---
title: "Condition Grading Guide for Resellers | Northwind Finds"
description: "A clear seven-step condition scale for secondhand listings, from new with tags to for repair, with what each grade means and what to disclose."
url: https://northwindfinds.shop/condition-grading-guide/
---

# Condition grading guide

Tick what you find when you check the piece. The picker suggests the grade it can honestly carry and writes the condition line for your listing.

## The Northwind condition scale

Seven grades, best first. The highlighted grade is the one the picker suggests.

1. ### New with tags (NWT)
   **Means:** Never worn or used, with the original tags or packaging still attached.
   **Disclose:** Whether the tags are original and complete, and any marks from storage or shop handling.
2. ### New without tags (NWOT)
   **Means:** Never worn or used, but the tags or packaging are gone.
   **Disclose:** How you know it is unused (bought and never worn, a gift), and any shop-sticker residue.
3. ### Excellent
   **Means:** Used, but you cannot find any sign of it even up close.
   **Disclose:** That it is pre-owned, and how often it was used if you know.
4. ### Very good
   **Means:** Light signs of use that you only notice when you look for them.
   **Disclose:** Each sign of use, such as light pilling or faint fading, with a close-up photo.
5. ### Good
   **Means:** Visible wear that does not stop it being worn or used.
   **Disclose:** Every flaw with its size and position, photographed in daylight.
6. ### Fair
   **Means:** Obvious flaws such as stains, small holes or missing parts; still usable or easy to fix.
   **Disclose:** Every flaw with measurements and photos, whether it can be repaired, and any smell.
7. ### For repair or parts
   **Means:** Does not work or wear as intended in its current state.
   **Disclose:** What is broken or missing, and what still works.

## Why a clear scale helps

"Good" means different things to different sellers, and a buyer who expected better is likely to ask for a return. This scale ties each grade to what you can see and says what to disclose. It is our own scale, not any platform's: when a marketplace offers its own condition options, choose the one whose definition matches and put the detail in your description.

Check the piece in daylight, inside and out: seams, cuffs, collars, linings, soles, zips and hardware, and smell it. Tick everything you find. One flaw sets the best grade the item can have however good the rest is, so the picker takes the lowest grade among your ticks. Then photograph each flaw close up and mention any repair you made.

## Questions

**Can a new item with tags still have a flaw?**

Yes, from storage or shop handling. The picker then drops it to the grade that flaw allows, and the condition line still says it is unused.

**Is vintage wear a flaw?**

Disclose it either way. Fading, patina or an old repair can be part of the appeal, but the buyer should know about it before buying, so list it and show it.

**Does "excellent" mean never used?**

No. On this scale anything worn or used, even once, starts at excellent; only unused items are graded as new.