RATING SCALE

10/10: Absolutely pristine, off-the-rack, perfect. I've never used this grade.

9/10: Mint. About as perfect as can be. The only difference between this and a 10/10 is that it may have been read once or twice.

8/10: Near Mint. Clean and glossy. Tightly bound. No mailing label. Not quite perfect, but almost. The grade I give to magazines many others would put at a 9 or 10.

7/10: Excellent-Mint. May have a mailing label if it's still neatly affixed. May have one noticeable minor flaw, such as a slightly curled up corner on one of the covers or a tiny crease on an inside page.

6/10: Excellent +. A copy that's been carefully read with two or three minor flaws. Still very nice.

5/10: Excellent. Exactly what you'd think: Average. A copy of a magazine that's seen it's time on the coffee table but has not fallen prey to any mishaps.

4.5/10: Very Good-Excellent. Just below average. Read, not abused, with one flaw driving it below average. Maybe a crease to one of the covers of an otherwise EX magazine, or an EX magazine that has slightly yellowed. Light stress marks at the covers along the spine area. Not a minor flaw, but just one little bit of damage that keeps it from being average on the eye.

4/10: Very Good. A well-read copy of a magazine that may have a somewhat substantial flaw (a heavy crease across the cover perhaps, yellowed pages inside, a tiny tear on the edge) or a couple of minor flaws. Stress marks at the covers near the spine area. Still nice, still collectible.

3.5/10: Good-Very Good. A couple of substantial flaws. Still not terrible, but a copy that has enough warning signs that you'd pick up to inspect carefully and look for more than obvious problems. Perhaps a minor tear at the staples on the binding, or the beginnings of a split of the covers at either 
the very top or very bottom of the spine.

3/10. Good. Now the magazine is getting a little beat up. May have some minor binding issues but the pages are all still attached and present. May have some soiling on the covers. A stain. Some minor tears but nothing torn off. A slightly heavier fray splitting the top and/or bottom of the paper where the covers meet at the spine. Whatever it may be, something's wrong.

2/10: Fair. Beat. Binding may be starting to come loose. Substantial tears in cover or inside pages, perhaps some small missing pieces as long as it doesn't affect the text. Heavy creasing to covers. Dirty.

1/10: Poor. Torn pages. Pages torn out. Covers missing. Heavy soiling and/or staining. Bad, actually 
the worse.