Standards

What "sealed" means here

"Sealed" means the factory shrink is observed intact, with no evidence of resealing observed. We check the shrink seam, the placement of any hype sticker, the adhesion of any retailer sticker, and the overall texture of the shrink film. These checks tell us what is consistent with an unopened factory wrap; they cannot rule out a very careful reseal without opening the copy, which we do not do. Where that distinction matters, the condition phrase says so directly rather than implying a certainty we don't have.

How condition is described

Every copy's condition is one of five exact phrases, never a grade:

• "Sealed; shrink intact; case unbroken" - The factory shrink is intact and the case underneath shows no cracks.
• "Sealed; shrink intact; light shelf wear" - The factory shrink is intact; the only wear is light handling or shelf wear to the shrink or case corners.
• "Sealed; shrink torn or lifted; case unbroken" - The shrink has a tear or has lifted along an edge, but the case itself is unbroken.
• "Sealed; cracked case under intact shrink" - The case is cracked, but the shrink covering it remains intact.
• "Sealed; resealing cannot be ruled out" - The shrink is present, but its seam, texture, or sticker placement does not let us rule out that the copy was opened and resealed.

The disc itself is never graded - it is sealed inside the case and unseen. Sticker condition is recorded separately, as part of the sticker transcription, not folded into this phrase.

How retailer stickers are documented

A retailer sticker is photographed in place and transcribed exactly as printed - retailer, date, and price, in whatever form they appear. Stickers are never removed. A date claim about a copy is only made when three things exist together: a macro photo of the sticker itself, a photo of the back of the case showing the barcode, and photos of the shrink seams. Any one of those missing means no date claim is made.

Classification

As of this page's last build, 0 of 102 copies in the catalog carry a classification.

Release Window requires a retailer sticker with a printed full date within six months of the edition's release, an edition identified as first-run for its country, and the sticker photographed in place with adhesion consistent with its age. Release Era requires a sticker date within twenty-four months of the original release, or a retailer or price format datable to that period, and the edition must not be identified as a later reissue. Sealed Retail Record covers a sealed copy with retail evidence on the object whose timing fails both thresholds above. A copy with no retail evidence on the object carries no classification. A sticker date found on a later reissue caps at Sealed Retail Record: it dates the sticker, not the pressing.

Some catalog pages say "Sticker reported near release." That is the owner's report that the copy's store sticker is dated at or near the album's release, recorded before the sticker has been transcribed and photographed. It is not a classification, and it does not count toward the number above.

What a retailer date can and cannot prove

A retailer sticker establishes one thing directly: this copy carries a store sticker with that date printed on it. From that it is reasonable to infer that a shop priced, labelled or handled the copy around that date. It does not establish when the copy was sold: a sticker can go on a copy before it sells, and nothing on the object records the sale itself.

Nor does a sticker date show when the disc was manufactured. It does not identify the pressing plant or the mastering used on that disc. A sticker date can be corroborated by the catalog number, the barcode, and the inlay printing on the same copy, but never by the cover artwork alone, since artwork is often unchanged across pressings and reissues.

Streaming and the disc

A streaming link on a CD page lets you hear the album. It is not a claim that the stream is the same mastering as the disc, unless the page says so explicitly.