Grading Books.
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Rules for Sellers |
NOTE: A detailed description of your item's condition should always be
included in the description field, regardless of the value selected
here. This value choice is designed to aid searchers and browsers
who want to target items with specifically declared condition ranges and
is not meant to be the final word on your item's condition.
Ex-library copies must always be
noted as such. The highest condition for ex-library
copies is Very Good even if it is otherwise
As New.
Book Club editions must always be noted as such no matter what the
condition
of the book.
No book is to be graded up with the comment "for its age". |
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As New |
As New is to be used only
when the book is in the same immaculate condition in which it was
published. There can be no defects, no missing pages, no library stamps,
etc., and the dustjacket (if it was issued with one) must be perfect,
without any tears. (The term As New is preferred over the alternative
term Mint to describe a copy that is perfect in every respect, including
jacket.) |
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Fine |
Fine approaches the condition of As New,
but without being crisp. For the use of the term Fine there must also be
no defects, etc. |
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NF |
Near Fine is a book that shows some
very light wear, but has no obvious defects and is otherwise in Fine
condition |
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VG |
Very Good can describe a used
book that does show some small signs of wear (but no tears) on either
binding or paper. Any defects must be noted.
This is the highest
grade that an ex-library item can have and
should only be used for those
ex-library items that appear As New except for some
very minimal, neat library markings with no tape marks. If the
library markings are significant, the condition falls to Good even
if the book is otherwise As New.
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Good |
Good describes the average used book that
has all pages present, but has the multiple minor defects that reflect a
well read book. However, none of the defects are so bad that the book is
fragile or unsightly. Ex-library books that are moderately worn or marked, but are otherwise
solid, tight reading copies qualify as Good.
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Fair |
Fair is a worn book that has the complete
text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers,
half-title, or other non-essential page (any of which must be noted). Binding may also be worn. All defects must be noted.
Ex-library
books that have loose bindings or boards showing clearly through the
worn corners or edges are graded Fair.
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Poor |
Poor describes a book that is sufficiently worn that its only merit is
as a
Reading Copy because it does have the complete text which must be
legible.
Any missing maps, illustrations or plates should still be noted. The copy may be
extensively worn, soiled,
scuffed, stained or spotted and may have missing non-text pages or
endpapers, split hinges,
etc. Any books that have strong odors or extensive water damage can only be
described as Poor. Minor water spotting,
mildew spots, foxing, and biopredation damage
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Disbound |
Use for any book that would be classified
as a Binding Copy Only: A book in which the textblock** is
complete and relatively free from defects, marks, and soiling, but has
been completely removed from its binding or the binding is very bad,
loose, off, or non-existent.. Any missing pages or page defects should
be noted in the description. |
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N/A |
N/A = Not Applicable - for non-book items that don't need to be
qualified by condition |
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Undeclared |
The default value for this field. Items with this value generally
indicate a book that was bulk uploaded, but the seller didn't want to
take the time to edit their records to take advantage of our unique
identifier fields which aid buyers who are browsing or searching for
particular kinds of items. Buyers have the option to include or
exclude the
Undeclared value from their search or browse results..
NOTE: A detailed description of your item's condition
should always be included in the description field. |