Condition

Every record here is inspected by hand, one at a time. We follow the Goldmine standard and grade the record, the sleeve and the obi separately.

Grades describe how a record plays, not how it photographs. Where a record sits between two grades, we give it the lower one.

How to read a listing

Each listing shows two lines. Media is the record; Sleeve is the jacket. Obi, inserts and anything else that came with the record are named in the description.

The record

We use five grades: M, NM, VG+, VG and G+. We don't list anything below G+.

MMint

Unplayed. Sealed, or opened but never put on a turntable. We use this sparingly.

NMNear Mint

Plays clean from beginning to end. Any surface marks show only when the record is held to the light.

VG+Very Good Plus

Light surface marks or hairlines that don't intrude on the music. You may hear something faint between tracks or in a quiet passage. This is the normal condition of a well-kept used record.

The most common grade in our stock.
VGVery Good

Audible surface noise in places, most noticeable in quiet passages and fades. Plays through without interruption.

G+Good Plus

Noise runs throughout. It plays without skipping, but this is a listening or DJ copy rather than a collector's copy. When we list one, the description says why.

The sleeve

Graded separately from the record. Anything that doesn't photograph well — writing inside a gatefold, a repaired seam — is written into the description.

  • NM　No creasing, no ring wear, corners sharp.
  • VG+　Light shelf wear, slightly softened corners, faint ring wear. Seams intact.
  • VG　Visible ring wear, bumped corners, small seam splits, price stickers or their residue.
  • G+　Heavy wear, tape repair, writing, open seams.

Obi & inserts

We handle a lot of Japanese pressings, so the obi gets its own line.

  • If a record has its obi, it appears in the photographs and is named in the description. If the description doesn't mention an obi, there isn't one.
  • Obi condition is described in words rather than a letter — tears, fading, tape, missing corners. Obi paper is thin and doesn't map onto the same scale as a record or a sleeve.
  • Inserts, lyric sheets and posters are named in the description and shown in the photographs.

What the grade does not cover

  • Pressing noise. Noise that came off the press rather than from use. We don't count it against the grade; where we notice it, we say so in the description.
  • Age. Natural yellowing and toning of paper stock are not marked down when they are normal for the record's age.
  • Inner sleeves, unless an original printed inner is worth mentioning — then it is in the description.

How we check

  • Every record is inspected under light and played.
  • Records are cleaned before listing.
  • We ship with the record outside the jacket, wrapped separately, to avoid seam splits in transit.

If a record doesn't match its grade, get in touch within 7 days of delivery.
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