How do Japanese card shop condition grades compare with NM, LP, MP and HP?

Each shop sets its own scale

Japanese card shops publish condition standards for their own stock, and the labels differ from store to store. One shop's top grade is S, another's is A, and a third uses words such as 中古良品 (chūko ryōhin, used, good condition) instead of letters. Hareruya2 and Card Rush both call their standard 当店基準, "this shop's standard." Neither page says whether it covers the online store, the physical shops or both. Card Labo, Torecolo, Dragon Star and Full Comp publish theirs as rules of their online shops.

Two habits are shared, though. The usual default grade is a used card meant for play, and factory flaws such as small scratches or misaligned foil count as wear, even on a card taken straight from a pack. Dragon Star says its A grade "is not a perfect card for collecting purposes" (コレクション目的の完全美品ではございません), and Hareruya2 says its A grade is a rating for used play cards and asks collectors looking for flawless copies to keep that in mind.

How the shops define their grades

The table lists each shop's labels from best to worst and what a card with no condition note means. Wording is from each shop's condition page as of November 2, 2026.

A few definitions show how much the same letter can cover. Hareruya2's A to A- runs from "completely flawless" to "slight scratches, scuffs or dirt (including factory issues)." Card Rush's A allows "small scratches, scuffs, small white chipping (白カケ) or slight dullness" on the edges or surface, and its A- is a card that is "immediately recognizable as not what is generally called mint." Suruga-ya's Standard is "no problem for play" and "may have light scratches, scuffs or white chipping (白欠け)." Full Comp's 中古A is a card "just taken out of a pack, or close to it."

The lower grades follow the same pattern. Hareruya2's C has dents, scratches or dirt and is described as fine for play in an opaque sleeve but poorly suited to collecting, and its D cannot be used in games without an opaque sleeve. Card Rush's C includes creases, dents and light water damage, and its D includes tears and peeling. Suruga-ya's C is suitable for casual play but often not for tournaments, and its D is unsuitable even for play.

The one shop that uses English terms

Hareruya's Magic: The Gathering store prints English abbreviations next to its Japanese labels: NM (Near Mint), SP (Slightly Played), MP (Moderately Played) and HP (Heavy Played), followed by POOR and DAMAGE. Its NM card "may show minimal wear, slight scratches etc.," SP shows "slight wear, dirt, scratches," MP has "slight indentations, scuffing, and dirt build up" and is "fit for use in a solid sleeve," and an HP card "could not be used in a tournament" even in a solid sleeve.

Even these English labels don't line up exactly with TCGplayer's. Hareruya uses SP where TCGplayer uses Lightly Played (LP), and TCGplayer says Heavily Played flaws "cannot prevent the card from being tournament playable when sleeved," while Hareruya's HP card cannot be used in a tournament. A Hareruya HP card therefore reads closer to TCGplayer's Damaged on that one point. Hareruya2, the Pokémon and other-games store from the same company, keeps the A to D letters on its English pages and does not add NM or Played terms.

Reading a Japanese grade against TCGplayer's definitions

TCGplayer's condition terms describe wear in a way you can hold a Japanese definition against. Near Mint shows "minimal to no wear" and may have "a tiny edge nick or a tiny scratch or two." Lightly Played may have "minor border or corner wear or even just slight scuffs or scratches," with no water damage or bends. Moderately Played has issues "visible at a casual glance," which can include creases or whitening. Heavily Played shows "a severe amount of wear" but stays tournament-playable when sleeved, and Damaged can have a tear, bend or crease that makes it illegal for tournaments even in a sleeve.

The comparison below lines up wording, not equivalence. No shop on this list publishes these matches, so treat the right column as a starting point and read the card's own photos.

A shop grade is also not a grading score. Mercari's own trading-card condition guide makes the same point about its A to D scale, saying its top level does not guarantee a high grade from a grading company. If you are buying a card to submit, read what a 10 measures and how PSA, BGS and CGC define a 10 before relying on a shop letter.

Shops without a published standard

Not every store on our card shop pages publishes a condition scale. As of November 2, 2026, no condition standard for single cards was found on the official sites of Hobby Station, MINT or Fukufuku Toreka; Hobby Station's shop guide covers returns of new and sealed goods only. Pokémon Centers sell new products, so condition grades don't apply there. For these shops, the card in front of you, or the photos in the listing, are the only condition information.

What to check before you buy

• Find the shop's condition page and read the definition of the grade on the card, not just the letter. Card Rush and Hareruya2 both use A, and both include factory flaws in it.
• Check whether the card has a label at all. At Hareruya2 and Card Rush, no label means A; at Suruga-ya, it means Standard.
• Read the return terms for lower grades. Suruga-ya sells B, C and D rank cards and cards with listed defects "basically no-claim, no-return" (ノークレームノーリターン).
• For cards bought through a proxy service or on a marketplace, compare the shop grade with the Mercari and Yahoo! Auctions condition terms used by private sellers, which are separate scales again.
• If a card will be played, check that it fits the sleeves you use; several shops describe lower grades by whether they are playable in opaque sleeves.