Just got in about 10 books from ebay seller genepliner, and I can definitly say he generally overgardes by .2 to .4 and even a half a grade or a full grade in scarcer cases. I purchased HOM 218 (all his grades) nm, 219 nm, 204 nm, 205 nm-this one may even be a only a 8.0, 211 nm, 212 nm, 215 nm, 217 nm, and 175 in fine--that was a fine minus. Without getting into each book, because they are not in front of me as I wrtie this, most books were a 9.0, maybe one was a 9.2, and one was a 8.5. I can say on the positive side, thay all have nice owtwp pages, a few even white, and he ships quickly and packs securely. But no backing boards.