Our Record Grading

MINT + (M+) Unopened in original factory shrink, as shipped to record store. May have very slight bruising on corners and sides from record bin.

MINT (M) Perfect condition, which basically means it is, as good as new. Grooves may have wear from minor playing. The cover has to look the same. Minor bumps from handling and record bin bruises may be present. Some may argue only mint records are brand new unopened. Those we rate MINT +.

NEAR MINT (NM) Vinyl is near perfect. At most, a light scuff or hair line scratches from sliding in and out of cover may appear. The record should play without any noise or skips. The record sleeve should also be near perfect with only minor signs of wear. There should be no “ring wear” on the cover.

(ring wear is when the outline of the record inside shows through the cover).

EXCELLENT (EX or VG++) Vinyl should still play with no skips of any kind. There can be minor surface scuffs, but they should not affect sound quality. The record sleeve can have minor ring wear but should be mostly in good shape. Also there can be minor creases but no seam splits. 

VERY GOOD + (VG+) This is the grading category wear quality of sound is affected. There will be some surface noise and the vinyl will show wear., including surface scuffs and light scratches. However the record is still very listenable and there are no deep scratches that cause skips. The cover may be slightly bent but not broken. There may be wear to the seams but no tears or holes.

VERY GOOD (VG) Doesn't necessarily look good , but still plays well enough. Surface noise will probable be present, including pops and clicks. At high volume levels, the music should overpower any pops and clicks present. The cover may have seam splitting but not complete separation of the sleeve panels from each other. There will be noticeable ring wear, but the cover for the most part should still be in good condition.

GOOD (VG-) Vinyl is well played and looks it. However the record should still play without skipping. It will have substantial surface noise, pops and clicks. Loss of various parts of dynamic range will occur do to the worn grooves. This grade depends on the owner and the types of music he or she collects. A rock record may still sound okay and at higher volumes, but quieter styles of music will be practically unlistenable. The record cover will have problems including seam splits, tears, separation and writing.

FAIR/POOR (F/P) Using the word fair for this quality of record is in our opinion to generous and not recommended since it may be misleading, therefore we do not sell this grade. Records described as F/P in the Goldmine grading system are basically unlistenable. Surface noise, skips, pops, etc. make listening nearly impossible, if not completely. The cover would be falling apart, torn in pieces, with writing all over.