Card condition,
made clear.
A tiny white corner. A scratch in the shine. Condition is the story of how a card has been handled. Here’s how to read it before you buy, list or add to your Vault.
From Mint to well loved.
The seven raw-card labels used here, following Cardmarket terminology.
- MMint
- No visible wear on either side: clean surface, unmarked edges and corners.
- NMNear Mint
- Almost unmarked. Very few tiny white edge spots may be present; no visible scratches or cloudy surface.
- EXExcellent
- A few small white edge or corner marks. Wear is noticeable, but limited.
- GDGood
- Several whitened edges, rubbed corners or visible surface wear. No structural bends or water damage.
- LPLight Played
- Heavy, widespread wear. Still suitable for play in sleeves; no recolored borders or other tampering.
- PLPlayed
- Extensive wear or severe lasting deformation. Tournament suitability is doubtful, even in sleeves.
- POPoor
- Severe damage or tampering: for example, a tear, major crease or recolored edge.
Simplified examples, not an automatic grade. Inspect the whole card; one serious defect can outweigh an otherwise clean front. For close calls, compare detailed photos with the full guide.
A closer look, in four steps.
Start with clean hands, a clear surface and good light. A sleeve protects a card; it doesn’t improve its condition.
These are inspection prompts, not a grading service. Describe what you can actually see.
Look at the front and back
Remove the sleeve carefully. Check each edge and corner for white spots, chips or soft, rounded areas.
Tilt it gently in the light
Look across the surface for scratches, scuffs, dents and dull patches. Shine can hide marks in a straight-on photo.
Check the card’s structure
A crease is a fold line in the card, not a mark on its sleeve. Show bends, tears, peeling or liquid damage clearly.
Show the details
Take clear front, back and close-up photos. Write “white spot on the back, top-right corner” instead of just “nice condition”.
A few easy mix-ups.
Does a new booster guarantee Mint?
No. “Pack fresh” describes where a card came from, not the result of inspecting it. Check your copy before choosing a condition.
Is raw Mint the same as a PSA 10?
No. A raw-card condition is the owner’s description. A numeric grade is a grading company’s assessment under its own standards. There is no guaranteed conversion, and a seller’s condition label is not an authentication result.
Read PSA’s grading standardsDoes LP mean the same thing everywhere?
No. Cardmarket’s “Light Played” and TCGplayer’s “Lightly Played” belong to different scales. Check the marketplace’s definitions rather than translating the abbreviation alone.
Read TCGplayer’s condition overviewWill a condition label tell me the price?
No. Compare the same card version, language, finish and condition. PriceMyTCG uses matching dated offer observations where available; it does not apply a fixed discount to guess the value of a worn card.