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Paperback Book Grading Guide
| Fine |
Like new with no real
noticeable flaws or imperfections. Some may call
this As New or Mint. |
| Near
Fine |
Most likely not read but
has very minor imperfections. Still clean and looks
relatively fresh. Pages may be yellowing, but not
brown. |
| Very
Good+ |
Upon closer inspection
what appeared to be a Near Fine book has some very
minor imperfections. These may be a corner
ding, cover scuffs, slightly off-white colors, nice
date stamp or inscription, tannish pages, color
flakes, spine wrinkle. After all is added up,
item is better than Very Good but not quite Near
Fine. |
| Very
Good |
Probably carefully read once
with minor imperfections but still an excellent
addition to ones collection. Slight edge wear common
but not to the point of eye distracting. No tape,
may have slight browning of the pages, may have
pleasant looking minor marks or writing, spine
should be relatively square (not bent or curved) and no insect
or rodent damage. May have slight loss of cover
gloss and/or plastic laminate. |
|
Very Good- |
Not quite "Very
Good" but better than "Good". Read
more than once. Browning pages allowed but
definitely not brittle. Minor spine roll, more
noticeable corner wear, minor water stains possible,
cover scuffing or fading acceptable if not
overbearing. Plastic lamination may be noticeably
peeling away. Edges may have rubbing, creases, tiny tears
and other wear but when added up does not warrant
downgrade to "Good" condition. |
|
Good+ |
A book in this grade
usually is a Very Good book with a major flaw that
drops it down a category. Examples would be a
carefully read book with a heavy crease on the front
cover, torn page, Ex-Library, book does not
lie flat, writing/notes inside, etc.. |
|
Good |
A well read copy but
still nice to hold and look at. Spine still
relatively tight with no loose pages or loose
covers. Markings more common but not to the point of
excessive. This is a reading copy only, otherwise it
would probably be put in the trash. |
|
Good- |
This book would have to
be pretty scarce to want to keep. In such
condition that maybe the cover is in nice condition
but the pages are wasted or vice/versa. Pages
or cover is starting to come loose or chunks of the
non-text pages are missing or heavily torn.
Definitely not a pretty book but has some value to
keep it from going in the garbage. |
100,
80, 60, 35, 20
Hardback & Quality Books Grading Guide
BN
Brand New |
Looks
near perfect except under close scrutiny. |
LN
Like New |
May
have minor wear (especially around the edges) but no
creases or marks, spine looks solid and looks
overall clean. Could have been carefully read
once. |
EX
Excellent |
May
have minor marks, light crease, bent spine, or
slightly fading color. Has been read but still
pleasing to hold and show. |
VG
Very Good |
May
have marks, creases, slight tears, or small
stains. Has been read a number of times but
still in stable condition. |
G
Good |
Complete
and readable but not to be showcased on a shelf. |
F
Fair |
Not
complete but has some important features still
available. |
P
Poor |
Makes
you cry when you look at it. |
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