I grade books as follows. I do not grade based upon age, etc. The age of a book does not have bearing upon its condition. Under AB Bookman's standards, it is inappropriate to grade other than the book itself.

For Books

Fine - free from obvious defects and faults - that means the book is crisp, the cover should snap back - as new

Near Fine - no more than one minor fault, such as a bit of shelfwear, a bumped corner (very slightly bumped at that) - a very high grade

Very Good - Normal used condition with one or more minor faults, but no major fault.

Very Good minus - normal condition as above, but might have a major fault. This major fault will always be described

Good - a combination of minor faults and at least one major fault

Fair - a combination of minor faults, and multiple major faults

Poor - as the grade indicates, this book is not in collectible condition - a number of major faults. Generally uncollectible unless relatively scarce in any state

Reading Copy - ALL XLIB boks will be noted as such and will be considered reading copy only - generally the only collectible XLib books will be those that are extremely sought after and relatively uncommon

Minor faults include - slight slant (will be noted), mild looseness, a small previous owner's inscription (POI), bumping, shelfwear, foxing and toning

Major faults include - slant other than insignificant, heavy bumping, Xlib of all kinds, tears, marking throughout

For Dustjackets....

Fine - free from obvious defects and faults - that means the jacket is crisp, clean, with no pricelipping, no rubbing, no scraping, no bumping or other defects

Near Fine - no more than mild rubbing, no tears, chips, crimping, etc

Very Good - Normal used condition with one or more minor faults, but no major fault.

Very Good minus - normal condition as above, but might have a major fault. This major fault will always be described.

Good - a combination of minor faults and at least one major fault - scraping and heavy chipping would be in this grade

Fair - a combination of minor faults, and multiple major faults

Poor - as the grade indicates, this book is not in collectible condition - a number of major faults

Reading Copy - ALL XLIB boks will be noted as such and will be considered reading copy only - generally the only collectible XLib books will be those that are extremely sought after and relatively uncommon, the DJ often will be the only value in a tought to locate XLib book

Description of faults:

Minor - closed tears that are under one inch (will be noted), price clipping (will be noted), minor rubbing, sticker residue, minor crimping

Major - scraping, open tears, any flaw that causes paper loss, chipping