Grading the condition of a book and dust jacket tends to be a very subjective exercise. What one person considers a minor problem is a complete roadblock to the next person. My grading represents the feeling I have of the overall condition of the book and dust jacket. I’ve attempted to note all significant defects and conditions that we used in our evaluation.

I use the following abbreviations

VF -Very Fine: No defects; perfect
F – Fine: Perhaps one or two very minor defects
NF - Near Fine: A more significant defect or several minor defects
VG - Very Good: A worn, but intact book; jacket missing small pieces
G – Good: Severe defects

I tend not to include bookplates, owner names and remainder marks in my evaluation of overall condition. These should always be noted in the description and will be reflected in pricing. I use +/- modifiers when I am caught between grades. The book or dust jacket may "feel" better or worse than the grade the defects point to.

Common terms and what they mean

(I’ll be adding to this later)

Bumping - Occurs when the corners or edges of the boards have encountered a hard surface and lost. Light bumping will cause a slight dent or soft spot. More severe bumping may crease the board, sometimes badly enough to cause a tear in the material.

Closed tear - The jacket has been torn with no loss of paper or color.

Crease - Jacket or page has been folded with enough pressure to leave a line which cannot be removed.

Dampstain - The result of the book or jacket having been wet, usually from water. A discoloration is seen.

Edge wear - Generic term for wear on edges of jacket.

Erasures - The erasing of writing from a page has not been totally successful and has left a faint image or has been too aggressive and has caused some abrasion to the paper.

Dog eared - Corner of a page has been folded over and left a crease.

Jacket offset - Book has been exposed to sunlight leaving an image from the jacket visible on the boards.

Laminate peeling - The lamination on the jacket has lifted from the jacket. Usually occurs along edges (peeling) or near raised letters (bubbling).

Price clipped - Corner of the jacket flap which displays the price has been cut off.

Remainder mark - An ink mark on the page edges that denote a book which has been returned to the publisher and is not to be sold at full price. This may be in the form of a publisher's logo stamp, a magic marker line or dot, or ink sprayed on the entire surface (not to be confused with topstain).

Rubbing - Repeated sliding of the book against a shelf or other book may lead to this kind of wear.