Back in 2020, there was an unprecedented run on sports cards at retail outlets like Target and Walmart. Even smaller-scale stores like CVS and Rite Aid had people timing the restocks of products like Panini Mosaic and Prizm. I had just gotten back into the hobby. I remember spending a day traveling to four different Targets and stopping at any Rite Aid or CVS I passed with no significant luck. I found one fat pack of 2019 Topps Baseball Update and two repacked boxes of football cards, and that was it. While I did try shopping for sports cards on Amazon, most of the pricing on football or baseball products was horribly inflated.

Cards Collectors Want Instant Gratification

What’s great about shopping on Amazon for anything is that there is relatively instant gratification. I’ve ordered top loaders on Amazon and received them the next day. I’ve also ordered card stock for my Etsy side hustle and got the package that night. 

While buying sports cards Amazon doesn’t provide the exact same instant gratification as, say, going to Target or Walmart and purchasing a blaster box so you can open it in your car in the parking lot, getting football cards on Amazon or baseball cards on Amazon by ordering through Prime is much faster than ordering directly from Topps or Panini.

Buying Directly from the Brand

It makes sense to go straight to the source. Topps and Panini release products frequently. Pricing is as good as you’ll find it on any secondary market like eBay. There are always the taxes and shipping costs that need to be accounted for, but the reality of buying from either of these card companies is that you need to wait for the order to be processed and shipped — and then you need to wait for the package to work its way across the country.

Buying online from Target or Walmart will produce the same results. Sure, Target.com might have that blaster box of Panini Select football cards that you can’t find at your local Target, but you can expect to wait for up to two weeks to get that package.

Ordering from eBay — whether it’s sniping an item at a good price through an auction or using the “Buy It Now” feature — may give you better results in terms of getting the package as soon as possible, but even with the perk of free shipping (in some cases) and/or paying for 2-day or 3-day Priority Mail shipping, that is still two or three times the length of time that you need to wait as compared to ordering baseball cards or football cards on Amazon.

Should You Buy Sports Cards on Amazon?

Depending on what you collect and what you are willing to pay, you may very well be the exact type of person who can buy sports cards on Amazon. 

Buying Baseball Cards on Amazon

A quick search for “baseball cards” on Amazon Prime shows a number of Topps Baseball products that offer next-day shipping. In fact, there was a 2023 Topps Baseball Series 1 blaster box available on Prime for same-day shipping between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

That’s about as close to instant gratification as driving up La Brea and hitting up one of the four Targets nearby.

So what did I do? I pulled the trigger on that blaster. With taxes, the total was $27.46. I placed the order at 9:21 AM. The package was shipped by 10:59 AM and delivered to my door at 1:39 PM. Not too shabby.

The same 2023 Topps Baseball Series 1 blaster box was available on the Topps site for the same list price. Tax on the item was $2.37 (similar to what I paid on Amazon), but Topps wanted to charge me $10 for shipping. Also, it stated that the box would ship in 3-5 business days. So had I bought my Series 1 blaster box directly from Topps, I would have been charged $37.36 and likely wouldn’t have gotten to rip my cards for more than a week. And who knows if I’d be as excited to rip in a week or so as I am right now?

Remove the instant gratification and the experience suffers. This is what makes case breaks so popular — the instant gratification of seeing your cards pulled right away. Whether or not the breaker ships all of those cards, that’s a subject for a different post.

Limitations When Buying Sports Cards on Amazon

I used the example of buying Topps baseball cards on Amazon because it was low-hanging fruit. I knew I could find that product for sale at the same cost as I’d find on the Topps site, and I knew there were some Prime delivery options. However, try searching for Panini football cards on Amazon, and the results will differ. 

Buying Football Cards on Amazon

You’ll find a handful of results sold through Prime, but the pricing is a little higher for Panini products than you’d find for Topps products. At the lower end, Panini Score blaster boxes were recently found for $32.88 with Prime 2-day shipping. 2022 Panini Prestige blaster boxes were found on Amazon for $37.50, though this product offered same-day shipping through Prime.

On eBay, that same blaster box of 2022 Panini Prestige football cards had a Buy It Now price of $28.84, and, as with Amazon Prime, it included free shipping. But you likely won’t see the cards for 3-5 days — and that’s if it ships right away — so you may be saving around $9 but at the risk of fading instant gratification.

Elsewhere on Amazon, you can find higher-end Panini products like a 2021 Panini Prizm Football Mega Box, but you can expect to pay around $135 — about $75 more than what the box of cards actually retailed for when it was released by Panini. On eBay, I’ve seen the same product go for $85 through the Buy It Now option.

What to Know When You Buy Sports Cards on Amazon

The decision of whether it’s worth buying sports cards on Amazon depends on a few important factors, including personal preferences, availability, and cost considerations. That 2020 run on sports cards highlights the fervor collectors have for these items, seeking the thrill of instant gratification. That run has subsided considerably, but according to experts like Geoff Wilson, the hobby is growing and expanding.

While Amazon offers the convenience of quick delivery through its Prime service, the allure of buying directly from card companies like Topps and Panini provides access to products at competitive prices, albeit with a wait for processing and shipping. The expedited shipping options on eBay can bridge the gap between instant fulfillment and cost savings, but it often still entails some waiting time. 

Amazon’s marketplace presents a mixed landscape, offering both expedited Prime options for select products and potential delays for others. When deciding whether to buy sports cards on Amazon, collectors should weigh their desire for immediate enjoyment of ripping boxes and packs against the benefits of buying from official sources or exploring other online marketplaces. Ultimately, the evolving landscape of sports card purchasing provides a range of options that cater to different collector needs and preferences.

Have you had success buying sports cards on Amazon? We’d love to hear from you, so please reach out and let us know!