Grading Guide
CardShopTolaria strives to deliver only the highest quality cards. Unless otherwise noted, cards are near mint.
Wear and tear on a card can be unpredictable. This page intends to clarify what to expect when shopping with or selling to CardShopTolaria.
An updated guide including pictures is forthcoming.
Near Mint
Cards in Near Mint condition show minimal to no wear. A Near Mint card may have some scuffs, dings, blemishes or clouding either on the surface or edge of the card upon closer inspection. Any instance of wear on a Near Mint card will be isolated to a small area. A Near Mint card will never exhibit creases, bends, inking, crimping, signatures, stamps or alterations of any kind. Near Mint cards may exhibit slight misprints from the printing process such as a slight miscut, lines, or mild color or print errors; these misprints do not affect the grading of the card.
Lightly Played
Cards in Lightly Played condition contain many of the same defects of a Near Mint card except the wear is more severe and immediately noticeable on a casual inspection. The acceptable range of cards within the Lightly Played condition include both cards with too many minor imperfections to qualify as Near Mint and those with a few imperfections which noticeable upon a casual inspection.
Heuristically, a card in Lightly Played card will give an overall sense that the card has been used. Scratches, scuffs and clouding may reveal a small amount of white under the card. The edge may exhibit slightly more severe chipping. All scratches, scuffs, clouding and edge wear may encompass a slightly larger area or more frequently than Near Mint cards. A very light amount of dirt may be present in a small isolated region.
Lightly played cards may exhibit slight misprints from the printing process such as a slight miscut, lines, or mild color or print errors; these misprints do not affect the grading of the card. Cards which contain a signature or a stamp are automatically graded at no higher than Lightly Played but otherwise do not affect further classification of the card in question (i.e., an otherwise Near Mint card with a signature is considered Lightly Played. Otherwise, a signature or stamp has no effect on the grading of the card.)
A Lightly Played card will have no indentations as a result of improper storage in binders or from bending. No cards at CardShopTolaria will ever be sold with a stamp or a signature and this classification is used when we purchase cards. All signatures must be from the artist credited with illustrating the card in question or by Richard Garfield. Any other signature is considered damaged.
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Played
Cards in Played condition exhibit condition issues visible at a casual glance. Cards in Played condition contain similar serious imperfections to the above which would be immediately noticable at a mere glance. Heuristically, a card in Played condition will give an overall sense that the card has been used frequently used in the past and represents an accumulation of wear consistent with that from a Lightly Played card. Cards in this category may exhibit uniform clouding or scuffing across the surface of the card which may not be noticable inside a sleeve but is evident upon inspection outside of the sleeve. A card in Played condition may have indentations as a result of improper storage in binders or from bending.
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Heavily Played or Damaged
With the except of older or exceptional cards. CardShopTolaria neither sells nor purchases cards in these categories. In circumstances where they are sold, pictures of the actual card will be displayed. Cards sold to us in this condition require pictures and taken on a case by case basis.
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