Missing buttons
Also: lost buttons · absent fasteners
Missing buttons are fasteners that have fallen off a shirt, coat, or cardigan, leaving empty thread shanks or bare holes where they belong. They interrupt closure, are easy to overlook on a spare cuff button, and count under functional elements because they affect whether the garment can be worn as designed.
How to detect it
- Count buttons against buttonholes — one extra hole means one is gone
- Check the spare-button pocket and cuff plackets, where losses hide
- Look for loose, dangling buttons that will be missing on arrival
Grade impact
Missing buttons are graded under Functional Elements (15%). A single missing spare or interior button is minor and stays near Very Good (7); a missing front or cuff button that stops the garment closing properly pushes it to Good (6) or Fair (5).
Fixability
Easily fixed and often worth it. A matching replacement, or moving a spare from an inside seam, restores function and grade. Mismatched replacements should themselves be disclosed as non-original.
How to disclose it
State which button is gone ('missing second-from-top front button') and whether a spare is included. Buyers forgive a disclosed missing button; a photo that hides the gap does not.
Missing buttons — frequently asked
- How much does one missing button lower the grade?
- A single missing interior or spare button is minor and barely moves the grade. A missing functional front or cuff button that stops the garment closing as designed is weighed under Functional Elements and drops it toward Good or Fair.
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