Books Ratings We have been selling books for almost 30 years now and are really proud of our accurate descriptions. We try to be conservative in describing our books with our aim being that the book you receive will actually be better than we described it. The terms we use to describe our books are: As New: (rather than Mint, which is more appropriately used for stamps and coins ). A book in As New condition is essentially brand new, as you would buy it straight from the publisher. Fine: A Fine copy is practically As New, but may have some very minor imperfections that keeps it from being perfect. Near Fine: We use Near Fine to describe a book that is better than Very Good, but not quite up to the standards to be listed as Fine. Very Good: This is our average used book, which may have some minor flaws to the book and binding, including small tears to the dust jacket or perhaps some light foxing to the pages. Still any book we describe as Very Good is going to be a nice collectible copy with no serious defects. Good: A book in Good condition is a copy that has definitely been used, and will usually have various flaws. The covers may be faded, some pages may be torn (although there will be no loss to the text ), the binding may be loose, etc. Books in Good condition are not what we consider to be in collectible condition, but they are otherwise complete. These copies are acceptable if you are looking for a cheap reading copy. Fair: Books in Fair condition are ones with major flaws. The binding may be stained, pages may be loose, there may be a lot of wear to the covers and foxing to the pages. Still the book will be complete, with no text missing. We rarely offer books in this condition for sale, but sometimes, if the title is particularly hard to find, we will occasionally accept a Fair copy into the store. Poor: Books in Poor condition are truly in horrible shape. Pages may be torn, the cover may be off, there may even be pages missing. We do not sell books in poor condition. The description we use identifies the book’s condition first, then the dust jacket’s condition. Fine with very good dust jacket, for example. That means the book is in fine condition, and the dust jacket is in very good condition. Any significant defects over and above the basic condition statement will always be included in the book description. Typically we will always state if the dust jacket is price-clipped for modern first edition fiction, though we are not as consistent in noting this flaw for nonfiction books. We usually will describe if there are inscriptions or bookplates by previous owners, no matter the subject. If you have any questions about condition, please feel free to contact us; we are always happy to go over any book’s condition point by point. We send an enormous number of books to our customers all over the world through Internet sales. In all the years we have been doing this one can count the returns we have had on one hand. Seriously! We feel confident that you will be pleased with your purchase. If for some reason, we do make a mistake or misdescribe a book, you always have the option to return it within 10 days for a complete refund, no questions asked. For our complete return and refund policy, please see the Terms of Service page.