GRADING -Mint, M-, VG-, VG, VG+

Mint
Mint means that the record is un played or sealed. This record could be a promo that has never been played.

M-
M- means near mint. The album is opened, but you can't see any marks or indication of play. The record could be mint, and should be perfect.

VG+
VG+ means Very Good plus. There is indication that the record has been played. There may be a mark or scuff, but only seen under extreme scrutiny. The album should play perfectly, no pops or noise of any kind.

VG
VG means Very Good. Marks and scuffs will be visible, the record should play very well. Possibly some pops or slight noise may be heard. Even at this grade, the record may play perfectly with no noise and/ or pops.

VG-
VG- means that the record is just short of being Very Good. There will be visible marks. There is a greater chance that the record wail have pops and noise. Again, even at this grade, there will be no skips, and possibly, little or no distracting noise.

SHORTHAND

When a record company wants to distinguish a promo or a discontinued record and a basic copy of a record, they mark the cover, either with a stamp, a pen, or with a method of "cutting out" the record. Some of these are used in our descriptions of the records' condition. To make more sense of them, we have provided a translation below.

(corner cut)
When you see this message, it means that there is a .25 inch to 1 inch cut out of the corner of the cover.

(cut record)
When you see "cut record means that there is a small (about 1 - 1.5 cm long) notch taken out of one of the sides of the cover.

(hole punch)
When you see this, it means that there is a small hole punch somewhere in the cover. Usually just inside the corner.

Album: (something other than sealed)
Cover: Sealed
When you see this, it simply means that the cover still has it's shrink wrap. There has been a slit cut din the side to remove the record, and to keep the cover mint.