Card Condition NM, LP, MP, HP and DMG – How to Grade It and How It Affects Price

Mateusz Ryś · October 28, 2026 · about 7 min read

Next to the version, card condition is the biggest factor in price. The market describes it with abbreviations: NM (Near Mint), LP, MP, HP and DMG, while Cardmarket uses its own seven-step scale. Here’s what each condition means, how to judge it and how not to mix up the scales.

Card condition – the NM, LP, MP, HP and DMG scale

Most shops and the US market (including TCGplayer) use five grades. The descriptions below are general – every marketplace has its own detailed guidelines, which are worth reading before you list a card.

Abbreviation	Name	What the card looks like
NM	Near Mint	Pack fresh. At most microscopic marks that only show up on very close inspection.
LP	Lightly Played	Minor wear: light whitening on edges or corners, faint scratches. No creases.
MP	Moderately Played	Clear wear: whitened edges, worn corners, surface scratches, possibly minor dents.
HP	Heavily Played	Heavy wear: major whitening, creases, dirt. The card is still intact.
DMG	Damaged	Damage: tears, heavy bends, water damage, writing, missing pieces.

You’ll also often see Mint – a card with no flaws at all. In practice many shops lump Mint in with NM, because the difference is hard to spot without a loupe, and for graded cards the grade from a company like PSA or CGC decides anyway.

The Cardmarket scale: Mint, Near Mint, Excellent, Good…

Cardmarket, the largest card marketplace in Europe, uses seven grades:

Mint (MT) – perfect condition.
Near Mint (NM) – pack fresh.
Excellent (EX) – minor signs of wear.
Good (GD) – visible signs of wear.
Light Played (LP) – clear signs of use.
Played (PL) – heavily worn.
Poor (PO) – destroyed.

The biggest trap: “Light Played” on Cardmarket is not the same as “Lightly Played” on TCGplayer. On the European scale, LP is only the fifth grade, after Excellent and Good, so it means a more worn card than US LP. Likewise, European Excellent doesn’t equal US NM.

There’s no official conversion table between the two scales, and different guides give different equivalents. The safe rule: when you list on a given marketplace, read its guidelines and grade conservatively – better for a buyer to get a card that’s nicer than described than worse. We cover the differences between the marketplaces in Cardmarket vs. TCGplayer.

What to check when grading card condition

Look at the card out of the sleeve, in good light – daylight if possible. Tilt it at different angles – many scratches only show up in the reflection. For pricier cards, a loupe or a high-magnification photo helps. Always grade by the weakest element: a card with a perfect surface but a clearly whitened corner isn’t NM. If there are several minor flaws at once, drop it a grade.

Corners

Look for rounding, peeling layers and white spots. On cards with dark backs (e.g. Pokémon, Magic), corner whitening is especially easy to see.

Edges

Run your eyes along all four edges of the back. White specks and wear (so-called whitening) are the most common reason a card drops from NM to LP.

Surface

Scratches, fingerprints, dents, sleeve marks, and on holo cards – scratches in the foil layer. Check front and back.

Creases and bends

A crease in the card stock (even a small one, visible under light) usually means MP or worse. A slight bend across the whole card, typical of some foil cards, should be judged more carefully and described in the listing.

Other damage

Water damage, discoloration, pen marks, stickers, tears – these are usually DMG (or Poor on Cardmarket).

How condition affects a card’s price

TCGplayer’s “Market Price” is calculated separately for each condition, while the Cardmarket trend isn’t tied to one specific condition – so for a specific condition, check listings with the condition filter on. Price guides usually assume a card in near-mint condition (NM). Every lower grade lowers the price, but there’s no single universal multiplier. How much it drops depends on:

the type of card – for tournament staples, players accept LP more readily, so the drop is often smaller;
age and rarity – for old collector cards, NM copies are scarce and carry a clear premium;
availability – when there are lots of copies on the market, the gap between conditions widens.

The most accurate approach is to check listings and sales of the specific card in the specific condition – Cardmarket lets you filter listings by condition. In a shop, a consistent method helps: RipWorth has NM / LP / MP / HP / DMG buttons and estimates the price from the NM price using typical market ratios, and buy prices and sessions update right away for the selected condition.

Practical tips for shops and sellers

Grade conservatively. If you’re torn between NM and LP – go with LP. Returns and negative feedback cost more than the price difference.
Use one scale in your shop and train every employee on it. A customer should get the same grade no matter who’s behind the counter.
Photos of expensive cards – front, back and corner close-ups. They protect you and the buyer.
Buying from customers – grade condition in front of the customer and show them the flaws that lower the price. Transparency builds more trust than a higher rate.
Storage – sleeves, toploaders and a dry place. It’s easier to keep a card’s condition than to get it back – see how to store trading cards.
Grading is a different thing. PSA, CGC or BGS grades on a 1–10 scale are a separate world. NM condition doesn’t guarantee a high grade – centering counts too. More: is PSA grading worth it.

Frequently asked questions

What does NM mean on a card?

NM is Near Mint – a pack-fresh card with at most microscopic marks. Market prices are most often quoted for this condition.

Is LP on Cardmarket the same as LP on TCGplayer?

No. On Cardmarket, Light Played is the fifth of seven grades (after Mint, Near Mint, Excellent and Good), so it means a more worn card than Lightly Played on TCGplayer.

What conditions does Cardmarket use?

Mint, Near Mint, Excellent, Good, Light Played, Played and Poor. You’ll find detailed descriptions of each in Cardmarket’s guidelines.

Does corner whitening lower a card’s condition?

Yes. White spots on the corners and back edges are the most common reason a card drops from NM to LP, and with more wear – to MP.

How much cheaper is an LP card than NM?

There’s no single multiplier. The difference depends on the card, its rarity and availability. The best approach is to check listings and sales of the same card in that condition.