Have you ever purchased a vintage garment, that you thought would arrive in one condition, but instead arrived in far worse shape than you had anticipated? 

Grading condition on clothing is a very subjective process.  A flaw that you would perhaps find unacceptable, someone else might not even notice.  Conversly, something that may seem like a big deal to a seller, may turn out to be not such a big deal to you.  In example, I once purchased a dress that had several pinholes on the front of the bodice which led the seller to sell it in fair condition.  However, I intended on wearing a brooch on the dress which nicely covered the holes, and so it did not matter to me in the least. 

On my own listings, I have devised a scale of condition that I feel can tell you a great deal about the garments you are looking at.  I also make it a point to try and specifically note any areas of condition issues, their size and location on the garment (as the above example demonstrates, that does matter).  Rather than saying, stain on dress, or something else non descript, I try and say 3" light brown stain in a circular patter on bodice" or something that will let you know exactly what is going on with the item. If the seller does not have such  specific information, ask ask ask ask ask!!!  That avoids any disappointment when the item arrives, and you notice that something is not what you expected it to be. 

The condition scale I have on all of my listings is as follows:

Flawless: Mint condition with no flaws at all. There
won't be any stains, tears, discoloration, chips, dings, crazing, cracking or other  nastiness.