Card Condition Guide: Near Mint to Damaged Explained
When you buy single cards online you cannot hold them in your hand first, so the condition label has to do the work. We use the five standard grades that card buyers already know, and we grade conservatively: if a card sits between two grades, we list it at the lower one.
| Grade | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Near Mint (NM) | Looks unplayed. At most a tiny edge nick or a faint scratch visible only under light. |
| Lightly Played (LP) | Minor edge or corner wear, light scuffs. Perfectly tournament-legal in a sleeve. |
| Moderately Played (MP) | Noticeable whitening, scratches or a minor crease. Clearly used but intact. |
| Heavily Played (HP) | Heavy wear, creases or surface damage, but no tears or water damage. |
| Damaged (DMG) | Tears, bends, water damage, ink or writing. Priced for binder fillers. |
Holofoils and printing
Foil cards show scratches more easily than non-foil cards, so a holo listed as Lightly Played may look a little worse than a non-foil card with the same grade. The printing — Normal, Holofoil, Reverse Holofoil or 1st Edition — is always shown on the product page.
Sealed product
Sealed boxes are listed with the condition Sealed. We check the shrink wrap before shipping; if a box has a noticeable dent or a torn wrap we will tell you before you pay.
How we ship singles
Every single ships in a penny sleeve and top-loader, inside a rigid mailer. Higher-value cards are shipped with tracking.
