The Pristine Text Standard
Graded by hand.
Every single copy.
Most used book listings use condition labels that mean nothing — "Good" can mean anything from lightly read to barely held together. We built our own five-grade standard and apply it physically, copy by copy, before anything goes live. Here's exactly what each grade means.
The five grades
- 1Pristine
Unused, unread, and crisp — never been opened.
- 2Like New
Minimal shelf wear, uncracked spine, clean pages.
- 3Great
Lightly used with no internal markings.
- 4Good
Standard used copy; may have highlighting or a name written inside.
- 5Fair
Well-loved with heavy highlighting, but fully readable and complete.
Which condition is right for you?
Match your situation to a grade range. You can always go higher — this is the minimum we'd recommend.
Keeping it after the course / gifting
Pristine or Like NewStudying but want clean, unmarked pages
Like New or GreatEveryday studying, price matters more
Great or GoodJust need the content, fine with highlights
Good or FairReference only, reading lightly
Fair is fineHow we grade
Every book that comes into our warehouse is inspected before it gets a listing. We open it, check the spine for stress fractures, flip through the pages looking for tears, water damage, and loose pages, and assess the cover and binding. Then we look at the interior — how much highlighting, what kind of writing, and whether it affects readability.
We grade conservatively. If a book is on the border between Good and Great, it goes to Good. We'd rather a book arrive better than described than the other way around. A book only gets listed if every page is present and the content is fully readable.
Condition photos — where available — show the actual copy you're buying, not a stock image. Look for them on the listing page under each condition option.
What doesn't make it to listing
- ✕Missing or torn pages
- ✕Water or moisture damage that affects readability
- ✕Broken spines where pages are falling out
- ✕Mold, mildew, or strong odour
- ✕Obscured text from writing or correction fluid
Our grading promise
If the book you receive doesn't match the condition listed, contact us within 7 days and we'll make it right — full refund, no questions asked. Our grading reputation is the foundation of this business.