Earned points, real cards
The ZeroPop Drop
Every week we put up a drop: real trading cards from our own inventory, priced in points you earned by grading cards in the ZeroPop app, mailed to you free. Points cannot be bought, traded, or cashed out, and they carry no cash value. Nothing here is a purchase and nothing here turns on chance: fixed-price cards go to the first confirmed claim, and the weekly headline card is decided by the highest bid.
It is a closed loop. Use the app, earn points, claim from the drop, get a card in the mail.
How it works
Step 1
Grade cards, earn points
Points come from using ZeroPop. There is no way to buy them, no way to transfer them, and they hold no cash value. Your plan sets how many you can earn each month.
Step 2
A new drop every week
The drop is a batch of real cards from our own inventory, opening at a fixed weekly time. Each card shows its ZeroPop grade, real photos of that exact card, and a price in points.
Step 3
Claim it, or bid on the headliner
Fixed-price cards go to the first confirmed claim, decided by server timestamp. The headline card runs a 24 hour points auction with proxy bids: you set a maximum and we bid only what it takes to lead.
Step 4
It arrives in the mail
Every claim ships free in a plain envelope, penny sleeve plus semi rigid holder, on our weekly mail day (currently Monday). A claim confirmed after that week's cutoff, an auction that settles after it, or a small card batched monthly goes out on the following mail day. Typical arrival is 3 to 7 days after it goes out. Continental US only.
How earning works
Every point is welded to activity in the app. Monthly limits depend on your plan, and your balance is capped so nothing can be stockpiled indefinitely.
| How | Points | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Every card you grade | 4 to 8 points | More on higher plans, capped monthly |
| First scan of the day | 5 points | Counts toward the bonus limit |
| Weekly quest | 20 points | Counts toward the bonus limit |
| A friend you refer grades a card | 200 points | Up to 5 referrals a quarter |
Points expire after 365 days with no activity, and we warn you 30 days before that happens. Any point earned or card claimed resets that clock, so only a dormant account ever loses a balance, and the balance of an active Pro or Ultra subscriber does not expire at all.
Open now
This week's drop is open
4 cards are on the shelf right now. Fixed-price cards go to the first confirmed claim, and the headline card is running its 24 hour points auction.
4 cards in this drop
Past drops
Every finished drop publishes a recap: which card went to whom, how many seconds after the shelf opened, and what the auction closed at against what it opened at. That timeline is how we show the allocation was deterministic. Each recap gets its own public page, readable without an account, and the same timeline appears in the app under Drops.
The fine print, up front
- Points are earned through app activity only. They are never for sale, never transferable, and hold no cash value.
- Grades shown are ZeroPop grades: our own assessment, not PSA, BGS, or SGC, and the photos are of the exact card you would receive.
- Shipping is free to the lower 48 states and Washington D.C. Mail goes out on a fixed weekly mail day, currently Monday. A claim confirmed after that week's cutoff, an auction win that settles after it, and small cards batched monthly go out on the following mail day. Typical arrival is 3 to 7 days after it goes out.
- Cards travel in a plain envelope with regular stamps, so there is no tracking number. The Program Rules describe what happens if an envelope never arrives.
- Claiming requires an account at least 14 days old, a verified continental US address, and an 18 or older attestation.
- Full terms live in the ZeroPop Drops and ZP Points Program Rules. The ZeroPop Terms of Service also apply.
Related reading: how card grading works, browse the community feed, and the population report.