Courtyard.io vs Arena Club: buyback, payouts and shipping compared
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Both sell graded-only slab packs backed by a vault. Courtyard gives you 7 days to accept a buyback and a marketplace with a 0% seller fee, but pays in USDC and doesnât publish its shipping fee. Arena Club starts at $25, pays to your bank through Stripe and charges $1 per card to retrieve, but its guaranteed 90% buyback on PokĂ©mon packs lasts only 24 hours.
đ At a glance
Arena Club
đ Side by side
What do the colours mean?
| Fact | Courtyard.io | Arena Club |
|---|---|---|
| Verified facts | 7/8 | 8/8 |
| Company behind it | Courtyard Inc., a Delaware corporation Official | Arenaclub.com, Inc. (the seller on its App Store listing; its Terms call it âArena Clubâ). Official |
| What you actually get | A professionally graded card (PSA, CGC or BGS) chosen at random from the pack tier, stored in Courtyardâs insured vault and represented in your account (Courtyard NFTs live on Ethereum per the Terms). Official | Every PokĂ©mon Slab Pack contains a graded, authenticated card, with no raw pulls. Keep it in the vault (Oregon), ship it, or sell it back. Official |
| Pack prices | Pokémon packs from $15 to $10,000: Basic $15, Starter $25, Pro $50, Master $100, Ultra $250, Platinum $500, Diamond $1,000, Legend $2,500, Mythic $5,000, Cosmic $10,000. Official | Slab Packs start at $25. Official |
| Buyback / sell-back terms | Optional instant offer at a percentage of the cardâs fair market value (FMV), as shown on each product page, open for 7 days. Courtyard sets FMV itself and does not disclose its model. Third-party reviews report ~84.6â90%. Official | The PokĂ©mon page advertises a âguaranteed 90% buybackâ of the cardâs value, valid for 24 hours after the rip. Another official page advertises a â100% card estimated value buyback offerâ. Conflict |
| How you get money out | Buyback funds arrive as USDC in your Courtyard wallet/account, usable on the marketplace or for purchases. Official | Wallet withdrawals are processed through Stripe Connect to your linked bank account. Promotional rewards (Tokens, ArenaCash) canât be withdrawn. Official |
| Shipping cost & time | You pay a shipping fee to redeem the physical slab, and ID verification is required. The fee and delivery time are not stated in the docs we read. Not verified | Retrieving a card from the vault costs $1 per card plus shipping. Official |
| Odds disclosure | Each pack shows a live value distribution before you buy. On November 11, 2026 the $25 Starter Pack showed: 33% chance of a card worth $15â20, 37% $20â25, 28% $25â50, 1% $50â100 and 1% $100â400, with an average item value of $25. Official | Advertises âfull hit rate transparencyâ: you can view every possible card in a pack before you buy. A public Hit Feed shows recent pulls. Official |
| Who can use it (age, states) | 18+ (or legal age to contract). The Terms exclude sanctioned jurisdictions; no US state exclusions are listed. Official | 18+ (or the age of majority in your state, if higher). We did not find a list of excluded states. Official |
| US states | Courtyardâs Terms exclude sanctioned jurisdictions and list no US state exclusions. Official | 18+. We did not find a list of excluded states in Arena Clubâs Terms. Not verified |
đ Buyback
Courtyard shows a percentage of its own fair market value on each product page and keeps the offer open for 7 days. Arena Club guarantees 90% of the cardâs value on PokĂ©mon packs, but only for 24 hours (another of its pages says 100%).
đŠ Getting money out
Arena Club withdraws to your bank through Stripe Connect. Courtyard pays buybacks as USDC into your Courtyard account.
đŠ Shipping
Arena Club publishes its retrieval fee: $1 per card plus shipping. Courtyard charges a shipping fee and requires ID verification, but doesnât publish the amount.
đŻ Which should you pick?
Choose Courtyard.io if
- You want a full week to decide on a buyback
- You plan to trade cards on a marketplace with a 0% seller fee
- Youâre comfortable being paid in USDC
Choose Arena Club if
- You want money sent to your bank
- You plan to take cards home and want a cheap, published retrieval fee
- You want to see every possible card in a pack before buying
Code: FIRSTPACK20 (public code)
More: all comparisons · every Pokémon pack site · buyback rates compared
â FAQ
Which has the better buyback, Courtyard.io or Arena Club?
Courtyard shows a percentage of its own fair market value on each product page and keeps the offer open for 7 days. Arena Club guarantees 90% of the cardâs value on PokĂ©mon packs, but only for 24 hours (another of its pages says 100%).
Which makes it easier to get money out?
Arena Club withdraws to your bank through Stripe Connect. Courtyard pays buybacks as USDC into your Courtyard account.
Which ships faster or cheaper?
Arena Club publishes its retrieval fee: $1 per card plus shipping. Courtyard charges a shipping fee and requires ID verification, but doesnât publish the amount.
Are Courtyard.io and Arena Club available in my state?
Courtyard.io: Courtyardâs Terms exclude sanctioned jurisdictions and list no US state exclusions. Arena Club: 18+. We did not find a list of excluded states in Arena Clubâs Terms. See availability by state.
Sources
- Courtyard Terms of Service (official)
- Courtyard blog: Click, rip, repeat (official)
- Courtyard: Pokémon Starter Pack page (tiers, prices, value distribution) (official)
- courtyard.io homepage (official)
- Courtyard Help: Understanding buyback offers (official)
- PackSpy: Courtyard review (third party)
- App Store: Arena Club (official)
- Arena Club Terms of Service (official)
- Arena Club Pokémon page (official)
- Arena Club slab pack page (official)
- Arena Club pricing (official)
- Arena Club submit page (official)
- Arena Club blog: Hit Feed 101 (official)

