The Formula, Not A Guess
Games & consoles tier by comp value. TCG singles comped $10+ pay 75% cash — lower under that, and bulk-lot commons under $1 price separately.
Most buy-back sites publish a deduction guideline — a range for each condition issue — then finalize the real number after they’ve already got your item in hand. We publish ours the same way. We just drop the range.
The market comp on your item never moves because of condition. Only the rate applied to it does, and every deduction below is the exact one, not a range, not “up to.” Seven real condition issues, seven locked deductions. You can do the math before you box anything up.
Standard Rate
Every item starts here.
55% cash or 85% store credit of comp, no condition issue, no deduction. High-value and marquee titles tier up from here (see the full rate ladder on the trade-in form) — every deduction below is a percentage OF that standard rate, so it’s the same cut whatever tier your item actually qualifies for.
Damaged Label
We deduct 10% for a damaged label.
Torn, peeling, or missing entirely. We don't repro or replace it — the item's cleaned, tested, and listed as-is under its own SKU instead.
−10%
Off The Standard Cash Rate
45% cash / 70% credit of comp
Good
Bad
Overly Scratched — Needs Resurfacing
We deduct 15% for a disc that needs professional resurfacing.
Deep enough to need resurfacing before it's resellable. Not the same as normal handling wear.
−15%
Off The Standard Cash Rate
40% cash / 62% credit of comp
Functional Issue
We deduct 25% for a functional issue found in testing.
A save that won't hold, an intermittent read, a button that sticks — something real, found during testing. Still repairable, just not free to fix.
−25%
Off The Standard Cash Rate
30% cash / 46% credit of comp
Damaged Beyond Description
We deduct 35% for condition meaningfully worse than what was described.
Priced low on purpose — describing it accurately up front always pays better than this tier does.
−35%
Off The Standard Cash Rate
20% cash / 31% credit of comp
Inoperable
We deduct 40% for an item that didn't power on or read during testing.
Prices in line with our own As-Is tier below — if it doesn't work, it doesn't work, whether that was known going in or not.
−40%
Off The Standard Cash Rate
15% cash / 23% credit of comp
Good
Bad
Missing Hardware
We deduct 10% for a missing screw or hardware piece.
Cheap to make right — we replace it — so it carries one of the smaller cuts.
−10%
Off The Standard Cash Rate
45% cash / 70% credit of comp
Good
Bad
Case/Box Damage — Cosmetic Only
We deduct 5% for a cracked or torn case or box.
Cosmetic only — the game or disc inside is unaffected. Nothing to inspect or fix beyond noting it, so it's the smallest cut of the seven.
−5%
Off The Standard Cash Rate
50% cash / 77% credit of comp
Good
Bad
Destroyed / No Resale Value
We deduct 55% for physical damage with no resale value left.
A cracked disc, a snapped cartridge shell — different from Inoperable above, which is still a repair job. If there's nothing left to resell at any price, there's no payout.
−55%
Off The Standard Cash Rate
0% cash / 0% credit of comp
Non-Functional / As-Is
We deduct about 41% for an item disclosed as not working before you send it.
This one’s a different shape of number: 25% of the Loose comp becomes the base value, then the standard split above still runs on top of that reduced base. Worked out in full, that’s about 14% cash or 21% credit of the real comp — close to the same deduction as Inoperable above, since it’s economically the same situation either way.
−41%
Off The Standard Cash Rate (Approx.)
14% cash / 21% credit of comp
In Real Dollars
What a $100.00 comp actually pays, at every tier.
One example comp, run through every deduction above, so the percentages turn into real numbers before you send anything in. Scale it to whatever your own item comps at.
| Condition | Deduction | Cash | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard (no issue) | — | $55.00 | $85.00 |
| Damaged Label | −10% | $45.00 | $70.00 |
| Overly Scratched — Needs Resurfacing | −15% | $40.00 | $62.00 |
| Functional Issue | −25% | $30.00 | $46.00 |
| Damaged Beyond Description | −35% | $20.00 | $31.00 |
| Inoperable | −40% | $15.00 | $23.00 |
| Missing Hardware | −10% | $45.00 | $70.00 |
| Case/Box Damage — Cosmetic Only | −5% | $50.00 | $77.00 |
| Destroyed / No Resale Value | −55% | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Non-Functional / As-Is | −41% (approx.) | $14.00 | $21.00 |
What This Replaces
The alternative is a range, decided after they’ve already got it.
Real numbers from our own multi-shop survey. Nothing paraphrased, nothing characterized, just what these shops themselves publish.
Doesn't work at all
- CATRP: 50%–100% off
- MyQuickFlips: 50%–100% off
Heavy wear / cosmetic damage
- CATRP: 50%–100% off
- MyQuickFlips: 50%–100% off
Excessive dirt or cleaning
- CATRP: 10%–50% off
- MyQuickFlips: 15%–100% off
Yellowing / discoloration
- CATRP: 25% off
- MyQuickFlips: 20%–100% off
CATRP states: “All offers are based on items that are in 8/10 condition or better.” MyQuickFlips states: “The displayed offer prices are based on items in excellent condition — deductions will apply to those in average, poor, or broken condition.” A range and a floor still leave the actual number unknown until after inspection. Ours doesn’t.
Cards
Raw cards use one scale, and it’s this one.
A cartridge can be scratched, missing a screw, or dead in six different ways — a card has one axis, so there’s one table. Every multiplier below is applied to your card’s own ungraded comp before the normal 75% cash / 85% credit split runs. Same fixed numbers every time, no haggling, no “we’ll see when it arrives.”
| Condition | What it means | Comp × | On a $120.00 card |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near Mint | No visible wear. | ×1.00 | $120.00 |
| Lightly Played | Very minor edge or surface wear, still displays clean. | ×0.85 | $102.00 |
| Moderately Played | Clearly visible scratches or whitening. | ×0.70 | $84.00 |
| Heavily Played | Significant wear, but still intact. | ×0.50 | $60.00 |
| Damaged | Structural damage: creases, tears, water damage. | — | Priced in hand |
Damaged doesn’t get a number
Creases, tears and water damage are too variable to price off a formula honestly, so we don’t pretend otherwise — a damaged card never auto-comps. A person looks at it and quotes you in hand. That’s the one case on this whole site where you won’t see the number before you ship.
Graded cards skip the scale
If it’s slabbed by PSA, BGS or CGC, the grade already is the condition — give us the company and the number and we comp off that tier’s own real sold price, not an ungraded comp with a multiplier bolted on.
These are the same multipliers on every card value page and in the trade-in form itself — one table, read from one place, so the number here is the number you get.
Know your number before you send it.
Curious what your item actually inspects at? See how we grade it first, then start a real trade-in.
Start A Trade-In