As it was pointed out, there really is no actual scale for the conditions a person can mark things as. That ends up with different people having their own. Here, we will try to develop a widely accepted “Conditions Criteria” to use when making an ad for an item.

What the conditions mean to me: New – clothes have been tried on once or never at all. They have no signs of this. NO TAGS CUT OUT. Books have no visable wear whatsoever. This is how all makeup is ideally, with the packaging still on it, or removed as it may be a gift.

Excellent – clothes have been worn a good few times, but still look very close to new. There are no stains, no holes, no scuffs. Books have light wear marks, but no writing or highlighting. Makeup might have been used once with a disposable applicator, but only tried out.

Good – clothes have more visable wear. There may be a stain that is not too noticable, cuffs might look worn, maybe a small hole. Books have been read several times and have wear marks to prove this. Perhaps it has notes or high lighting in it. Cover may be faded. No makeup should ever make it to this category.

Meh – clothes have noticable holes or stains. They might only be good for working in the yard or reconstructing. Books are only good for reading, as they aren’t something you’d be too proud of putting on your shelf to keep. ” “

Interlachen, Florida

Yeah, trying to grade an item..well, it’s very subjective. I can totally see the point of defining conditions. What the person listing the item might see as excellent, the person who is getting the item might not see it that way. It’s very hard to pin down. This is why I try to list what flaws I see in the description as well. According to the grading you typed out above though, I actually downgrade some of my items. If an item has been worn/tried on even once, with no visible wear, usually I mark it as Excellent. All my unused cosmetics go with a grade of New. If something is quite a bit worn/scuffed I list it as Meh. My books that have light scratch/indention marks on cover are usually marked Good. Those are just a few examples of how I grade some of my items, typed out quickly. Maybe I’m just too much of a perfectionist/obsessive compulsive though, lol!

Whatever you guys agree upon we’ll consider making them “official.”

Miami, FL

That would be very cool. More people would have to post first, though.

Interlachen, Florida

If in doubt, grade your items one step lower. And include in your description why you are marking something “meh” while you may think it’s “good”. Exceeding someone’s expectations will almost always result in a better experience all the way around…

Lomita (near Los Angeles), CA

Jenny’s got a grasp on all those marketing tricks.

Miami, FL

Yeah, I do that. It makes since.

Interlachen, Florida

i completely agree with what Rebecca put in the first post! i vote for those to be the set standard. you should include pet hair and loose strings. did we forget anything?

What would you consider grading a CD, where the CD might be close to perfect (maybe a light surface scratch or two), booklet is perfect, but the case might be a bit beat up (i.e.: small crack, maybe a cutout, etc.)? Again, I still list the flaws in my description, but would rating something like this as “good” be acceptable? Just wanted to get an overall consensus.

CD’s. I knew I was missing things! For CD’s that have no scratches that affect the sound and come in a case, regardless of it is original or not I consider that to be Excellent. When it is in a music player, you’re not seeing it and most of us are just ripping them anyway. If you have the original case or whatever, that definitely earns bonus points, but you can’t really upgrade it from there.

Interlachen, Florida

For items that fall into the “Excellent” category, regardless of what kind of item they are, they oughta look good enough to be passed along as a gift - the kind of quality that could be mistaken for “Brand New” if only the tags were actually still intact. I feel that “Excellent” should be a lot closer to “Brand New” than to “Good” - and I’m saying this partially because I’m tired of receiving items that are truly a lot closer to “Meh.” Perhaps we need an additional category in there: Brand New, Excellent/Like New, Very Good, Good, Meh.

Fountain Hills, AZ

Hey Julie, I agree with everything you’ve said above. That’s exactly how I feel about grading items!

Can we please say that if the item has a stain - any stain - it’s “Meh”? Same goes for holes.

Fountain Hills, AZ

That doesn’t sound unreasonable. Although the person making the ad should still point it out, especially if the article is otherwise excellent or something.

Holes, definitely. I hate that. I saw a pair of jeans that were marked excellent though she noted there was a huge hole in the knee.

Interlachen, Florida

Definitely love what you girls are saying above and agree with everything. Best thing I think is to encourage more detailed descriptions. Its so hard to judge based on a photo.

Agreed!

Interlachen, Florida

What do you think about guidelines for an ad? Sure, we like seeing a picture, knowing the size. But when filling out an ad, what about some default text in the “description” box reminding users to write the material content? Color(s)? Quick description of detailing/fit?

Interlachen, Florida

Can we have a “Like whoa…” category? And if we run with it, let’s have an “OH SNAP” one too imo.

Miami, FL

I’m totally for the “OH SNAP!” one.

Interlachen, Florida

i think the rating system is fine. I’ve had no problems with anyone else, and neither have people with me.

My suggestion is to require a more descriptive..description(lol). I list all the problems with my items, list how they fit on me and describe how they fit certain assets so that others can judge themselves.

Maybe a default little description in the box of how your description should look like and what it should include. it would help newbies, too. :)

APO, AE