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Grading

Grading

All our used vinyl is graded visually under bright light, with a partial play grading.  Obviously we can't play grade thousands of records, but we have a system which has worked well by playing the sections or individual side that visually is deemed "the worst" and basing our overall opinion on that. We encourage you to view all the pictures and read our comments on the conditions, as we find these to be more beneficial than a standard grade. Occasionally we'll use a grade range (ie: VG / VG+) for either vinyl or cover if condition is borderline and hard to stick in one category.

NOTE: we do not grade or mention the condition of original inner sleeves (if the record has them) if this is a concern of yours you can contact us and ask us.  All individual records will ship in new clean inner sleeves and plastic outer sleeves to protect your record, bundled lots ship as is.

Mint:

Vinyl - only given to sealed records, or records we personally acquired new, opened them but never played. Of course since the record is sealed we cannot guarantee there are no pressing flaws or minor warping, and since all the sealed records we sell are out of print, we cannot except returns or exchanges on sealed records that have been opened.

Cover - is still sealed.

Near Mint (NM):

Vinyl - a unsealed record that looks nearly flawless.

Cover - may have light typical storage wear.

Excellent (EX):

Vinyl - may have one or two light scuff marks but should play just as well as a NM record.

Cover - has some very minor cosmetic issue, like a light crease, light ring wear, nothing that is very noticeable.

Very Good Plus (VG+):

Vinyl - will look played, may have some scuffs and light surface marks / scratches.  May have light surface noise such as pops, clicks and crackles but it should be occasional and not consistent and not overwhelming. May have light warping but it should not affect the play.

Cover - will have noticeable wear such as ring wear, seam splitting, writing on cover, creases, etc.  Could be a couple items (not all) and they should not be major.

Very Good (VG):

Vinyl - will look VERY played, have lot of marks, scuffs, scratches (possibly deep), play with noticeable maybe even consistent background noise but is still listenable.  May have warping but it should not affect play.

Cover - will have a couple cosmetic issues ring wear, seam splitting, writing on cover, creases, etc and it will be very pronounce.

Good (G):

Vinyl - will play but will have a lot of issues and have a lot of loud background noise.  We will rarely list a record in this condition.

Cover - cover is damaged to a point where it is not usable to house a record. All the seams are split, the panels are moldy, major writing all over, etc.  The only time we'll list a record with a cover in this shape is if it's rare or the record is in great shape.