Please understand that pins are not always perfect - they're made by hand and can have imperfections from the manufacturing process. Every pin maker's grading standards are different, and I try my best to be very transparent about mine. If you have any questions about grading or would like to see samples of a pin grade you might receive, please contact me before purchasing and I'll be happy to help!

* The back and sides of the pin are not usually included in my grading. If there are any issues specific to a particular pin design, I will address them prior to its drop.

A Grade

These pins are the best of the batch - they usually have very few minor imperfections that can only be noticed upon close inspection (i.e. different lighting/angles). These can include:

• Small amounts of stray dust, glitter, or enamel
• Small areas of discoloration or staining
• Light scuffs, scratches, or dents
• Slight enamel underfill/overfill in small areas
• Slightly misaligned screen print
• Minor enamel miscoloration
• Slight enamel bleeding
• Slight overpolishing (thickness of metal lines does not significantly impact the overall design)
• Small areas of missing metal plating
• Minor defects in transparent enamel/glitter/epoxy effects
• Wobbly and/or slightly bent posts

* If a minor defect is found in 50% or more of the same pins from a single batch, it will be considered as an A grade for that batch.

A/B Grade

These pins are very close to being A grade pins, but have 1~2 more noticeable minor defects from the above list. These do not have a significant impact on the overall design.

B Grade

These pins have more minor/major defects that are noticeable on the overall design. These can include:

• Multiple areas of dust, glitter, or stray enamel
• Significantly noticeable areas of discoloration or staining
• Excessive areas with scuffs, scratches, or dents
• Enamel underfill/overfill in large areas
• Miscolored enamel 
• Misaligned or errored screen print
• Enamel miscoloration
• Large areas of enamel bleeding
• Overpolishing (thickness of metal lines impacts the overall design)
• Multiple areas of missing metal plating
• Multiple noticable defects in transparent enamel/glitter/epoxy effects
• Moving posts

C Grade

These pins usually have multiple minor and/or major defects (from the above lists) in noticable areas. These defects are deemed to have a significant impact on the overall design of the pin.