CD Condition: Acceptable vs Good vs VG vs Like New

So Amazon and eBay use the condition categories of "Acceptable, Good, Very Good, and Like New". (Leaving aside "Brand New" here, as hopefully we all agree that's still sealed, unopened, etc.)

What are your definitions of these terms, esp Acceptable, Good, and Very Good?

 

Poor, Fair, Good, VG, NM (adding a plus symbol or minus symbol occasionally)


That's it. No Mint, ever. If it is sealed I just say that, it's sealed.

 

On eBay, as a seller, I either use Like New, if the item is NM. If it's worse than NM, I don't select anything for that option at all, since I have a proper grading in my ad write up.

When I buy on Amazon, I tend to only buy items listed as Like New. If they are listed as VG with a great price, I'll give it a shot. There's just too many variables at that level.

 

Acceptable -- should still play in most systems, but has visible scratches and is questionable whether it should even be resold. May not have booklet.
Good -- a scratch or two, booklet has been opened a lot.
Very Good -- perhaps a couple very tiny scuffs on the disc, booklet may have some creases.
Like New -- basically an opened disc, but otherwise you wouldn't know it. Booklet and disc are mint.

 

Acceptable = Looks like it's been through World War Two.
Good = Looks like it's been through World War One.
Very Good = Dog and cat have only played with it a few times.
Like New = Roll the dice.

 

Clearly from the buyer’s perspective!

 

By the way, on the “buy side” here are my expectations. “Good” and “Acceptable” are total crapshoots.

“Very Good” and above, I expect only cosmetic disc scratches at most, no cracks in case unless otherwise disclosed, and flawless ripping. I’ve always been able to successfully hold sellers to that standard, getting refunds or doing returns if they don’t.

I’ve had some “Very Good” items on Amazon end up NM. And of course it occasionally goes the other way...

 

Some Amazon sellers will have additional info describing the product. I'd recommend making the choice to buy from a 3rd-party seller based on their feedback. You can also ask questions to the seller prior to ordering and of course, you're covered by Amazon in case of problems.

 

Most of the rating systems encourage buffing. Buffing a CD and throwing in a new jewel case makes the CD falsely appear better that it is. Take a look at a CueTools report on some of these "highly rated" CDs.