What does MINT mean to you?

My first experience with the term "mint" came when I was very young. My grandfather gave me a special silver dollar that came in a hard plastic case inside of another sturdy jewelry box. What made it mint, I was told, was that it was truly 100% perfect. Absolutely brand new, likely never even touched by a human finger. Right after it was made, it was placed in said case before it had time to get even a little contaminated.

Then there was baseball cards. My friends and I would go to the collectors' shows in the mall and get lectured if we looked at some nerd's mint Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card wrong. Again, the understanding was that these cards were taken out of their package, in laboratory-like conditions, and immediately put in a protective case.

Now, people are calling this mint:




Traded for these wheels a couple months ago. Met up with the guy on a cloudy day, the wheels were a bit dirty, and I simply didn't see this. Shame on me. I cleaned them up and under good lighting saw the swirls of a lifetime. Now, there weren't any deep scratches or curb rash, but cmon, MINT?

Took about an hour per wheel with a Mother's PowerBall Mini and m105 to get them to this:




So what should we really call wheels like this? 8/10, 7/10?

And what does "mint" mean to you? Should it be reserved for the best of the best of the best condition items? Or are my standards too high?

I agree with you
Mint means brand new untouched flawless
Which wheels are those? You did a damn fine job polishing them

Id call those pretty close to mint. They are black thats the only reason you see light scratches on the clear coat. Now if there was deep scratches that wouldn't come out is a different story. id give them a 9/10 or at the lowest 8.5/10.

I'd describe mint as equal to new. Few used things are mint even if the seller says so. You have those wheels looking good.

I think mint means either A) new or B) used but perfect and without any blemishes

Yes, I consider Mint Condition as looks like new but not new. I would rate those wheels as 8/10 with hairline scratches.

iAhhMaze said:

Id call those pretty close to mint. They are black thats the only reason you see light scratches on the clear coat. Now if there was deep scratches that wouldn't come out is a different story. id give them a 9/10 or at the lowest 8.5/10.

Click to expand...

I agree them being black accentuates the issues. It's likely a very soft clear which not only allowed the swirls to happen easier, but in turn allowed me to polish them out easier as well.

I guess my whole point is people are throwing the term "mint" around like nothing, and now it means nothing. Because we do so much buying and selling online these days, we need to be able to trust eachother to a certain extent to make that possible. Accurately representing the condition of the items we sell is vital to establish that trust.

luvdagators said:

I agree with you
Mint means brand new untouched flawless
Which wheels are those? You did a damn fine job polishing them

Click to expand...

TSW Nurburgring custom gloss black and thank you.

spagett! said:

I agree them being black accentuates the issues. It's likely a very soft clear which not only allowed the swirls to happen easier, but in turn allowed me to polish them out easier as well.

I guess my whole point is people are throwing the term "mint" around like nothing, and now it means nothing. Because we do so much buying and selling online these days, we need to be able to trust eachother to a certain extent to make that possible. Accurately representing the condition of the items we sell is vital to establish that trust.



TSW Nurburgring custom gloss black and thank you.

Click to expand...

Yeah i understand. Its frustrating that's why i try to get as many pictures as possible of what im buying. Hell i remember couple years ago when i still had my B8 and ordered coilovers from a guy who said he had them mounted for 4 months during the summer only 6k on them. In pictures they looked clean and fair condition said they were like new lol. Once i received them one of the struts was completely FUC*ED. The top of the strut where the mount bolts on to had a notch in it like it had been rubbing on something for months and tried to tell me it was fine he had been driving like that with no issues. Did i flip sh**

Here is the strut i was talking about was able to still find pics of it

whitewolf33 said:

I think mint means either A) new or B) used but perfect and without any blemishes

Click to expand...

This is how i would describe "mint condition"

Definition of Mint Condition.

Mint condition is an expression used in the description of pre-owned goods. Originally, the phrase related to the way collectors described the condition of coins. As the name given to a coin factory is a "mint", then mint condition is the condition a coin is in when it leaves the mint.


So yeah "mint condition" is either Brand new or used but shows no sign of use or blemish of any mark.

You do have high standards, but if someone called them mint you shouldn't have to put 4 hours into them. People throw adjectives around without really meaning what they say, he should have at least cleaned them up for you.

The seller didn't clean them to hide the scratches. Clean wheels would have given away their condition. He knew exactly what he was doing with his mint wheels.

as someone that is only within the past year or so coming to understand paint defects and such, i would have called the original ones mint. but if you're trading wheels to someone that has obviously used them before and you expect them to be like new after being exposed to the elements and such, that's on you. i've had someone get pissed because i said wheels were in good condition and he complained about scratches where the lug bolts go. so it all depends really. but personally i identify mint as no permanent damage i.e. you might need to clean them but otherwise no repair needed.

blower said:

Click to expand...

:bellyroll::bellyroll: