Platform review · Polygon · reviewed 2026-08-05
Courtyard
Courtyard is the only platform we have reviewed that tells you, before you buy, that the pack is worth less than it costs. Every pack we sampled publishes an average item value below its own price — $48.50 on a $50.00 pack, $2,400.00 on a $2,500.00 pack. Competitors advertise a surplus and then take it back at the buyback. Courtyard just says the number.
The verdict
Why B: Per-tier odds and an average pack value are published on the purchase screen, pack opens settle on Polygon where they can be independently checked, and the advertised average is honest rather than flattering. Not an A because we have not audited published odds against observed outcomes ourselves, and because the instant-buyback rate — the number that decides your real return — is not shown alongside the odds.
- Advertised value per $1
- 0.97–0.97
- Below 1.00 on every pack sampled — the category outlier
- Marketplace seller fee
- 0%
- Stated. Unusual, and materially better than a percentage cut
- US shipping
- ~$7 flat
- Held from 1 to 19 cards across nine quotes
- Referral ceiling
- ~$55 lifetime
- 11,000 points across 6 referrals, then it stops
The most honest shop window in the category and the best international tax handling, paired with a referral programme barely worth the paperwork. If you are buying rather than promoting, Courtyard deserves a serious look — particularly for bulk redemption, where its near-flat shipping beats everyone.
The odds, as published
Courtyard shows five value bands with a probability each, plus an average item value, on the purchase screen. They state odds are calculated in real time and that comps come from recent sales across several marketplaces.
| Pack | Price | Avg value | Per $1 | Chance below price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pokémon Pro Pack | $50.00 | $48.50 | 0.970 | ≥77% |
| One Piece Platinum Pack | $500.00 | $485.00 | 0.970 | ≥83% |
| Pokémon Legend Pack | $2,500.00 | $2,400.00 | 0.960 | ≥78% |
Read from live purchase screens 2026-08-05. “Chance below price” counts only tiers whose entire band sits at or under the pack price, so it is a floor rather than the true figure.
On the $50.00 pack, 64% of pulls land in a $35.00–$45.00 band and another 13% between $45.00 and $50.00. So at least 77% of the time you receive a card worth less than you paid, before you have tried to sell it. That is not a criticism of Courtyard — it is what their own published numbers say, which is rather the point.
Fees, shipping and tax
No marketplace seller fee.Courtyard states 0%, which removes the usual friction on listing a pull rather than taking the buyback. Worth weighing against the fact that a marketplace sale needs a buyer, and their listing count is well behind Collector Crypt’s.
Shipping is close to flat in the US. Across nine quotes we took ourselves — one card to nineteen, single grader and mixed — US shipping stayed between $7.01 and $7.69. That makes Courtyard by far the cheapest way to bring a large redemption home. Two early quotes came back much higher and could not be reproduced; both remain in our shipping data flagged rather than deleted.
Tax is collected upfront, at the destination country’s published rate applied to the asset’s last sale price rather than its current market value. That is the opposite of Collector Crypt and MNSTR, both of which leave import charges to arrive later from the carrier. For an international buyer it is the single biggest advantage Courtyard has: you see the real total before you commit.
- A $2 per card handling fee applies during periods of high demand — described as temporary.
- Redemption requires KYC, verified after you submit rather than before.
- US packages generally arrive within about 10 business days of invoice processing.
- Redemptions cannot be redirected to an alternate Brink's location.
- The digital token is burned when the physical card ships.
The referral programme is a rounding error
Courtyard pays a tiered points bonus on your first six referrals — 1,000 / 1,000 / 1,500 / 2,000 / 2,000 / 2,500 — totalling 11,000 points, then nothing, permanently. Their own pack pricing puts a point at $0.005, so the entire lifetime value of the programme is about $55.00 of pack face value.
We mention it because you will find pages claiming otherwise. It is also why Courtyard gets a review here rather than a referral-code page: there is no honest way to build a money page around a programme that pays $55 and stops.
Who it’s for
Reasonable fit
- International buyers who want the real landed cost upfront.
- Anyone redeeming several cards at once — shipping barely scales.
- Sellers who want to list without a seller fee.
- People who prefer a platform that does not oversell the maths.
Poor fit
- Anyone hoping to profit. Their own average says otherwise.
- Referrers — the programme caps at about $55, forever.
- Traders needing deep marketplace liquidity.
- Money you cannot afford to lose.
If you decide to sign up
New users get 10% off a first pack of $25 or more. We get a tiered points bonus that stops after six referrals — so unlike most sites publishing referral links, we have almost no financial reason to push you here. Take that for whatever it is worth.
Referral link · we receive a credit if you use it · terms verified 2026-08-03
Frequently asked
- Is Courtyard legit?
- Yes on the evidence available. Cards are graded, vaulted with Brink's, and minted on Polygon where pack opens can be independently checked. They publish per-tier odds and an average pack value before purchase, calculate import tax upfront rather than leaving it to the border, and quote shipping instantly. We have not yet completed a physical redemption ourselves.
- Does Courtyard tell you the pack is worth less than you pay?
- Effectively yes, and it is the only platform we have found that does. Every pack we sampled publishes an average item value below its own purchase price — $48.50 on a $50 pack, $485 on a $500 pack, $2,400 on a $2,500 pack. Most competitors advertise a figure above the pack price.
- What does Courtyard charge to sell a card?
- Nothing on the marketplace — they state 0% seller fees. That is unusual and materially better than paying a percentage to liquidate, though it says nothing about the price you can actually achieve.
- How much is shipping and tax?
- US shipping ran about $7 flat across every quote we took, from one card to nineteen. International adds tax, calculated upfront at the destination country's published rate applied to the asset's last sale price — not its current market value. A $2 per card handling fee applies during periods of high demand.
- Is the Courtyard referral programme worth it?
- Barely. It pays a tiered points bonus on your first six referrals only, totalling 11,000 points — about $55 of pack face value at their published 200 points per dollar — and then stops permanently.
Compare directly: Collector Crypt vs Courtyard · Collector Crypt review
Reviewed 2026-08-05 · 3 packs sampled from live purchase screens, plus 9 shipping quotes we took ourselves · redemption not yet tested end to end