I'm not going to show off about my U2 vinyl but it has been collected since the early 80s so it hasn't really been a mean feat. Anyhow, in my persute to live a less materialistic lifestyle, I'm in the process of parting with a lot of it.
so, IMO and after 20 or so years of collecting U2 stuff.....
GRADING:
MINT is precisely that and serious collectors will very rarely use that term since strictly speaking nothing is truly mint unless it has been pressed perfectlly, sealed and kept in a vacuum for its life. NEAR MINT is perfect with no marks whatsoever. EXCELLENT will have one or two visible marks under strong lighting but will not be audible, VERY GOOD will have one or two audible clicks, GOOD will have maybe a bit more noise but no jumps, FAIR will have quite a lot of surface noise maybe with some clicking but again no jumps, POOR will have jumps. Everyone grades differently, so really all I've said about grading is really superfulous as it's subjective - one person's MINT is another person's VERY GOOD or GOOD.....unfortunately. I very rarely get NEAR MINT or EXCELLENT quality vinyl on eBay - especially when we're refering to the condition of the covers.
Note that U2 THREE and Another Day (and in fact all the early singles on the CBS label) have been re-released MANY times in collectors packs. Many fans, or newbie collectors, get disappointed when they realise that their version of U2 THREE was actually a re-release from several years later than 1979. Just because it says 1979 on the label doesn't mean that's when your copy was actually made. There are ways to tell, for instance with U2 THREE, the original release has a 'UKTM' number printed after the copyright info aswell as other stuff including a sunburst label, paper sleeve, thumbcut etc. There are lots of websites that'll guide you on this.
Interesting...collectable and valuable vinyl includes albums from the 90s - Zooropa and The Best Of 1980 to 1990. I have seen the latter (UK version) reach over $175 on eBay in the past! ebay of course is NOT a good indication on how much something is truly worth. standard 7" singles from War, Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum have very little value and I would not pay much for them.