What's your cut off line for cartridge conditions

[GPX | 1,369]

29 minutes ago, CasualCart said:

I only have two condition standards for my games:

1) Does it play?

2) Is it sanitary?

Other than that, it can be a cosmetic abomination for all I care. Torn labels, discoloration, chunks of plastic missing, etc.
I actively pursue chewed-up cartridges just to spite all of the condition-sensitivity in this hobby (no offense to the rest of you haha).

-CasualCart

Hate to break the news to ya, but the more the cosmetic abomination, the less probability of sanitary status..

[GPX | 1,369]

On 9/20/2021 at 7:20 PM, fcgamer said:

Never understood why some people are so condition sensitive. Seeing a bunch of mint items doesn't impress me at all, rather it just makes me feel the guy probably has money to blow and grabbed it online.

Furthermore, the problem with being condition sensitive (if you are a set collector) is that at some point you'll find a game where you can't make it fit in, i.e. you collect CIB but this one never came with a box, or maybe the box has only turned up twice, in a condition in which it looks like someone used it as toilet paper.

My only condition is that everything's original. If I buy a cart and the PCB seems swapped, into the bin it goes.

I collect CIBs near mint to mint. My main reason, other than for display purposes, is to set myself the challenge of obtaining the hardest-to-find condition games that are out there. Bearing in mind I don’t just click on all the BIN prices all at once, but usually purchases are done with a lot of patience, research and dedication on eBay auctions!

For the rarer items, I generally accept 7-8/10 because truly mint versions may never exist, or too pricey for me to bother with.