Does no one know what mint means anymore?

A

aqua

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I am really getting frustrated with trades these days and decided to mini-rant. I haven't done trades in 3 or 4 years online and never had this issue until recently. I am not going to single anyone out. I thought I would share my frustrations to see if anyone has had problems like this.

Trade 1: My first trade I state I want a mint card, and that's exactly what I get. Hurray! Things are as they should be!

Trade 2: I start my second trade and state I want a mint card. I get a card with scratches on it and edgewear which shows silver edges. I could handle one or the other, but not both. Arg!

Trade 3: I get a card with similar issues from someone else. Scratched holo, and at the top there is silver edgewear. Okay... unacceptable.

I message this person who actually has a replacement. Hallelujah!

I get this one and it's WORSE than the last one. No edgewear, but it's scratched to hell and there's a defect in the middle of the holo that looks like an indention of a line going through it. Even has a dent on the left side.

Trade 4: I state again I want a mint card, I get ANOTHER scratched/played card. This one has more of those defects like with the one mentioned above. There is like an indention of a line going through the entire card, two times. Once in the center and once at the top. I can't tell if these are printing errors or if people are storing them incorrectly.

This is really getting tiresome. So I decide, hey maybe I'll buy some cards!

Trade 5/Buy: I buy two cards online where they state the cards went from booster pack to sleeve to toploader. Okay cool, these should be mint, right? RIGHT?!

No. I get those today, scratched to hell, indentions on the card like someone took a ballpoint pen and just pushed on the card a few times. Most likely a lying seller, but still. Very disappointing.

These are all different people, and different trades. What's worrisome is these people telling me they looked over the cards and couldn't see any scratches or defects. Really? I have base set cards I owned 12 years ago as a kid, with no concept of preserving cards, that are better condition than some of these. So I ask you guys, does no one know what mint cards are anymore? Does no one take care of their cards anymore? Or am I just this unlucky? :(
 
people will say anything to get rid of junk for what they want e-trades are completely based off trust and if you were unhappy unless thwe other person is willing to comply and admit they werent mint condition your going to have a hard time making anything out of it. really the only solution is dont e-trade.
 
I think a lot of people think that Mint is playable condition. I never guarentee mint, because I put my cards in a binder that I take from place to place. There's a really good chance that something could be consitered a blemish after months of handling. Mint is pack fresh, or even better. It would be nice but unnecesary if someone wrote a guide of how you judge your cards (I might just do this), but I agree with you that people aren't correctly labeling their cards.
 
I completly agree, I had to put in nig huge bold letters across the top of my trade thread what mint condition means. I just got sick of dealing with it after a while because some people just dont seem to understand that a card is only worth money in a collection if the card is perfect. Whats even more difficult is finding the Revholo cards that are actually playable cards like Bebe or Expert belt no matter how hard you try you will never find thoes in good condition because people need to have "pretty decks". Now I will be the first in line to admit I'm a nerd but come on. What happen to the good old days when people knew how to take care of their cards now people just leave them in piles or let people riffle throught their binders and pull cards out willy nilly.
 
Juliacoolo said:
I think a lot of people think that Mint is playable condition. I never guarentee mint, because I put my cards in a binder that I take from place to place. There's a really good chance that something could be consitered a blemish after months of handling. Mint is pack fresh, or even better. It would be nice but unnecesary if someone wrote a guide of how you judge your cards (I might just do this), but I agree with you that people aren't correctly labeling their cards.
Click to expand...

I think I might write that article about condition of cards. It would definitely be necessary if one is trading in the trading corner.
 
Juliacoolo said:
I think a lot of people think that Mint is playable condition. I never guarentee mint, because I put my cards in a binder that I take from place to place. There's a really good chance that something could be consitered a blemish after months of handling. Mint is pack fresh, or even better. It would be nice but unnecesary if someone wrote a guide of how you judge your cards (I might just do this), but I agree with you that people aren't correctly labeling their cards.
Click to expand...
Well I don't mind minor blemishes or something you'd have to stare directly at to see. I am more concerned with things you can notice without looking at it in the light. Deep scratches, edgewear, dents, etc. People telling me things are mint when they are clearly played or just mishandled is annoying. Not only does it waste my time and postage, it robs me of other offers who may have had mint cards. Also to hand over MY mint cards to someone who gives me played cards, that's a slap in the face.

I always thought big warnings like in Nova's thread were unnecessary and over the top, but now I see it's basically required for anyone wanting to start a collection.
 
I see what you mean, I have the same problem... I have my cards in such a perfect state and then I see that "ugly duck" I received in a random trade and I think "I should never have accepted this card!"... Sometimes I wished to beat those stupid people that don't treat their cards well...
 
Just made a thread on this:
http://www.pokebeach.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=65640&pid=1333134#pid1333134

Check it out. comment. whatever. I hope this is something that you were lookng for
 
Mint is just a bad word to use. It has too many meanings. A card that came straight from the pack with heavy damage or scratches is technically mint, because it is in the same condition as it was at the mint (printer). I prefer saying something like "perfect condition"
 
Well when no one bothers to make sure they have clean hands(Or that whatever the cards touch is sanitary) before doing anything with pokemon cards it's hard to really have mint cards at all.
 
Wow, I guess I'm just extremely lucky. I've only had two trades where cards aren't mint. One I knew beforehand, the other was a surprise. And I've been online trading for quite some time, back during the first go around of PTCO.
 
Haha, when I was a n00b, I thought mint was just...you know. Mint. Yummy breath-freshening mints.

But now I know. It's unbelieveable at how people think "mint" is literally just a card without bends or creases. I get RHs that have scratches all over them! What the heck? When a card is "mint," it has little to no playware, little to no scratches and little to no fingerprints which are the result of NOT washing their hands. (Agreeing with Abomasnow-Man29). That's why I'm OCD about cards being in mint condition!

(Love the avvy aqua.)
 
Another reason, other than the fact that I have nearly everything, why I greatly prefer to sell cards vs trading. As you can see in my videos, I either put holos or at least the Xs directly into a soft sleeve from the pack or put it directly back into the back and then after I'm done with the video go back and sleeve them. Sometimes my fingers don't even touch anything but the edge of the cards. Obviously not many others are this careful.
 
i wont e-trade because i have to know that the card i am getting is pristine in every aspect. but face to face trading has its down falls too, like not easily being able to find exactly what you want when you want it. and then there is the lesson i learned yesterday. let them look but not touch. i was perusing through someones binder yesterday and they were looking through my cards, and wanted my arceus (lightning), asked if i wanted to trade and i said yeah sure while i didnt find anything remotely nice to trade for ( his cards were played sleeveless). i said i didnt find any thing sorry. i looked over and he was holding my card with his dirty thumb over the holo, and bent it trying to put it back in a hurry. out of frustration i told him just to keep it. but yeah hardly anyone takes care of cards anymore.
 
Here is the ultimate source on all card grading PSA .

PSA is the best possible source when it comes to card grading which is essentially where mint comes from check it out.
 
Sometimes they just don't care. Back when the Base set 1st edition Charizard was in demand, I was at at store. There was a teenage boy there. Not only was he playing one without a sleeve, he stated when he gets bored in a match, he will scrape off the foil.
 
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