Our Quality Guidelines
The Old Book Shop uses an industry-standard range of quality to grade our books. While no two book sellers will judge the same book exactly the same way, we try to grade a book's condition conservatively and we always note any defect in the description of the book.
Here is our criteria for grading the condition of a book:
| New | Used only when a book is as published and we know the book to be brand new and unread. The book can have no defects. |
| Near Fine (NF) | A Near Fine book is similar to a New book, but lacks crispness. The book can have no defects. |
| Very Good (VG) | A Very Good book shows some small signs of wear, but is clean and snug. |
| Good+ (G+) | A Good+ book shows signs of being read. For example, it may have a slant, be lightly soiled, or have minor tears. |
| Good (G) | A Good book is an average, used, worn book with all pages present and readable. |
| Fair (FR) | A Fair book is very worn. It may be missing end papers, the half-title page, or other piece, but has complete text. |
| Poor (P) | A book in Poor condition only has merit as a reading copy. The text is complete and legible. It may be soiled or scuffed, with loose hinges or pages. |