Before You Ship
Condition guidelines
These are the general guidelines our team uses when we inspect your collection. Please review your collection against these policies so there are no surprises upon inspection.
How we grade
Cartridge games
NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, Genesis, and other cartridge-based platforms.
- Label is legible, with only light wear or minor aging
- Pins are clean and free of corrosion
- Shell is intact — no cracks or chips
- Cartridge reads and plays correctly
- Torn or heavily worn label, or a sticker covering the original label
- Writing or marker on the shell
- Minor water exposure or light pin corrosion that can be cleaned
- Heavy plastic oxidation changing the color of the cartridge
- Cracked, chipped, or broken shell
- Heavy internal corrosion or a cartridge that will not read
- Reproduction, bootleg, or counterfeit cartridges
How we grade
Disc-based games
PS1 through PS5, Xbox, GameCube, Wii, Wii U, and other disc-based platforms.
- Disc surface with light to moderate scratches that do not affect play
- Case and cover art are in good shape
- Manual and inserts included, where the platform normally has them
- Missing manual or inserts
- Heavy scratching that may need additional resurfacing
- Small tears, punctures or light water damage in disc cover art
- Disc does not read, or scratching is too severe to repair
- Reproduction, bootleg, or counterfeit discs
Do not worry about
Will not hurt your value
A few things sellers often worry about that do not actually affect your value.
A cracked or scuffed plastic case
On a standard release, the plastic case itself does not affect value — as long as the original cover art and manual (where included) are present and undamaged. Special or limited editions are the exception, since the case itself is part of what makes them valuable.
Light, repairable disc scratches
Minor scratches that do not affect play and can be resurfaced are considered normal wear, not damage.
Everyday dust and dirt
General dust or grime on a cartridge that wipes away easily will not count against it — that’s just what decades on a shelf look like.
A dead save battery
Cartridge games with a battery-backed save (Pokémon, Zelda, and others) commonly lose their save battery over time. That’s expected with age and does not affect value.
Good to know
General guidelines
Ship items odor-free
We cannot accept items with a heavy smoke smell — it cannot be removed, and shipments like this will be returned to you.
No reproductions or bootlegs
We only buy authentic, original cartridges and discs — reproduction, bootleg, and counterfeit copies have no value.
Final condition is set at inspection
Your estimate is based on your photos. Once we receive your collection, our team confirms condition in person — any change shows up clearly in your inspection results, game by game where available.