May have very minimal identifying marks on the inside cover. Kelley blue book divides the condition of used vehicles into four grades. Any exceptions to this condition description will be mentioned on the product detail page. Use of one term or the other usually reflects the sellers or buyers expectation or experience regarding a particular book. In addition to the general condition guidelines, the following guidelines apply to used video, dvd, and bluray discs. A spine split of up to 23 the length of the book, a missing back cover provided the front cover is still attached, severe water damage or residue damage. Very good abbreviated vg this is a book that shows signs of prevoius ownership and use, but its still very nice copy. The book description is the pitch to the reader about why they should buy your book. Types of damage that place a comic in fr range include. It has very minimal damage to the cover, including scuff marks, but no holes or tears. A book in this condition is worn, ragged and unattractive. It came up better with a wipe of a cloth but i felt whoever sent it should have noticed the condition.
Precision, in my opinion, is very much dependent on your command of bookselling terminology. The book is either very good condition for a book that is 10 years old or 150 years old. I think that you can make legit arguments for very good, but i prefer to err on the side of caution. Now before you come to the conclusion that a books condition doesnt matter at all, let me disclose a few things. No obvious damage to the cover, with the dust jacket if applicable included for. As an example, ops new graphics card can break in a couple months and he would be sol because his amazon invoice reflects the used condition of the item, and most companies only offer 3090 day support for used items, even if they were in like new, very good, or good condition. Online sales used book condition descriptions used books. Item may be missing some parts, accessories, instruction manuals, or assembly tools.
I cant resist a good data visualization, so i also took the opportunity to craft this data into a series of word clouds. Any codes for digital copies or downloadable content must be included and unused. Today it is absolutely pouring with rain in london. These modern cloth hardbacks range from platinum to charcoal and are in fair to very good condition. Book case in very good condition in hempstead, kent. See the sellers listing for full details and a description of any imperfections. Very good a book that has been read and does not look new, but is in excellent condition. The book may have been opened and read, but there are no defects to the book, jacket or pages. Some basic descriptive terms are used by booksellers to communicate book condition.
A wellcaredfor item that has seen limited use and remains in good working condition. If youre selling your books online and they do not meet our condition standards, we may change our. Good g describes the average used worn book that has all the text present. Regardless of the condition of the rest of the book, this is most certainly not like new. In used book selling and buying, better condition corresponds to greater demand corresponds to probably being able to sell at a higher price and faster, relative to a copy in worse condition. Other price guide systems the first thing to do when referring to any price guide is to check the definitions of firearm condition grades or standards to see if the. An index is an optional but highly desirable element for nonfiction works. In the case of a group of four mark twain first editions, the sad difference between one booksellers written description and subsequent verbal assurances that the books were really very good bindings not worn, hinges tight and unbroken, pages intact, etc.
A book is deemed fair if its complete, but the damage to the dust jacket or edges of the pages is more evident. Ioba book condition definitions are here for two reasons. Ioba members should guard against using language in their book descriptions which might conceal material defects, overstate a books condition, or mislead. A nontraditional book condition description that generally refers to a book in good or very good condition, although no standard exists for this term, and the word can be used to describe a wide variety of actual book conditions. Price is the amount that the seller wants for the book, without delivery costs. It is estimated that only 5,000 copies of to kill a mockingbird were published in the first printing, and two states of the book were printed. Comic book grading learn the scale and how to apply it. The more detailed and rich your descriptions, the better your writing will approximate the human experience, thereby. Heres a screenshot of this book, how to sell a truckload of books on amazon. Dustjacket if present clean with excellent colouring but with slight rubbing to most edges and corners. Describes the average used worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Vgg meaning a book in very good condition with a good condition dust jacket.
A book that has been read and does not look new, but is in excellent condition. Exlibrary products are not allowed in this condition as they cannot be graded higher than good. Ioba condition definitions independent online booksellers. Very few used cars fall into the excellent category. Used acceptable the item is fairly worn but continues. The vermont antiquarian booksellers association vermont. Shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. A wellcaredfor item that has seen limited use but remains in great condition. Generally, books in good condition are not considered to be collectible grade. Kelley blue book has four condition classifications for used cars, boats, and motorcycles. Ioba members should guard against using language in their book descriptions which might conceal material defects, overstate a book s condition, or mislead buyers in any other respect. In order for a story to work, it needs to feel like real life, even when its actually something quite different.
