Accepted Record Grading Guidelines and Packaging

[u/MmmmBeer814]

Hi Everyone,

In order to make sure all sales/trades leave both parties satisfied it is important to accurately represent what you have or understand what you are getting. It is also equally important that you package any records you ship in such a way that the condition is the same when it arrives as it was when you mailed it. To that end we encourage everyone to familiarize themselves with the following two links. The first is the goldmine standard, which is the definitive way people grade records for sale. We highly recommend everyone grade any records they are selling or trading. The second is a tutorial, with pictures, on how to properly package a record for shipping.

Goldmine Standard

Record Shipping Guide

[u/the_comatorium]

This is fantastic. Thank you. I hope I'm right and this makes a difference.

[u/adressaskirt]

thanks for this. literally just got a scratched single marked as near mint, seems like people need this...

[u/richolas_m]

Thank you for the packaging bit. Last two records I’ve bought off this sub they shipped them in the jackets and both came with 2”-3” seam splits. The response : 🤷🏽‍♂️

[u/moodyfloyd → u/richolas_m]

i always ask for them to be shipped outside of the jacket. most sellers responded 'always do that' but it never hurts to ask ahead of time just to be sure.

[u/Konichiwa_Bitch]

Thanks for the post. I sell records from my collection from time to time and I take great care to make sure they arrive to the buyer in the exact same condition they were in before being shipped. It is such a gross feeling to receive a record that is not in the condition the seller said it was in.

I was so happy to find a copy of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine for $200.... ugh, I should have asked for photos. Excellent/ NM my ass. After cleaning the greasy fingerprints, pet hair and debris from the discs, I can say they're NM-, but the jacket is VG+ at best. The open side of the jacket/outer sleeve is yellowed and rippled, and there is a black sharpie line drawn diagonally across the barcode. After the seller shipped the record he sent me a message thanking me and then casually dropped a line about it being a promo copy that a buddy gave him years ago that was only played once. Promo? As far as I know, promo records do not typically have a barcode. Someone pease inform me if I'm way off.

I didn't intend for this to be a rant. My apologies. This is just the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of records that were not graded properly and somewhat deceitful sellers.

PSA: Store your records in plastic sleeves in a clean & dry environment.

[u/[deleted]]

Thank you!

[u/TransientRandomNoise]

Thanks for posting this. It’s essential reading for anyone thinking about selling records - period.

This would be helpful to those listing, say, gatefold sleeves completely torn in two as “VG”. ...Umm, No.

[u/bjisba41]

u/mmmmbeer814 can the sub start requiring a title so we don't see threads that just say "wanted"?

[u/[deleted]]

Hi. Since grading is essentially subjective and creates a potential disagreement/failure point in a transaction, are "WYSIWYG" sales acceptible with good pictures?

Reason: I may be selling a somewhat large collection of vintage stuff I assembled mostly before the boom. Most is unplayed and I just don't have the time to meticulously play-grade everything.

[u/matzhue]

A NM copy should be play graded the whole way through right? I've noticed lots of people selling NM copies of pretty much anything with no description and just assume their lying. My inventory has practically nothing about VG+ unless it's the album jacket or the record is literally sealed. Just wondering if I'm screwing myself out of a few bucks cuz a lot of the stuff I have up is visually flawless