Why condition matters
Two copies of the same card can sell for very different prices. The difference is condition. A card that looks fresh from the pack is worth more than one that has been played with, so reading condition well is the most useful skill a buyer or seller can learn.
Raw singles on MYNTED use five grades. Sealed product and graded cards have their own scales, covered below.
The five grades for raw singles
These are the grades buyers and sellers use across the GCC and the rest of the world. Sellers choose the grade, so look at the pictures too.
- NM: Near Mint
- Looks like it just came out of a pack. At most a tiny flaw you only see up close.
- LP: Lightly Played
- Small signs of handling, such as light edge whitening or a few minor surface marks.
- MP: Moderately Played
- Clear wear you can see at arm's length: more whitening, scuffs or light creases.
- HP: Heavily Played
- Strong wear all over, such as bent corners, deep creases or heavy scuffing. Still a complete card.
- DMG: Damaged
- Serious damage: tears, water damage, writing, large creases or missing pieces.
What to look for on a card
Check the same five things every time and you will grade consistently.
- Centering
- Are the borders even on the left and right, and top and bottom? Off-centre cards look uneven.
- Surface
- Tilt the card under a light. Look for scratches, scuffs, dents, print lines and fingerprints.
- Edges
- Look along all four edges for chips, nicks and white specks, often called whitening.
- Corners
- Sharp corners are a good sign. Soft, rounded or bent corners lower the grade.
- Whitening
- On dark borders, white dots on edges and corners show wear. The more there is, the lower the grade.
Sealed product and graded cards
Sealed product, such as booster packs, boxes and elite trainer boxes, is shown as new, visible wear or damaged. New means the wrapping is clean and intact. Visible wear means scuffs, dents or creased shrink-wrap. Damaged means torn or crushed packaging.
A graded card does not use NM to DMG. It carries a grade from a grading company, printed on the label of the slab. On MYNTED the grade and the grading company are shown on the item, and previous sales are compared per grade.
How condition is shown on MYNTED
Every item page shows the condition or grade next to the picture, with the seller and a price guide from our Collectr partnership. You also see what the same card sold for on MYNTED before, so you can compare a Near Mint copy to a Lightly Played one.
Look at every picture. Sellers are asked to show the front, the back and any flaw. If a picture is unclear, ask before you bid.
Every sale is final. If an item is not as described, write to help@mynted.me within 3 days of delivery.
A quick way to grade your own card
Hold the card flat under a bright light. Start with the corners and edges, then tilt it to see the surface, then check the centering. Write down what you see and pick the grade that matches the worst flaw, not the best part.
If a card is valuable to you, consider professional grading. Our Grading Hub compares PSA, Beckett, TAG, ACE, CGC and HiT and handles the drop-off.
