Why Condition Matters

• Price impact — A Near Mint card can be worth 2–10x more than the same card in Heavily Played condition

• Buyer expectations — Buyers rely on your condition grade to decide whether to purchase. If the card arrives in worse shape than listed, they'll open a dispute

• Tournament legality — Cards in poor condition may not be legal for tournament play, even in sleeves

• Collection value — In a future update, your portfolio valuation on CardNexus will take condition into account, making accurate grading even more important for portfolio tracking

The CardNexus Condition Scale

CardNexus uses the North American (NA) five-tier condition scale, the same system used by TCGPlayer and most NA retailers.

Near Mint (NM)

A Near Mint card looks like it was just pulled from a booster pack. It may have very minor imperfections that are barely visible under close inspection:

• Front: Clean surface with no scratches, scuffs, or print defects beyond factory standard

• Back: Sharp corners with little to no edge whitening

• Structure: No bends, creases, or warping whatsoever

A tiny edge nick or a faint factory print line is acceptable. Anything beyond that drops the card to LP.

Lightly Played (LP)

An LP card looks great from a normal viewing distance but reveals minor wear when you examine it closely:

• Front: May have faint surface scratches or very light scuffing

• Back: Small amount of edge whitening, especially at corners

• Structure: No bends or creases — the card is still flat and firm

Think of LP as "played in sleeves a few times" — the card has been handled but well cared for.

Moderately Played (MP)

An MP card shows clear signs of use that are obvious at first glance:

• Front: Noticeable scratches, minor scuffing, or light clouding on the surface

• Back: Moderate edge whitening across multiple edges and corners

• Structure: May have a slight bend (not a crease), minor warping, or a small ding

This is the "played regularly without sleeves" tier. The card is fully playable but clearly not mint.

Heavily Played (HP)

An HP card has major wear throughout. Despite the damage, the card is still identifiable and playable when sleeved:

• Front: Heavy scratches, significant surface wear, possible dirt or staining

• Back: Extensive edge and corner whitening — possibly all around the card

• Structure: May have soft bends, but no hard creases that break the surface

HP cards are often purchased by players who want a specific card for their deck at a lower price and don't care about aesthetics.

Damaged (DMG)

A Damaged card has structural issues that affect its integrity. It may not be tournament legal even in a sleeve:

• Front: Deep scratches, ink loss, staining, or surface peeling

• Back: Severe whitening, scuffing, or material damage

• Structure: Hard creases, tears, water damage, significant warping, or missing pieces

How to Assess Condition

When grading a card, check these three areas systematically:

1. The Front

Hold the card at an angle under good lighting and look for:

• Surface scratches — Fine lines across the card face, especially visible on holofoil cards

• Print lines — Factory printing artifacts (thin lines across the art). Minor ones are acceptable for NM; heavy ones drop to LP

• Scuffing or clouding — A hazy look to the surface, usually from shuffling without sleeves

• Ink spots or staining — Any foreign marks on the card face

2. The Back

Flip the card over and examine the edges and corners:

• Edge whitening — White spots or lines along the card edges where the color has worn off. This is the most common form of wear

• Corner damage — Rounded, soft, or dinged corners

• Back scratches — Scuffs or scratches on the back surface

3. The Structure

Hold the card at eye level and look along its edge:

• Bends — A gentle curve in the card (soft bend = MP or HP depending on severity)

• Creases — A hard fold line that breaks the card surface (= Damaged)

• Warping — A slight bow or curl, common with foil cards. Minor foil curl is acceptable for NM

EU ↔ NA Condition Mapping

If you've used Cardmarket (Europe) before, you'll know the EU grading scale is different from the NA scale used on CardNexus. The EU scale has seven tiers compared to NA's five, and the grade names don't line up the way you'd expect.

Key takeaway: The EU scale is more granular at the top end (Mint, NM, Excellent, Good) while the NA scale is simpler (Near Mint, Lightly Played). If you're used to Cardmarket grading, your "Excellent" cards are generally safe to list as LP on CardNexus, and your "Good" cards also map to LP.

Practical Tips for Sellers

• Grade conservatively — If you're unsure whether a card is NM or LP, list it as LP. Buyers love receiving a card in better condition than expected. The reverse causes disputes.

• Use good lighting — Grade cards under bright, even lighting. Overhead fluorescent or LED panels work well. Avoid relying on phone flashlight alone.

• Photograph against a dark background — A plain dark surface (black playmat, dark desk) makes edge whitening and surface wear much easier to see in photos.

• Check both sides — Many sellers only look at the front. The back is where most wear shows up, especially edge whitening.

• Note specific flaws — If a card has a notable imperfection (a scratch across the art, a dent in one corner), mention it in your listing description. Transparency prevents disputes.

• Be extra careful with foils — Foil and holographic cards show surface scratches much more easily than regular cards. A card that looks NM in non-foil might be LP or MP in foil.

Professional Grading vs. Raw Condition

The condition scale above applies to raw (ungraded) cards — cards that haven't been sent to a professional grading service.

CardNexus also supports professionally graded cards (slabs) from services like PSA, Beckett (BGS/BVG), CGC, TAG, PCG, and CCC. Graded cards use the grading company's numeric scale (typically 1–10) instead of the NM/LP/MP/HP system.

If you have a graded card, you'll enter the grading service and grade number when adding it to your inventory — no need to assess condition yourself.

Related Articles

• Listing Cards for Sale — How to create listings with accurate condition grades

• How to Find Cards — Search and filter by condition when shopping

• Report a Problem — What to do if a card arrives in worse condition than listed