Record grading at a glance — Goldmine standard
Grade the disc and the sleeve separately. Quote the disc first.
| Grade | The record | The sleeve |
|---|---|---|
| MMint | Absolutely perfect in every way. Almost always means sealed and never played — most sellers avoid the grade entirely, and a used record is not Mint. | Perfect: no ring wear, no seam splits, no creases, no writing. |
| NMNear Mint | Looks as if it just left the shop. Shiny surface, no scuffs visible when tilted to a light, no marks on the label, plays without added noise. | No creasing, no ring wear, no splits. A cut-out mark or a small price sticker is usually the most it carries. |
| VG+Very Good Plus | Slight signs of handling that do not affect the listening: faint scuffs that do not tick, light paper marks from a sleeve. Surface noise is not obvious. | Slight ring wear or a soft corner; a small seam split at the bottom is sometimes tolerated at this grade, and should be stated. |
| VGVery Good | Visible marks. Surface noise is audible, especially in quiet passages and lead-ins, but the music comes through clearly and does not skip. | Obvious ring wear, creasing, a seam split, or writing. Still intact. |
| G+Good Plus | Plays through without skipping, but noise is constant and intrudes. Scratches you can feel with a fingernail. | Heavily worn: splits, taped seams, writing, water marks. |
| GGood | Plays through, noisily. Bought as a placeholder until a better copy turns up, or because the pressing is scarce enough that any copy has value. | Barely holding together. |
| FFair | Plays but may skip. Value only where the record itself is rare. | Damaged, possibly incomplete. |
| PPoor | Cracked, badly warped, or unplayable. | Destroyed. |
Six questions, in this order
- Is it still sealed, and is the seal beyond doubt?Mint — and check the seal before you pay for it.Take it out and look at the disc.
- Tilted to a light, does the surface show any scuffs at all?Not Near Mint. Continue.Near Mint if the label and sleeve agree.
- Do the marks you can see make a noise you can hear?Not VG+. Continue.VG+ territory.
- Does the noise sit under the music, or over it?Over it: Good Plus at best.Under it, audible in quiet parts: Very Good.
- Does it skip, repeat, or stick anywhere?Fair at best, whatever it looks like.Keep the grade you reached.
- Is the sleeve a worse grade than the disc?Quote both, disc first: "VG+ / VG".One grade covers both.
Three rules that settle most arguments
- Grade what you see and hear, not what you paid. A scarce record in Good is still Good.
- Visual grading is a grade with an asterisk. If it has not been played, say so — "VG+ (visual)" is honest; "VG+" is a claim about sound.
- Say the fault out loud. A named seam split or a stated tick almost never becomes a dispute. An unmentioned one almost always does.
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