About visual
Grading:
HOW TO GRADE
Different graders/collectors use
different terminology
when it comes to grading. For instance some collectors use the
term
mint condition to refer to an album that seemingly has no flaws.
Others say that if the cellophane has been broken and the album opened,
it cannot be in mint condition ... they therefore use the term near
mint
(NM). Others will put the minus sign after M to show that it has
been opened (M-) this is pronounced ' Mint minus '. Others
will use the term mint minus to mean something different. Some
people
will use the term very good plus plus (VG++) to mean basically the same
thing. Some people will use all of these terms. ask
the
dealer/collector you are buying from if he/she uses the Pinkerton scale
to grade. If not, encourage them to do so. If they are not
using this guide, then the below Guide is only a suggestion of what
others
terms could mean. This will give you an idea as to where to
start.
When you are dealing over the phone or the Internet make sure that you
provide clear definitions as to exactly what you mean when you use one
of these terms. Likewise before buying a piece, make sure you
understand
exactly what the seller means by his terminology. For example
good
should mean just that. Good, playable condition. However, when
you're
on the selling end of things the piece always looks a little better.
Unfortunately,
to some dealers good actually means good only for a frisbee. To
further
compound problems, grading is a very subjective thing. What looks
good to one dealer might be unacceptable to another. Make sure
you
are dealing with a reliable source. If you are the seller make sure
that
you're completely honest and that your customer knows exactly what you
mean by your terminology. It never pays to be misleading in your
grading
procedures to try to make a little extra on the sell. You stand
to
lose the confidence of the buyers and future sells.
Final note: it is the industry standard
to grade
albums by visual inspection. This can sometimes be deceptive of
what
the album may sound like. This being the case, an album that
looks
to be near mint could sound scratchy when played. This doesn't
change
the rating any. Likewise an album that seems to be all beat up
might
play perfect. (there again, grade does not go up) ... everything
is visual.
If you are going against the norm and
decide
that you want a sound grade...be sure to request this. If you're
selling, it is never a good idea to grade by sound. But if you
do,
offer the visual grade also. Below is the list that I use for
grading.
You have permission to cut and paste the list if you credit it by name.
Keep in mind that covers and albums are graded separately. If
there
is only one grade listed for an album it should mean that both album
and
cover are in this condition. If not, there should be two grades
listed
(i.e. M/VGcvr this grade means the album is in mint condition ,the
cover
is in very good condition)
Pinkerton scale:
Covers:
S = Factory Sealed. (make sure you
are
buying/selling an actual factory seal and not a retailer reseal)
M = Mint. Appears to be factory
fresh.
opened, but perfect in all details
NM =Near Mint. one slight problem
(i.e.dogged
corner of cover, slight fingernail scratch, dents and dings in edge of
cover opening )
M- = any combination of two of the
above
problems or one defacing problem (as listed below)
VG++ = any combination of three of
the
above problems or two of the above problems and one defacing problem
VG+ = any combination of four of the
above
problems or two defacing problems
VG = very good .three or four
defacing
problems or multiple minor problems or relatively minor water stains
and/or
ring wear .
VG- = more serious water stains
and/or
ring wear or multiple defacing problems or slight cover tear.
G+ = no more than one-fourth cover
affected
by water stain. No more than 1" tear. ring wear does not emaciate
cover art
G = good. from one-third to the
entire
cover damaged by water stain (but still intact) corners torn (other
than
DJ) complete ring wear
F = fair. Main body of cover
still
recognizable but heavily damaged by tears, liquid stains etc.
P = poor. definitely not for
the
collector (as truly, nothing below VG++should be) cover will still
fully
protect album. A cover that is torn in two is by no means to be
considered
Poor quality! It's to be considered trash.
OTHER ABBREVIATIONS:
DJ
= Disk Jockey copy. PS = Picture Sleeve. EP = extended
play.
co = cut out. LP cover will have a
hole, notch
or cut corner. ri=reissue.
cc= cut corner. bb = small
hole in the label of a 45.
