All I want to do is talk about Sportlots

[nam812]

I know that there are probably outside factors helping the uptick in sales for the last few months, but hopefully the increased activity will be here to stay.

[DMS6391]

Good start to the month for me. Hope y’all are seeing the same.

Quick question, couldn’t find the answer on the Help/User Guide page of SportLots. Had a sale recently for around $16. I pulled the card, put it in the mail and marked it filled. But on my “Orders Filled” page it shows the cost of the card then in the “Applied” column it only shows $10 (and some change). The buyer didn’t have any loot to apply to the order. I’m assuming the buyer maybe used credit on his account to pay a portion of the order. Does that account for the disparity between the total cost and what was “applied”? I’ve just never noticed that before.

[timber09]

"Applied" is just the column for you to monitor how much/where SL is charging their fees.

Any sale over $5 pays a lower fee (well same fee however that fee is not applied to the entirety of the sale). It seems pretty straightforward however it can get pretty weird, especially when you get close to the fee/tier lines and then when factoring in loot.

From their site as follows:

To encourage the sale of higher valued cards, Sportlots only applies a portion of the sale of these higher priced cards toward the above fee schedule. Cards with selling prices between $5 and $15 will only have 50% of the sale price above $5.00 applied to the above fee schedule. While cards selling above $15.00 will only have 25% of the sale price above $15.00 applied to the above table.

You can end up tied up pretty quickly when trying to figure out exactly what applies and where but the rule of thumb is that higher value sales will have lessor fees applied to them.

[DMS6391]

Ahh ok. Thanks. I was totally mis-reading the column. I thought “applied” referred to “applying payment” to a sale. But it’s referring to fees. I see. Thanks a lot!

[mjohnatgt]

Made my first Sportlots purchase ever today. Let's see if I actually get what I was promised.

2006 Topps Allen & Ginter Rip Cards #RIP21 Cap Anson BB NM 1 $40.00 ***Seller let me know it was already ripped and refunded me***
2008 Topps Allen & Ginter Rip Cards #RC22 Scott Rolen BB NM 1 $25.00
2001 Donruss Baseballs Best Bronze Rookies #R91 Mark Teixeira BB NM 1 $0.99
2001 Donruss Rookies #R91 Mark Teixeira BB NM 1 $0.18

Since neither of the Ginter Rip cards were marked Ripped and given grades of NM, I presume they are unripped.

Site is still awful clunky to use, with very few scans even on higher value ($25 and over) cards, and (almost?) no back scans. There could be some very useful arbitrage situations just by buying from sportlots and sending straight to COMC from the Box, presuming that you actually get what you order. I did see some $100+ variations that were claimed by sellers on Sportlots with no pictures and listed at $0.18-1.00, so I requested scans for those. I figure there are a bunch of sportlots sellers that really have no idea which variation their cards actually are.

[tribefan26]

Originally Posted by timber09

"Applied" is just the column for you to monitor how much/where SL is charging their fees.

Any sale over $5 pays a lower fee (well same fee however that fee is not applied to the entirety of the sale). It seems pretty straightforward however it can get pretty weird, especially when you get close to the fee/tier lines and then when factoring in loot.

From their site as follows:


You can end up tied up pretty quickly when trying to figure out exactly what applies and where but the rule of thumb is that higher value sales will have lessor fees applied to them.

Another tidbit - the reduction for applied sales applies to the total amount sold for all copies of an individual card. So if you have 3 cards of player X at 2.99, you will see 8.97 for those three cards and will see the reduction in applied sales and it will only charge on 6.98.

This can be really helpful in reducing fees - I've sold 3 copies of a $25 card in a single sale. Instead of 12.50 each (or a 50% reduction in fees), I had $25 in total (or a 67% reduction in fees).

I don't use use bins so I'm not sure if this works if you have copies spread across multiple bins.

As I pointed out in an earlier post - this system is not perfect if you cross a breakpoint in fees.

[timber09]

Originally Posted by tribefan26

Another tidbit - the reduction for applied sales applies to the total amount sold for all copies of an individual card. So if you have 3 cards of player X at 2.99, you will see 8.97 for those three cards and will see the reduction in applied sales and it will only charge on 6.98.

This can be really helpful in reducing fees - I've sold 3 copies of a $25 card in a single sale. Instead of 12.50 each (or a 50% reduction in fees), I had $25 in total (or a 67% reduction in fees).