A description of the book s condition, as well as the dust jackets condition, must be included in the book s description. A book in poor condition will be worth far less than the same book in fine condition. Any accompanying cds or dvds must be present and any access codes relating to the same, or to other content, must be present and unredeemed. Very good vg describes a book that is worn but untorn. The night circus by erin morgenstern, the catcher in the rye by j. Most collectors want to have books in a 7 or better condition grade and.
Very good vg shows some signs of wear and is no longer fresh. How to describe the condition of a used book toughnickel. How to describe a book, excerpt from sell books on the. Very good vg shows some signs of wear and is no longer fresh, but still attractive. A book with a dustjacket will quite often be described with separate designations for book and dustjacket, as in fvg, where f fine is the condition of the book itself, and vg very good is the condition of the dustjacket. Like new book condition general selling questions amazon. Any defects will be noted in the product description. Collecting to kill a mockingbird by lee, harper first. Rather than waste the midnight hours with trivial endeavors like sleep, i dissected over 2000 book descriptions in amazons paid best seller charts us to divine their secrets. The majority 80% of my books get listed as good or very good, and i dont sell many acceptable, like new, or new books. Condition guidelines for books general selling questions. The majority of pages are undamaged with minimal creasing or tearing, minimal pencil underlining of text, no highlighting of text. The average used book that is totally complete as issued and intact.
A collection of classic descriptions of disease by 179 different writers, from ancient times to the present. See the sellers listing for full details and description of any imperfections. If the book normally has a dust jacket, the jacket is included. Describes a book that shows some small signs of wear but no tears on either binding or paper. Using correct terminology to describe faults and other condition points will give you the best chance of successfully communicating with your buyers. Grading books how to describe condition at bookseller world. The dust jacket for hard covers may not be included. How to write a book description at scribe, our copywriters use the hook, pain, pleasure, legitimacy, open loop format, which is very similar to how we write introductions. Coin grading is the process of determining the grade or condition of a coin, one of the key factors in determining its value. Very minimal damage to the cover including scuff marks, but no holes or tears. Medical state, is a term used to describe a hospital patients health status, or condition.
However apart from minor faults, it may be assumed that books in good. The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. If the book was originally published with a dust jacket, the absence of that jacket might be described by a dash eg. A potential customer reading an offer of a used book for sale wants an honest and clear description of its physical condition. The term is most commonly used in information given to the news media, and is rarely used as a clinical description by physicians two aspects of the patients state may be reported. On the listing form, you can choose from one of several preset item condition options, which vary depending on the category that you list your item in. All cds and supplemental material must be present and unused. Certification services professionally grade coins for tiered. The condition of a rare book and its dust jacket if applicable are the most important factors affecting its value and pricing. A comic book in fr condition may have nonstory elements such as coupons, ad pages, or marvel value stamps cut or torn out of the book. G good describes an average used book that shows some wear and perhaps small tears but whose interior is clean.
The condition which the title alludes to is turners syndrome. Yes, if i am a buyer and i order a book listed as very good doesnt matter what the individual seller description states if the book isnt, according to amazons. No obvious damage to the book cover, with the dust jacket if applicable included for hard covers. The book description, often overlooked as a means to drive traffic to your page, is also a great place to use keywords. In all cases, the lack of a dustjacket should be noted if the book was issued with one. A book description should draw the reader in, but authors tend to get too flowery with these. Half price books explains the meaning of various item conditions. About wine and vineyards, these modern hardbacks are in very good to new condition and come in a variety of colors, and some may or may not have dust jackets. The book is in the state that it should have been in when it left the publisher. The first aspect is the patients current state, which may be reported as good or serious for instance. Available for collection or may deliver for small fee within 10 miles. The box and jewel case are pristine, with no signs of wear. Item may arrive with damaged packaging or be repackaged.
