Guides
Record grading explained: what Mint, VG+ and Good really mean
Buying a used record online means buying a description. The buyer can’t hold the disc up to the light or drop the needle before paying, so two short codes, something like VG+/VG, carry most of the weight. Those codes come from a shared scale, and knowing what each step on it promises, and what it doesn’t, is the difference between a record that plays the way the buyer expected and one that crackles through every quiet passage.
A grade is a seller’s judgment rather than a measurement, so it helps to know where the scale is firm and where it leaves room.
The Goldmine scale, from Mint to Poor
Most sellers grade records on the Goldmine standard, a scale published by the collector magazine Goldmine. Discogs uses it for every item in its Marketplace, and many eBay sellers quote it too. The grades run from Mint at the top down to Poor, and the gaps between them are larger than the letters suggest.
| Grade | The record | The cover | Rough value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mint (M) | Perfect in every way and almost certainly unplayed. Goldmine says it should only be used when more than one person agrees. | Perfect, often still sealed. | Negotiated case by case |
| Near Mint (NM or M-) | Looks as if it just came out of the shop. Shiny, no visible defects, no marks on the label, plays with no surface noise. | No creases, ring wear or seam splits. | The reference price |
| Very Good Plus (VG+), also called Excellent (E or EX) | Signs of careful use: light scuffs or very light scratches that don’t affect the sound, a slight warp that doesn’t affect playback, faint marks around the spindle hole. | Minor wear, perhaps a small split at the bottom seam or a cut-out mark. | About half of NM |
| Very Good (VG) | Less gloss, visible groove wear, light scratches deep enough to catch a fingernail. Surface noise is audible, especially in quiet passages, intros and fades, but doesn’t drown the music. | Obvious handling: ring wear, creases, some seam splitting, maybe writing or a price sticker. | Up to about a quarter of NM |
| Good (G) and Good Plus (G+) | Plays through without skipping, but with significant noise, ticks and groove wear. Labels may be worn or written on. | Seam splits, heavy ring wear, tape or writing. | About 10–15% of NM |
| Fair (F) and Poor (P) | Cracked, badly warped, or skips and repeats. | Barely holds the record; split, heavily marked or water-damaged. | 0–5% of NM |
The value column is a rule of thumb from the two guides, not a price list. Goldmine notes that for most collectors VG is the lowest grade worth more than bargain-bin money, and that copies below it mostly sell when the title is genuinely rare. Goldmine also calls VG copies among the biggest bargains in collecting, because most of the money goes to cleaner copies, and says that for many listeners a VG record is worth the money.
Two details are easy to miss. First, Near Mint doesn’t have to mean unplayed. Goldmine allows that a record played carefully on good equipment can stay NM. Second, the standard doesn’t slide with age. A record from the 1960s must meet the same bar as one pressed last year, which is why Goldmine estimates that only 2 to 4 percent of surviving records from the 1950s and 1960s are truly Near Mint.
Two grades: the record and the sleeve
A listing usually carries two grades: one for the media (the disc itself) and one for the sleeve (the jacket or cover). They are judged separately, so “NM/VG” means a near-perfect record in a visibly worn cover. Discogs asks sellers to grade each component on its own, and the same standard applies to inserts such as posters and lyric sleeves, which a seller can describe in the notes.
Which grade matters more depends on the buyer. Someone who wants to listen should weigh the media grade first: a VG+ record in a G+ jacket can be a cheap way to get a clean-playing copy. A collector who displays covers or cares about resale will weigh both, because a worn jacket pulls the value down even when the disc is clean. For a rough value, Goldmine suggests averaging the two: a VG+ record in a VG cover is worth about the midpoint between the VG+ and VG prices.
Discogs adds one special case. A Generic sleeve grade means the record comes in a plain sleeve or a record company’s standard printed sleeve rather than artwork made for that release. Discogs treats those as easily replaced and doesn’t grade them further, so a 7-inch single listed as NM/Generic is a clean record with no picture sleeve. CDs follow similar grades, with one difference: Discogs doesn’t grade standard jewel cases at all, since they’re replaceable.
Unrip’s buying guide has a shorter summary of the grades for quick reference.
Where grades get stretched
Grading is an opinion, and the scale only works when sellers apply it strictly. Goldmine itself notes that owners tend to rate their own records more generously than the standard allows, and advises sellers to grade conservatively. Collector forums show the same pattern from the buyer’s side. These are the gaps that come up most often.
VG+ that plays like VG
The most common complaint. Discogs’ definition says a VG+ record should, in theory, sound the same as a Near Mint one. A copy with steady background crackle, or noise that rises in the quiet passages, is behaving like VG, whatever its label says. On collector forums, some buyers report that VG+ copies from certain sellers often arrive a grade or two lower than expected.
Visual grades on records nobody played
Many dealers grade by eye because playing a large stock takes too long. But looks and sound don’t always agree. Goldmine observes that older LPs, from the 1950s to about 1971, often play better than they look, while records from the following two decades often play worse. Groove wear from a cheap or poorly aligned tonearm is easy to miss by eye.
