Book condition grades explained

A condition grade is a shared shorthand. It lets a buyer, an insurer or an heir picture a book without holding it. Booksellers use a small set of words for this, from As New down to Poor. A grade is never the whole story, though: good descriptions give the grade and then list every fault.

• As New — the book is as it was when published, with no faults at all. Some sellers use Fine to mean the same.
• Fine (F) — close to new, with no faults, though perhaps not quite as crisp as the day it left the printer.
• Near Fine (NF) — almost Fine, with one or two very small faults, which the seller should name.
• Very Good (VG) — shows some signs of wear. Any faults are named.
• Good (G) — the average used book: complete and intact, but worn. In the book trade, Good is a modest grade, lower than the everyday word suggests.
• Fair — a worn book with the full text, but it may lack endpapers or a half-title page.
• Poor, or reading copy — so worn that its only merit is a complete, legible text. It may be soiled, stained or loose.

These grades are a convention, not a rule every seller follows. One seller’s Very Good can be another’s Good, so read the list of faults, not just the grade.

A plus or minus sits between two grades. VG+ is better than Very Good but not quite Near Fine; VG− is a little below Very Good but not yet Good.

The dust jacket is graded on its own, with the same words. A slash separates the two, book first and jacket second. "F/VG" means a Fine book in a Very Good jacket. When there is no jacket, a good description says so in words. Descriptions of jackets often add a few common words: price-clipped (the printed price has been cut off the flap), chipped (small pieces missing from the edges), and rubbed (worn on the folds and spine).

Some things should be mentioned however good the rest of the copy is, because they change what the copy is:

• Ex-library: a book that belonged to a library, usually with stamps, pockets or labels.
• Book club edition: a cheaper printing made for a mail-order book club.
• Remainder marks: a stamp or a line of ink on the edge of the pages, put there when unsold stock was sold off cheaply.
• Bookplates and a previous owner’s name, unless the owner is the point (see association copies).

• Look in good daylight, and look at everything: the boards, the spine, the corners, the page edges, the hinges and every page if you can.
• Check for the faults buyers ask about: writing or underlining, foxing, water stains, a sunned (faded) spine, a cocked (leaning) spine, loose pages.
• When a copy sits between two grades, choose the lower one and describe what you saw. Over-grading disappoints; honest grading builds trust.
• Photograph the faults as well as the good side. A photo settles questions a grade cannot.

• IOBA: book condition definitions ↗
• What is a Book Club Edition (and why it matters) →
• Book care basics: foxing, mould, and safe storage →