GOLDMINE GRADING STANDARD

Ordering records from private sellers on ebay is like playing Poker. Even most Vintage Vinyl Traders in Germany do not grade their records.

We do have a grading system applied to all our records. We use the usual internationally proven grading system, which was developed by Goldmine Magazine originally for vinyl.

SS | Still Sealed

Never been opened. Flawless, with no damage whatsoever. Depending on the manufacture - it may or may not be factory sealed.

M | Mint

New Item. Never played, never used.

NM | Near Mint

VINYL: Near perfect. Very minor scuffs and very little else appears on the vinyl. Any damage will most likely have occurred during packaging or removing the record from the inner sleeve but has been handled with extreme care.

COVER: The cover looks close to perfect with only minor signs of wear and/or age.

CD: No visible marking / scuffing / scratches & plays perfectly.

EX | Excellent

VINYL: In excellent condition for vinyl but allows for minor scuffs which are visible but only slightly.

COVER: Artwork looks as close to perfect as can be. There may be some impressions to the cover. Some slight creases to the corners, but not wrinkled and obtrusive to the eye.

CD: No visible scratches / plays perfectly.

VG | Very Good

VINYL: May crackle, pop or make other annoying noises, but only occasionally, never continuously, and not more loudly than the music being listened to.

COVER: Normal used cover wear such as ring wear and split seams. If there is abnormal damage such as tears or markings, it is described in comments attached to the item.

CD: Visible scratches but plays perfectly all the way through.

G | Good

VINYL: May have continuous low level crackles, pops, etc. but not so loud as to make the music completely unlistenable or unenjoyable to the casual listener. May also have more serious scratches causing popping on one or two songs, with the rest of record playing fine.

COVER: May have various kinds of wears and tears but is not torn. It may have seam splits that are not repaired with anything other than scotch tape.

CD: one track might skip.

F | Fair

VINYL: Mostly quite noisy the whole way through, may have heavy scratches and might even skip.

COVER: Possibly torn, taped or written on, but not all at once.

P | Poor

VINYL: Only one or two songs on the whole album playable.

COVER: Torn, taped and written on.

CD: Several tracks may skip.

0 | missing/not original

Is either missing or not the original.

GENERIC

"Generic" refers to covers that are not specific to an individual publication. A "generic cover" therefore is a neutral cover which can be replaced.

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