Book Grading

We grade books according to their overall condition. We look for significant marks, highlighting/annotation, damage, and other defects when considering the condition of each book.

Very Good

A well-kept used book with only minor signs of previous reading or handling. The binding is sound and the pages are clean and intact, with little or no marking, creasing or wear.

Example: The book has light rubbing on the cover and possibly a previous owner's name inside, but is otherwise clean, complete and in excellent condition.

Good

A sound, readable book showing normal signs of use. There may be some rubbing or scuffing to the cover, light creasing, slight yellowing of the pages, or other minor signs of wear. The pages remain complete and the binding is sound.

Example: A well-used book with some cover wear and a few lightly creased pages, but with all pages present and fully readable.

Acceptable

A noticeably worn but complete and usable copy. It may have more substantial wear to the cover or binding, and may contain annotations, underlining or highlighting. However, the book has no missing pages and is structurally sound enough to read.

Example: A book with considerable wear to the cover, a creased spine and some highlighting or notes in the text, but with all pages present and the text fully legible.

Poor

A heavily worn copy. It may have damaged or worn biding, loose or missing pages, stains, significant marking, or other defects.

Example: A heavily worn book with loose binding and considerable staining, which is missing pages.

Examples

Very Good:

There is minor wear to the covers and pages, but no creases or staining, and the pages are clean and complete

Good:

The spine is slightly curved, there is minor rubbing to the edges of the cover, and the pages have some age-related discolouration. Otherwise the cover has little creasing and the pages are clean and complete.

Borderline:

There is clear rubbing and creasing to the cover of this book. The spine has a tilt and major creasing. The pages show age-related discolouration. However, the binding is solid and there is no internal highlighting or annotation. This is an example of a book that might fall on the borderline of acceptable and poor. In this specific case, the title is significant enough to consider offering the book within the shop, but at a discounted price compared to a good copy.

Poor:

This demonstrates books in poor condition, which cannot be sold. There is severe creasing, tearing, chipping, and damage to the covers. The binding has broken down resulting in loose pages. Even if a particular title is significant, the condition has passed what we consider acceptable to offer in the shop.