Condition abbreviations look cryptic until you've bought a few singles, and then they become second nature.
Near Mint: the everyday top tier
NM stands for Near Mint — a card with no flaws visible to the naked eye, sharp corners and no whitening or scratches. It's just below a genuinely perfect, factory-fresh copy, which is the realistic top condition most sellers grade to.
The tiers below it
Below Near Mint, common grading tiers run through Lightly Played, Moderately Played, Heavily Played and Damaged, each describing progressively more visible wear — whitening on the edges, scratches, bent corners or worse.
When condition actually matters for price
Condition affects price at every tier, but the gap matters far more for valuable Rares, where a Near Mint copy can be worth significantly more than a played one. For bulk Commons, condition differences rarely move the price meaningfully either way.
Frequently asked questions
What does NM mean when a Pokémon card is listed for sale?
Near Mint — no visible flaws, sharp corners, no whitening or scratches.
What condition grades come below NM?
Lightly Played, Moderately Played, Heavily Played and Damaged.
Does condition affect a card's price even for cheap Commons?
Yes, but the gap matters far more for valuable Rares than bulk Commons.