Sportlots Policy Updates – Effective December 18th

We’re reaching out to share several upcoming policy changes to the Sportlots buying experience. These updates are designed to reduce transaction fees for sellers, speed up order processing, and make Seller’s Loot more useful and easier to redeem.

Please note: These policy changes apply only to Fixed Price Store orders. Auction orders will continue working the same way as they do today.

1. $1.50 Minimum Transaction Fee for Orders Under $5.00

Payment processors like PayPal and credit card companies charge high flat fees on every transaction. For very small orders (under $5.00), these fees often wipe out a seller’s earnings. To protect sellers and keep the marketplace healthy, we are introducing a $1.50 minimum transaction fee for orders under $5.00 paid with PayPal or a credit card.

The processing fees charged by PayPal and credit card companies have become too high to continue passing them on to sellers for these small orders.

Easy Ways to Avoid This Fee

• Build fewer, larger orders.
  You can place one order with multiple sellers, and the sellers share the transaction fee.
• Let your shopping cart total exceed $5.00 before checking out.
• Use Sportlots Credit.
  Add credit through My Account → Add Credit (PayPal, Credit Card, or Check).

If you prefer placing many small orders, you can still avoid the fee entirely by using Sportlots Credit. Orders fully paid with credit are not subject to the minimum fee.
Note: the minimum amount of credit you can add at one time is $25.00.

2. Improvements to Seller’s Loot

We’re updating Seller’s Loot to make it more valuable, easier to use, and more visible.

What’s Changing

• Loot becomes available 48 hours after it’s earned.
  You’ll receive a notification when new Loot becomes available.
• Loot now expires after 90 days.
  Expiration dates will be clearly displayed, and notifications will be sent when Loot is about to expire.
• Loot is automatically applied at checkout.
  You no longer need to manually apply rewards. Any available Loot from a seller will automatically reduce your order total.
• Existing Loot becomes effective immediately and expires in 90 days.
  All Seller’s Loot currently in your account will activate on December 18th and will expire 90 days later.
• Inactive Seller Loot has been removed.
  As part of the upgrade, Loot tied to sellers who no longer have active inventory was cleaned up, since it could no longer be used.

These changes help ensure you never miss out on rewards and keep the system fair and sustainable for both buyers and sellers.

3. Checks Will No Longer Be Accepted as Direct Payment for Orders

Going forward, checks can still be mailed to Sportlots — but only to add credit to your account, not to pay for individual orders directly.

Why This Change Is Being Made

• Immediate payment at checkout.
  Once credit is on your account, your checkout is instant.
• Lower postage costs.
  One check can cover many future orders instead of mailing multiple checks each week or month.
• More payment options.
  If you previously used checks because you didn’t have a PayPal account, credit card payments are now available.
• No more payment delays.
  Sellers won’t have to wait for checks to arrive and clear before shipping. Buyers receive orders faster, and sellers’ inventory is no longer held in limbo.

Minimum Check Amounts

• Checks used to add credit must be for at least $25.00.
• If you have a single order over $25.00, you may send a check for the exact amount — but please be aware of the risk: prices, postage, or item availability may change while the check is in transit.

When These Updates Begin

All changes take effect on December 18th.

We’re giving advance notice so you can prepare — whether that means building combined orders, adding credit ahead of time, or planning how to make the most of your Seller’s Loot.

Starting December 18th, new orders will no longer allow direct check payments.
We will continue accepting checks for orders created before 12/18 until December 31, 2025. After that date, any unpaid orders will be deleted.

Want to see all of the new features coming with this update?
This release also includes several major enhancements such as a redesigned shopping cart, Save-for-Later tools, improved Make-an-Offer workflows, and a smoother checkout experience.
Click here to learn more about what's new.