We need a better scale for grading, because from 6 to 7 there is way to much leway. We all need to get together like the comic and coin guys did and figure out something. I see 6 as a good disc with 5+ being on the low end and 6+ being on the high end. This is important for the more expensive stuff. My dream would to come up with a general price guide and use a scale like that to come up with decent prices all around. I know someone thinks 29.95 is a good price for everything, lol, but with this becoming more of a collectors market someone has to come up with something. I am thinking a 1 - 100 scale and go from there. If we all worked together we could come up with something. When this site was first started Lds were still semi fresh in peoples minds, now as we get farther away it is something that could start demanding serious cash, lol, oh it already is. Anyway, just a thought.

I actually don't think we need a new grading system - we just need to educate a few sellers on how to use the current grading system properly.
I think Julien has done a great job with his grading tool - it is actually very accurate if you use it.

The problem is some sellers on this site are not really enthusiasts or collectors so don't worry too much when it comes to grading items and list everything as 8!

A few examples:
I bought at least 3 LDs recently from different sellers on this site.
All of the covers suffered from light rubwear (scratches) on the covers, yet all had been described as near mint (8).
Now I know some sellers are very meticulous in their descriptions however in my opinion any rubwear traces means it does not qualify as near mint no matter how good the rest of the cover is. Rubwear (however light) is just as bad as corner dings, splits or creases etc as the cover is still permanently damaged.

If you use the grading tool I cannot see how you could arrive at grade 8 unless you are adjusting the grade manually in the upward direction!
In example above using grading tool disc might be classified as mint.
Even if you grade the cover as mint (which it isn't) and then select 'including extras' and 'no sleeve' - since a disc with rubwear cannot possibly have original protective sleeve you end up with 7!

So can anyone out there who thinks rubwear (however light) does not constitute any damage please comment on why they think that is so because I don't!

That would be a 6-7 to me...

http://www.lddb.com/help_grading.php

Julien

I agree with laserdisc_fan.
The grading system we have is apropriate when used correctly.

firehorse_44 - I know you include a tremendous amount of detail in your listings which is a big help to buyers. Others could take a leaf from your example.
Believe me this is appreciated. I'll likely be buying some items from you in the future as there is no such thing as too much detail as far as I am concerned.
Some other sellers though tend to just use the grading with no additional comments which is always open to interpretation!

yeah, just list on the side with more info.
we can get close enough with the rating now.
let's face it these are not spots cards or comics!! anything like this with lower value is harder to get an official grade since it's a small amout of people interested compared to other collector markets.

when you have to pay 20-60 to get your stuff officially graded and slabbed then there will need to be a better system.
but for now this is a great one.

I think the toughest grade to put on a title is grade 7 because my 7 I think would be correct but some would have a different opinion.
I've had a buyer gave me great feedback but slammed me on my grading since my percentage went down after feedback was left.
Covers and discs were in fine decent condition but some minor facial rub wear. So dealing with a 7 is quite a chore...should I rate it 7 or rate ir 6...hmmmm....

I'd always recommend noting something like rubwear in your listing description.
That way even if you think it is 7 the buyer can make their own mind up based on your description and there will not be any nasty surprises.
Personally I'd rate rubwear at the same level as splits, dings, light creases etc so would grade as 6 no matter if everything else was perfect.
In fact I'd always buy an LD with a ding or split over one with rubwear on the sleeve if I had a choice as to me it is less noticeable overall.
As I say if it is in the listing you cannot go wrong.

I did have minor rub wear in my listing on those titles mentioned...yes not all of my listings have detailed descriptions but most do.
anyways, there will always be people who will look at things different then the rest, I guess it is part of selling. I've been selling on Ebay and here off and on for a great while now and you just can't please some people even if the title is plain perfect but they seem to find a problem when they break out the microscope. LOL

My concern is the grade fro 6 to 7. There is a big jump from the one to the other. That is where I have my problems. 99 percent of my stuff is listed as a 6 and I dont mention much when I list it because the person getting it knows what they are getting into. A 5 is similar. The 7 grade however, is supposed to be to me at least mint but out of the package. There should be minimal flaws if any. I dont believe I have any 8 grades, I have some sealed items graded 9s and maybe 10 total discs graded 10s. The problem is your 6 could be my 7 or your 7 could be my 6. That being said, a lot of discs I grade 6 just look like 6s to me. There is nothing wrong with them, they just in my mind arent 7s. I could show examples and I think I will and we can go from there. Lol, I will put up one of my 6s and we can compare!

What you are saying is that a 7 is pretty much near mint without any issues? correct? then we should get rid of grade 8 because determining 7 and 8
is a problem then. I admit when I first started selling here in 2009, had no idea there even was a grading tool to use and was somewhat a beginner in grading so most of my low grading percentage was due to that point in time and also it did help me selling on Ebay to do a better job too.

Grade 9 could even be a problem with me also....9 you have to have it sealed with minor problem so if I was listing a brand new sealed title but with a punch hole or with a heavy crease, so where to do you grade that? I have a couple where I placed them in 5 or even 6.
Sometimes it gets confusing because I want to give a proper grading so the buyer would be happy but I do not want to undercut myself and not have that chance to sell it to someone who really doesn't understand the grading system as some of us do.....

But Chris, do totally understand where you are at with the between grade of 6 and 7 =)

Cutouts dont rate higher then a 6 for me, and if something is sealed I am going with the disc is mint and the jacket has issues so it would probably rate no higher then a 6 either. There are many variables. Oh, I have rated a cutout a 7 before but that was because it was a hole punched in the lower left right where a doted I was. Pretty cool of the guy, if you didnt look you wouldnt have seen it. An 8 would be a perfect open copy with no issues. A 7 would be a perfect copy with a very minor issue. No creasing or dings allowed, maybe a problem with the opening, something like that. Like I said, it is very subjective.

I think that is the best course of action.
A few pics would help clarify what you think a 6 is versus a 7.

I try to grade everything as accurately as possible. And I try and provide a thorough description of the disc and its condition. If I'm taking the time to list it and check it over, I may as well tell the potential buyer everything I can about it.

i think that would clear everything up, since grades are per person.
just put it on your profile page or shop policy and state what you think is a 6,7, etc.

Then compare The toes rate about a 5, lol.

This is what I would consider a 7, It is open, the corners are sharp, it is in the original plastic with no creasing or dings.



The next one is a 6, it has minor ring wear and a ding on the lip.



The bottom one is a 9, it is sealed but has a minor corner ding.

A 2-grading system might help, one grading for sleeve and one for the LD ? Just as the grading for vinyl records. with only one scale for both LD and sleeve its easy to be confused on how you grade what.

That might be good. I could see that, a 1 - 10 scale for both would work well. I think you hit the nail on the head.

Your big lebowski here is a 8, not a 7.

Lol, like I said, we can get subjective all over Thanks