So what is mint condition?

[Laurie]

[Laurie]

Ok so I was just looking on ebay at this auction
http://cgi.ebay.com/WINDSTONE-MALE-KI-RIN-ORIENTAL-UNICORN-BY-M-PENA-RARE_W0QQitemZ160192706743QQihZ006QQcategoryZ10862QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
The seller states there are chips on the hoves and one of the rear of kirin but “otherwise in mint condition”. To me mint condition is NO chips or marks whatsoever. I don’t care if the rest of the statue is pristine save a chip in one spot that is not mint. What do you guys consider mint condition?

[Anthony]

I consider “mint” Absolutely NO chips, maybe a small paint rub here an there. Its impossible to be “mint” when there is 3 chips >.<

[RiDuvessa]

I consider mint to be “as new.” No rubs, no chips, no nicks, everything intact. To me, the only acceptable flaw is for the piece to be a little dusty. Anything else is not mint.

[Travistie]

RiDuvessa wrote:

I consider mint to be “as new.” No rubs, no chips, no nicks, everything intact. To me, the only acceptable flaw is for the piece to be a little dusty. Anything else is not mint.

I agree. There should be no sign of damage whatsoever. A little dust can easily be removed.

[David]

To me, the point is that the seller is saying that “if the named defects were absent, the statue would be in mint condition”. This means that the ONLY things wrong with the statue are those named defects. The statue is not dusty, it has no flea-bites, no fingerprints, no minor surface scratches, no painting errors; nothing that could be considered a defect other than those three chips.

If this is indeed the case, then I see nothing wrong with the seller using “mint” in this context.

I don’t like it, because I would not use “mint” to describe anything that had been handled (“near mint” is as far as I’d be willing to go), but in the common use of the word (and it surely can’t get much more common than the way it’s bandied around on eBay) it’s like saying a set of collectible cards is “Complete except for numbers 3, 24, and 56”. Anyone reading that is able to understand that the collection is NOT complete; anyone reading “Mint except for…” knows that the item is NOT mint.

[Lokie]

My answer from another thread:

When someone is selling something on Ebay (and I’m the potential buyer) and describes the piece as “mint”, I expect that to mean that it is in the condition similar to when it left the factory. That said, I’ve gotten pieces from the factory that had slight rubs, missing gold detail, a paint fleck or two, and even one with a small scratch.

And two previous threads about this topic. It’s a pretty popular one 🙂
http://www.windstoneeditions.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=990&highlight=factory+mint
http://www.windstoneeditions.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4820&start=0

[PhoenixTears]

100% flawless.
Factory Fantastic

Some ppl here will say that MINT means the item should include the tag AND original box, and bearing not dust.

For me, I’ll accept MINT if it’s a bit dusty, has no tag or box because for me personally, these things do not matter as Im not buying to resell, ever. And if Im forced too, then tough noogies on me.

Ive received alleged MINT pieces that had TONS of paint scratches, major chips (but they didnt look at it from that angle), serious rubs in addition to one or both of the above mentioned. It’s disappointing when that happens.

As for this auction youre talking about, I side with Dave as far as her usage of the word MINT. If she hadnt mentioned the chips and I received it, Id raise hell.

I had questioned this buyer in the past (usual questions such as “are you positive this is MINT, meaning flawless? Can you describe how you would package this lovely piece?” Rather than simply answering me, she kinda snapped at me and said her feedback should speak for itself. That she wasnt foolish enough to sell something without listing it accurately. I wasnt accusing. I was coming off of other sales of so called MINT items, which were not, so I asked. As a seller myself, Id prefer ppl ask me ANY questions, even if it’s to back up my description. Sellers appreciate questions asked before bidding and as a buyer, Id rather be safe than sorry.

Bit of a tangent- sorry.

[Melody]

To me, mint means brand new, out of the box, or stored in a dust free showcase. I don’t call our paint samples mint, even if they are perfect and undamaged, because they have been sitting around in the factory, not kept in a box, and have been handled quite a bit.

[Pegasi1978]

For me mint is in condition similar to when it left the factory as well. I do allow some dust in my definition of mint. I don’t consider tags and boxes when classifying a piece as mint since some Windstones came without tags at one point and then had them added.

[Bob]

Melody wrote:

To me, mint means brand new, out of the box, or stored in a dust free showcase. I don’t call our paint samples mint, even if they are perfect and undamaged, because they have been sitting around in the factory, not kept in a box, and have been handled quite a bit.

There you go, but dust that can be disgarded very easily I think can still be considered mint, household dust not factory dust mind you.
If you tell me MINT it better be as though I’m opening a box from Windstone

[David]

You need to watch out for that dust. One of the problems with acrylic paint is that dirt (as in “household dust”) can become chemically attached to the surface and will NOT just brush off or wash off like it might with other painted surfaces, on other types of figurines.

If someone says a Windstone figurine is dusty, I don’t read this as being that they are merely too lazy to go over the piece with a cloth; I take it to mean that there is dust on it that will not come off.

I would, therefore, not consider it to be possible to have something be in mint condition AND dusty.

[Pegasi1978]

I guess I should clarify that I meant light dust and not caked-on dust. The sort of dust that you might get displaying the piece for a 2-3 weeks without dusting.

[PhoenixTears]

I know about the dust that sticks, but I guess in my own experience, items Ive received that have been dusty, have been able to be properly brushed off easily. So yes, it does depend on what kind of “dusty” were talking about. And when it’s a non-collector thats selling, I dont think theyd understand what we’d mean if we asked them to describe the nature of the dust. However, some might which would be helpful. Ive been lucky with dusty ones Ive received, so Ive nothing to complain about there.

[Author]

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