What do you consider levels of used guitar condition
 

Would love to level set here. For me...

Excellent- no dings, major scratches, cracks or damage, very limited fret wear, some pick marks on the pick guard

Very good - some minor scratches no major dings, no cracks, some fret wear but lots of life

Good- some buckle rash, no cracks, some nicks and dings, noticeable fret wear, a player level guitar

That's mostly cosmetic.

With an used acoustic my concerns are (beyond sound and playability) neck pitch, saddle height, bridge solid (not coming up), hump in the top and fret wear.

Most cracks can be repaired,.. dings, etc are not an issue with me unless they've been misrepresented.

From Elderly (bases grading strictly on cosmetics: https://www.elderly.com/abbreviations.html)

MC Mint Condition : when we say mint, we mean mint. No wear, like new out of the box.
EC Excellent Condition : Very clean, might have some minor wear, dings, scratches, or finish cracks, but otherwise very close to new condition.
VGC Very Good Condition : Basically clean, might have some deeper scratches, pick wear or missing finish. Nothing real serious, no cracks, unless otherwise stated.
GC Good Condition : Solid playing condition, may have one or more repaired cracks or other cosmetic flaws.
FC Fair Condition and PC = Poor Condition : Indicate that the instrument may have some problems, usually described.

This is taken from Reverb. I think it's a good policy.


Mint

For something to truly be mint, it needs to be just shy of Brand New. Mint items should include the original packaging in most cases. If there's any sort of imperfection, the item should be listed in Excellent condition at best.

Excellent

When something's been used a bit but is still close to new, you can file it under Excellent. For newer gear, Excellent items should be free of blemishes and other visual defects. For vintage items, there may be some marks here and there, but the item is still in the top echelon when compared to similar examples. All Excellent items should be 100% functional in every way.


Very Good

Very Good describes items with perhaps a few more cosmetic imperfections than Excellent but is still in great condition overall. With a Very Good guitar, for example, you might find some scratches, buckle rash, or other minor blemishes but nothing that affects the playability or function of the instrument.

Good

Good condition includes items that are in fine working order but have some visual imperfections here and there. A pedal with scratches and dents on its chassis, a guitar with some cracks in the binding, or maybe an old snare drum with some corrosion on the lugs could all be classified as Good. All of these items work just fine but have enough visual imperfections to only be in the middle of the scale.

Fair

This would be where the various nicks and blemishes start to actually impact the function of the item. Fair items mostly work fine but maybe have some minor functional issues. Say you've got an old archtop that's totally playable but has some neck warping that render some dead spots on the upper registers. This could be considered Fair.

I've NEVER gone on those one word descriptions. If a seller or dealer isn't willing to be much more specific than that, I move on quickly.

My favorite is EXCELLENT CONDITION (for a ___ year old guitar) :mad::mad:

I agree, but when you list on Reverb or Ebay you have to put the one word description in the listing format. Obviously, any seller worth his salt will go into much more detail within the listing.

On Ebay it's just USED - and many don't ad anything. Many here don't either - they make prospective buyers ask. Never could figure that out....I don't have time to answer the same questions to every person interested. Just put it in the description.

These are the guidelines I have used for selling a guitar. If it works for them, it's good enough for me.

Elderly does sometimes use a"combined rating" which I saw on their website.
For me, I would have to have specifics on the cosmetics. To me "Excellent" does not include finish cracks or dings unless they are virtually undetectable and very few in number.
It's all very subjective...depends on who's looking.

According to their system, my guitars are all EC/M. (Excellent, mint.) and that would include playability.

great, workable, bad, ugly

play music!

A couple of years ago, I sold (via buy it now) a J-45 on Ebay for an amount that was a substantially higher than the average market price for that type of guitar. For its age, it was in excellent condition. Here is part of my Ebay listing about condition of the guitar:

"* * *

I have personally cared for this guitar for almost 50 years. If you have any questions, contact me before you buy. I am happy to answer your questions.

There is play and handling wear. Also some vintage finish checking that does not show up in the pictures. The finish is all original finish and there has been no refinishing whatsoever.* There are light scratch marks that do not show up in the pictures. Scratch marks are mostly noticeable on and around the pick guard. The neck is factory and is in very good condition. The adjustable truss rod works. The frets are original with minor wear. Tuners are original and are in very good, usable condition. Some of the white paint decorating the sound hole has faded from age or has worn off. There are also some faded or wear spots on the fine-line detail portion of the binding.

Upon close inspection for this sale I noticed what some may describe as a hairline crack on the wooden bridge. I never noticed it before – it is very possible that it has been there for 30 or 40 years. See pictures. The small finish chips on the top side of the neck near the sound hole were on the guitar when it was purchased in 1969. They have not changed since 1969 and there has been no attempt to make repair.

Because of the guitar's dark finish, "dings" do not show up very well -- either in person or by photograph. And for being almost 50 years old, I could not find many. These measurements are approximate. Unless stated otherwise, each is less than 1 mm deep. (1) 5mm x 3mm on top of large bout, near upper binding; (2) 10mm x 4mm upper side, small bout; (3) 5mm x 5mm (1mm deep), 5mm x 2mm, and 2mm x 2mm which are on bottom side, large bout.

I have the adjustable bridge currently set at:

First fret bass E: .010 inch approx.
12th Fret bass E: .080 inch approx.
First fret high E: .010 inch approx.
12th fret high E: .070 inch approx.
with easy playability though 12th fret.

The interior photographs of this guitar were taken #/##/20##. On the neck block, there are two small white spots that may likely be paint or glue -- but I do not really know what they are.

* * *"

I too have seen sellers on Ebay (and especially Reverb) provide inadequate condition descriptions. In my opinion, these sellers are just lazy.

I like the levels that MF set.

I'll buy it or I won't.

If I'm buying a used guitar from an individual, all the dings and scratches are money loss for the seller. Money should be taken off for every single ding or no deal. Doesn't matter of they bought it new yesterday or that afternoon, if they damaged it, they lose money on resale of that used instrument. It's not Mint, Excellent or anywhere near it, it's used.

And that one-word description is fine for me. I require comprehensive photos of every angle. They have to be sharp & Hi-Res so I can zoom in tight and evaluate the guitar myself. I've seen too many descriptions that are so far from reality that I ask the questions that are pertinent to my evaluation of the instrument. Whether the questions regard cleanliness, repairs, dings, scratches, specs.... to me it's the buyer's responsibility to ask everything necessary to make the purchase decision. When listings don't include at least basic photos to begin the evaluation process I simply move on.

The problem comes when the seller factors scars into their price, and then the buyer wants to do the same thing again. If a particular used guitar sells routinely within the range of $1200 to $1600 and mine has an average for its age amount of scars so I price it at $1400, then a buyer comes and says "it's not mint, I'll give you $1200" because he's deducting for every single ding after I'v already done it. That's not fair and they won't get that deal from me.
Too many "buyers" are just looking to get a steal no matter what. This is part of the reason why so many guitars are listed at unrealistic high prices; most buyers think they don't have to pay the fair price for something.

Yes but if a guitar sells new/MINT for $2K or there abouts and the seller is trying to get $1800 out of it, that's not near enough of a discount to warrant used IMO unless there are no dings or damage. If it has damage, it should be between $1400 to $1600 for it used.