The Mars Volta - Inertiatic ESP (picture disc) 2003

Mint

No flaws whatsoever. Defects from a freshly-opened factory pressing are not acceptable. I never use this grade with used records and most new records will not deserve it.

Near Mint

Virtually flawless, not perfect. A minor scuff and the flaw should be very hard to see. If an imperfection covers more than a few tracks I will rarely give it a record a near mint grade. Very Good PlusRecord shows cosmetic scuffs and hairlines. Particularly in hard light. Some flaws will be noticeable to the naked eye, there should not be too many. Gloss should be very strong. No imperfection should be textured enough to feel with a finger. Such textured imperfections are called 'feelies'. This record should play with little to no noise. The odd bit of static might just be dust. Most records should be cleaned before they are played and semi-regularly after that. 

Very Good

A Very Good record will appear played with numerous cosmetic imperfections. This is a silly grade that makes little sense. A record may appear to be in good condition but play with repeated or continual noise, crackle or static. A record that is in excellent (Near Mint) condition with a single 'feelie' imperfection usually falls into this grade.

I do not usually sell records that are below the Very Good grade.