Condition and grading: telling a good card from a bad one

The four things that get looked at

The whole system, from a sales description to a professional grade, comes down to four criteria. Learn to check them in this order and you avoid nearly every bad purchase.

Centring. How much border sits on each side of the frame, front and back. It ruins more grades than anything else and it is the thing fewest people check.
Corners. Viewed under raking light. Even minimal whitening on one corner drops the grade.
Edges. Especially on dark-bordered cards, where any scuff shows up white.
Surface. Scratches, fingerprints, print lines, and the curl holos develop over time.

Always ask for photos of the back. Most people photograph the front only, and back centring is where half the tens are lost.

What NM, LP, MP, HP and DMG mean

This is the scale used for buying and selling ungraded cards. It is not standardised to the millimetre, so always look at photos, but these are the reasonable expectations.

NM	Near Mint	Practically perfect. At most one minimal flaw you have to hunt for.
LP	Lightly Played	Light wear visible up close. Some edge whitening.
MP	Moderately Played	Obvious wear: white edges, scratches, possibly some curl.
HP	Heavily Played	Well used. May have soft creases or clear marks.
DMG	Damaged	Real damage: hard creases, tears, water, writing.

How professional grading works

Grading means sending the card to a company that assesses it, assigns a grade from 1 to 10, and seals it in a plastic slab. The card cannot come out without breaking the seal.

What you buy when you grade is not a number: it is a third party vouching for authenticity and condition. That is what lets you sell to someone on the other side of the world without them having to trust your photos.

Grades run 1 to 10, and the gap between a 9 and a 10 can multiply the price several times over on sought-after cards.
High grades are much harder than they look. A card that seems perfect to the eye usually comes back an 8 or 9.
Per-card cost plus insured shipping means it only makes sense above a certain value.
Turnaround is measured in weeks or months.

When grading is worth it

The practical rule: grade when the expected uplift clearly exceeds the cost of the service, or when authenticity is what you are really certifying.

Yes: expensive cards in apparently flawless condition, where a 10 changes the price dramatically.
Yes: old or heavily counterfeited cards, where the authenticity guarantee is worth it on its own.
No: low-value cards. Grading will cost more than the card.
No: cards with an obvious flaw. You already know it will not grade high.
No, if you want to look at it. A slabbed card is never touched again. If you collect to enjoy it, the binder is the better idea.

Expensive mistakes people keep making

Buying "NM" from a description without seeing photos of all four corners and the back.
Cleaning a card. It almost always makes things worse, and any alteration disqualifies it from grading.
Storing holos stacked flat: they curl over time and it does not come out.
Filing a new purchase straight into the binder without inspecting it. If something is wrong, the return window is running.

FAQ

What does NM mean on a Pokémon card?

Near Mint: practically perfect. At most one minimal flaw you have to look closely to find. It is the normal state of a card that went from a pack into a sleeve and nowhere else.

Is it worth grading my Pokémon cards?

Only if the expected graded value clearly exceeds the cost of the service and shipping, or if what you need certified is authenticity. For low-value cards or ones with visible flaws it rarely pays. Bear in mind a slabbed card can never be handled again.

What should I check first when buying a card?

Centring, on the back as well as the front. It ruins more grades than anything else and it is the thing fewest buyers check, so it is where most of the surprises are.