The corners of the cover a little bit damaged, but not bent and torn. Without any scratches on the record.ĬOVER: very well preserved with palpable traces of use – barely visible “ring” from the record is allowed. 7 Excellent or EX or VG ++ condition (perfect) Near Mint record – barely visible footprints around the perimeter, there is dust that is easily removed by a brush for this purpose. When you play it you don’t hear any noise created by these prints.ĬOVER: preserved almost perfectly with little indication of age and use. They are such that they are difficult to see. It is allowed to have subtly few fingerprints on the surface of the record. 8 Near Mint or NM or M condition(almost perfect, “as new”) The only permissible deviation from estimates 10 is the shops’ label or barely visible signs of cover handling. The condition of the record is as shown in a Mint condition picture. The record must be also perfect, as a new, small number of times played. 9 Mint condition (perfectly preserved)Ī similar situation as score 10. This record is new out of the pack, without any reproduction. In short – a perfectly preserved specimen. No prints, scratches, a small amount of visible dust is allowed (even new it may have some dust).ĬOVER: no label shops or hand-printed text. Perfect condition! This record looks like new from the store, without any damages, as if never used, really never used, or is played only a few times. Grading 10 Mint condition (perfectly preserved) Move it back and forth, up and down, until you review the entire surface.ĭescriptions and evaluations are described according to the Goldmine Grading Standard. If the owner did not take care of the cover, it is difficult to believe that he/she has to take care of the record.įor visual evaluation of the records take the record in hand (keep it around the perimeter and central label) and “shines” is the source of light, the best close to the bulb (as in the pictures). Vinyl, the material from which records are made is an imperfect material and it does not take much to destroy it.Ĭover and records are assessed independently the better combination is when a record is in a better state than the cover, though, as a rule, there is rarely a bad preserved cover with a well-preserved record inside. Remember that vinyl record serves to reproduce music, so any damage, fat, soil or distortion significantly degrades the quality of reproduced music and therefore its value. It is important that you know to grade a value of a record by yourself so that the buyer would not have felt cheated, but also that you won’t be cheated by a seller or a buyer-reseller. Such records can be washed with special washing machines or by hand, but this is a process that lasts and that costs money, and it reduces the value of a record. The record may be in good condition, but greasy due to fingerprints or dirty. Vinyl records with a score of 0-2 are not for use and sale, they are not worth anything. Lack of protective nylon or protective paper further diminishes the value. The records are graded with the numbers 0-10 or with a descriptive English label (Mint, Excellent, Good), where the score 0-2 gives to that due to the damage is such that it’s worthless, to 10, which is considered to be one that is preserved like new. This guide will serve primarily retailers to estimates the state of the records that they sell so that does not happen that a garbage record is sold as “well-preserved” (as it often happens). Poorly preserved records with well-preserved cover have absolutely no value. It does not serve to fill up the shelves and when assessing the value and preservation we always looking into a condition of the record itself. The vinyl record is a medium for storing and playing music.

33 rpm vinyl record values