[78-L] e-bay sellers record grading

[fnarf at comcast.net]

I don't know what grading standard 78 dealers typically use (my only Ebay foray there resulted in an Ella Fitzgerald disc that arrived in thirty pieces) but that's standard for LP dealers. VG- means "thrashed", VG is "beat", EX is worn but playable, NM- is good, and NM is very good. There is no "Mint" -- mint means "new". I personally wouldn't touch anything less than EX outside of a thrift store.

--
Steve.

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: DAVID BURNHAM <burnhamd at rogers.com>
> I was surprised when I received a recent shipment from an e-bay dealer I've 
> always found to be very reliable.  Everything I've purchased from him has been 
> in excellent condition.  But this item arrived, (2 records of a 3 record set of 
> Stravinsky's Duo Concertant with Stravinsky and Dushkin) and I was amazed at the 
> poor quality of the records - surface cracks on all surfaces, heavy smudging, 
> several scratches and obviously lots of wear - more like the condition I would 
> expect to see a Wilf Carter disc than a Stravinsky Violin piece!  Since I always 
> check the condition of a record before I bid on it, I went back to the listing 
> and noticed that the condition was indicated as VG-.  Preparing to complain 
> about the inaccurate rating, I noticed his "important notice", to check below 
> for what the grading terms mean.  This is what I found:
> 
> VG- Significant wear, and surface noise may be distracting
> 
> This is actually his poorest rating, starting at "NM", (near mint).  I guess I 
> can't really complain since he was honest about what his ratings meant, but I'm 
> not leaving any feedback.
> 
> db
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