Home | Reviews | Grading | Counterfeits | Labels | Guides | Link | Contact | Italian Version Today many collectors buy records by mail or at the internet auctions, so when they buy one record they can't see hits conditions. There are at least two Guides that can help the buyers how to grade the records. They are the 'Goldmine Price Guide' in USA and the 'Record Collectors Rare Records Guide' in UK. There are some little differences between: Goldmine don't consider the term 'Excellent' and uses 'near mint', moreover it uses 'very good plus' not used by the Record Collector guide. Here is the terms: S/S = Record is still sealed. Mint = Record isn't sealed but appear perfect (and also the cover). Near mint or Mint minus = Record has one or two tiny inconsequential flaws. Cover is close to perfect. Very good plus or Excellent = Record isn't perfect but not too far from it. And so until 'Poor' and 'Bad'. Usually sellers use strict gradings but it's better to buy from a well known seller, anyway do not condamn a dealer for one mistake but when the mistake is the norm, well, find someone else to buy your records from. It's a good norm to know all the datas regarding the record you want to buy to avoid discussions with the seller after the purchase. For example you can buy one record without the insert (one sheet or downright one little book) just only you ignore that the record has the insert and the seller 'forget' to inform you (on his catalogue or in any descriptions). There is another great problem in the records collectors world: there are some counterfeit records around and some dealer sells them as original. Take a look to the Counterfeits page.