How we grade
Every record here is graded twice on the Goldmine scale — the standard the trade has used for decades. Once for the disc, once for the sleeve, because they wear differently and a worn jacket on a clean record is a bargain rather than a fault.
You will see this on every listing, disc first:
VG+VGa Very Good Plus record in a Very Good sleeve
The scale
- M — Mint
- Sealed or unplayed. Rarely used honestly.
- NM — Near Mint
- Looks and plays as new. Minimal signs of handling.
- VG+ — Very Good Plus
- Light marks that do not affect play. The collector sweet spot.
- VG — Very Good
- Visible wear, surface noise in quiet passages, plays through.
- G+ — Good Plus
- Well played, noticeable noise, no skips.
- G — Good
- Heavy wear, plays but noisy throughout.
- F — Fair
- Badly worn, may skip. A placeholder copy.
- P — Poor
- Damaged. For the sleeve, or as a curiosity.
- GENERIC — Generic Sleeve
- The record has no original jacket.
The photographs are the evidence
We photograph the copy you are buying — not stock artwork, not another pressing. Front, back and the disc itself as standard; on anything valuable, the labels, the spine and the run-out groove as well, so you can confirm which pressing it is before you spend anything. If you want a closer look at something, ask and we will take it.
If we get it wrong
Grading is a judgement, and judgements can be wrong. If a record arrives worse than we described it, tell us within seven days and send it back — we refund what you paid for it and the return postage. We would rather lose the sale than have you keep a record that is not what we said it was.
How they travel
The disc travels outside the sleeve, in a rigid mailer. It is the only reliable way to stop the record splitting the seams of its own jacket in transit, and it is what every careful seller does.