Condition a card
Not sure what condition to choose? Answer one question at a time. If you are unsure, choose the lower grade or add photos.
Based on TCGplayer's public Card Conditioning Overview. This guide helps sellers, but it is not an official grading tool.
See what kinds of wear disqualify each condition →
Slide until the wear looks closest to your card for a rough condition check.
What this checks first
Some problems matter more than normal wear. This guide checks those first, then walks up from Damaged toward Near Mint.
- Food, liquid, mold, or sticky stuff means you should not list the card normally.
- Tears, splits, bad bends, or real-card concerns mean Damaged.
- Paint, signatures, stamps, writing, and clear changes mean Damaged.
- Foil cards use the same grades, but curling, foil scratches, bubbling, and speckled foil still count.
Condition cheat sheet
Use this after the questions if you want a quick gut check. The right column is the caution trigger: if it matches your card, choose the lower grade.
| Grade | Pick this when | Pick lower if |
|---|---|---|
| NM | It looks almost new: minimal wear, crisp corners, and clean edges outside of a few slight flaws. | You can easily see wear, whitening, dirt, a dent, a bend, or surface issues. |
| LP | It has a few or a handful of minor flaws, but no significant defects or structural issues. | The flaws are severe, high-volume, spread across the card, or include a clear crease. |
| MP | It has obvious moderate flaws: border wear, surface wear, scratches, scuffs, light dirt, fading, or a small crease. | The wear is heavy, all over the card, or affects playability, structure, or trust. |
| HP | It has major wear, heavy whitening, creasing, or many flaws, but is still authentic, playable, and structurally sound. | It is torn, split, structurally damaged, marked, or hard to authenticate. |
| DMG | It has serious damage, alterations, stamps, signatures, writing, tears, splitting, or integrity problems. | It has food, liquid, mold, or sticky stuff. Do not list normally. |
Pro tips from other sellers
Small habits make fast sorting safer and more consistent.
- Keep comparison cards nearby. A spare card of each type makes condition calls faster.
- Group cards by condition. Use a box, shelf, or row for each condition when possible.
- Wash and dry your hands. Handle inventory with clean, dry hands before sorting.
- Protect cards while sorting. Trim your nails or wear disposable gloves if you sort quickly.
- Check foils under angled light. Severe curling, scratched foil, bubbling, or speckled foiling can change the condition even when the front looks clean head-on.
- Avoid direct sunlight. Consistent exposure, like leaving cards by a windowsill, can visibly damage ink over time, even along card edges.
Turn cleaner condition calls into cleaner inventory.
Hoard helps TCG sellers organize cards, sync pricing, and keep listings consistent after the grade is decided.