What Do "Rank B," "Unopened," and "Near-Mint" Mean When Buying Used Games in Japan?

This is the third post in our glossary of Japanese used-game terms, after Junk and CIB. It covers three labels that Suruga-ya (駿河屋) puts on its used stock: ランクB (Rank B), 未開封品 (unopened), and 美品 (near-mint). Each one is a specific promise, and none of them means quite what the English word suggests.

A label is a promise — no label isn't a warning

Suruga-ya publishes its standards for used items on a single policy page. The key sentence there: a condition is guaranteed only when the item carries the label, and anything without one is outside that guarantee (記載ないものについては対象外となります). So a plain listing isn't a bad sign. It just means none of the promises below apply.

The three labels don't come from the same part of the page, either. 未開封品 and 美品 are defined once for everything the shop sells, next to 帯付き (original obi strip included, covered in the CIB post). ランクB is defined separately for each category, and in the section for PC and video games it's the only rank there is. For games, there is no Rank A or Rank C.

Rank B (ランクB): worn, but complete

For games, Suruga-ya defines Rank B as an item whose package, software, or manual has damage or dirt that the shop judges lowers its value, so it's sold as a separate product from the regular copy. Two lines in the definition matter most: nothing is missing (欠品はございません), and it plays without problems (再生、プレイには問題ございません).

In a listing, Rank B goes at the front of the product name, closed with a half-width parenthesis. A search for the Famicom Terra Cresta code NBF-TC on 16 September 2026 returned three listings, including these two:

• ランクB)テラクレスタ
• テラクレスタ (箱説なし) — no box, no manual

Going by the definition, the Rank B copy should have everything, with wear on it. The (箱説なし) copy is the cartridge on its own. Extras are a separate question: the games section says obi strips, postcards, stickers, and download codes don't come with the item unless the listing says so, Rank B or not.

Unopened (未開封品): sealed, and the seal has to be real

Suruga-ya's used stock is normally opened. The policy explains that used items are checked when the shop buys them in, so they're sold as opened items, and only those marked as unopened stay sealed.

The definition is narrow. 未開封品 means the item is still in a caramel pack (a tightly folded film wrap) or shrink-wrap: packaging that can't be put back the way it was once it's opened. Items closed only with tape or a sticker don't qualify.

In product names it's shortened to （未開封） at the end. On 16 September 2026, a search for SLPM86073 returned one listing, 悪魔城ドラキュラX 月下の夜想曲[Best版]（未開封） — a sealed copy of the budget re-release of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Sealed also means untested. Nobody, including the shop, has checked what's inside. And for cartridges with a save battery, the games section says remaining battery life isn't guaranteed on any copy.

Near-mint (美品): opened, but like new

美品 literally means "beautiful item." Suruga-ya's definition: opened, with no sign of use, the same as new; very clean. For retro items it adds a second test: almost no deterioration with age, close to the condition it was in when it was sold (当時の状態に近いもの).

One exclusion: the film or seal you peel off when you open the item doesn't count. A near-mint copy without its original shrink-wrap still qualifies.

It appears at the end of the product name as （美品）. A search for the Game Boy Advance code AGB-ACHJ (Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance) on 16 September 2026 returned four listings; one of them was キャッスルヴァニア～白夜の協奏曲～（美品）.

All three at a glance

Other shops use the same words differently

Everything above is Suruga-ya's own definition. Other shops, auction sellers, and flea-market apps use 美品 and 未開封 too, without Suruga-ya's rules behind them. On those sites, read the word as the seller's own description, and check the photos.

If you buy through a proxy service or ask a shop about a listing, quote the Japanese label exactly as it appears in the product name rather than an English translation. That's the word the shop's definition applies to.

For the other terms in this series, see what "Junk" means and what "CIB" means.