Book and Pulp Grading
BOOKS
Books are graded poor, fair, good, very good, near fine and fine. I will also use "+" or "-" sometimes to shade the grading. I try to be conservative and there shouldn't be any surprises. Feel free to ask any condition questions you may have.
PULPS
Grading pulps is an art not a science. Again I try to be conservative. Pulps are graded something like books with the exception of a (very) occasional "very fine". For the record, I have never dealt or collected comic books. Don't apply comic book grading to pulps.
Here is a pulp grading guide (slightly abbreviated) from BOOKERY'S GUIDE TO PULPS by Tim Cottrill (used with permission, available from http://www.bookeryfantasy.com/):
POOR - An incomplete copy, coverless or missing pages, brittle or otherwise dammed beyond reasonable readability. May be OK for someone, say, looking for a serial part just to read.
FAIR - Generally considered below collectable grade unless rare or in high demand. A fair copy may be missing a back cover or a title or an advertising page but all story pages must be intact. Outer pulp edges may be brittle in places, but the overall pages must be solid enough to turn without undue risk of tearing or breaking. Pages might be especially darkened, or exhibit water staining. Numerous cover stress lines or tears, heavy chipping or trimming may be present.
GOOD - Typical used but not abused pulp. A number of cover creases and/or reading stress lines. Pages may be tanned but should have only minor flaking. Spine lettering may be flaked or chipped but the spine should not be completely damaged or missing. A taped spine or taped interior pages are not uncommon, as long as the tape is unobtrusive and any glue repairs have not seriously damaged the book. The overhang may be heavily chipped or trimmed altogether.
VERY GOOD - Covers should be reasonably bright. Pages may be lightly tanned, yellow or off white but should be mostly supple with only a hint of edge flaking here and there. Tape may be present but in small amounts, such as the spine corners or a small interior tear. The cover may be slightly separated from the spine edges, but should not exceed an inch or two, and the overall book must be solid. A vertical reading crease near the spine is common, as are small corner creases. The overhang may be chipped or have tears but should still be present. The spine should be over 50% intact. No pages can be missing. Although a very good pulp may have one or more of the above defects, this does not mean it should have an abundance of them, or should have an accumulation of defects as to mar the pulps general attractiveness. In particular, the main body of the cover should not be damaged so as to detract from the art.
FINE - A fine copy may not be newsstand fresh but it should be close. The spine should be near 100% with only the most minor of edge flakes allowed. The book should have nearly all of it's original cover brightness, and the pulp overhang should display only those tiny tears or bends as would likely have occurred the day it was placed on the news rack. One or two very small tears may be present, or a small (less than a half inch) corner crease or two. No tape or edge trimming permitted. Pages may not be their original white but should be creamy or only slightly yellowed.
(Thanks Tim)
Regarding VERY FINE pulps. Don't worry, if I list any they'll get the full description. These are rare, especially in pulps with an overhang.
REMEMBER...A guide is a guide. It's not a Bible. Again, questions are welcome.