If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Book Condition w/ remainder marks
If a book is in fine condition except for a remainder mark, is the
condition downgraded to very good or good? |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
"John Warner" wrote in message m... If a book is in fine condition except for a remainder mark, is the condition downgraded to very good or good? My first inclination would be to drop the grade one level, but remainder marks do vary in discreetness and location. Some are nearly unnoticeable, being not much more than a dot, while others are very ugly. I would probably say something like: "Very Good, reduced from Fine because of remainder mark" Selling on the internet (which is all I do) offers the luxury of making descriptions virtually any length, and I think such a statement would give the buyer a clearer picture of the offering. Of course, nothing gives as clear a picture as an actual picture, and if multiple photos are an option, I would show the actual mark together with the text description. Alice |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
"my-wings" wrote...
"John Warner" wrote... If a book is in fine condition except for a remainder mark, is the condition downgraded to very good or good? My first inclination would be to drop the grade one level, but remainder marks do vary in discreetness and location. Some are nearly unnoticeable, being not much more than a dot, while others are very ugly. I would probably say something like: "Very Good, reduced from Fine because of remainder mark" I disagree. If the book is Fine, I'd describe it as Fine and note the remainder mark. If you dropped the grade of a book for each tiny imperfection, nearly every book would end up as a reading copy. And remainder marks, as much as some people dislike them (including me, in most cases), are rather benign imperfections, not relevant to the structural integrity or overall "health" of the volume. Grading is a matter of opinion and judgement, of course, but I don't think that describing a Fine book as Very Good just because of a remainder mark gives a potential buyer an accurate impression of the book as a whole. -- Jon Meyers [To reply, lose your way.] |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
"Jon Meyers" wrote in message ... "my-wings" wrote... "John Warner" wrote... If a book is in fine condition except for a remainder mark, is the condition downgraded to very good or good? My first inclination would be to drop the grade one level, but remainder marks do vary in discreetness and location. Some are nearly unnoticeable, being not much more than a dot, while others are very ugly. I would probably say something like: "Very Good, reduced from Fine because of remainder mark" I disagree. If the book is Fine, I'd describe it as Fine and note the remainder mark. If you dropped the grade of a book for each tiny imperfection, nearly every book would end up as a reading copy. And remainder marks, as much as some people dislike them (including me, in most cases), are rather benign imperfections, not relevant to the structural integrity or overall "health" of the volume. Grading is a matter of opinion and judgement, of course, but I don't think that describing a Fine book as Very Good just because of a remainder mark gives a potential buyer an accurate impression of the book as a whole. I'm still fairly insecure in my grading, and my tendency is to grade low. I probably err too much on the side of caution. I'll be interested to see what others say on this topic. Alice |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Selling on the internet (which is all I do) offers the luxury of making
descriptions virtually any length... Alice makes a good point here, but unfortunately there is at least one exception: Amazon.com. They restrict the amount of space available for describing a book. No doubt if they would increase the space that would allow sellers on that site to provide more accurate descriptions and therefore better customer service. I also have wondered about putting an "e-mail me for more details" message in my desriptions, but that uses up space and I don't know if a potential buyer would want to go to the extra trouble. This gets us to what services such as Amazon.com can improve for their sellers as well as buyers. Les |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
In article ,
"Jon Meyers" wrote: I disagree. If the book is Fine, I'd describe it as Fine and note the remainder mark. If you dropped the grade of a book for each tiny imperfection, nearly every book would end up as a reading copy. snip Grading is a matter of opinion and judgement, of course, but I don't think that describing a Fine book as Very Good just because of a remainder mark gives a potential buyer an accurate impression of the book as a whole. I agree with Jon on this one. While I'm quite fastidious in describing condition, I'd feel Ok describing this as "remainer mark details else Fine" Scot Kamins -- Collecting the Modern Library 1917-1970 Modern Library Collecting Website at: http://www.dogeared.com |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
"John Warner" wrote in message m... If a book is in fine condition except for a remainder mark, is the condition downgraded to very good or good? My policy is to never sell my books as fine. I have sold thousands of secondhand books on ebay, most of which other dealers would have described as fine. The highest I rate is Very Good or Better. My reasoning behind this is that even if the book is perfect in my house, by the time I pack the thing up, and send it halfway round the world the chances of it still being 100% perfect is minimal. http://www.stores.ebay.co.uk/aaaworldofbooks |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Remainder marks can be minimized by the judicious and careful use of
bleach or sand paper. Just don't make the cure worse than the disease. Art Layton Stamford CT |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
|
#10
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
[FAQ] rec.collecting.books FAQ | Mike Berro | Books | 0 | December 26th 03 08:18 PM |
Need help on book condition | Steve Solomon | Books | 7 | October 23rd 03 05:04 AM |
Visual Aids - Remainder and Edge Marks | Doug McClure | Books | 5 | July 29th 03 01:55 AM |
autographs | dani.steiner | General | 0 | July 19th 03 06:08 AM |
Reducing Autograph Collection | dani.steiner | Autographs | 0 | July 16th 03 02:29 PM |