what would you class as a MINT record - a poll

for me, as soon as the seal is cracked, it is no longer mint - even if it has not been played once. this is a NM record, end of

I've noticed a lot of sellers stating a particular record is mint - but when you reach out to them for more info, the record has actually been opened. sometimes even played a few times! this is plain wrong! - and for me, is false advertising

anyway, maybe I'm being too fussy - so lets have a poll to decide!

dive in guys!

 

The most wrongly used term in the world of vinyl collecting. When I see "M-" I'm usually out. Because in my experience that means something that is "VG" at best....

 

haha yeah, M- is just absurd. seen a few VG++ ones too. guess this is the grading between VG+ & M- then!

 

If a record is sealed there is no way of knowing if the record itself is Mint.

 

In that case we here in the UK who took a record sleeve from a rack to the counter for the shop assistant to place wanted record into it's sleeve never bought a mint record. added to that records were never sealed anyway.

 

Sealed, is sealed. As noted, it might be sealed and not mint.
And there are a lot of records which were never sealed to begin with.
Mint is supposed to be something in "as new" condition. In my opinion, it might have been played, sure.

 

Per Wikipedia: "Mint condition is an expression used to denote the quality of a pre-owned good as displaying virtually no imperfections and being in pristine condition relative to its original production state."

That doesn't imply that an album is still sealed (and as mentioned, sealed albums might not be in mint condition), and it doesn't imply that the album was never played.

 

Funny Neon, I ran into an ebay seller last month who's not grading anymore- said he was fed up with buyers not understanding the 'standard' grading system.
Too many returns based one 1 or two pop's or tik's
The kids are expecting perfect playback from an imperfect format.

 

That is correct but

a. as a seller I wouldn't dare to use the term even if I owned an item since new. Because it attracts a certain type of buyer. Please don't ask.

b. as a buyer I wouldn't trust the term because I've been burned before.

 

Yeah, I can definitely understand that.

 

This is the modern age! People complaining about a single pop or claiming that a record skipped. When eventually they were playing it on a 70€ record player. Even - huge German coffee chain - Tchibo is currently selling "record players" at 69,95€ apiece. I mean: Foking hell, really?

 

I occasionally buy 45s for my jukeboxes on eBay or Discogs.

Whatever grading the vendor gives them, I usually take it to be at least two grades below that.

 

Some records never came shrink wrapped. So that's a thing. But in my mind, if it did, then it's not Mint if the seal is broken. But, I don't buy sealed unless the price is comparable to NM.

 

For me, a sealed record cannot be Mint because the condition of the record is unknown. Sealed = sealed, that's it. An opened record that has been played front to back with no audible or visible issues can be Mint. Unless a record has been opened and inspected (ideally play tested) how can a grade assigned?

 

If your buying second hand records, some vendors on Discogs, will provide a link so you can listen to the actual record they are selling.

I'm always doubtful of vendors' descriptions of record quality.

 

Sealed is sealed, mint is mint. They coincide but are not the same.

The people I see here who start threads about how all new records are mispressed filthy garbage are not kids, they're just immature.

 

Quick terminology I used for that type of behavior.

 

I hesitate to buy older sealed albums. Quite often the release agent has caused harm to the vinyl after being sealed in cellophane foe 40-50 years. I would much prefer an album to be open, inspected and even play tested to validate I am getting something worthy of the price. I will pay substantially more for a play tested album than I will for sealed for that very reason - but I buy records to listen to them, not to collect or resell them so my purpose is different. If I get a sealed album (and pay the price for a sealed album, I kill the value of it the moment I open it. Quite often I have been very disappointed by chemical issues on the vinyl or pressing errors that ruin the playability of the album.

 

I unfortunately have begun to expect no better than G+ or VG for Discogs albums graded NM. I have purchased over 100 albums from Discogs vendors in the past 6 months and less than 10% live up to their grading. I had had to purchase the same album 4-5 times to get what I want. I rarely complain or return and album unless the grading is egregiously bad. I do not provide feedback if the vendor over graded. I realize grading is truly relative. I also realize many vendors only visually grade albums instead of play grading them and I understand that approach for inexpensive albums as it takes time to play grade. However, if I am paying more that $75 for an album I want it play graded. I have been burned too many times.

 

Mint simply means without flaws. A sealed LP is presumed Mint, but it might not be. There's plenty of used/played LPs that are in Mint condition and even after playing, if handled properly are still in Mint condition. However the highest I will grade a used LP is NM or M-. I actually prefer buying used New releases as the quality control can be so poor these days with sealed new LPs that when you buy a used LP in NM condition you know you're not getting any warped or scratched, skuffed LPs or else it just gets returned.

 

Sealed for me.

 

Reminds me of the time I complained to a seller that their VG+ rating was way too high for the amount of scratches/marks on the lp I received. Their reply—“read the description! I never said it was mint!”

 

If a record is sealed, you cannot be certain that it's in mint condition. Therefore, I'd actually prefer that someone handle the record to confirm the condition. In that case, the chances are still that it's near mint or VG+. Truly mint records are outrageously rare, in fact some argue they don't exist! I'd bet that any one of us could buy 100 copies of any album pressed at a quality plant, and still find at least one tiny, only-visible-in-the-right-light hairline. It sucks, but with a format like this, it's the sad truth.

If a seller truly has a mint record, I don't care if it's played. I know that with the goldmine system, if played a record instantly becomes NM at best, but I don't agree with that. Assuming the record is played on a proper setup, the condition of the vinyl should not change upon playback.

 

Mint is flawless. It should be used with extreme discretion. As a seller, I feel like it's just setting the buyer up to be disappointed.

 

In my opinion, the way in which buyers will assume a record is mint when it's sealed is absurd. Too many buyers overrate the condition of their records.