Card condition: Mint to Poor
Almost every price you see online is for a card in Near Mint. Knowing where your card sits is not a side issue but half the answer.
The seven grades
This is the scale used on the trading platforms, and the same one you pick in Cardtracker when you add a card.
| Condition | What you see |
|---|---|
| Mint | Perfect. Square corners, smooth edges, not a single scratch in the foil. In practice a card is only in this state straight out of a pack, and even then not always: factory damage exists. |
| Near Mint | As good as new. In good light you can find something: a tiny white speck on a corner, a light scratch. On the table nothing stands out. This is the condition most prices refer to. |
| Excellent | Light wear you notice when you pick it up. An edge that is no longer crisp, some small scratches in the foil. Still tidy. |
| Good | Clearly played. White spots on several corners or along the edge, visible scratches. The card is intact and the artwork is undamaged. |
| Light Played | Well used but without serious damage. Edge wear all round, perhaps a slight bend. Fine to play with, not to collect. |
| Played | Heavily used. Creases, an obvious fold, a lot of white along the edges. The card is still readable and complete. |
| Poor | Damaged: water, a tear, a missing piece, or written on. Only still interesting if the card itself is rare enough. |
What it does to the price
There is no fixed table, because it depends on how scarce the card is. Two rules of thumb that hold up reasonably well:
Cards that are still being printed
- On modern cards that are still being printed, the difference between Near Mint and Played is often around half.
Old and scarce cards
- On old and scarce cards it spreads much further. There the condition becomes the price: the same card can differ by a factor of three to five.
The other way round: the more common the card, the less the condition matters. On a fifteen cent card, the Poor version is fifteen cents too.
How to look yourself
Scratches in the foil
- Hold the card under a lamp and tilt it. Scratches in the foil only show up in reflected light.
Whitening on the corners
- Look at the four corners of the back. Whitening on the corners is the first thing to happen and the most talked about.
Bending, and being strict with yourself
- Lay it flat on the table and look across it from the side: that shows whether it is bowed.
- Be strict about your own cards. Rate yourself one grade too high and you get it back when the buyer returns it.
And graded cards?
A grading company rates a card from 1 to 10 and seals it in a case. That is something else than these seven grades: it is a third party's verdict, with a guarantee and a number. For an expensive card it can pay off, for a card worth a few euros never, because the grading itself already costs more.
In Cardtracker you pick the condition per card, so the value of your collection matches what you actually have. Start free
Written by Nils. Prices come from Scrydex and are updated daily; they are indications, not appraisals. About Cardtracker