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Record Grading WTF

sabadabadasabadabada 5,966 Posts
edited May 2011 in Strut Central
Grading Scale:
10: Mint??? Perfect record, clean gloss, no marks, beautiful in every way. Very few records will make mint.
9: Mint -??? Very clean, only a few light marks. A great record.
8: Condition between 7 and 9. but closer to 9
7: VG+??? Used, but not abused. Light scratches only. Should play, and look very nice with minimal surface noise.
6: VG??? Looks a bit used, light scratches, no gouges, still plays well, some surface noise.
5: VG-??? A bit rough but will play ok. Fills the collection.
4: G??? Plays very rough. Has multiple scratches. What a bargain!!
3-2-1: It only goes down from here.



My favorite is 8.

  Comments

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Years ago I bought a batch of records out of goldmine graded between NM and EX.
    They were all trashed, including water damaged and torn sleeves.

    Turns out their grading started at
    N+ (New Plus)
    From there:
    N
    N-
    M+
    M
    M-
    NM+
    By the time you got to NM some scratches were acceptable.
    ...
  • sabadabadasabadabada 5,966 Posts
    There's a seller on Gemm that grades like that.
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    I also avoid sellers that use excess + & -: VG++(+).

    I have also seen sellers who have a 1-10 for each letter:
    NM 7 Better than near mint 6 but not as good as near mint 8.
  • TheKindCromangTheKindCromang 1,463 Posts
    Two of my friends who are buyers have a long standing argument whether EX is actually a grade or not
  • MurdockMurdock 542 Posts
    TheKindCromang said:
    Two of my friends who are buyers have a long standing argument whether EX is actually a grade or not



    Nope
  • soulcitizensoulcitizen 304 Posts
    I recently sold a totally mint unplayed album to a guy in France (no shit sherlock) who tried to back it saying it was 'vg++++ only, this is not mint grade'. When i advised him 'vg++++' wasn't actually a grade and it was a brand new record, he advised by I was 'a thief but as he didn't want to go to the post office he'd keep it'. Just makes you want to give up.
  • high_chigh_c 1,384 Posts
    Murdock said:
    TheKindCromang said:
    Two of my friends who are buyers have a long standing argument whether EX is actually a grade or not



    Nope

    Manship uses Ex and he authored the fucking bible.
  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    All grading done under 1000 watt Metal Halide Light Bulb
  • MurdockMurdock 542 Posts
    high_c said:
    Murdock said:
    TheKindCromang said:
    Two of my friends who are buyers have a long standing argument whether EX is actually a grade or not



    Nope

    Manship uses Ex and he authored the fucking bible.


    English Northern Soulman Revealed...
  • talkinboutwillistalkinboutwillis 4 Posts
    i definitely use EX as a grade. that's mostly because i basically never grade anything mint. if i look under a bright light and there are no visual flaws whatsoever thats an EX to me. if i opened a record myself and never played it, i mean to me that's mint. but i agree, people can't grade for shit.
  • georgeibrahimgeorgeibrahim 676 Posts
    Manship EX can mean anything from close to NM to cueburnt, warped & skated to fuck in my experiences buying records from him.
  • Options
    Unknown
    What you want is + what you don't is without +.

    There is no such thing as a mint condition record because no record is perfect.

    I grade primarily by ear to get the + or not, and by eye in the sunlight to determine the letter grade.

    Funny thing is that I don't currently sell. But I do trade quantity because it is a faster way to send around what I call come-a-rounds. trade is better for me because I normally get 20% more than cash. 20% is 20%.

    Have a good one.
  • HorseleechHorseleech 3,830 Posts
    high_c said:
    Murdock said:
    TheKindCromang said:
    Two of my friends who are buyers have a long standing argument whether EX is actually a grade or not



    Nope

    Manship uses Ex and he authored the fucking bible.

    Please, the guy didn't invent record collecting.
  • nzshadownzshadow 5,518 Posts
    NorthernDealer10 said:
    What you want is + what you don't is without +.

    There is no such thing as a mint condition record because no record is perfect.

    I grade primarily by ear to get the + or not, and by eye in the sunlight to determine the letter grade.

    Funny thing is that I don't currently sell. But I do trade quantity because it is a faster way to send around what I call come-a-rounds. trade is better for me because I normally get 20% more than cash. 20% is 20%.

    Have a good one.

    Something about this post makes me smile.

    20% is 20%.

    Have a good one.

    Right on.
  • DanteDante 371 Posts
    NorthernDealer10 said:
    What you want is + what you don't is without +.

    There is no such thing as a mint condition record because no record is perfect.

    I grade primarily by ear to get the + or not, and by eye in the sunlight to determine the letter grade.

    Funny thing is that I don't currently sell. But I do trade quantity because it is a faster way to send around what I call come-a-rounds. trade is better for me because I normally get 20% more than cash. 20% is 20%.

    Have a good one.

    Grading is always done visually under a bright light. Play grade is a whole different thing.
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