Buyback rate is the number that matters most

When people compare rip sites they look at pack prices and the big headline pulls. Both matter less than you think. The figure that quietly decides how much money you keep is the buyback rate.

Buyback is the share of a card's market value a site pays you when you sell it back. Pull a card you do not want, and the buyback rate is what turns it back into money. On most sites you will sell back far more cards than you keep, so this one number touches almost every rip you make.

Why a few points matter more than they look

The gap between 100% and 85% buyback sounds small. Across a run of packs it is not. Sell back $1,000 of cards at 85% and you have lost $150 to the spread alone, before you count the packs that came in under cost. At 100% that $150 stays in your pocket.

This is why we give buyback the heaviest weight in our rankings. A site can have a slick app and a huge catalogue, but if it pays you back poorly, it is quietly the most expensive place to rip.

What to check before you buy

Read the buyback rate on the site itself, not a review. Check whether it applies to every card or only some tiers. Check whether you are paid in cash you can withdraw or in credit you can only spend on more packs. A high buyback paid in locked credit is not the same as cash, and we score those differently.

Simply put, before you look at anything else on a rip site, find the buyback rate. It tells you more about the real cost of ripping there than the pack price ever will.