Vintage vinyl rating system below is for USED LPs only; "NEW/Sealed" means
just that: the item is NEW & sealed (though not necessarily
"factory-sealed"; imports are usually NOT shrink-wrapped if originating
from Europe, South America, Australia, or Asia, but are often-times
shrink-wrapped by domestic distributors & one-stops. NEW items may also
have been re-sealed to maintain preservation in case the original
shrinkwrap is clearly not preventing wear, soiling, or damage.)-- there is
NO such thing as "MINT" which is a numismatic & philatelic [coin & stamp
collectors'] terminology because there are a myriad factors to be
considered in the manufacturing process of vinyl & CDs! Musical items can
be visually graded like stamps, coins, or baseball cards (the use of
"GEM-MINT" for professionally-graded & lucite-locked cards is an industry
con-job!), but music is HEARD & must be LISTENED to(!)-- stamps, coins, or
sports-cards are NOT listenable!!!
Note: Highest rating at the top, then descending grades follow --
* Near-MINT+ (Our highest rating: like "New"-- vinyl looks unplayed,
album-cover looks like "new", & all inserts or inner-sleeve in excellent
condition; there is NO such thing as "MINT" which is a numismatic &
philatelic [coin & stamp collectors'] terminology, but there is
"NEW/Sealed" for unopened pieces)
* Near-MINT (next highest rating; vinyl has been played very minimally, &
overall appearance of both vinyl & album-cover is beautifully preserved!)
* Near-MINT- ("Near-MINT minus" is not as "nice" as NM, but still beautiful
with few minor-flaws to album-jacket, & noticeably better than next grade
down which is EXC/NM)
* Exc. to NM ("EXCELLENT to Near-MINT", aka "EXC/NM"-- beautiful unflawed
vinyl, with some minor wear or flaws to album-cover)
* EXCELLENT (Some minor wear to both front & back of album-cover, but vinyl
looks very clean & free of scratches; maybe missing inserts acceptable)
* VG+ to Exc. ("Very-GOOD+ to Excellent"-- noticeable wear on album-cover,
but vinyl looks great & plays/sounds fine; possibly missing inserts, etc.)
* Very-GOOD (noticeable wear or damage to album-cover [such as sticker
damage, etc.], & vinyl is noticeably worn or scratched, even though
scratches may NOT affect play; missing inserts, lyric-sheet, etc.)
* GOOD (album-jacket has suffered noticeable minor, not major damage, &
vinyl plays through fine without skips; anything graded lower than "Good"
is probably not worth purchasing!)
~ variations are indicated by the presence of 1 or more plus (+) or minus
(-) symbols; & in many cases the presence of "cut-out" or "punched"
alterations (signifying promotional-item &/or budget-discounting by the
label or distributor) may or may-NOT affect the desireability, & therefore
the price of the item!
