"Near Mint" is the most abused phrase in card selling. It has no legal definition, no governing body, and no consequence for using it loosely. Two sellers can describe the same card as NM and mean very different things.
So rather than ask you to trust the word, we show you the card. Every single is scanned front and back before it is listed, and the grade sits alongside the scan. Here is what our grades mean and — more usefully — how to check them yourself.
Our four grades
Near Mint (NM) — minimal or no wear. Unmarked surfaces, undamaged corners and edges. May carry one small flaw: slight border or corner wear, or a minor light scratch.
Lightly Played (LP) — minor edge or corner wear, with slight scuffs or scratches. No major defects, and fewer than four flaws in total.
Moderately Played (MP) — moderate wear, or flaws that are immediately apparent. Border wear, mild corner wear, water damage, scratches, creases, fading or light dirt build-up, or a combination.
Heavily Played (HP) — significant creasing or folding, severe water damage, heavy whitening, heavy border wear, tearing.
You can read the full guide on our conditions page. All raw singles are pre-owned unless a listing states otherwise.
How to read a scan yourself
Four things to look at, in the order that most affects value.
1. Centring
Compare the border width top to bottom and left to right. Perfect centring is rare and commands a premium; noticeably off-centre cards are worth less even in otherwise flawless condition. This is the single biggest factor in whether a card grades well, and it is entirely visible in a scan — which is why we photograph the full card rather than cropping to the art.
2. Corners
Zoom in on all four. You are looking for whitening — the pale fraying where the card's inner layer shows through the print. Sharp, dark corners are what NM looks like. Fuzzy or pale corners are LP at best.
3. Edges
Run your eye along all four borders. Whitening here shows up most obviously on dark-bordered cards, which is why a black-bordered card in LP can look worse than a white-bordered card in MP even though the grade says otherwise.
4. Surface
Scratches, print lines, dents and clouding on holo areas. Holofoil shows surface wear far more readily than a matte card — a scratch invisible on a common will be obvious across a full-art.
Why the grade matters more than people expect
The gap between NM and LP on a chase card is often a meaningful percentage of its value, and the gap between LP and MP is larger still. If you ever intend to send a card for professional grading, condition on arrival is the ceiling on what you can get back — nothing improves in a sleeve.
It also matters for honesty. A card sold as NM that arrives LP is a return, a refund and a lost customer. We would rather grade conservatively and have the card arrive better than described.
If you are unsure, ask
Cards over £20 and vintage cards are always listed with a condition. For anything below that, send us the listing URL through the contact form and we will send photographs and an honest description before you buy.
You can browse our singles here — every one scanned, graded and dispatched from the UK in 1–3 working days.