A raw card's grade comes from its most worn spot, front or back. If a card is Near Mint on the front and has a whitened back corner, it is listed as Lightly Played and the corner is in the photo.
The scale
| Grade | What it means here |
|---|---|
| NM (Near Mint) | No visible wear at arm's length. Under light: at most a speck of edge wear, no scratches, no whitening. |
| LP (Lightly Played) | Light edge or corner wear, minor whitening, a faint surface line. Still clean in a sleeve. |
| MP (Moderately Played) | Obvious wear: whitening on several edges, scratches, a light scuff. No creases. |
| HP (Heavily Played) | Creases, heavy whitening, bends, water marks. Priced accordingly and always photographed. |
Photos
Each listing shows the actual card, front and back, in the sleeve and toploader it ships in. Flaws that drove the grade get their own photo.
Slabs
Grader, grade and cert number are on every slab listing, with the cert linked to the grader's own lookup. The holder is photographed front, back and label. Cracked or scratched holders are stated.
Sealed
Factory seal shown in the photo. Resealed product is never sold. Shelf wear on a box is stated.
If you disagree with a grade
Send a photo of the card as received through the contact page. If it is worse than listed, it gets sorted out. The refund policy in the footer covers the mechanics.