Defacing problems and abbreviations:
woc = writing on cover. wol
= writing
on label. toc or tol = tape on cover or label. ss
= seam split
Albums :
S = Factory Sealed. (make sure you
are
buying/selling an actual factory seal and not a retailer reseal)
M = Mint. Appears to be factory
fresh
. opened, but perfect in all details
NM =Near Mint. one slight problem
(i.e.
paper scuff , spindle mark at center hole, fingernail scratch on label
, non- removable fingerprint or previous sticker glue)
M- = any combination of two of the
above
problems or one defacing problem (as listed below) or surface scratch
[show
as link]
VG++ = any combination of three of
the
above problems or two of the above problems and one defacing
problem
VG+ = any combination of four of the
above
problems or two defacing problems
VG = very good. three or four
defacing
problems or multiple minor problems or relatively minor surface
scratches
.
VG- = more serious surface scratches
or
multiple defacing problems or slight groove depth scratch .
G+ = no more than one-fourth L.P.
affected
by surface scratches . No more than 1" groove depth scratch
.
G = good. from one-third to the
entire
L.P. damaged by surface scratches. Several G D scratches (L.P. in
this condition tends to skip)
F = fair. L.P. is still
playable
but heavily damaged by G D scratches or small break
P = poor.definitely not for the
collector
(as truly, nothing below VG++should be) some songs are at least partly
playable. An LP that is broken in two is by no
means
to be considered Poor quality! It's to be considered trash.
OTHER ABBREVIATIONS:
DJ
= Disk Jockey copy. PS = Picture Sleeve. EP = extended
play.
co = cut out. LP cover will have a hole, notch or cut
corner. ri=reissue.
cc=
cut corner. bb = small hole in the label of a 45.
Defacing problems and abbreviations:
woc = writing on cover. wol =
writing
on label. toc or tol = tape on cover or label. ss = seam split
Vanity statement
If all dealers/collectors would adopt my
grading
list above and truly follow it honestly, the world of record collecting
would be a much more honest, open, and reliable field. As I have
created this scale and use it exclusively in my grading of albums, it
bears
the name Pinkerton scale. If you do decide to
adopt
it and/or refer others to it please refer to it as such. Thank
you.
Sound grading:
For those insisting on grading by sound
below
is the Pinkerton sound scale. As this scale does not take into
consideration
the visuals of the vinyl it is imperative to let the customer know you
are using the Pinkerton sound scale. It would also be advisable
to
offer the visual scale rating as well.
Sound scale:
S = Factory Sealed. (make sure you
are
buying/selling an actual factory seal and not a retailer reseal)
M = Mint. Appears to be factory
fresh
. opened, but no surface noise whatsoever
NM =Near Mint. one slight problem
(i.e.
single pop, slight surface (white ) noise, slightly distorted speed due
to groove waves and/or distortion) on one or two tracks
M- = any combination of two of the
above
problems or one above problem on three or four tracks
VG++ = any combination of three of
the
above problems or one of the above problems on an entire album side or
pop through one entire track
VG+ = any combination of four of the
above
problems or two of the above problems on each album side or pop through
entire track on two or three different tracks
VG = very good. Any of the
above
problems on entire album side. Or a pop through entire track on
more
than three tracks
VG- = multiple problems to one side
of
album and minor problems to second side
G+ = sound distortion of some type
to
entire L.P. (on both sides) possible skips
G = good . definite skips
through
entire album. And/or heavy white noise
F = fair. L.P. is still
playable
but most tracks skip
P = poor.definitely not for the
collector
(as truly, nothing below VG++should be) some songs are at least partly
playable
Vanity statement
If all dealers/collectors would adopt my
grading
list above and truly follow it honestly, the world of record collecting
would be a much more honest, open, and reliable field. As I have
created this scale and use it exclusively in my grading of albums, it
bears
the name Pinkerton scale. If you do decide to
adopt
it and/or refer others to it please refer to it as such. Thank
you.
Price guides and the Pinkerton
scale:
As all price guides are generally based on
their
own scale, some adjustments might be needed to be made when using the
Pinkerton
scale. Below is a guide as to how price structure should work
when
using the Pinkerton scale.
S = sealed. 30-50% above listed
mint price
M = Mint. as listed in price guide
NM =Near Mint. 90 % of listed
mint
price
M- = mint minus. 80 % of
listed
mint price
VG++ = very good plus plus. 70
%
of listed mint price
VG+ = very good plus. 60 % of
listed
mint price
VG = very good. 50 % of listed
mint
price
VG- = very good minus.
40
% of listed mint price
G+ = good plus. 30 % of
listed
mint price
G = good. 20 % of listed
mint
price
F = fair. 10 % of listed mint
price
P = poor. 1-5 % of listed mint
price
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