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Card Condition Guide

At CTG, we are trying to simplify both the buying and selling process for our customers. With that in mind, we deal in only 3 card condition grades:

 

NEAR MINT - A card in Near Mint condition could be pack-fresh, primed for BGS grading OR it may have a few flaws such as a corner/edge nick, very minor edge wear, and/or slight surface imperfections. Hence the "Near". Overall, a card in Near Mint condition doesn't have the obvious overall appearance of being "played" and its flaws are usually unnoticed when in a perfect fit sleeve.

  • This goes the same for cards your are Buylisting to us. Not only do you have the assurance that you are selling each card for highest possible price, you also have the peace of mind that we won't knock 25% off your Near Mint cards - or send them back and charge you shipping -  because they have a minor bump or bruise. Most other online stores do that and it's infuriating. We don't want to infuriate people.
  • Foil cards are graded with a heavier weight on the condition of the front and should have virtually no clouding or obvious edge/corner flaws that affect it's overall appearance at all when sleeved. We all like our foils to look shiny and crisp on the table since that means they tap for more mana, do more damage, etc.

SLIGHTLY PLAYED - A card in Slightly Played condition has obvious signs of wear. It could be as minimal as having one too many minor flaws to meet our Near Mint standards up to obvious play all over the card. This includes: surface whitening, multiple edge wear, surface scratches, NM cards with artist signatures, minor bending, binder dents, slight border creasing/shuffle creasing.

 

MODERATELY PLAYED - Moderately played cards have easily visible overall wear throughout the card or possibly one significant flaw like a major edge crease. Same condition characteristics as Slightly Played cards but in a larger amount/severity.

  • Moderately Played cards will NOT contain full border inking, tearing, water damage, writing on either side (except for the artist's signature), missing pieces, punctures, or anything else significant that would consider the card "Damaged".

 

Think of our grading scale in common sense terms:

Near Mint - "Card looks pretty clean to me."

Slightly Played - "It's definitely got some wear on it, but not too bad."

Moderately Played - "Yeah, that one has definitely seen better days. Man, if I could go back to the 90's and stop myself from playing those dual lands on the driveway."

If you have a concern or question regarding our grading scale, please Contact Us before  submitting your Sale or Buylist order. Unlike other stores, if we ever do find a discrepancy in condition with  items you have sent us, we will contact you first and let you know to see how you would like to proceed.