A little help with abbreviations?

[Yoyotradie (Anthony)]

New to the BST and considering to post some yo-yos for trade, just wanted to know what the abbreviation NMBTS
is???

Many Thanks

[Chaman]

Yoyo Damage Terminology (with pictures!)

There has always been confusion on what constitutes a ding, or a scuff, or a ‘pinprick’. Well I threw together this little guide to help alleviate some of that confusion. Know your terminology before engaging in BST activity! Let me preface this by saying that damage has different levels of severity, so they won’t necessarily always adhere to these definitions. Ding The ding is one of the most prevalent forms of damage you’ll encounter. They occur when your yoyo strikes another hard object (w…

[fullnelson]

Near mint to be safe…

[craZivn (Ivan)]

All this time I thought it was “No Marks To Be Seen”!
I learned something new and it’s not even noon yet.

Ivan

EDIT: @Yoyotradie I’m assuming it’s a typo in your OP and you meant to say “NMTBS”.

[A_Soviet_Locust]

The others are right, it means Near Mint, (to be safe)

But I gotta say, i think Near Mint (To be safe) is one of the worst labels on bst. A yoyo is either Mint (meaning no damage whatsoever, as if the yoyo has just been assembled fresh from the factory), or it isn’t mint. Near Mint is fine, it means the yoyo has some very small damage, whether it be pinpricks or tiny dents.

If you’re saying your yoyo is “Near mint to be safe”, what is the goal? Did you not inspect it carefully enough to know exactly whether it is damaged or not? Are you trying to cover your butt when the buyer receives the yoyo and it has more damage than as described? Whenever i read those words, to me it means there is slight damage that the seller isn’t sure if they want to describe, so they add in this caveat, which effectively is meaningless.

Properly inspect your yoyos so the buyer knows what they’re getting, don’t leave it up in the air. If there’s tiny marks, take photos as best you can. Describe the damage as best you can. Avoid any uncertainty as best you can, and you will do better to ensure both the customer and seller leave the transaction happily.

[chaselawrence97]

In my personal opinion a decently played yoyo, with no damage, is no longer mint and falls in this category

[mable]

I just do whatever it seems like everybody else is doing. Which in this case is using NMTBS to say “it has no damage but it’s been played/unscrewed.” In the past I’ve listed anything I’ve just played with as NM and always get questions asking what the damage is, and when I tell them there’s no damage they just ask “Wait so it’s mint?”

There’s kind of no winning with this since there’s zero standardization in yoyo grading.

I’m used to hobbies where to be mint basically means to be entirely untouched, the moment something is touched it downgrades from mint to near mint. But with yoyos people just use mint to mean no damage, regardless of how long it’s been played. There’s also people who consider just having a yoyo be unscrewed be “damage.”

Best practice is just to ask the seller additional questions or for additional pictures if you’re curious as a buyer.

[craZivn (Ivan)]

So really, perhaps “No Marks To Be Seen” is a less ambiguous interpretation than “Near Mint To Be Safe”. Simply means the yoyo has been played but has zero damage or wear visible upon inspection.

Mint, in my mind, is an absolute. It means that it’s still in the packaging or at least includes all the packaging and accessories that came with it in undamaged condition. Like new, basically. “Near mint” is really difficult to place.

Ivan

[TheHelveticaScenario]

@A_Soviet_Locust

If you’re saying your yoyo is “Near mint to be safe”, what is the goal?

For me personally, if I were to say “mint,” it would mean a yoyo bought as new that is in exactly the condition I received because I never opened it. Or if opened, I only handled it to inspect and admire, but was never thrown. I’ve never sold one as mint and are skeptical of those who do.

NMTBS (near mint to be safe) would, again just me talking here, would be a yoyo that I have thrown, perhaps extensively, but after careful inspection inside and out, it has zero signs of discernible physical damage. Essentially still mint but used because of pad wear, fingerprints and oils, dust, etc.

Either term, to me, implies no physical damage whatsoever. Where it gets problematic to use these terms is when there is raw metal surfaces, be it just weight rings or full titanium. There will always be machining marks of some kind which some people will flag as damage.

[A_Soviet_Locust]

@TheHelveticaScenario

NMTBS (near mint to be safe) would, again just me talking here, would be a yoyo that I have thrown, perhaps extensively, but after careful inspection inside and out, it has zero signs of discernible physical damage. Essentially still mint but used because of pad wear, fingerprints and oils, dust, etc.

This is Near Mint. No need for safety

[TheHelveticaScenario]

Maybe, but some people are just more picky than others (or have sharper vision). A person above said some people care to know if a yoyo has been unscrewed or not, so we’ve got all kinds of personalities to deal with.

It’s all subjective at the end of the day. The only opinion that matters ultimately is the buyer’s. It’s better to set low expectations and exceed them than vice-versa.

[Malachi]

As some have mentioned, there is no grading standard for yoyos and different people have different preferences and tolerances.

I have compiled a handy list here… ask me about “vibe” next.

Mint:
a. Technically, never handled or removed from the package (possibly even MIP/MIB)
b. Potentially handled and/or lightly played
c. Played over carpet and without rings on
d. Handled and played extensively, but no discernable wear or damage

Near Mint, To Be Safe (NMTBS):
a. I would say this is mint(b or c) but I threw it enough to know it’s possible that, despite the fact that I don’t see or feel any damage, it might not be perfect anymore and is only mint(d), so I don’t want to say “mint” and get called out for something I can’t even detect, but I don’t want to downgrade it to NM and take whatever hit to the value that might imply. Like, one time I know I heard it hit my wedding ring or something, but I couldn’t find any flat spots or broken anno anywhere… or maybe that was a different yoyo? Anyway, it’s probably fine, you should buy it and play with it.
b. It’s probably mint(b or c) but I can’t be bothered to inspect it closer. I have, like, 20 things to sell and I’m only getting rid of them because I don’t have the time to play anymore/need to pay for my child’s kidney transplant, so I’m not going to take the time to break out the jeweler’s loupe and the micrometer, be glad I took photos!

Near Mint (NM):
a. Is in mint(b or c) condition except for some kind of wear or minor damage (pictured)
b. Literally unplayable

Beater:
a. NM(a)
b. Was my EDC for a while, lots of scratches, key marks, flat spots, pin pricks, dings
c. More raw metal than anno at this point, be careful how you catch it until those new dings wear down a little

[jp_728 (John)]

In the collector world, near mint is the best you can expect from something that has been handled at all. It seems they add “to be safe” for you so they don’t have to call it mint and have somebody come back to them complaining that it’s not mint, because it’s technically not mint even when it’s in the exact same shape as when it came out of the box. Basically, they did the same thing you would inevitably do to it and still call it mint, but they can’t call it mint so you don’t feel screwed over.

[jp_728 (John)]

It is. However unnecessary, the terminology is in use.