When you are purchasing Magic: The Gathering cards, the first thing to look at is whether the person has an actual scan of the card on the auction.  Try not to buy from a seller who has a stock picture because you have no way to know what you are getting.  Furthermore, try not to buy cards where the image of the card is blurry, you still have no way of knowing the actual quality of the card.  That being said, I personally think that in many ways, it's OK to get a card from the newer sets without an actual picture, IF the seller says that the card is in new/mint condition (straight out of the package and into a sleeve), but beware (as in be WARY, don't just not buy them) of people selling "near mint" cards because different people have different ideas of what that means.  Some sellers have a huge, long list of description of conditions, that tells you exactly how they personally rate cards, but I have purchased cards that were "Near mint" or "excellent" condition that had a defect or scratch in the card that seriously devalued the card (made the card what I would call "Fair" at best, if not "Poor" condition). 

One of the worst defects is a bump, fold, or scratch that can be seen through the back of the card: this means you can identify the card before you draw it and gives you an unfair afvantage (making the card only playable if it has a plastic sleeve with an opaque back, and sometimes not even then!).  This card is automatically in POOR condition, no matter how the rest of the card is!!!

Ask the seller before you bid (some sellers, such as myself, are even willing to send additional pictures of the card to you via email if you ask) and you should get a better idea of what is being sold.  A card that has even ONE MINOR (and I mean very minor) scratch, or has whitening around the edges is NOT near mint!! The hardest range to try to decipher is the "fine" and "excellent" range, because as I said, it differs with each seller. ASK the seller to describe EVERY detail of defect or damage on THAT SPECIFIC CARD, BEFORE you bid: you should know about ALL scratches, bumps, whitening, beds, folds, etc... otherwise you are saying you really don't actually care. 

Generally, it goes like this to tell condition: (remember, it varies by seller, so beware!!)

Mint/New: The person pulled it from the package and imediately put it into a sleeve for protection. No folds, scratches, marks, or warping of ANY kind. Also known as "unplayed." This is noted usually as "M"

Near Mint: There MIGHT be a fingernail indent somewhere on the card. Many sellers sell their cards as this to protect themselves if something happens in the mail to a mint card. Might have been played once or twice but still has NO whitening or distinguishing marks. It could still be termed "unplayed." This is noted by sellers usually as "NM." If you see "NM/M" it means Near Mint to Mint. I have, however, seen people think that N/M means "New/Mint." I think it is actually supposed to be "near mint." Ask your seller if you have a question!

Note: MANY people do not show a rating of their card if it is in below Near Mint Condition. Buyer beware! If there is no rating of the card expect it to be below "near mint" condition.

Excellent: There might be a couple of MINOR scratches or fingernail marks, but still generally no whitening. It might also be called "lightly played" or "gently played." Noted usually as "E"

Good, or Fine: Both of these I think describe the same condition of card. Yes, there is technically a difference but seeing as how there is high variability between sellers I usually think of them as the same. It is generally a card that has a little TINY bit of whitening around the edge, several minor marks or a slightly more major mark, but still nothing that would distinguish it from the back of the card. Noted usually as "G" or "Fi"

Fair and Poor condition cards are really only good to play in a deck you have sleeved.  Don't pay ful price for this card. Many people play this card with a "proxy" card so it can't be identified from the back or sleeve the entire deck. "Fair" condition cards can also be termed "heavily played but with no defining marks" --that usually means that the card has some significant whitening around the edges on the front and back, and some scratches on both faces of the card, but is still generally indistnguishable from other cards in the same condition.  POOR condition cards have a divot, scratch, fold, or other mark that can clearly be seen from the back of the card (enabling you to identify the card before you draw it). They could also be warped or stained. Noted generally as F or P

Again, if you EVER have a question about a card, I would strongly recommend contacting the seller BEFORE the auction ends (and before you bid), that way if they do not answer your question, or not answer it to your satisfaction, you will not be stuck retracting your bid or paying for subpar material. Of course, you can also look at their ratings, look carefully even at positive ratings to see whether previous buyers have had issues. Look carefully and never be afraid to ask questions!  If the seller doesn't answer or gives an answer that isn't good enough, don't buy!

It is always good to buy from someone who has a return policy, so if they do not, buyer beware!  That's not to say that I recommend against buying from people without return policies, because you can sometimes get the best deals from private (small-time) sellers who don't have stores, but you still have to look at the overall quality of the card you are actually getting.  If you're paying mint condition price for a sub-mint card, you got robbed. To try to see how much you should be paying, try large websites that give prices for a card (such as Black Border, Star City Games, or Essential Magic). You can also type it into the search engine of your choice. Try to find out as much as possible about that edition you want, and for that, the afore-mentioned sites can help, as can Gatherer (from Wizards of the Coast, the maker or Magic: The Gathering).

There are several other things you need to keep in mind when bidding on a Magic: The Gathering card on eBay, but two others are shippng and handling price, and actual edition of the card.  I recommend researching very carefully before bidding on cards from the older editions such as The Dark, Antiquities, Arabian Nights, and others, because it is easy to get fooled by the icon above the test (the symbol that many players use to identify the set a card comes from) because Chronicles actually released cards that had other symbols.  Go to some websites and research so you know EXACTLY what the card should look like, from the size of the text on the cards (yes, this differs from set to set, especially in the old sets. The text and card printing can be lighter or darker among sets, too. The border (whether it's beveled around the text box) can change and some sets have black borders, white border, or gold borders. Take care so you know what you're getting (see why I said you want a clear picture of the actual card you're bidding on?).

If you are bidding on a card, the last thing I think you should keep in mind is the shipping cost.  Because of eBay's and the USPS's fees (it can cost up to and over $1.00 in JUST seller's fees, depending on the sale price of the card, plus a hard sleeve for the card, a bubble mailer, and the postage itself, which generally costs $1.11-1.52 for a SINGLE card in a bubble mailer), many sellers charge upwards (way upwards, in some cases) of $3.00/card to mail it to you. Well, when you add on the gas to get that silly card to the post office to mail it, and add on fees, materials, and postage, that sounds just about right! Yes, for ONE CARD!  BUT, if you buy multiple cards, from the same seller, and have them shipped at the same time, that price per card should go WAY down. The shipping and handling cost isn't changing all that much per one card or to send up to about 15 or 20 cards at once, so try to buy multiple cards from a seller to get the price per card to go down.  Again, talk to a seller before you purchase and you'll be happier. Communication is the key!!!!

I hope this helps you get started on buying Magic: The Gathering cards online at eBay and other sites. This information is my own personal opionion and represents my many experiences at stores, on sites researching MTG cards, and buying AND selling on eBay.  Other people may have different opinions on many of the topics, so ask around before you get started. You can really waste your money on cards that are sub-par. I know this guide is long-winded but I have tried to produce as much information as possible here. Please contact me if you find any information wrong or incomplete. I'd love to fix it.