Sports card glossary
What the words on a listing mean, and which of them change the price.
Comp
Comparable sale
A completed sale of the same card in the same condition, used as evidence of what a card is worth. Short for comparable sale.
Comps are the price. Everything else on this site is a way of finding the right ones and discarding the wrong ones.
Raw
A card that has not been graded, whether it is loose, in a sleeve or in a top loader.
Raw cards sell for a wider range than graded ones, because the buyer is judging condition from photographs.
Slab
Graded card
The sealed plastic case a grading company returns a card in, carrying the grade and a certification number.
The slab certifies condition and authenticity, so it narrows the range a card trades in as well as usually raising it.
Parallel
A variant of a base card with a different finish, border colour or print treatment, usually rarer than the base version.
A parallel is a different card. Pricing one against base card comps is the most common mistake in the hobby.
Refractor
A chrome-stock parallel with a reflective coating that splits light across the surface when tilted.
Refractors carry a premium over base cards, and the coloured versions carry a further premium roughly in line with how few were made.
Numbered
Serial numbered, /99
A card stamped with its position in a limited print run, written as a fraction such as 25/99.
The denominator is the supply. Lower generally means more valuable, and low single-digit numbers or the number matching a player shirt number can carry extra.
One of one
1/1
A card of which exactly one copy exists, usually the top parallel in a set.
A one of one has no comps by definition, so it is priced from sales of similar cards rather than the same card.
Rookie card
RC
A player first card in a major licensed set, in the season they became eligible. Usually marked with an RC logo.
Rookie cards command a premium and move faster than other cards of the same player, because part of the price is a bet on the career.
On-card auto
An autograph signed directly onto the card, as opposed to onto a clear sticker applied at the factory.
On-card signatures are generally worth more than sticker autographs of the same player in the same set.
Patch
Relic, Memorabilia card
A card with a piece of material embedded in it, usually cut from a shirt. A player-worn patch and an event-worn patch are different things and the listing should say which.
Pop report
Population report
A grading company published count of how many copies of a card it has graded at each grade level.
The pop report is the supply side of the price. A grade that looks rare is worth much less if thousands share it.
Centring
How evenly the borders frame the image on the front and back of a card. Quoted as a ratio such as 55/45.
Centring is often the single factor that decides whether a card grades at the top level, so it can decide the price without being visible to a casual eye.
Hobby box
A sealed box sold through card shops rather than supermarkets, usually with better odds of hits than the retail version of the same product.
Hit
An autograph, patch or rare parallel pulled from a pack, as opposed to base cards.
Chase card
The card from a set that most collectors are trying to pull, usually a rare parallel or a marquee rookie autograph.
Print run
The number of copies of a card produced. Stated on numbered cards, and often unpublished on everything else.
Where a print run is unpublished, the pop report is the closest available proxy for how many exist.
Top loader
A rigid plastic sleeve used to protect a raw card in storage and in the post. Not a grading case and not tamper-evident.
Reprint
A reproduction of an original card. Legal to sell when described as one, and a problem when it is not.
A reprint has no comps, because the sales you would compare it against are sales of a different object.