Help Grading

**Grading Books**
Rules for Sellers	NOTE: A detailed description of your item's condition should always be included in the description field, regardless of the value selected here. This value choice is designed to aid searchers and browsers who want to target items with specifically declared condition ranges and is not meant to be the final word on your item's condition. Ex-library copies must always be noted as such. The highest condition for ex-library copies is Very Good even if it is otherwise As New. Book Club editions must always be noted as such no matter what the condition of the book. No book is to be graded up with the comment "for its age".
As New	As New is to be used only when the book is in the same immaculate condition in which it was published. There can be no defects, no missing pages, no library stamps, etc., and the dustjacket (if it was issued with one) must be perfect, without any tears. (The term As New is preferred over the alternative term Mint to describe a copy that is perfect in every respect, including jacket.)
Fine	Fine approaches the condition of As New, but without being crisp. For the use of the term Fine there must also be no defects, etc.
NF	Near Fine is a book that shows some very light wear, but has no obvious defects and is otherwise in Fine condition
VG+	Very Good Plus is an intermediate grade that can describe a book that has a minor defect, such as a lightly bumped corner, but is otherwise in Fine condition.
VG	Very Good can describe a used book that does show some small signs of wear (but no tears) on either binding or paper. Any defects must be noted. This is the highest grade that an ex-library item can have and should only be used for those ex-library items that appear As New except for some very minimal, neat library markings with no tape marks. If the library markings are significant, the condition falls to Good even if the book is otherwise As New.
Good+	Good Plus is an intermediate grade that can describe a book that has a significant defect, but is otherwise in Very Good condition, or one that has several minor defects but is otherwise clean and crisp.
Good	Good describes the average used book that has all pages present, but has the multiple minor defects that reflect a well read book. However, none of the defects are so bad that the book is fragile or unsightly. Book may have moderate but neat underlining or highlighting, very minor crayon marks, light foxing or fading, minor water spots or damp stains, minor biopredation* damage, but no bad odors or extensive water damage. Ex-library books that are moderately worn or marked, but are otherwise solid, tight reading copies qualify as Good.
Fair	Fair is a worn book that has the complete text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers, half-title, or other non-essential page (any of which must be noted). Binding may also be worn. All defects must be noted. Ex-library books that have loose bindings or boards showing clearly through the worn corners or edges are graded Fair.
Poor	Poor describes a book that is sufficiently worn that its only merit is as a Reading Copy because it does have the complete text which must be legible. Any missing maps, illustrations or plates should still be noted. The copy may be extensively worn, soiled, scuffed, stained or spotted and may have missing non-text pages or endpapers, split hinges, etc. Any books that have strong odors or extensive water damage can only be described as Poor. Minor water spotting, mildew spots, foxing, and biopredation damage Binding Copy Only describes a book in which the textblock** is complete and relatively free from defects, marks, and soiling, but the binding is very bad, loose, off, or non-existent.
Disbound	Use for any book that would be classified as a Binding Copy Only: A book in which the textblock** is complete and relatively free from defects, marks, and soiling, but has been completely removed from its binding or the binding is very bad, loose, off, or non-existent.. Any missing pages or page defects should be noted in the description.
N/A	N/A = Not Applicable - for non-book items that don't need to be qualified by condition
Undeclared	The default value for this field. Items with this value generally indicate a book that was bulk uploaded, but the seller didn't want to take the time to edit their records to take advantage of our unique identifier fields which aid buyers who are browsing or searching for particular kinds of items. Many buyers will eliminate this value from their search or browse results because it adds unwanted items to their results. NOTE: A detailed description of your item's condition should always be included in the description field.

*Biopredation: "An attack to books by living matter, which may include insects or mildew" (quoted with permission from the IOLA Book Terminology Glossary, a recommended set of book industry term definitions).

**Text Block: The pages or "leaves" that contain the content of a book (including the text, illustrations, etc.) usually bound together. and ready for binding.

**Grading Dust Jackets**
Rules for Sellers	In all cases, the lack of a dust jacket should be noted whether the book was issued with one or not. Spine fading should always be checked and noted. Tape repairs should always be noted regardless if the tape is only visible from the reverse side of the dust jacket. Ex-library stickers and tape marks must always be noted. Glued down dust jacket flaps should be described as such, and not as simply "taped down". No dust jacket is to be graded up with the comment "for it's age".
As New	As New is to be used only when the dust jacket is in the same condition in which it was published.
Fine	Fine approaches the condition of As New, but without being crisp. For the use of the term Fine there must also be no defects,
NF	A Near Fine dust jacket may have very light rubbing, but the edges are sharp with no creases or dings.
VG+	A Very Good Plus dust jacket should be complete with no fading, tears or sticker scars, but may have very light edge wear.
VG	A Very Good dust jacket should be complete with no fading, obvious tears or sticker scars, but may have a small library spine sticker.
Good+	Good Plus is an intermediate grade that can describe a dust jacket that is complete but may have noticeable rubbing, light chipping, a closed tear, or some light spine fading, but no significant tears or major sticker scars.
Good	A Good dust jacket can have moderate chipping along the edges, repaired (from the back side) or closed tears, a missing piece as big as a dime, light fading, etc, but is mostly intact and still protects the book and adds to it's appearance.
Fair	A Fair dust jacket may have large tears, repairs, and missing chunks, but it still holds together well and adds something to the book's appearance.
Poor	A Poor dust jacket may have large missing pieces, water damage, extreme fading, or any number of other defects.
None	There is no dust jacket.
None Issued	There was no dust jacket issued with this book. Only use this option if you are certain that the book was never issued with a dust jacket. Listings that incorrectly use this value will be removed from active status until it is corrected. The seller will be notified whenever this value is reported as incorrect and they will be given the opportunity to respond or to simply change the value to None and then notify the administrator to re-activate the listing.
Undeclared	The default value for this field. Items with this value generally indicate a book that was bulk uploaded, but the seller didn't want to take the time to edit their records to take advantage of our unique identifier fields which aid buyers who are browsing or searching for particular kinds of items. Many buyers will eliminate this value from their search or browse results because it adds unwanted items to their results. NOTE: A detailed description of your item's condition should always be included in the description field.

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