Four tiers, no upgrade framing, no loose grammar.
Every copy runs through the same five-minute bench pass before it reaches the shelf. The tier on the listing is the tier in the box. No "like new", no "near mint-ish", no asterisks.
Most second-hand shops hide behind a kind scale. A copy is listed as "very good" and arrives honestly middling; a console is listed as "excellent" and lands scuffed on every rail. We priced our time against that ambiguity and decided it was cheaper to be strict on the bench than to process returns.
So our scale has four tiers with plain names. No asterisks, no "plus/minus", no hidden fifth tier for the rare stuff. If a seal survives, we photograph the seal. If a case hinge is cracked, the crack is in frame. If a cartridge has yellowing, it is in the first photo and not buried on the carousel.
- 01
Shelf-new
Factory seal or as close as it gets.
Sealed copies are flagged with a dedicated photo of the seal on every side. We do not fake a seal, and we do not list a loose copy under this label no matter how clean it reads.
Bench · sealed-stock drawer - 02
Fine
Everyday rotation copy.
Light handling marks, clean disc surface, complete case. The default on the deck — most of the catalogue sits in this band. Manual intact unless the listing says otherwise.
Bench · rotation shelf - 03
Honest
Priced for players, not for display.
Plays end-to-end on the test rig. Expect shelf rub, a sticker residue, a foxed manual, or a softened spine — all photographed before dispatch. Works perfectly; looks its age.
Bench · test rig - 04
Rescue
Disc-only or case-rough. Still spins.
A specific, documented flaw. We list the exact fault, photograph it, and price against it. Swap window still applies if the fault differs from the description.
Bench · parts drawer
What every copy goes through
- Optical pass
- Discs inspected under an angled bench lamp for read-surface integrity. Resurfaced where the plane is healthy; rejected where it is not. The answer "yes but" gets a Rescue tier, not a generous one.
- Completeness
- Case hinges, inner teeth, manual, inserts, stickers and region codes all logged on the listing before the price is set. Missing inserts are never ignored — they are listed line by line.
- Power-on test
- Every hardware item boots on a real console with a real pad on a real display. Handhelds run a two-hour battery loop before boxing. No "sold as-is" shortcuts on electronics.
Why our scale is shorter than most
Longer scales make the bench slower and the returns more frequent. When a shop uses seven tiers, the difference between "very good" and "good plus" becomes subjective by the sixth listing. A four-tier scale forces the grader to commit to a category. If the copy straddles two tiers, we grade it down. That is the only rule and it solves most arguments before they happen.
A shorter scale also means the price ladder is legible. A Fine copy is roughly 70% of the Shelf-new price. Honest is roughly 50%. Rescue is priced against the specific fault. You can read a listing and know where it sits without a glossary.
Asked often about the grade
When they come through. Sealed stock lives in the Shelf-new tier with its own photo of every sealed side. We never relabel a loose copy as sealed.
Yes — message the booth with the title. Close-ups of case, disc, and manual go back the same working day during weekday hours.
The swap window is ten days from delivery. If you disagree with the grade, we replace the copy from stock or refund in full, whichever you prefer.
Mostly. Controllers and peripherals use the same four tiers, with an extra line for stick drift / battery cycles / rubber wear. Cables and SD cards are binary — they either pass the bench or they do not ship.
