BOOK GRADING
Here at ScndHndBks our goal is to re-home as many books as possible - this means we source all of our books second hand and they’re, in one way or another, pre-loved.
Our goal isn’t to scam you or make money in some nefarious manner; we love books and source sustainably and ethically - often saving books from being sent to a landfill.
When we source books we assess and then grade each one carefully, so that our descriptions are as accurate as possible and you receive what you' expect. This is done by a panel of two people.
HOW WE SOURCE OUR BOOKS
We source most of our stock from charity shops and people looking to thin out their own collection.
We will, in the near future, accept trade-ins where you can send us books and we will give you money off your next purchase.
HOW WE CATEGORISE OUR BOOKS
All the books we source are hand picked in stores when we go stock-shopping (a slow but beneficial task) - we pick books that are well cared for and aren’t too damaged, however if a book is a very popular title (i.e any Harry Potter book!) we will try to re-home it anyway!
Quality control play a big part in what we do and a panel of two people will individually assess the books and grade; any discrepancies with a grade are then discussed and agreed upon together.
The categories we use are Very Good, Good and Used, and some might also have an extra marking on of Ex-Library. There’s a detailed guide below about each category.
ABOUT OUR ‘like new’ BOOKS
When you buy a book marked as ‘Like New’ condition you can expect to receive a copy that’s almost as good as new.
Generally books in this category will have been read only once, and will always be very well looked after.
If you check the book over you should find very little if any creasing to the spine, a square binding, little or no discolouration to the pages, and it will be in its original dust jacket.
Because it’s already had another owner you’re guaranteed to pay less than the original book cost, however these grades are our most expensive books to buy. If you ever see multiple titles in our store please check the prices and description to make the best choice for you.
CONDITION CATEGORY GUIDE
You’ll find that every book on our website has a full condition breakdown on its product page so that you know what you’re paying for; the better the quality the better the price - that being said, the difference won’t be dramatic!
The Condition Categories are as follows:
Like New
Minimal amount of creasing to the spine
Square binding
Minimal or no discolouration to pages
Dust jacket present
Good
Slightly crooked spine or slightly torn dust jacket
Mild creasing of cover
Slightly loose bindings
Mild yellowing
Slight highlighting or note taking
Fair
Slightly crooked spine or slightly torn dust jacket
Creasing of cover
Slightly loose bindings/ exposed glue
Yellowing
Ripped pages or otherwise damaged slightly
Pre-Loved
Spine may be warped with cracking and scuffing
Cover may be discoloured and creasing
Pages may be browned and warped
Markings and note taking do not interfere with reading
May be without end papers or title page
May be some water damage
Cover slightly torn
Ex-Library
Every now and again we might list a book that is ex-library. These books sometimes have writing on the inside of the cover, have stamps or still contain a library reference card. Ex-library books will still be categorised by the above standards but will just have an extra little bit of info detailing what has been left over from its previous life!.