Guide · Condition · 5 min read
Japanese condition grades explained: N, S, A, B and C
Japanese resale uses letter grades that carry far more information than “used, good.” Here is what each one describes in practice.
Why grades carry more weight here
Japanese resale grew up in a market where secondhand goods are expected to be described accurately and buyers share a common vocabulary. The grade attached to an item therefore carries real information, and shops apply it with reasonable consistency.
The letters are not a legal standard. A national chain and a small Nakano specialist may weigh cosmetic wear slightly differently. But the ranges below hold almost everywhere.
N and S: unused
N is new, unused stock with original packaging and tags, often from a shop that closed or a collector who bought two.
S is effectively unused: no wear under inspection, complete inclusions, usually the original box. In sneakers this is what English-speaking markets call deadstock.
A: light use
Used, but nothing that draws the eye. On a watch that usually means faint hairlines on the clasp and an unpolished case. On a bag it means intact corners, no slouch and clean hardware.
Most well-kept pieces out of a Japanese collection land here, and A is generally the sweet spot on price against condition.
B: visible but honest wear
Wear you can see without looking for it: patina on leather, creasing across a sneaker toe box, light scratching on a caseback. Nothing structural, nothing affecting function.
B is where much of the value sits on vintage pieces, where some wear is expected and an over-restored example is often worth less than an honest one.
C and below: significant wear or damage
Damage that should be listed as a defect: staining, a replaced part, a past repair, a missing inclusion. Sometimes still worth buying for a rare reference, but the grade should always come with a written explanation of what is wrong.
If a seller offers a C-grade item with no detail on the defect, treat that silence as the answer.
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