Condition of Books - general guidelines

Our offer price of pre-owned books is largely dependent on the quality or condition of the books relative to their list prices. We have classified all books on sale into 7 quality categories ranging from brand new to acceptable.

All books are readable without any missing pages

  • Used - Very Good
    • The cover and pages are intact
    • Clean pages sparingly used and well maintained without wrinkles or stains
    • May have minor cosmetic defects (marks, wears, cuts, bends, crushes) on the cover, spine, pages or dust cover
    • May have a name, a signature of the previous owner or a gift dedication message written on the inside cover page
    • Bundled media may be missing
    • Jacket of the hardcover may be missing
  • Used - Good
    • The cover and all pages are intact may be with minor cosmetic defects (marks, wears, cuts, bends, crushes)
    • Pages may have age tanned but without stains
    • May have a name written or a signature of the previous owner
    • May be with very minor repairs
    • Jacket of the hardcover may be missing
    • Bundled media may be missing
  • Used - Old but Good
    • The cover and all pages are intact
    • A few of the front and back pages may be little foxed (brown spots)
    • May have a name written or a signature of the previous owner
    • Pages and edges are age tanned
    • Jacket of the hardcover may be missing
    • No bundled media available
  • Used - Acceptable
    • Frequently used but the cover and all pages are intact
    • May have cosmetic defects (marks, wears, cuts, bends, crushes) on the cover, spine, pages or dust cover
    • May have a name written or a signature of the previous owner
    • Pages may have limited notes and highlighting, but the text is readable and unobscured
    • May be with repairs and age tanned pages
    • Jacket of the hardcover may be missing
    • No bundled media available
  • Garage Sale
    • Heavily used, good for a single read
    • Cover may show considerable wear and tear
    • Edges and/or pages may be considerably tanned/spotted/brown/foxed
    • Cover, spine, pages or dust cover may have been torn and/or visibly repaired
    • May have a name written or a signature of the previous owner on the inside cover page
    • Pages may have texts underlined, notes and highlighting, but the text is readable and unobscured
    • May have age tanned pages
    • Jacket of the hardcover may be missing/repaired
    • No bundled media available
    • Book may have donation stamp
    • Some pages may have water stains
    • Images of garage books are not actual images

Despite our elaborate explanations on quality categories, there are special remarks about quality for books mentioned as part of the details about the books as shown in the image below.

For example, a book may be in a very good condition but may have a gift dedication written on the inside cover page. For many book lovers, this may not be a critical factor impacting the decision to buy the book, but we would like to ensure that the buyer know everything about the condition of the book before buying it.