Have you ever pulled a redemption card from a box you’ve purchased or witnessed one from a break? If you have, there’s a chance you’re wondering what it’s doing there and why card companies include it in their products.

There are instances when basketball players are unable to sign their cards or send them back in time. This creates a problem for trading card companies because they need to release a card set and the absence of a player’s autographed cards can cause a delay.

This is where a redemption card comes in.

What is a redemption card?

In essence, redemption cards act as some sort of IOU or a promissory note for the delayed autographed items. It contains the card type, the player signing it, and a code. The code itself is hidden via a thin layer of coating, which needs to be scratched by the card owner.

Consumers can redeem the card mentioned by entering the code on the manufacturer’s website, along with the name and address where the card will be shipped to. Once the code has been used, the company will then wait for the card to be signed and ship it to the owner. Keep in mind that the company handles the shipping fee to the owner’s location anywhere in the world.

The risk behind redemption cards

The euphoria of pulling a redemption card can somehow be anti-climatic, especially for those who are going to go through this process for the first time. At best, redeeming the card promised by the company would only fall within the four-to-eight-month window, or even faster than that. The worst case is waiting beyond that window and not having an idea when it will arrive.

Panini America, the licensed card manufacturer of the NBA, is quite notorious when it comes to this issue. There are cases when the company has failed to uphold its promise to deliver the redeemed card on time. As a result, some cards took years for them to be shipped to their owners.

While the prolonged wait is a horror story in itself, there are other cases that make redemption cards so troubling to deal with. Some consumers have complained that Panini sent them a different card from what was indicated on the redemption. As it stands, the card company reserves the right to replace the redeemed card with one that has “comparable” value.

For their side, Panini explained that several factors, such as players delaying the card shipment, are already out of their control. The company also said that providing a replacement card to the customer is necessary when the player in question didn’t hold up their end of the bargain.

Tips when dealing with redemption cards

A lot of redemption cards have been won via box breaks. There are also instances when the owner would ask the breaker to show him the code online, instead of waiting for the card to be shipped out.

The first thing you need to do with a redemption card is to keep it safe from prying eyes. There have been cases of a scratched-off card that was shown during a break, which led to an anonymous viewer stealing the redemption code. To be safe, it’s best to wait for the card to arrive and redeem it yourself in the privacy of your own home.

Another tip that can help customers is to continually check the manufacturer’s website for updates related to their redemption cards. Panini, for example, posts on a weekly basis which cards have been signed and are ready to be delivered.

Some valuable pieces obtained via redemption cards

Just recently, a redemption card fetched an insane amount of $1,375. The card in question comes from the latest 2020-21 NBA Hoops pack and features LaMelo Ball’s Rookie Ink signature. A total of 41 bids were counted and culminated at the price indicated above.

Another highly coveted, yet controversial, redemption product from Panini is its 2020 Mosaic Kobe Bryant Career Highlights pack, which was recently sold for $4,999.99 on eBay. Since the passing of Bryant left some redemption cards unsigned, the company opted to send revamped cards from its Mosaic set to customers. The cards feature a short print-run, along with exclusive Kobe Bryant cards that can’t be found anywhere else.