Its not the grading scale, its the grader. No one could ever describe this as excellent on any kind of objective basis. Sorry you got taken. Your are right, artani is wrong. I've always found everything on this site to be as described, and have had some minor quibbles on ebay, but nothing that remotely approaches this. Bummer.
Audiogon Grading Scale - the gold standard?
I recently got duped by an eBay seller's item representation, "...excellent cosmetically." Seller offers no equitable restitution, maintaining we merely have a difference of "opinion" as to the meaning of "excellent." My question is, how effective do you feel the "Audiogon Grading Scale" has been in eliminating misunderstandings/misrepresentations that would otherwise arise by way of subjective characterizations? I am pleased to say it's been working quite well thus far for me. Any suggestions as to how it might be further improved upon? BTW, for those interested, why not get a laugh out of this at my expense (literally). Check out http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1291871809