How much does the condition affect it? Does the right price of the vinyl depend a lot on its condition, or does it depend more on the rarity of the copy? I'm new to the collecting thing... Thank you.

How much does the condition affect it? Does the right price of the vinyl depend a lot on its condition, or does it depend more on the rarity of the copy? I'm new to the collecting thing... Thank you.

Both

I'm new to the collecting thing... Thank you.

stop now before its too late

In my op it depends, Viusual condition or how the bloody thing plays, there can be a massive discrep between the two, I have some tunes thatlook awful and play great and others that look great but I'd never play out, it also depends on demand, cheapos( less than a tenner) are virtually worthless if in poor cond, big rarities can still fetch good money, some tunes, you just cant find in good condition. But as a rule of thumb anything less than VG should go for about half its book value, I bought a Velvet Satins at KH for 120, it book 250, and the copy plays with no surface, so I consider it a bargain. others would be mortified at anything less than M-, Generally tis good advice to listen before you buy anything of any value.

Whichever way you grade, visually or playing...or both, the condition should have an affect on the price of record. Obviously rarity and demand will play a part as well in the pricing of a disc but as a general rule records should be priced fairly depending on the quality.

think this is the Goldmine grading and pricing guide.....definitely not how it happens in the UK

Grading Records

Visual or play grading? In an ideal world, every record would be played before it is graded. In the real world, the time involved makes it impractical for most dealers, and it's rare that you get a chance to hear a record before you buy, especially if it is mailorder.

How to grade your records:

Look at everything about a record, the playing surface, the label, the edges, the cover. Then give it a grade based on the following criteria:

Mint (M): Absolutely perfect in every way, certainly never played, possibly even still sealed.

Near Mint (M-): A nearly perfect record. The record should show no obvious signs of wear. A 45 RPM or EP sleeve should have no more than the most minor defects, such as almost invisible ring wear or other signs of slight handling. An LP jacket should have no creases, folds, seam splits or any other noticeable defect. The same should be true of any inserts, such as posters, lyric sleeves, etc.

Very Good Plus (VG+): Generally worth 50 percent of the Near Mint value. A Very Good Plus record will show some signs that it was played and otherwise handled by a previous owner who took good care of it. Record surfaces may show some slight signs of wear and may have slight scuffs or very light scratches that don't affect one's listening experience. The label may have some ring wear or discoloration, but it should be barely noticeable. The center hole will not have been misshapen by repeated play. Picture sleeves and LP inner sleeves will have some slight ring wear, lightly turned-up corners, or a slight seam split. An LP jacket may have slight signs of wear or may be marred by a cut-out hole, indentation or corner indicating it was taken out of print and sold at a discount.

Very Good (VG): Generally worth 25 percent of the Near Mint value. Many of the defects found in a VG+ record will be more pronounced in a VG disc. Surface noise will be evident upon playing, especially in soft passages and during a song's intro and fade, but will not overpower the music. Groove wear will start to be noticeable, as will light scratches (deep enough to feel with a fingernail) that will affect the sound. Labels may be marred by writing, or have tape or stickers (or their residue) attached. The same will be true of picture sleeves or LP covers. However, it will not have all of these problems at the same time, only two or three of them.

Good (G) and Good Plus (G+): Generally worth 10-15 percent of the Near Mint value. A record in Good or Good Plus condition will play through without skipping. But it will have significant surface noise and scratches and visible groove wear. A sleeve or jacket will have seam splits, especially at the bottom or on the spine. Tape, writing, ring wear or other defects will start to overwhelm the object.

think this is the Goldmine grading and pricing guide.....definitely not how it happens in the UK

as ever you are right Chalky, think thats why the term "EX" was invented back in the day

How much does the condition affect it? Does the right price of the vinyl depend a lot on its condition, or does it depend more on the rarity of the copy? I'm new to the collecting thing... Thank you.

Think you will find that the more rarer a record is (or just simply indemand in some cases..) the less condition will have an effect on the price...especially when auctioned I should add maybe..

Marc

How much does the condition affect it? Does the right price of the vinyl depend a lot on its condition, or does it depend more on the rarity of the copy? I'm new to the collecting thing... Thank you.