I don't use use bins so I'm not sure if this works if you have copies spread across multiple bins.

As I pointed out in an earlier post - this system is not perfect if you cross a breakpoint in fees.

That is interesting information - I had no idea.

There have been a number of times where I have noticed that my applied sales is different than the actual sale but no single card qualified, this must have been what was happening. I figured there was some other "single purchase" tipping point but this makes sense.

Thanks!

[nam812]

I was curious how the first football Sunday would be for sportlots buyers, and the invisible sales was kinda what I was figuring. lol

[azdbacks252003]

Does anyone know if the Box shipping is sent to multiple places? I looked at the tracking for a couple of the orders and they were sent to different states.

[Westlake]

Originally Posted by azdbacks252003

Does anyone know if the Box shipping is sent to multiple places? I looked at the tracking for a couple of the orders and they were sent to different states.

Should all go to Green Bay WI.

[n1nesports]

Originally Posted by azdbacks252003

Does anyone know if the Box shipping is sent to multiple places? I looked at the tracking for a couple of the orders and they were sent to different states.

Maybe you were looking at the tracking history, where they shipped from, they should all go to the same location.

[katanabm]

Anyone else receive a "not received" from wengrock?

[azdbacks252003]

Originally Posted by n1nesports

Maybe you were looking at the tracking history, where they shipped from, they should all go to the same location.

No the package started in Camp Hill, PA and says it was delivered to a mailbox in Indianapolis, IN.

[Cliffroach]

Been a lot of times lately when a seller didn't have a card that was purchased. 9 or 10 times I think in the last 30 days. I get that it happens with big inventories but the annoying part is most of them didn't even let me know. Just have to track it down when I notice I have a credit.

[nam812]

Originally Posted by Cliffroach

Been a lot of times lately when a seller didn't have a card that was purchased. 9 or 10 times I think in the last 30 days. I get that it happens with big inventories but the annoying part is most of them didn't even let me know. Just have to track it down when I notice I have a credit.

I just got your order Cliff, thanks. Unfortunately, I dont have any of the cards you selected. LOL Just kidding.

They are packed up already and going to the post office with me this afternoon. Thanks again for the order.

Nick

[Bobby]

Originally Posted by Cliffroach

Been a lot of times lately when a seller didn't have a card that was purchased. 9 or 10 times I think in the last 30 days. I get that it happens with big inventories but the annoying part is most of them didn't even let me know. Just have to track it down when I notice I have a credit.

On the packing slip, I always draw a line through the shorted card, cross out the price and write "sportlots credit" in the column next to it. Sportlots has added hundreds of new sellers in the last few years and every seller does things their own way. Regardless, they should let you know if a card was shorted.
Personally, I hate to short any card. Before we had "bins" to give us an address where the card should be, it was harder to keep track of inventory. In my early days, I also found out the hard way, inventories could be duplicated in the loading process. To date, I sometimes get a card ordered that was part of a set load duplication, and I have to short it.

[timber09]

Originally Posted by Cliffroach

Been a lot of times lately when a seller didn't have a card that was purchased. 9 or 10 times I think in the last 30 days. I get that it happens with big inventories but the annoying part is most of them didn't even let me know. Just have to track it down when I notice I have a credit.

Looking at the sellers accuracy can give a good indication of how much of an issue it is. In my mind, 99% is a pretty good target as a buyer (though I am shooting for much higher than that as a seller *humble brag - currently at 99.8%*).

It certainly happens to all of us, I try to do my best and note when it happens but I have missed cards, sent the wrong cards and made other errors - when I catch them I try to note on the packing slip or send a message through the system if it is a bigger error (mult cards, higher end card) that may impact the total purchase.

[Cliffroach]

Originally Posted by nam812

I just got your order Cliff, thanks. Unfortunately, I dont have any of the cards you selected. LOL Just kidding.

They are packed up already and going to the post office with me this afternoon. Thanks again for the order.

Nick

Ha ha. I deserved that.

I guess I order a lot so it's going to happen. Like I said, just wish communication was better but it all works out in the end.

[nam812]

Sales have been very slow for the last 3 or 4 days. Anyone else experiencing that?

[Westlake]

I've been insanely busy. Great month.

[fungi2510]

Originally Posted by nam812

Sales have been very slow for the last 3 or 4 days. Anyone else experiencing that?

