Sportlots Grading Guidelines

Card grading is always going to be subjective. However, many companies offer guides to help you in grading. Sportlots has reviewed many of these guides and have come up with one that seems to best fit our needs.

As a buyer, please understand that many sellers are loading thousands of cards daily. In order to get these listed online, it's just not feasible and cost effective for sellers to closely look at each and every common card. For this reason, we don't have grades listed higher than NM, so in many cases buyers may actually obtain cards in higher grades, but buyers may also find some common cards that are slightly below grade. Sportlots asks sellers to generalize the overall condition of common cards from the set they are loading. We suggest that the sellers grade on the conservative side to prevent or minimize issues. Also, Sportlots also expects that sellers more carefully grade star cards that are worth more money.

PIC - Pictured Card
NM - Near Mint
EX/NM - Excellent/Near Mint
EX - Excellent
VG - Very Good
GOOD - Good

PIC: Pictured Card

Pictures are worth 1,000 words.... When a seller adds a picture of a card to Sportlots inventory, they no longer submit a formal condition of the card. The card can now be graded by the customer instead of a subjective opinion of seller. The seller can still add detailed notes to provide an opinion of the grade or to better describe potentially unseen defects in the card.

Since pictures are preferred by customers, all cards with pictures, regardless of condition or price, will be listed highest in the sort order when viewing cards

Pictures inserted for a card must be of that card for sale. The only exception is when multiple quantities exist for the same card pictured.

NM: Near Mint

  • Centering: 65/35 or better on front, 90/10 or better on back.
  • Corners: Very minor wear on two corners is allowed.
  • Edges: Slight roughness, minor chipping or very minor notching is allowed.
  • Surface: A few noticeable print spots or minor speckling is allowed. Minor color or focus imperfections. Very minor border discoloration. A very minor wax stain on back. Solid gloss with a few minor scratches detectable upon close inspection. A few metallic print lines.

    This is the highest grade allowed on Sportlots. Cards at this grade can actually be considered NM or better, since no higher grade is available for seller.

    EX/NM: Excellent/Near Mint

  • Centering: 70/30 better on front. 95/5 or better on back.
  • Corners: Lightly worn corners, but free of dings and fraying.
  • Edges: Moderate roughness, moderate chipping or minor notching is allowed.
  • Surface: Noticeable print spots. Minor color or focus imperfections. Minor border discoloration and color or focus imperfections. Minor wax stains or extremely subtle ink marks. Relatively solid gloss with minor scratches, but devoid of scuffing. Noticeable metallic print lines.

    EX: Excellent

  • Centering: 75/25 or better on front. 95/5 or better on back.
  • Corners: Four fuzzy corners, a touch of notching or a minor ding is allowed.
  • Edges: Noticeable roughness - but no layering. Very slight notching or noticeable chipping is allowed.
  • Surface: Noticeable print spots. Minor color or focus imperfections. Minor border discoloration. Minor wax stains or very light ink mark. Some gloss lost from surface with minor scratches, but devoid of scuffing.

    VG: Very Good

  • Centering: 85/15 or better on front. 100/0 or better on back.
  • Corners: Slightly rounded or noticeably notched corners with slight layering is allowed.
  • Edges: Heavy notching, moderate layering or heavy chipping is allowed.
  • Surface: Heavy print spots. A very minor crease. Noticeable color or focus imperfections. Noticeable border discoloration. Noticeable wax stains Very little surface gloss. Minor scuffing or a very minor tear.

    GOOD: Good

  • Centering: 90/10 or better on front. 100/0 or offcut on back.
  • Corners: Noticeably rounded or heavily notched corners with moderate layering.
  • Edges: Severely chipped, notched or layered.
  • Surface: Severe print spots. Noticeable creases. Noticeable color or focus imperfections. Noticeable border discoloration. Heavy wax stains. Moderate ink mark or tape stain. A surface devoid of gloss. Noticeable scuffing or a noticeable tear.

    Sportlots does not grade cards below GOOD. Any cards purchased that are in GOOD condition should not have any expectations and should just be purchased as set fillers. If the grades between GOOD, FAIR and POOR are important to you as a buyer, you should first contact the seller for more information regarding the cards condition before purchasing.