Know your cards
Card condition guide
A visual card condition guide for collectors, sellers and dealers. Learn what to look for before you price, buy or list a card.
Choose a condition to compare illustrated examples. This guide explains wear on raw cards; it does not assign a condition to your card.
Illustrated examples
Corner detailOne small corner fleck
Original diagrams, not photos of your cards. Wear is exaggerated for visibility; location and amount can vary.
Near Mint
Almost unworn, with only tiny imperfections.
What this can look like
A tiny whitening spot at a corner; the rest of the card looks clean.
Look closer
Check the back as carefully as the front. Small white flecks often show best against a dark border.
Near Mint does not mean flawless. Assess the whole card, including any marks the scan cannot reveal.
A simple three-step inspection
- 1. Check the whole card
Inspect both sides outside the sleeve on a clean surface. A scratch on a sleeve is not necessarily on the card.
- 2. Look at every edge
Check all four corners and the entire border for whitening, chips, bends or peeling layers.
- 3. Change the light
Gently tilt the card to reveal scratches and indentations. Even a sharp scan can miss surface defects.
Compare all condition levels
- Mint · M
- No visible flaws found during careful inspection. Clean surfaces, sharp corners and intact edges on both sides.
- Near Mint · NM
- Almost unworn, with only tiny imperfections. A tiny whitening spot at a corner; the rest of the card looks clean.
- Lightly Played · LP
- A little noticeable wear, with defects that remain minor. Small areas of corner whitening, a few edge marks and light surface scuffing.
- Moderately Played · MP
- Clear wear across the edges or surfaces. Several worn corners, visible scratches and more frequent edge whitening.
- Heavily Played · HP
- Extensive wear, with the card’s structure still intact. Widespread whitening, heavily worn corners and substantial surface scuffing.
- Damaged · DMG
- Serious defects or compromised card structure. A tear, separated layers or a deep fold that damages the cardstock.
- Not assessed (Unknown)
- There is not enough evidence to choose a condition yet. The back is missing, a sleeve hides the edges, or the card has not been inspected.
Foils, grades and marketplace standards
Finish and condition are separate. Foil describes the printing, not its wear. Check foil surfaces for scratches and curling; manufacturing flaws also matter.
Raw condition is not a professional grade. Mint does not guarantee a 10. Keep a slab’s grading company, numeric grade and certification separate.
Check the rules where you sell. TCGplayer uses NM through Damaged, without a separate Mint category. A crease is MP at best under its rules. Card Kingdom uses NM, Excellent, Very Good and Good; these are not automatic equivalents of PullX’s labels.
Illustrations show possible examples, not fixed defect counts or authentication. Consider the most serious defect and the overall wear together. If the evidence is incomplete, leave the condition unknown until inspected.
- TCGplayer condition overview (opens in a new tab)
- TCGplayer imperfections guide (opens in a new tab)
- Card Kingdom grading guide (opens in a new tab)
Guide reviewed September 19, 2026.