Nope. The football games on Sunday picked up my sales again. I clear out 10 and I have 8 more. Hard time keeping up.

[Bobby]

Originally Posted by fungi2510

Nope. The football games on Sunday picked up my sales again. I clear out 10 and I have 8 more. Hard time keeping up.

Fungi2510
Two things, your dealer link doesn't work. I found your page and it shows ** Seller is currently on Vacation **. Its hard to check a page thats in vacation mode. Heres your link: https://www.sportlots.com/dealers/?dealer=dmkeil02

[nam812]

Originally Posted by Bobby

Fungi2510
Two things, your dealer link doesn't work. I found your page and it shows ** Seller is currently on Vacation **. Its hard to check a page thats in vacation mode. Heres your link: https://www.sportlots.com/dealers/?dealer=dmkeil02

He must have made a new store, cause that one has 0 cards listed.

[MountainGoat]

Does Sportlots have any guidance or requirements around what premium (vs budget) shipping needs to entail? I've had multiple orders in the last week where I've either explicitly paid for premium shipping or had the seller upcharge me due to card values, and then had the cards arrive PWE. One of them didn't even use sleeves, toploaders, or cardboard. Not an issue if I'm paying $1-2 for budget shipping, but I paid $4-5 for premium expecting a well-protected card in a bubble mailer w/ tracking...

[katanabm]

Originally Posted by MountainGoat

Does Sportlots have any guidance or requirements around what premium (vs budget) shipping needs to entail? I've had multiple orders in the last week where I've either explicitly paid for premium shipping or had the seller upcharge me due to card values, and then had the cards arrive PWE. One of them didn't even use sleeves, toploaders, or cardboard. Not an issue if I'm paying $1-2 for budget shipping, but I paid $4-5 for premium expecting a well-protected card in a bubble mailer w/ tracking...

Postage Rates
Sportlots allows sellers to set their own postage rates based on a predefined range of cards. The shipping costs should decrease as the number of cards increase in the order. By providing this shipping discount for higher volumes of cards, the seller provides incentive for the buyer to purchase more cards from them.

Sportlots provides "Budget", "Premium" and "Box" rates for sellers to set. When the buyer places an order, they have the option to select any of these shipping options.

When "Budget" shipping service is selected, the buyer is providing the seller the flexibility to find alternative ways to ship their package while still maintaining a reasonable amount of security for the cards in order to reduce shipping costs. There is slightly more risk of damaged items, but the lower shipping rates may be worth this risk. If a buyer selects this option, they are waiving their right to request a refund in the event that the item(s) are damaged in the mail. The buyer has elected to take this risk in order to reduce shipping costs.

When "Premium" shipping service is requested, the seller must at list ship the order in a bubble mailer or sturdy cardboard packaging when the order size is larger. Cards within bubble mailers must also be further protected. Acceptable methods include:

Within Individual Top Loaders or Semi-Rigid holders.
Within a plastic case.
In a team bag with top loaders or cardboard securely fastened between both ends.
When "Box" shipping service is requested, this means that the buyer wants the order shipped to their Sportlots PO Box. The whole idea behind the "Box" shipping option is to save postage costs by bundling orders together. Sellers are encouraged to wait a few extra days before marking orders filled in this category and allowing orders to accumulate so that they can all be shipped togehter in a single box and sent to Sportlots. It is important that the seller does not fill any orders in this category until they are ready to ship the full contents of all orders in this category. The buyer will then also let their orders accumulate in their Sportlots PO box and request on shipment from the PO Box to their house. Please view the video on this shipping method for much more information by clicking on the video player icon on the "Fill to Box" tab on the Account Summary screen.

Regardless of which shipping option is used, the seller is always responsible for the delivery of the order. If the buyer claims the order never arrived to their house (for "Budget" or "Premium") or to their PO Box (for "Box"), it is the burden of the seller to show proof of delivery of the package.

Sellers have the ability to eliminate the "Budget" shipping service by setting a premium threshold amount. This is to protect the seller from having to risk shipping high value cards with a budget shipping option. For example, a seller may set a premium threshold at $25.00. If the buyer's order amount is over $25.00, the buyer will be forced to select a premium shipping option with that seller.

Sellers also have a place to further explain their shipping policy. Giving more information here may give buyers piece of mind that their orders will be shipped safely and really spell out details of how the seller ships cards under different circumstances.