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You spot a card at €12, and the same one seems to be €4 somewhere else. The difference usually comes down to two or three letters stuck to the title: NM, EX, LP. These codes describe the card's condition. They set the price, and above all they tell you what is going to arrive in your envelope.
Learn to read them once, and you stop paying mint prices for worn cards.
Why condition changes the price
A card loses value the moment it gets damaged. A whitened corner, a scratch across the holo, a light bend: every flaw pushes the price down, sometimes by half. For a card you want to keep or send off for grading one day, the starting condition sets the ceiling. A card that is already marked will never make a beautiful slab.
The vocabulary comes from Cardmarket, the European benchmark. Every serious seller uses it. Each code has a precise meaning.
The scale, condition by condition
MT · Mint
A flawless card, no defects at all, exactly as it came out of the pack.
NM · Near Mint
An almost flawless card. Any defects are minute and only show under close inspection. It is the most common condition on sale, and the one to aim for on a collection card.
EX · Excellent
Light wear visible up close: slight edge whitening, a fine surface scratch.
GD · Good
Clear, visible wear. The edges or corners are marked, and the surface may carry scratches.
LP · Light Played
Heavy wear, but the card is complete and playable. Marks show in several places.
PL · Played
Strong overall wear. Blunted corners, marked surface, sometimes light bends.
PO · Poor
A badly damaged card: pronounced creases, tears, stains. It sells as is, at a reduced price.
You will find the full scale on our Card conditions page.
And that little "+"
A "+" marks a card sitting a notch above the rest of its category. An EX+ is an EX at the top of its range, almost a NM. The distinction stays honest when a card falls between two grades.
What to look at on a card
To judge a card yourself, four areas speak before the others:
- The corners: the slightest whitening shows, and this is the first place that wears.
- The edges: look for the white line along cards with a coloured border.
- The surface: tilt the card towards the light. You will catch the obvious scratches, but also the micro-scratches that only appear at a certain angle, especially on holos and textured finishes. Add fingerprints, which mark the varnish quickly.
- The centring: compare the margins. An off-centre frame does not change the condition, but it weighs on the value and on any future grade.
The case of print lines
Some cards come out of the pack with a fine line across the surface, left over from printing. It is called a print line. This is not wear, it is a factory defect. It often goes unnoticed by the naked eye and shows up under light, by tilting the card. On a card you intend to have graded, a print line can cost points, so check for it like everything else.
Graded cards follow a different logic
A card sealed inside a certified case, a "slab", does not follow this scale. An independent company has graded it, with a number and a certification number. You are no longer judging the wear yourself, you are relying on the grader. If the subject interests you, read Should you get your card graded.
How Dojo shows condition
Every card page states its condition, and the photo shows the actual card. Our single cards ship as NM unless stated otherwise. You know what you are ordering before you pay. For slabs, the grader's score and the certification number appear on the page.
Just starting your collection? Carry on with Starting your collection without getting burned.