Grading & Condition Standards

Every raw card is graded to its worst flaw. 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 card that ships: front and back, in the sleeve and toploader it is sent 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.