Subject:
|
Re: Yet another CLUELESS about MIB
|
Newsgroups:
|
lugnet.market.auction
|
Date:
|
Thu, 3 Feb 2000 17:51:56 GMT
|
Viewed:
|
1472 times
|
| |
|
|
Steve Bliss <blisses@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:gbaZOHyTkFg2XctxW9Twi3U+QEgk@4ax.com...
> In lugnet.market.auction, Mike Poindexter wrote:
>
> > I don't know about your interpretation, but I always thought the M in MIB
> > was Mint. Mint is a condition, not a level of completeness.
>
> 'Mint', in a perfect world, means *perfect*. In a slightly more realistic
> world, it means 'in the same condition as it left the factory'. 'Mint' is • a
> heavily misused and abused term.
Consulting Websters Dictionary, mint is defined as: adj. not marred or
soiled, as if new.
That once again defines a level of condition, not completeness.
>
> (In the eBay world, 'Mint' means 'I really want to sell this item for a • high
> price')
>
> > The IB is for
> > In Box, which is not the same as MISB, a Sealed Box, which implies
> > completeness.
>
> 'In Box' is redundant. A set cannot be Mint if there's no box.
Then by that standard, there can be no mint polybag sets because there is no
box. Oh, do you mean requireing original packaging? Well, I know some
pieces were sold without a box. Does this mean that they were never mint?
Set 214 1-10 comes to mind, as I have the original display box for it.
How are the pieces "marred or soiled" just because there is no box?
>
> Likewise, 'Sealed' is redundant. A set cannot be Mint if the seals have • been
> broken.
Then sets from the 50's and early 60's were never mint, since they didn't
have seals? Sealed is another condition, this time of the box.
>
> > This is an incomplete set MIB - condition Mint, with Box, but
> > not complete.
>
> Nope. A set cannot be Mint if it is missing pieces. Period, the end.
I had a collection of coins that were mint. Oh, sorry, they weren't mint
because I didn't have the 1970D half dollar. The set isn't a complete set,
but a partial set. What condition is it in? Well, since mint isn't
available, how about Uncirculated, which is a synonym for mint.
Now since you have said that a set cannot be mint if it is missing pieces
and also has to be sealed, how can we be sure that these sets are really
mint. They might be missing a piece due to packaging error. They are still
sealed and in mint condition, yet since it really isn't "complete" it can't
be mint. the only way to tell is to open it and then you declare it isn't
mint anymore.
>
> It might be that the individual pieces can be accurately described as • Mint, but
> not the entire set.
>
> > The stickers are not applied, but included. Sounds like MIB - missing • one
> > piece to me.
>
> At the risk of sounding like a broken record, 'missing a piece' means that • it
> ain't Mint.
At the risk of sounding like I am getting hot under the collar, look up a
word before you define it on the web. This sounds like somebody is clueless
about MIB and it ain't me.
>
> > How would you describe a set in mint condition that is missing a few • pieces
> > and still has the box?
>
> 'In great condition, but missing a piece. Piece X, to be exact. All • other
> pieces are in perfect, mint condition.'
>
> > MIB is not necessarily perfect. MISB would be, with the possible • exception
> > of a battered (but still sealed) box.
>
> Nope. Mint is perfect. Damaged box, opened box, missing box, missing
> instructions, applied stickers, missing pieces, all these things mean the • set is
> *not* mint.
>
> Steve
I think that we are running into a disagreement over what mint is. I use
what has been defined by the dictionary. If you want to ascribe your own
definition to a word, fine. But don't be angry when others don't use it in
your terms. The only way they can figure out what it means is to look it
up.
Perfect is defined as: 1. adj. complete or correct in every way, conforming
to a standard or ideal with no omissions, errors, flaws or extraneous
elements.
Nowhere does perfect state a reference to mint. I think that you have
thought of mint as being perfect. Perfect is a description of condition and
completeness, whereas mint is just a description of condition.
We all use words every day, yet rarely look them up to get their exact
meaning. I have made similar mistakes before and will make them again. We
all do. But this guy got his description correct.
On a tangent, when collecting coins, I noticed that there were three main
levels of mint, MS-60, MS-65, MS-70 (actually a scale from MS-60 to MS-70,
as I had seen MS-63 coins). This would not have been possible if mint was
perfect. It is mainly because new doesn't mean perfect. Items could come
from the mint and still have nicks, scratches, etc. that would lower the
condition, even though it was still technically "mint" in the regards to
being in the state as just coming from the mint.
Mike Poindexter
|
|
Message has 4 Replies:
 | | Re: Yet another CLUELESS about MIB
|
| massive editing for space I believe time has come to stop arguing about dictionary definitions. More often than not what a word actually means in context is different from the definition. In the context of a collectable "whatever" environment, in (...) (25 years ago, 3-Feb-00, to lugnet.market.auction)
| | | Re: Yet another CLUELESS about MIB
|
| massive editing for space I believe time has come to stop arguing about dictionary definitions. More often than not what a word actually means in context is different from the definition. In the context of a collectable "whatever" environment, in (...) (25 years ago, 3-Feb-00, to lugnet.market.auction)
| | | Re: Yet another CLUELESS about MIB
|
| In lugnet.market.auction, Mike Poindexter writes: Ignoring the nitpicking (polybags and 50's/60's sets)... (...) No, I think the disagreement is more about what is in mint condition, not what mint is. The title of the auction in question was "LEGO (...) (25 years ago, 3-Feb-00, to lugnet.market.auction)
| | | Re: Yet another CLUELESS about MIB
|
| (...) When a set is bought from a store, there is a strong expectation that the set is complete. Completeness is part of the 'as if new' condition. I realize there are a certain percentage of sets which leave the factory with missing, wrong, or (...) (25 years ago, 4-Feb-00, to lugnet.market.auction)
|
Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Yet another CLUELESS about MIB
|
| (...) 'Mint', in a perfect world, means *perfect*. In a slightly more realistic world, it means 'in the same condition as it left the factory'. 'Mint' is a heavily misused and abused term. (In the eBay world, 'Mint' means 'I really want to sell this (...) (25 years ago, 3-Feb-00, to lugnet.market.auction)
|
16 Messages in This Thread:
  
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
This Message and its Replies on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
