the more expensive packs are those more likely to hold cards of the higher value. You can usually check the inventory to see which cards have the potential of being inside that pack along with the relevant probabilities of being pulled. As such, the more expensive packs will give you a much better chance of pulling a vintage card, but even then there is no guarantee that you will actually get that card.
Pros and cons of making vintage card rips
So why should you go through the trouble of hunting down those vintage trading cards rather than doing something a little more light-hearted such as one of those live box rips? Well, here are the main pros and cons of taking the vintage route:
Pros
Rip cards of lasting value Always an epic chase More verifiable information Growing number of vintage card rips sitesCons
Can be costly and time-consumingWhat are the different vintage card rips formats?
It’s one thing to know what something like the best WWE card rips are and something else to take this knowledge into the vintage realm. After all, the cards here will be coming from a range of decades and will be using various manufacturing and packing techniques. So here’s a quick overview as to the main vintage card formats that you will be coming across:
The best vintage card rips sites revealed
It’s worth noting that not all card rips sites will necessarily have vintage cards. After all, some brands will prioritize certain TCG cards for things like OnePiece that have only been issuing trading cards over the past decade. So with that in mind, here are five card rips sites who can usually be counted on to let you rip vintage cards:
Courtyard - Plenty of vintage sports cards to rip here
While many people will visit this site simply to grab a Courtyard promo, it has also become a good place to look for vintage cards. For example, you could buy something like its Baseball Mythic Pack for $5,000 which might sound a lot, but it could end up with you pulling a seriously vintage card. Recent pulls from these packs have included things like a 1962 Topps Mickey Mantle card, a 1955 Topps Sandy Koufax and so on.
Such coverage at Courtyard extends to other sports like baseball, football, soccer and hockey, while there are even many other collectables such as comics, watches and graded coins going back to the Greek, Roman and Persian empires. Definitely something to consider if you're looking for something truly vintage to rip.
RipIt - Excellent choice for vintage Pokemon cards
While RipIt is home to plenty of excellent football, baseball and basketball packs, it's the brand's coverage of Pokemon that is sure to be of interest to fans of vintage trading cards. This is because there have been some very collectible vintage Pokemon rips here recently including things like a 2000 Pokemon Rocket Dark Charizard 1st Edition, a 2004 Pokemon Ex Swampert Ex-hold Magma vs Aqua and a 1996 Pokemon Promo JP Pikachu Corocoro Comic November card.
Note that you will have to typically spend something around $2,500 on one of the Pokemon Grail packs to get anywhere close to these vintage cards. The crown jewel here is the BGS 8.0 Corocoro #223 from November 1996 that you have a 1/223,000 change of getting but the chase is always a lot of fun.
Arena Club - Decent value sports cards and excellent vintage Pokemon packs
While Arena Club features some Crown Jewel packs for basketball, baseball and football, they cost $5,000 and the cards within will rarely go back beyond 2000 - well later than the 1980 cut-off usually considered for a card to be truly vintage. Despite that, you may find the occasional true vintage card in these packs such as the Jackie Robinson 1949 Bowman Base PSA 4.
The brand's Pokemon packs tend to offer more in the way of vintage collectibles. For example, cards like the Blastoise 1999 Pokemon Base Set Base PSA 8 being found among the $2,5000 Legendary Pokemon packs. Plus with many other collectibles feared here such as graded coins and even rare and fine wines, it's definitely more than just a standard card rips site.
Dopa - Plenty more vintage Pokemon cards here
This is another great choice for anyone who is hunting down some Pokemon vintage cards. Again, you'll have to spend a little extra to be in with a chance of getting a true grail. For example, you could spend $1,000 on a PSA10 Diamond Pack and pull a Japanese Mario Pikachu (PSA10) card that's got a current fair market value of $52,000.
Thankfully, Dopa is careful to reveal your chances of getting these vintage cards are about 0.35% so you can be realistic about what you are ripping. Elsewhere you will find a fair amount of OnePiece cards, but these are still all too new to be truly considered vintage.
Trove - Another place to check for vintage card rips
Trove has already created a stir with its Vintage Pokemon packs that'll give you chance to 'Catch The Classics: 1995-2005'. These packs range between $25 for a starter pack and $500 for an epic pack. Just so you know, the epic packs will give you the best chance of pulling one of the grails like the #75 SLUGMA-REVERSE FOIL | 2005 POKEMON EX DEOXYS that has a current fair market value of over $5,000.
Elsewhere you will find that Trove has a pretty good coverage of sports such as football, basketball, baseball and soccer. While that’s true, even something like a $5,000 Mythos football pack is unlikely to get you anything more vintage than a card featuring Patrick Mahomes.
Step by step guide for making vintage sports card rips
While it might be tricky to hunt down that vintage card, the actual process for using these card rips websites is relatively straightforward. Here’s an example of how you could go to one of the best basketball card rips sites and hope to rip a vintage NBA card:
- Click on the relevant card rips brand in the banners of this page to load up their site from the browser of your computer or mobile
- Register your account by providing your email address and any other requested personal information
- Tap on the verification link that gets sent to your email or mobile and log into your account and complete any KYC requirements
- Navigate to the cashier section and make an opening deposit with one of the available payment methods (typically cards, ewallets, bank transfers or even cryptocurrencies)
- Go to the card rips lobby and find the relevant vintage card packs section
- Browse through the vintage packs and analyze statistics like the odds of pulling various vintage cards as well as what the cost of ripping the pack will be
- Once you’ve made up your mind, you can then rip the pack by making the necessary payment and see what card lies within. It might not be that 2003-04 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection LeBron James Rookie Patch Autograph (#23/23) but it could still be pretty good.
What you do next will typically be determined by what kind of card rips site you are using, but you will usually face the following three options:
- Get the vintage card shipped back to your home address
- Store the card in the vault of the card rips site for safekeeping
- Sell back the card to the card rips site at a percentage of its fair market value
Simple tips for making your vintage card rips
While it’s pretty easy to find baseball card rips near me, it’s something else to actually rip a vintage card. So here are some handy tips to keep in mind:
- Stick to the more expensive packs: After all, these will give you a better chance of pulling a true vintage card.
- Check the inventory: You will want to make sure that the vintage cards are worth pulling, so check the inventory and see each card’s true market value.
- Look at the odds: You should see what the likelihood is of actually pulling that grail, so that you’ll know whether it’s worth your time or whether you should look elsewhere.
Staying safe when enjoying vintage card rips
It can be all too easy to get carried away when doing something like visiting those top Marvel card rips sites and hunting down a vintage card. With that it mind, here are some things that you can do to keep your ripping in check:
Conclusion - Enjoy using these vintage card tips sites
This guide has shown you that it’s actually relatively easy to hunt down vintage trading cards at any of the card rips sites listed here. While you will have to be extremely fortunate to rip a high-value vintage card, it is possible, and what’s best is that you can do it all from your computer or mobile device.
Just remember to take the necessary steps to keep your card ripping under control, as it can be easy to get swept away in the fever of the chase - especially when it comes to vintage cards. But as long as you remember that, you should be good to click on any of the links for the brands listed in the banners of this page to register your account and get ready to make your vintage card rips.
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Vintage card rips FAQ
Mike Murphy is the founder of BettingUSA.com and has over 20 years of experience in the legal gambling industry. A regular attendee of industry trade shows and conferences, Mike is a strong proponent in the idea of a well regulated online betting industry.