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fabscards Condition Guide: How we rate your cards

At fabscards you get exactly the card you see in the photo – no stock images, no surprises.
To help you understand at first glance what to expect in terms of condition , you can find our evaluation guide here.

Why conditions are so important

The condition of a card can significantly affect its value – especially for played or older cards.
That's why we rate each card individually , manually and honestly .

Most of our cards are sleeved and top-loaded for scanning. You'll also find them as photos in our store.
Unfortunately, we can't perform this process for bulk purchases, as it would be somewhat beyond our scope. However, you can be assured that we evaluate each card to the best of our knowledge and belief. If the card you purchased doesn't match the description or you have a different opinion regarding the card's condition, we are always ready to offer suitable solutions.

Our condition categories at a glance

Here are the conditions you will find in our shop – with examples of what you can expect:

Mint (MT)

The condition of a Mint card is perfect. This means that the front is in perfect condition, meaning it has no scratches and is completely unmarked. The back is also in perfect condition, meaning it is indistinguishable from the back of a card from a freshly opened booster pack.
We never mark cards signed by an artist or stamped at a Grand Prix as Mint, regardless of whether the card would otherwise be in Mint condition.

Near Mint (NM)

A card in Near Mint condition looks as if it has never been played without its sleeve. Minor cosmetic flaws are acceptable, but these cards do not show any significant signs of wear.

The edge of a Near Mint card may have a few small white spots, but these should be very few and very small. When viewed under bright daylight, the card should appear clean. A small tolerance is allowed here, but scratches are taboo.

Features:

  • Barely visible signs of wear
  • Front and back almost flawless
  • Minimal white dots on the edge possible

Excellent (EX)

A card in Excellent condition looks as if it has been used for a few games without its sleeves. In most cases, it's easy to tell at first glance that an Excellent card isn't in perfect condition. However, the damage should still be minor.

Excellent cards usually have some white spots along the edges and/or corners. The surface may have a few minor scratches, but these aren't immediately noticeable in normal light.

Features:

  • Slight white spots on the edges
  • Small scratches on the front or back possible
  • Overall very good overall impression

Good (GD)

A card in Good condition looks like it has survived a long tournament without sleeves.

A card in Good condition typically shows significant wear across all areas of the card, with prominent white spots on corners and edges. The surface of the card often has a few scratches and is slightly soiled. However, these are purely normal signs of wear. The card has no creases or water damage.

Light Played (LP)

A card in Light Played condition looks as if it has been played without sleeves for an extended period of time.

The most important criterion for a light-played card is that it is unequivocally tournament-legal when played in a sleeve. Furthermore, the card has not been tampered with.

Played (PL)

A card in Played condition looks as bad as a card can ever get through normal use.

A played card looks pretty badly damaged, and it's not always clear whether it's still tournament-legal in its sleeves. However, the card hasn't been tampered with, meaning it doesn't have blackened edges, isn't scribbled on, has no tears, etc.

Poor (PO)

Everything else is Poor. Typically, a card in Poor condition has damage that can't be caused by normal play.

A card in Poor condition can be safely described as destroyed. It is either so damaged that it is obviously no longer usable in a tournament, or it has been damaged in some other way that its value has been almost completely destroyed. Examples include blackened edges, scribbled cards, severe water damage, and cracks in the card.