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Condition standards · sealed LEGO

The LEGO box condition guide.

What MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, and Very Good actually mean for a sealed LEGO box — the same scale used internally by AFA, CGC, and WATA. Each tier mapped to a 0–10 condition score, an AFA / CGC grade range, and the typical resale value impact.

Run a free inspection →See common damage types
The scale

Five tiers. One vocabulary.

Collector grade tiers (MINT / NM / EX / VG / Good) map directly to BrickGauge’s 0–10 condition score and to AFA / CGC published grades. Use this scale to set expectations before you ship — and to read BrickEconomy & BrickLink condition descriptions accurately.

GradeBrickGaugeWhat it looks like
MINT (M)9.5 – 10 / 10Factory-fresh. No shelf wear, no edge whitening, no corner compression, seal pristine. Effectively unhandled.
↦ Premium tier — full graded multiplier
Near-Mint (NM)8.5 – 9.4 / 10Trace shelf wear only. Sub-2mm corner softening allowed, ≤5% edge whitening, no detractive defects. Where most worth-grading boxes land.
↦ Standard graded comp
Excellent (EX)7.5 – 8.4 / 10Visible wear on close inspection. 2–4mm corner compression, 5–15% edge whitening, minor surface scuffs. Borderline submission territory.
↦ Marginal — graded comp may not clear fees
Very Good (VG)6.0 – 7.4 / 10Obvious wear from arm's length. Visible corner crush, perimeter whitening over 15%, surface dents. Usually a SKIP for grading.
↦ Graded slab typically reduces resale value
Good or below< 6.0 / 10Significant damage, faded print, compromised seal, or structural issues. Sell raw, hold, or use parts only.
↦ Do not submit
The six things graders see

Where the score actually comes from.

AFA / CGC publish four subgrades; BrickGauge splits into six because sealed LEGO has different failure modes than trading cards. Each axis is detected separately and rolls into the overall condition score.

25%

Seal integrity

Reseal indicators, adhesive bleed, sticker geometry. A sub-5.0 seal score forces the verdict to MAYBE or SKIP regardless of the other axes.

20%

Corner condition

Compression in mm, whitening at the corner fold. ≥3mm caps the grade at AFA 85.

15%

Edge whitening

Eight box edges. Whitening as a percentage of perimeter — under 5% stays NM, over 15% drops to VG.

20%

Surface defects

Dents, scratches, dust shadows, pressure marks. Worst-face rule applies — no averaging.

15%

Print + UV fade

Color drift on the top face, ghost printing, registration errors. UV is permanent and tanks resale.

5%

Structural

Box squareness, paper lift, shrinkwrap state. Hard pass / fail — warped boxes can't be slabbed.

Full methodology + weighted rubric →
Common damage types

Browse by what your box actually has.

Each damage type has its own value-impact profile. Use these guides to set your expectations before submitting.

corner
Corner compression
Value impact + scoring →
crease
Crease damage
Value impact + scoring →
dent
Dent damage
Value impact + scoring →
shelf-wear
Shelf wear
Value impact + scoring →
seal-damage
Seal damage
Value impact + scoring →
sun-fade
Sun / UV fade
Value impact + scoring →
sticker-damage
Sticker damage
Value impact + scoring →
scratches
Scratches & scuffs
Value impact + scoring →
Stop guessing

Get your box scored in 38 seconds.

Reading a condition guide tells you the rules. BrickGauge tells you the answer for your specific box — with a damage heatmap, per-axis scoring, and a clear verdict. Two free inspections on signup.

Condition FAQ

More about condition tiers.

↦What does MINT mean for a sealed LEGO box?

MINT means a 9.5–10 / 10 condition score — equivalent to AFA 90+ or CGC 9.5+. No shelf wear, no edge whitening, no corner compression, seal pristine. Effectively a factory-fresh box that has been stored under perfect conditions. Less than 5% of submitted sets achieve MINT.

↦Is a small dent on a sealed LEGO box ok?

Depends on size and location. Under 1mm on a back corner — usually doesn't move the grade. Over 2mm on a front face — caps you at NM 8.5 / AFA 85. Dents that deform the box geometry (visible from the side at arm's length) generally drop the grade two full tiers.

↦How does shelf wear affect LEGO grading?

Light shelf wear (sub-5% perimeter whitening, no visible dust shadows) typically stays at NM. Moderate shelf wear (5–15% perimeter affected, visible dust outlines on the top face) drops to EX. Heavy shelf wear (over 15% perimeter, deep dust shadows, faded top edge) caps you at VG or below.

↦What box damage lowers LEGO value the most?

Reseal indicators (60–80% value loss), corner crush over 3mm (20–35% loss), UV print fade (15–25% loss), and major surface dents on the front face (10–20% loss). Edge whitening and minor scratches are usually under 5% impact unless they cluster.

↦What is a factory-sealed LEGO box, exactly?

Factory-sealed means the original LEGO adhesive seals are intact and undisturbed — adhesive bleed inside the boundary, single-pass sticker placement, no glue residue. A box that's been opened and resealed is NOT factory-sealed even if the contents are complete. BrickGauge's reseal detection catches the most common reseal patterns with 97.4% recall.

↦Will scratches on a LEGO box reduce its value?

Hairline scratches on the print: usually under 5% impact unless they cluster on the front face. Deep scratches that expose the cardboard: cap you at EX 8.0 with most graders. Window-area scratches on Modular Buildings or sets with display windows are weighted higher.

↦How do I check the condition of my LEGO box myself?

Photograph the front, back, top seal, bottom seal, and both top corners under even diffuse light. Look for: (1) corner compression in mm, (2) edge whitening as a percentage of perimeter, (3) seal sticker placement and adhesive bleed, (4) print color drift on the top face (UV fade), and (5) surface dents or pressure marks on the major faces. Or upload to BrickGauge and we'll do it in 38 seconds.

LEGO Box Condition Guide — MINT / NM / EX / VG Scale Explained | BrickGauge