HERE ARE THE BASIC DEFINITINS AND CRITERIA WE USE WHEN GRADING ITEMS IN OUR INVENTORY:

MINT /PERFECT:

The item is flawless. It has no chips, no scratches, no scrapes, no damage, and no imperfections of any kind. Items in this condition are very rare and often come at a substantially-higher price than even EXCELLENT condition items due to their pristine nature.

EXCELLENT:

The item is not MINT, but is close to it. It may have a few very small surface scratches or a few very small areas of minor paint wear or paint loss. Soiling, if present, is only minimal. Large items may meet this criterion if they have a very small chip in them in an inconspicuous place. This is the condition of most collectors' BEST pieces--the condition to which most collectors like to be able to upgrade their most beloved pieces.

VERY GOOD:

The item has some imperfections, but generally is in very nice condition. This grading usually indicates that there are a number of minor scratches in the paint, or perhaps one larger scratch in the paint of an otherwise-really-nice item. Fabric may be soiled; it may even have a small hole or tear in an inconspicuous place. Paint wear might be present, but would not be very significant, especially in the areas where the item would be seen most easily when it is displayed. There may be a few very small chips in ceramic items meeting this grade, so long as they are few in number and not located in places where they detract from the item's display quality. If the item in question is one that operates or moves, in order to be in VERY GOOD condition, it must be in proper working/operating condition. VERY GOOD condition typifies the overall condition of the majority of the items in most collectors' collections.

GOOD:

Items in this condition have general overall wear and obviously have been used BUT they are still generally in nice, displayable, collectible condition. Paint wear would be described as light to moderate. Scratches in the paint or in the item's surface might be fairly numerous, but even with them, the large majority of the paint remains intact. Fabric parts might be torn in a few small places or lightly to moderately soiled. Items made of ceramic, composition, or plaster that are in GOOD condition suffer from such problems as: having numerous small "dings" or chips, hairline fractures. Oftentimes, collectors purchase GOOD condition items as fillers, when they are missing a particular item for which they have been searching for a long time or when the item is very rare and they wish to have an affordable example of the item in their collection.

FAIR:

Items in this condition have a moderate to heavy amount of overall wear and obviously have been used. Items made of ceramic, composition or plaster that are in FAIR condition suffer from such problems as: having numerous "dings" or chips, hairline fractures, multiple "dings" or chips. Since we try to cater to the collector, the merchandise in this condition sells at a discaunt at our "Discount Sale" section.

SOME OTHER GRADING-RELATED TERMINOLOGY WE USE

MIP:

This means Mint In Package. Items described in this manner come in some type of bag or plastic wrapping, and are being sold with that bag or wrapping. The items themselves are in perfect condition; the packaging may or may not be in comparable condition. If the condition of the packaging is of great importance to you, please read our descriptions carefully when items are described as being in MIP. Oftentimes, MIP items come in packaging that is NOT in mint (or even close to mint) condition.

MIB /NMIB

This means Mint In Box or Near Mint In Box. Items described in this manner are being sold in their original manufacturer's box, and the items themselves are in perfect condition (or near perfect condition). If the condition of the box is of great importance to you, please read our descriptions carefully when items are described as being in MIB or NMIB. Oftentimes, MIB or NMIB items come in packaging that is NOT in mint (or even close to mint) condition.

NRFP / NRFB:

This means Never Removed From Package or Never Removed From Box. The item itself is likely to be in mint condition, since it has never been taken out of its original packaging. Occasionally, however, due to jostling over the years, items described in this manner are NOT in mint condition. Our descriptions always indicate this particular situation on the rare occasion that an item is found like that.