Sellers increasingly overgrade records

Conspiracy!

As a small time seller these comments are quite sobering. I have had recent success seling some sealed vinyl on Amazon. If I ever get my schedule together I hope to sell some vinyl on Discogs that I will clean with my KL Audio ultrasonic cleaner and then carefully audition. I do have mostly classical inventory but there are a few thousand non classical discs. What I have been wondering is how important the visual condition of the record is to buyers. If it plays beautifully but still has the discolorations and ultra fine marks from the inner sleeve does this matter or is playback the primary critenrion?

For me, it is playing quality; I'd take a clean player with micro abrasions or surface discolorations (as long as it isn't mold/fungus stain) over a mint looking record that sounds noisy, has clicks, groove wear, etc.
I'm also not as fanatical to seek mint covers and for Japanese records with Obi, I don't care- it's nice if it still has the sash, but I'm not going to spend much more to get a copy with an Obi- I'm more interested in the records themselves. In some cases, I have several copies of the same cover for the same pressing, I can swap a better one in when I find a good player, put in the correct inner sleeve and done. 
Play grading by the vendor isn't foolproof though, particularly if they haven't cleaned the record properly. 
Top dollar records (pick your price) should be play-graded on request if necessary, particularly when buying from overseas with longer wait times and expensive return shipping. Most sellers over the years have been pretty courteous to me. 
I have certainly had clunkers over the years, but my ratio of good players to bad is very positive- I buy not only from Discogs and eBay but from stores that have their own websites for specialty records, e.g., prog, old psych, etc. I will also go through certain phases where a particular dealer is really a good source for a while and then taps out, or the quality isn't as good, the inventory no longer of interest given a shift in my focus, etc.
Trytone- my experience has been that classical records are often in better shape than rock, pop, soul and R&B, particularly if they are already in the "audiophile" realm, e.g. EMI ASD, Decca, Lyrita, etc. When I was buying shaded dogs back in the '80s, though they were part of the audiophile 'list' thanks to people like Sid Marks, many were not in great condition, let alone for the price. I did buy quite a few monos for almost nothing then- nobody was interested in them. 
There are also market shifts in what is collectible or desirable. If you go to Popsike, you can see trends in pricing where a record will peak out at a top price, and today, is cheaper. (At a certain point, Popsike will want a fee if you use it a lot, but it isn't much.). 
Conservative grading is key in my estimation, but even the best sources sometimes flunk on a copy or two. Usually they make it up to me somehow if it is somebody that wants to maintain my business. 

For Jazz enthusiasts, Atomic Records in Burbank California is an excellent source for LP’s. The owners (two brothers) are very knowledgeable in the genre, and, though perhaps not audiophiles, have high standards regarding sound quality, and have a vacuum record cleaner (I have forgotten if it is a VPI or Nitty Gritty). They also price their LP’s more moderately than many "collector" stores. And, they are swell guys, a pleasant bonus!