Card Condition Guide

Card Shop Live currently sells cards graded as Near Mint, Lightly Played, Moderately Played or Damaged. If you have any questions regarding these grades, please feel free to contact support@cardshoplive.com. We are happy to answer any questions or hear any suggestions for improvement to this guide.  

NM-Mint: A card in Near Mint-Mint condition will show little to no visible wear. From the back, a Near Mint-Mint card is generally indistinguishable from other cards of the same condition.

A card in this category may have one or two of the following types of wear:

•     Very slight scratches visible upon close inspection
•     Very slight clouding (dust/dirt damage) visible upon close inspection
•     Very slight scuffing or loss of sheen visible upon close inspection
•     Very slight nicks visible upon close inspection
•     Very small printing flaws visible upon close inspection 

LP: A card in Lightly Played condition will show visible, minor or mild wear even without close inspection.

A card in this category may have several instances of the wear described in the Near Mint-Mint section as well as the following additional types of wear:

•     Minor scratches
•     Mild clouding (dust/dirt damage)
•     Minor scuffing or loss of sheen
•     Minor nicks
•     Minor printing flaws
•     Minor binder bending
•     Minor indentations on the card surface
•     Mild border whitening that does not extend along all card borders
•     Mild corner whitening that does not extend to every corner
•     Mild discoloration or fading
•     Very slight border creases that extend no further than the border of the card
•     Very slight shuffle creases that extend no further than the border of the card

MP: A card in Moderately Played condition will show easily visible, moderate wear. A Moderately Played card will still be legal for tournament play if sleeved.

A card in this category may have several instances of the wear described in the Lightly Played section as well as the following additional types of wear:

•     Moderate scratches
•     Moderate clouding (dust/dirt damage)
•     Moderate scuffing or loss of sheen
•     Moderate nicks
•     Moderate printing flaws
•     Moderate binder bending
•     Moderate indentations on the card surface
•     Moderate  border whitening that may extend along all card borders
•     Moderate corner whitening that may extend to every corner
•     Moderate discoloration or fading
•     Moderate border creases that may extend passed the border of the card
•     Moderate shuffle creases that may extend passed the border of the card
•     Mild or minor dirt build up
•     Very slight inking
•     Very slight water damage

Heavily Played: A card in Heavily Played condition will show easily visible, extreme and/or extensive wear. To sum up, a Heavily Played card is any card that is graded worse than Moderately Played. 

A card in this category may have several instances of the wear described in the Moderately Played section as well as the following additional types of wear:

• Extensive scratches
• Extensive clouding (dust/dirt damage)
• Extensive scuffing or loss of sheen
• Extensive nicks or tears
• Extensive printing flaws
• Extensive binder bending
• Extensive indentations on the card surface
• Extensive border whitening
• Extensive corner whitening
• Extensive discoloration or fading
• Extensive border creases
• Extensive shuffle creases
• Dirt build up that is more than mild or minor
• Inking that is more than very slight
• Water damage that is more than very slight
• Writing