General Forum

Has anyone used this? Is there any way of knowing what Sportlots shipping rates are for the box contents being shipped from Sportlots to my home? I am trying to figure out if it is worth it to ship this method. Thanks!

I use it all the time. Generally they will use a flat-rate USPS box, medium, to ship. If you already have items in your box you can see the estimated shipping cost to home. When they actually ship they will give you store credit for any excess shipping you may have paid. At least, I have gotten that before. As an example of potential shipping cost, I have ~1200cards sitting in my Box. The current cost to ship those is $22.

It really all depends on how big your orders are, the dealers you purchase from (I always go for those dealers with low ost to ship to my Box) and how long you want to accumulate items before shipping to yourself. When I try to do a per card comparision when looking at my dealer choices, the shipping is included in the calculation. A few years ago I did a comparision. It was cheaper for me to ship everything to the Box and then to me than it was for the dealers to ship straight to me; but that was me. If you are looking at only one or two dealers you may just want to weigh having it shipped straight to you. 

Maybe I should clarify... I would probably be looking at 200-300 cards max in my box before shipping to me.

If you focus on the dealer(s) where shipping to Box is under $1 then you should come out ahead. Goes back to looking at how much you purchase from a dealer and the cost share. Some dealers reduce shipping as you buy more, some skyrocket it. Also depends on the types of cards you are getting. If you are getting harder to find ones that may factor as well. As in, if it's more common cards you'll find plenty of dealers with low/free shipping to Box. You'll sacrifice those options as the cards get more rare.  

I've received three different "boxes" from Sportlots, each were approximately 300-400 cards and shipping was about $12

I thought this was primarily a thing for Canadians to save on shipping from the US. Haven't thought about using it mostly due to having to wait for all the orders to be gathered up. The sellers have to ship to Sportlots HQ so you have to wait a bit longer than normal for your cards.

I have used it several times.  Saved about $3 to $5 each shipment.  Plus I picked up more cards then I would have.  Example  3 cards from a seller that his  shipment to the box was $0.10.   I would have not purchased them if I had to pay the posage from him  ($2.99).

As stated be awear of the sellers and their shipping prices as they vary a lot.  On the way you have them shipped.  (number of cards,  directly to you or the box)   Maybe it is cheaper to pay a little more for a card if the shipping is cheaper per card.

Each purchase may be different.

Another question related to this topic... can anyone tell me if sportlots charges a handling fee of sorts for the number of incoming packages to my box? For example, does it matter if I have 2 packages of 50 cards each sent to my box, or 1 package with 100 cards in it? Thanks again! - Matt

No handling fees. With the number of packages large and small I've sent through there that would have been a huge deal breaker.

I had my box order shipped about 4 months ago and there were no handling charges. Unless they have changed the way things are done, I don't foresee any handling charges for you either