Thanks For Your Interest In VinylFarm. If You Are Reading This It Is Likely True That You Have Yet To Order From Us.

When it comes to ordering online, we have come across all different varieties of sellers. And we aren't here to talk mess on how other sellers and shops handle their process, sure a lot of folks could hold court on the topic and no agreement would ever arrive since the main factor that drives how the individual seller grades their item is well, money.

Some sellers & shops tend to use the "GreedMind Scale" instead of the  GoldMine Standard. It's the pits when ordering an LP online and it arrives with far more dings and scratches than should be present on a VG+ grade.

Although we admit we aren't perfect - we do our best to provide a real account for what you are purchasing, and when it comes to albums - the buyers know they can trust what we claim on our grade. That is the sort of experience we want for you in supporting our shop.  

WE DO:

1: Visually inspect it, just critically, as a non-selling person of the world. Just as music loving humans. We then give it a sort of first glance grade and create 4 files with our intake. No Question | Yes | Maybe | Nope. We do this one by one to each incoming album prior to even being graded, we grade if its worth buying in its current condition. That completes that phase.

2: If the album made it into the nope pile it gets set aside for later grading. These albums aren't always dogs, or beat up, or anything. it may range from extremely common thrift store or it may be perfectly fine disc but have large writing on the cover blast on the rear. Certainly stuff we think we would more so want to see & make the call in person vs. online.

3: In the next phase we return to the remaining files and prep them for wash. Wipe down the sleeve and check it for our remarks, the judgement has begun. Looking for water damage/discoloration that may have made it past the first phase - if we catch it here we downgrade it immediately into the step down file and move on. we will return to it when we arrive on that file.

4: If the item stays as a candidate we move it into our "wash ready" station and we move onto the next one.

5. In the wash phase we wash and clean the disc. We vacuum clean most our our selections in this phase in order to give an accurate baseline to our next phases. We use distilled water and a ratio of cleaning solution that we have found to be right for our liking. We air dry and complete the round of candidates until those segmented discs are all washed. We haven't even begun grading yet.
 
6: In our next phase we are collecting info; catalog ID from the spine of the jacket. Runout matrix from the inside of the disc. Once we have this we visually grade the disc and outer jacket sleeve. We make note of any appearance factors that might affect the purchase, and to also better inform your purchasing any selections, things like rounded corners, any ring wear, etc. We print our grade along with the QR code of the catalog ID. The matrix number we collected we save for later in a notes app and move on to the next album. We don't price em until we list them.

The next step is pricing and you can read about that on our How We Price page 

WE WILL:

Always grade on the side of caution, if we see any blemishes that might affect how we received the item grade we note that and lower the grade, we say 'conservatively graded' which means basically we could say it was the grade above but because we are being super critical our decision to lower the grade is in our desire to build and maintain trust. We want your online purchase to be solid in confidence that you can trust the grade given from our inventory. We aren't motivated by money just the love of sharing music, and it's varying perspectives.

Always double check the grade for verification prior to shipment of your purchase, and rectify any monetary differences if need be. 

Be willing to listen to your feedback on any albums you purchased from us online and come to an understanding that we both can agree on. 

WE WON'T:

1: Say we don't make mistakes. Like everything in life - judgement is subjective. We aren't saying our way is the only way. It's just our way.

2: Blame you if there is any problem with your selection upon arrival.

 

VinylFarm grading guidelines are as follows:

Mint (M)

new stock items - usually factory sealed

Certainly never been played, definitely sealed [cept for the indie & euro releases that arrive "open" new.]. We only use this on NEW STOCK.

Most sealed albums are given M unless visibly mutilated. However if the sleeve is with visible water damage we will note that.

Near mint (NM | NM-)

we are cautious in using these grade

A nearly perfect record. A NM or M- record has more than likely never been played, and the vinyl will play perfectly, with no imperfections during playback. 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 any sign of slight handling. An LP cover should have no creases, folds, seam splits, cut-out holes, or other noticeable similar defects. The same should be true of any other inserts, such as posters, lyric sleeves, etc. 

Very Good Plus (VG+) 

really looking good

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. Defects should be more of a cosmetic nature, not affecting the actual playback as a whole. Record surfaces may show some signs of wear and may have slight scuffs or very light scratches that don't affect one's listening experiences. Slight warps that do not affect the sound are "OK". The label may have some ring wear or discoloration, but it should be barely noticeable. Spindle marks may be present. Picture sleeves and inner sleeves will have some slight wear, slightly turned-up corners, or a slight seam split. An LP cover may have slight signs of wear, and may be marred by a cut-out hole, indentation, or cut corner. In general, if not for a couple of minor things wrong with it, this would be Near Mint.

Very Good (VG) 

In it for the love of the artist/album

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 otherwise. Groove wear will start to be noticeable, as with 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.

Good (G | G+)

this is for those that love the hunt

A record in Good or Good Plus condition can be played through without skipping. But it will have significant surface noise, scratches, and visible groove wear. A cover or sleeve will have seam splits, especially at the bottom or on the spine. Tape, writing, ring wear, or other defects will be present. While the record will be playable without skipping, noticeable surface noise and "ticks" will almost certainly accompany the playback. 

Poor (p) 

not so good, Al

The record is cracked, badly warped, and won't play through without skipping or repeating. The picture sleeve is water damaged, split on all three seams and heavily marred by wear and writing. The LP cover barely keeps the LP inside it. Inner sleeves are fully split, crinkled, and written upon.