“NM” for anything that’s been opened
A new record opened once is often listed as NM, and Goldmine’s standard allows that. But NM describes condition, not history. A record pressed off center, or with a factory defect, doesn’t qualify however few times it was played.
“Mint” because it’s sealed
Discogs states that an item can be sealed and still not be Mint. Goldmine warns that sealed records may have been resealed, the disc inside may not be Near Mint or may not be the pressing the buyer expects, and occasionally the wrong record is inside altogether.
None of this means most sellers are dishonest. Two careful people can grade the same record a step apart, and play grading depends on the equipment and the listener. The practical response is to treat the grade as the seller’s claim, then use the notes, the photos and the seller’s history to decide how far to trust it.
Reading a listing
The grade is the headline; the seller’s comments are the detail. Discogs encourages sellers to use the comments to justify a grade and to mention flaws that didn’t lower it, such as a visible mark that can’t be heard. Comments that help a buyer tend to be specific: which side, which track, what kind of noise, and whether the record was played or only looked at.
| The listing says | What it usually tells a buyer |
|---|---|
| “Play graded” or “plays great” | Someone listened, at least in part. Worth asking whether both sides were played all the way through. |
| “Visually graded” or no mention of playing | The grade is based on appearance. Sound may be better or worse than it suggests. |
| “Light marks, don’t affect play” | Cosmetic wear within VG+, if true. A photo of the surface under strong light helps confirm it. |
| “Seam split,” “ring wear,” “writing on back” | Sleeve flaws the grade should already reflect. Check the sleeve grade matches. |
| “Generic sleeve” | A plain or company sleeve, not the release’s own artwork. Discogs treats it as adding little value, but a single that originally came in a picture sleeve is missing it. |
| “Promo,” “cut-out,” or a drill hole or corner cut | A promotional copy or a remaindered one. Goldmine treats a cut-out mark as ruling out NM for the cover. |
| “Sold as is” or no comment at all | Little information. The seller’s feedback becomes the main evidence. |
After the comments, read the seller’s feedback, especially the recent neutral and negative comments. Complaints that mention grading say more about how a seller uses the scale than any single listing does. On Discogs, each seller sets their own terms, including returns, and Discogs expects buyers to have read them, so it pays to check before buying.
Questions to ask before buying
For an expensive or important record, a short message to the seller before buying is normal and costs nothing. Specific questions tend to get more useful answers than a general “how does it play?”
Was it play graded, and were both sides played all the way through?
A visual grade isn’t wrong, but a buyer who cares about noise should know which kind it is.
Is there any surface noise in the quiet parts, intros or run-out?
This is where the difference between VG+ and VG shows up first.
Any skips, repeats, or a warp that moves the tonearm?
A slight warp that doesn’t affect playback fits VG+. One that causes skipping doesn’t fit any of the playable grades.
Can you send a photo of the playing surface under a bright light?
Scuffs and scratches show up best with a light close to the surface. A photo of the label and the cover’s seams helps too.
Has the record been cleaned?
Dirt can be mistaken for wear, or hide it. Discogs advises sellers to clean records before grading so smudges and scratches can be told apart.
Is this the pressing in the listing?
When a specific pressing matters, ask for the catalog number on the label and a photo of it, so the edition can be checked.
When it arrives: check it, then act quickly
Inspect a used record soon after delivery, while every return window is still open. Look at the jacket and seams first, then the disc under a strong light. If the surface looks dusty, clean it before judging, so smudges aren’t mistaken for scratches. Then play both sides on a turntable known to be in good order, and note where any noise or skip happens: the side, the track and roughly how far in. That record of where problems are makes any conversation with the seller faster.
Judge the record against the grade it was sold as, not against a new copy. Discogs points out that even a Very Good record is expected to have surface noise and some scratches. A VG copy with gentle crackle in the quiet passages is as described. A VG+ copy with the same crackle isn’t.
On Discogs
Marketplace
Discogs staff don’t mediate grading disputes, since they never see the record. The expected route is a polite message on the order page, not negative feedback first; Discogs says most sellers will offer a return or partial refund. If the seller hasn’t replied after four days, Discogs’ Seller Not Responding procedure applies, and the payment provider is the last resort. Once it’s settled, honest feedback helps the next buyer.
On eBay
Marketplace
eBay requires sellers to deliver items as described. Under its Money Back Guarantee, a record that arrives damaged, faulty or not as listed can be returned for a refund even if the seller doesn’t accept returns, though eBay may review the evidence first. At the time of writing, the return request must be opened within 30 days of delivery, or within the seller’s own window if that’s longer, and the seller pays return postage. The seller has three business days to respond before the buyer can ask eBay to step in.
Sources & further reading
- Record Grading 101: Understanding The Goldmine Grading Guide — Goldmine
- How To Grade Items — Discogs
- How to Grade Items: Determine the Condition of Records — Discogs
- I Don’t Agree With The Grading Of An Item I Have Received — Discogs
- eBay Money Back Guarantee policy — eBay
- Grading of 2nd hand vinyl — StereoNET forums
- Do Kiwis grade their vinyl differently to Aussies? — StereoNET forums