Whats a word or phrase to describe a good book that i. Because book descriptions are subjective and because condition is a. In addition to the general condition guidelines, the following guidelines apply. Good describes the average condition of an older book some signs of wear and minor damage, perhaps to the dust jacket. The more detailed and rich your descriptions, the better your writing will approximate the human. Most often seen in nonfiction like a biography or an academic text, a bibliography lists the references and sources used in researching or reporting the book. Complete descriptions sell more books grading book.
Very good is a fairly broad term and more difficult to describe. Disc may have up to 1cm making but is in great working condition. A book that does not look new and has been read but is in excellent condition. There are so many examples of how book descriptions lead to huge changes in sales. Describes a used book that shows some small signs of wear but no tears on either binding or paper. How to write a book description that sells with examples. For your consideration is a set of optigan discs complete with the organizing book, and individual sleeves for each disc. Original protective wrapping may be missing, but the original packaging is intact and in good condition with minor damage possible. But the novel the condition is less about the syndrome and more about that very basic condition. Very good describes a book that is clean and bright but which may show subtle signs of its age, such as very minor knicks or scratches. It may be marked, have identifying markings on it, or cosmetic damage. Switch to the previous item image switch to the next item image.
The item may show some limited signs of wear with small scratches or cosmetic blemishes. A coins grade is generally determined by five criteria. A phrase like very good for its age holds no water in most cases. Fine like as new but allowing for the normal effects of time on an unused book that has been protected. Of course, if you belong to a book club from which you receive regular shipments of new titles in the mail, such as the book of the month club, then this is a very good indication that you have book club editions. That is to say, books have been clearly read and handled, dustwrappers may show loss, tears and wear. Whats a big word or phrase to describe a book that is so good that i cannot put down when i start to read it. A book that has been read but is in good condition. If you are listing under collectible books then i am even more critical of the book any defect at all is noted and if the book is between very good and good i opt for good. It may have very minimal identifying marks on the inside cover as well as very minimal wear and tear. It is sales copy to get them to see that the book is for them or not, and then make the purchase. Which means the book is better than very good and the dust jacket grade is less than very good. Fair shows wear and tear but all the text pages and. Book condition descriptions for many years, the grading system defined by ab bookman was the standard in the antiquarian book trade.
Basically it covers a condition that one might expect to find secondhand books in. Book condition guide, music condition guide half price books. A copy of a comic in this grade has all pages and most of the covers. Online sales used book condition descriptions used. Learn about finelike new, very good, good, fair and poor books, music and movies.
This book has seen much better days and tends to be heavily worn and tattered. Mar 22, 2012 writing is an account of how people think. There are some extreme exceptions such as prewwi jackets especially pre1900 jackets and titles like the a. Professional appraisers have examined thousands of books and have the experience to weigh the dozens of subtle criteria that differentiate fine from very good. Remember, people are looking for a reason to not buy your book, so having a good book description is key to keeping them on the purchasing track. You can determine the condition of a vehicle by taking a condition quiz found on the equipment selection page, or by comparing the car to these category definitions. The item is complete, unmarked, and undamaged, but may show some limited signs of wear. Good g describes the condition of an average used worn book that is complete. Condition problems are the number one reason we pass on books. For many collectors this is the minimum acceptable condition for all but the rarest items. The condition of the book is listed first, followed by the dust jacket condition with a slash separating the two measures, eg. May 11, 2017 these are the questions that haunt my nights. Excellent condition means that the vehicle looks new.
Whilst the book was lovely, some great quotes and thoughts for every day of the year, the book is white and when it came it was very dirty. Grading the physical condition of an old book is an extremely subjective process usually left to professional book appraisers. No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, no underlining or highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins. The glossary is a list of term definitions used throughout the book that might be unfamiliar to the reader. Apart from slight foxing or fading, the book has no faults. Iobas standards, listed below, do not fundamentally differ from those standards though they have been expanded upon, and defined a bit more specifically. By using this site you agree to the use of cookies. A fine book approaches the condition of as new, but without being crisp. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. Please see chapter 4 for complete details of how to describe a book s condition. Whether were buying in person or online, we only accept books that we consider to be in good condition.
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