Rip slang glossary - 40 card collecting terms explained
Hit, chase, grail, slab, comp, case hit, pop report - the card ripping words you'll hear on streams and pack sites, explained in one line each.
New to pack streams and rip sites? This is the vocabulary, one line each. Terms are grouped so you can scan.
Opening packs
- Rip - open a pack. "Let's rip one more."
- Pull - the card you got. "Best pull of the night."
- Hit - a valuable or rare pull. The opposite of a "brick".
- Brick - a pack with nothing good in it.
- Chase (or chase card) - the rarest, most wanted card in a set or pack.
- Grail - the one card you want most.
- God pack - a rare pack where every card is a hit.
- Re-rip - open again straight after the last pack.
- Pack war / battle - two or more people open the same pack; best pull wins.
- Break (group break) - one person opens a box or case on stream and the cards are split between buyers, often by team.
- Case hit - a card so rare it's expected roughly once per sealed case of boxes.
Card types
- Raw - a card that isn't graded.
- Slab - a graded card sealed in a hard plastic case.
- Rookie card (RC) - a player's first official card. Usually the most collected.
- Auto - a card with the player's autograph on it.
- Patch / relic - a card with a piece of game-worn jersey or equipment.
- Parallel - a version of a base card with a different colour or finish.
- Refractor - a shiny, rainbow-finish parallel (a Topps Chrome term).
- Numbered (/99, /25...) - only that many copies exist. 1/1 means one in the world.
- Alt art - an alternate artwork version of a card, usually rarer.
- Secret rare - a card numbered beyond the set's official count.
- Holo - a card with a holographic (shiny) image.
Grading
- Grade - a condition score, usually 1-10. See PSA vs BGS vs CGC vs TAG.
- Gem Mint / PSA 10 - the top common grade; near perfect.
- Black Label - a BGS 10 with perfect subgrades. Very rare.
- Sub-grades - separate scores for centering, corners, edges and surface.
- Pop report - how many copies of a card exist at each grade. Low pop = scarcer.
- Crack (a slab) - break a slab open to regrade the card, hoping for a higher score.
Value and selling
- Comp (comparable) - a recent sale price of the same card, used to value yours.
- FMV - fair market value, usually worked out from comps.
- EV - expected value: what a pack is worth on average. See pack expected value explained.
- Sell-back / buyback - a rip site buying your pull back, usually at 85-90% of its value.
- Flip - buy (or pull) and sell quickly for profit.
- PC (personal collection) - cards you keep, not sell.
Products
- Wax - sealed packs and boxes.
- Hobby box - boxes sold through hobby shops and online, usually with better odds of hits.
- Retail - packs sold at big stores; cheaper, usually fewer hits.
- Booster box - a sealed box of booster packs (trading card games).
- ETB (Elite Trainer Box) - a Pokémon box with packs plus accessories.
- Vault - where an online rip site stores your real cards until you ship or sell them.
Spot a term we missed? Tell us at hello@pullfox.com.
Quick answers
What does "rip" mean in card collecting?
To rip is to open a pack of trading cards. A rip can be a physical pack you tear open or a digital pack on an online site that is backed by a real card.
What is a grail card?
A grail is the one card a collector wants most, usually rare and expensive. It's personal - one collector's grail is a 1st Edition Charizard, another's is a rookie autograph of their favourite player.