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FOT Comic Book and Trading Card Rating Guide

We inspect all of our comic books and trading cards, and give them a rating according to our rating guide. Though there may be somewhat of a universal rating system, we have noticed that it is not 100% consistent. Therefore, we have created our own, and our products are graded using it. When buying, take note of the condition of the item; for in this guide you will find that conditon, and be able to figure out what your item will be like. If you are selling to FOT, then please let us know the condition of your items using this guide.

M - Mint

NM - Near Mint

VG - Very Good

G - Good

VF - Very Fine

F - Fine

FR - Fair

P- Poor


Mint

An item in this condition is basically perfect. There are no marks on the item, no bends, no fading. In the rare case of a MINT item, all corners are as sharp as they were upon production, and the item has not been touched as to leave fingerprints.


Near Mint

An item that is Near Mint has no blemeshes to the naked eye. That is, just by looking at it, one may say that it is brand new or perfect. In the case of Comic Books, mint means that, if there are bent corners, they are very slight. Covers may have slight bending along the binding, but nothing more. There are no markings, fading, or tears on the book whatsoever. In the case of cards, corners may be slightly rounded, but mostly only visible if looked at closely. These items may have unnoticable fingerprints, and may have very slight notieabilty of minor use if looked at carefully.


Very Good

Beyond the point of NM, items are rated by condition in conjunction with age. This description of Very Good only applies to items that are post-1985. All items released in or before 1985 are considered VG if they fall under the description of G as posted here. Likewise, such items are considered F if they meet our described FR standards. This level upgrade is true of all items except in the case of P. If a pre-1985 item fits the Poor standards, then it is P, not FR. Very Good items are items which may have little rounding of corners and very slight fading. Items with manufacterer's defects fall into this category as well. For instance, if there is an ink blotch that clearly came from the company, then the item may be considered VG. No other marks are allowed. No tears, except very small tears on Comic Books. VG Comic Books may have slight bending of less than half of the pages, and very very slight loosening of the binding.


Good

Good items may have slight creases, a fair amount of fading, and more rounding of corners. By no means should a G graded item have anything missing. Cards cannot have any tears or marks, and comic books can have no marks, and only very slight tears on less than 75% of the pages. Books may have weak binding, and more bends. However, all pictures should be easily read or observed.


Very Fine

Very Fine items still must be able to be fully read and/or observed. VF items must meet all of the standards of a G card, only very small markings are acceptable, and in the case of comic books, very small tears are acceptable on every page; again, only if they are very small.


Fine

Fine items are items that are generally not accepted by collector's, unless, of course, the item is extremely rare or old. Fine items are accepted with 3 or less small markings on cards, and on less than half of the pages in comic books. Cards may have very rounded edges, and may be greatly faded. However, the content of the card should still be able to be observed without much strain. Cards cannot have tears unless very small and almost unnoticable at first glance. In the case of comic books, rarity matters. For rarer comics, covers may be missing as long as the rest of the book meets G or better. For non-rare comics, larger tears are acceptable, some markings, and much more fading. The comic, itself, however, muct be in tact and except for the cover, must be tightly held together.


Fair

Items that are fair are just on the verge of Poor. Very small parts of an item may be missing, as long as it is not a vital part of the item. For example, the name on a garbage pail kid cannot be missing. The number of the card must be in tact, and if there is writing, it must be readable. Parts that may be missing are edges with no writing, very small portions of a picture, or corners. Comic books are 100% readable, but may be very faded, severly bent, and may be missing the cover. Many edges may be torn off, ads cut out, etc.


Poor

Poor items are items in any worse shape than that of the description of Fair. At FOT, we only accept Poor items if they are extremely rare; and generally even in such cases not much is given.