How We Clean, Grade, & Price Used LPs

It has always alarmed me how many record stores either don't clean their used inventory at all, or do so with such disinterest that it barely makes a difference. It is an important part of our business that folks know they can purchase used albums from our inventory and that they're immediately ready for play upon arriving.

Our Cleaning Process

Every single 12" record we add to the website -- whether LP, EP, or 12" single -- goes through the same process, which is multi-faceted.

1) Every record first gets washed in a SpinClean with some of our homemade cleaning solution.  With all the machines and technologies out on the market for cleaning your albums, I still believe a SpinClean does a very thorough job of cleaning albums, especially as a first step to scrub off the initial later of dust, dirt, and mildew. It also manages to do a great job of cleaning down into the grooves rather than just a simple surface clean. I rotate each record 3 times clockwise then another 3 complete turns counter-clockwise.  

2) Upon removal from the SpinClean, the LP immediately goes onto a Nitty Gritty vacuum cleaner.  The LP is rotated two times around to dry each side of the LP.  I used a vacuum cleaner for years before switching to an ultrasonic cleaner a couple years ago, but I have since found that the absolute best results come from marrying both together.  And while I have experimented with the order of things, I've found through tests that vacuum cleaning first then ultrasonic cleaning (as you'll see below) produces the best final results.

3) The vacuum process always leaves a little bit of moisture on the very outer edge of the LP, but I use this to my advantage.  I remove the LP from the Nitty Gritty vacuum cleaner and use a paper towel to wipe the outer edge of the album with pressure pinched between thumb and forefinger.  It has been my experience that the outer edge of the album has been the most difficult part of the record to effectively clean and, as such, is often the noisiest part of the record. I've tried multiple different approaches to eliminating this dirt and noise, and this simple step has been the most effective of any I've encountered.  Do not be afraid to use a normal paper towel on your records.  I've tried cleaning around the outer edge of LPs with cotton swabs, microfiber cloths, and other means, but at the end of the day, I've found this process at this stage in the cleaning process to be the most effective.

4) Each LP then goes into a HumminGuru ultrasonic record cleaner for a full 5 minute wash cycle.  Our ultrasonic cleaner also uses distilled water with about 20% of our homemade cleaning solution.

5) Finally, after washing and drying in the ultrasonic cleaner, each LP is physically placed upon our turntable and play tested for quality assurance.  We start every single record right at the start of A1, let it play for a spell, then spot check any needed areas -- such as areas with hairlines, scuffs, or other marks so that we can effectively grade every LP.

6) After play testing, each LP is placed in a fresh inner sleeve, photographed, and listed on the website.

While this may seem like an extensive process for albums we're sometimes pricing as little as $2 or $3, as someone who loves vinyl in my own right, it is a bit of The Golden Rule.  I want for every customer to open a box received from us, be able to place the LP immediately onto their turntable, and be completely satisfied that what they received is what they were advertised (or better).

How We Grade Albums

I grade using the Goldmine standard but I grade quite strictly with an effort to always be on the conservative side.  Here's a rundown of some of the grades you'll see on the website and what they mean.

NM - Near Mint is a grade I rarely use.  No matter how clean an album looks and/or plays, I don't like grading any record more than a few years old as Near Mint.  If you see NM as a grade, it is an album that is in perfect condition.  More than likely, it was opened and played only a handful of times if that, and always taken perfect care of. You'll find that a Near Mint LP on our website is in flawless condition.

EX - Excellent LPs on our website are albums that play flawlessly.  This is usually albums that are more than a few years old that some other sellers may call NM in that they're flawless both physically and sonically, or it could be a newer record that has a faint, superficial hairline that doesn't affect play, which keeps it form being NM but its flawless play still deserves an EX grade.

VG+ - I've found that VG+ is the most misunderstood grade by many LP resellers.  I even once interacted with a reseller who was adamant that as long as an LP played, it was VG+.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Our VG+ albums are going to play very clean almost to perfection.  At worst, our VG+ LPs may have a tiny bit of noise right at the start of the album or a little light background noise in the silence between tracks.  If I hear surface noise within the music, it is typically no longer a VG+ record in my books.

VG - VG records on our website are going to play very well, typically with just a little light background noise.  I always try to explain why I'm grading a used LP VG within the item description, but a VG record is never going to play with distracting or overwhelming surface noise.  No loud, repeating ticks.  I understand that some will never want to purchase an album graded below VG+, and I fully appreciate your diligent approach to your collection, but rest assured that VG items on our website will play very well by almost every standard.

VG- - VG minus records are not going to be for everyone.  On a VG minus record, you should expect to experience some noticeable surface noise which may be a more constant crackle throughout the record, or may be a scratch or two that produce repeating ticks or pops.  I will always leave some description in the item notes as to why I am grading that record VG minus.

G - Good records will not show up on the website very often.  These are records with major defects.  Typically only rare records that I feel are still enjoyable will be listed on the site as Good, but I will provide details as to the reason for the grade in the item description so that you can decide for yourself whether it's worth it.

How We Price Used Albums

Finally, while pricing is certainly subjective and can vary wildly, I do use a bit of a standard science behind how I price the used inventory on our website.

The very first thing I do on any used album I'm pricing -- regardless of how I've graded our copy -- is to establish what I believe is the proper price for a VG+/VG+ copy (VG+ vinyl, VG+ cover).  I primarily use Discogs for this research.  I am also establishing exactly which pressing I possess, down to the pressing plant, but if it's a (common) scenario where an original pressing came from multiple pressing plants (i.e. Winchester, Pitman, Terre Haute, Santa Maria, etc.), I'll often look at recent prices for one of those other pressing plants, as well, to make sure they're in line with the exact version I have.

Clearly, if our copy is also VG+/VG+, I will price the album at this sweet spot.  But I make the following adjustments based on actual condition.

Cover VG or VG- -- A cover with a little extra wear will affect the price of even a VG+ record.  Typically, I'll reduce the price 10-25% for a VG cover depending on the album and how 'strong' of a VG the cover is. But if a cover is VG- (say it has a seam splitting, writing, or heavy staining), that may cause me to drop the price more like 50% off the VG+ price.

LP VG or VG- -- For most VG LPs, I will drop the price of the used LP 40-50% from its VG+ price.  Obviously, there are exceptions to this rule where I may reduce the price less than 40% if it's an incredibly conservative VG grade and the LP is a difficult one to find, but as a general rule, the 40-50% scale holds up.  And if the LP is VG-, I tend to drop the price more like 75% off the VG+ price.  With this in mind, typically no VG- LP on the website would be less than $9 or $10 VG+.

That's a basic rundown of how we clean, evaluate, and price every single used 12" record we're adding to the website.

Thank you very much for your interest and confidence in Underdog Records and I truly hope you're album to enjoy any purchases from our site for many years.