Condition Grading

We grade honestly. Full stop.

If you've ever ordered a second-hand book online and opened the package to find something completely different to what was described, you're not alone. Mislabelled condition grades are one of the most common complaints about second-hand book sellers, and frankly it's something that drove us mad as book buyers long before we became book sellers.

Books listed as Very Good arriving with water damage. "Like New" copies with cracked spines and highlighter throughout. Ex-library books with no mention of stamps or stickers. It happens constantly with the big international resellers, and it erodes trust in second-hand buying altogether.

We started Dilemma's Books partly because we wanted to do this properly. Every single book in our collection is graded by hand before it goes anywhere near the shelf. If it doesn't meet the grade, it doesn't go on the site. Simple as that.

Here's exactly what our grades mean:

Like New Essentially indistinguishable from a new copy. No visible wear, no markings, no damage. May have been read once or not at all.

Very Good Minor signs of previous ownership, a small crease on the spine or light scuffing on the cover. No writing, no highlighting, no damage. Reads perfectly.

Good Some visible wear consistent with a well-loved book. May have a previous owner's name or light sticker residue. All pages intact and fully readable. No torn pages, no water damage, no heavy marking.

Acceptable Noticeably worn but completely readable. May have underlining or annotations. We only stock Acceptable condition where the book is genuinely hard to find or out of print, and we'll always say so clearly in the listing.

Our promise: if a book arrives in worse condition than described, we will refund the cost of that book. No questions asked, no awkward back and forth. We mean it.