The Field Guide

Collecting has a craft to it that no app can do for you — knowing what you're holding, what it's worth, and how to keep it. We write that down here, plainly, and for free.

Pressings

How to read a pressing

What the runout tells you, why a UK and a US first press of the same title are different records, and what a stamper code actually means. The one that matters most, so it's first.

Condition

What the grades actually mean

Mint through Poor, and the honest difference between VG+ and NM when there's real money in the gap — plus how to grade a sleeve and a record separately without fooling yourself.

Coming soon
Care

Storing and cleaning, without the myths

Upright, out of the sun, sleeved properly — and what actually helps a dirty record versus what just feels thorough. The short list that does most of the work.

Coming soon
Buying

Reading a listing before you buy

How to tell a described-honestly record from an optimistic one, which photos to ask for, and the questions worth asking before money changes hands.

Coming soon