Looking at the cracked copy of the twans on e-bay at the moment, i`d have to say the rarity of the record

I think i'll wait until all minty and ex ++ records are no longer, and my records may increase in value???

P

well when i am buying i work out what i would pay for mint 45

vg+ = 60% of mint max

anything less than vg is only if it is really cheap

remember that you want a 45 that is good enough to sell on again should you ever need the money , and no point having box of crap sounding 45s just cos they are rare , dont buy cheapies in anything less than ex condition as they are usually around in abundance that is why they are cheap.

How much does the condition affect it? Does the right price of the vinyl depend a lot on its condition, or does it depend more on the rarity of the copy? I'm new to the collecting thing... Thank you.

Very rare records in poor condition will still command higher prices than mint more common 45s. If that's the question.

Welcome to soul source, good to have a normalperson on here

Very rare records in poor condition will still command higher prices than mint more common 45s. If that's the question.

Welcome to soul source, good to have a normalperson on here

the problem is if you get the collecting bug and you really want a record,you end up paying what you can afford (if your lucky). and still think you got a bargain.

My favourite grading comment i've seen was...

Cue burn for the first 2 seconds otherwise mint.

Still wanted quite a high price.

If you have a copy of the Uk record collectors price Guide

It has a matrix in it which tells you the sliding scale Price depending on condition eg: £1000 if Mint

£700 ex 450 VG+ £200VG £150 VG- £50 G £15 Fair.

Problem is that is based on known price levels EG JMs guide- But what about blind purchases or totally unknowns - Its just aguessing game IMO!

My favourite grading comment i've seen was...

Cue burn for the first 2 seconds otherwise mint.

Still wanted quite a high price.

That happens regularly, you get stuff come up that you know have been played out for years described as mint. Mint to me means unplayed, once a record is played it's mint minus.

My favourite grading comment i've seen was...

Cue burn for the first 2 seconds otherwise mint.

Still wanted quite a high price.

if something plays perfect after 2 second queue burn then its still a pretty good copy to own IMO. If I had a rarity in that condition I woulnd't reduce the price much assuming that after the first 2 seconds it looked and played mint.

I have always gone by the Record Collector magazine grading system which includes a description and a "Ready Reckoner" that desribes records from £2 to £1000 and what they are worth in each condition.It is usually found at the back of the mag which is monthly at all good Newsagents!.I think Record collector should pay me for that plug! Rarity is important but also demand which fluctuates. As in everything a record is only worth how much someone is prepared to pay. Kind Regards Paul Byford

I asked the same question on here recently on my Condition, Condition, Condition thread, in my book condition is king I can not see the point in buying a poor condition, poor sounding record no matter how rare it is, what's the point in buying a record that you can not play it's pointless, the condtion goalpost is often moved on the big ticket items yet it should be the same condition rules for all records, someone mentioned the cracked copy of 'The Twans' recently on Ebay ok to buy it but you try selling it on as a cracked record to a dealer and they would decline or laugh at you, mint Twans priceless a cracked one worthless or that's how it should be.

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

I asked the same question on here recently on my Condition, Condition, Condition thread, in my book condition is king I can not see the point in buying a poor condition, poor sounding record no matter how rare it is, what's the point in buying a record that you can not play it's pointless, the condtion goalpost is often moved on the big ticket items yet it should be the same condition rules for all records, someone mentioned the cracked copy of 'The Twans' recently on Ebay ok to buy it but you try selling it on as a cracked record to a dealer and they would decline or laugh at you, mint Twans priceless a cracked one worthless or that's how it should be.

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Thing is Mark, there are well known record dealers blatantly selling records that are far from M-, by mail order, with no appropriate reduction. Some of the records being sold as M- now have tons of marks, have clearly been played for a long time and in some cases carry a lot of surface noise. I buy off various people and I am not going to get into the name thing, but you know as well as I do that there is a huge gulf in certain people's standards, problem is, what to do about it? Its easy to say send them back, but if you really want a record and they play without jumping, thats a hard thing to do is'nt it! Suppose thats what they know...