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Before the Auction: Declaring Accurate Grades

Mint, near mint, fair, good--what's the difference? That's what uninformed buyers sometimes wonder when faced with technical grading terminology. Furthermore, it's important for sellers to have an accurate grasp of grading terms so that buyers are not mislead or misinformed when deciding whether to place a bid on an auction. That said, our tip clarifies general grading terminology and offers some helpful advice on how to avoid surprising--and angering--customers by sending them an item that isn't exactly what they expected.

The Preliminaries
First, there are no universal grades for all collecting disciplines. Though often quite similar, slight variations exist. For instance, the standards used for coins and comic books are somewhat different; or one discipline might use "excellent" whereas another prefers "fine." (Coin dealers and collectors use designations such as extremely fine, about uncirculated, and brilliant uncirculated.) Make sure that you're familiar with the terminology that has been adopted for your particular area (or areas) of interest, whether it's coins, books, stamps, comics, magazines, trading cards, LPs, or furniture. It's up to you to be a responsible seller and provide your customers with the most accurate information possible.

Second, assigning grades to items can be subjective, even though there are general agreed upon specifications. One person's "fine" can be another's "good." In addition to including a grade in your item description, you also should describe the item in detail, especially if there are any flaws or imperfections. In other words, don't just say "near mint" and leave it at that; the buyer should be told why it isn't mint. Thus, you might state the following: "Near mint; the book contains one slight blemish: a small, circular stain on the title page." Remember: Grading terms are almost useless unless buyer and seller have a mutual understanding of what they mean.

The Terms
Here are some of the commonly used grading terms, along with brief definitions and examples. However, please note that these are very general guidelines and amalgams of multiple disciplines; they should not be substituted for the specificity of a particular discipline.

Mint: An item that's in absolutely perfect condition, without any blemishes or imperfections. The equivalent "as new" is used for books.

Near Mint: An item with a very minor flaw. This can include a small mark or blemish in a book, a hardly noticeable production deficiency in a baseball card, or a quilt that has a tiny snag or slight discoloration. Depending on the discipline, sometimes the price of a mint or near mint item might not differ very much--or not at all. For example, some comic book price guides assign the same price for mint and near mint comics.

Very Fine: An item in overall excellent condition that also exhibits tiny imperfections, such as a small crease in a comic book or a trading card that shows small signs of age.

Fine: An item that is still considered above average but demonstrates more pronounced signs of wear (yellowing of pages in a comic book, or a magazine cover starting to lose its gloss). Excellent is used instead of fine in some fields--in quilt collecting, for example; a quilt described as excellent could have been washed once or twice but not enough times so that its value has been substantially diminished.

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