On a VG+ record, I expect a few crackles and pops, but definitely not in any overwhelming fashion. I have bought records (in physical stores) whose grade I couldn't even assess as the vinyl was all but invisible under massive blankets of dust, dog hair, etc. A few of those never came back to providing a pleasurable listening experience, but a surprising percentage ended up quieter than many a new record after going through the Spinclean. It's a crap shoot most of the time.
Here's my take: If I expect complete silence and absence of any noise from an album, I buy the CD. Surface noise is just part of the whole vinyl thing, and if someone tells me their records play absolutely, 100% quiet, I have my doubts (Personally, I'd be tempted to think they're either lying or have poorer hearing than I do, but who am I to judge).
Even on a Mint (new and sealed) record, I expect a few pops here and there. On a NM record, I might actually expect
less surface noise, because it should have been cleaned properly. If a record that was sold to me as VG+ plays with lots and lots of noise even after going through the Spinclean, it will be reflected in the review I leave for the seller.
I
hate it when sellers expect me to rather send the record back than leave a review that's 100% positive, because to me, that practice only perpetuates the epidemic of all-too-optimistic grading. I think there has to be self-correcting mechanism in place, in the sense that if a seller grades too much on the optimistic side, they should be called on it. Otherwise, they'll just continue the practice. Plus, no, I
don't want to go through all that hassle of wrapping and shipping a record back to the seller. I don't mind the occasional surface noise, I just want them to be upfront about it from the beginning.
I grade my own records super-conservatively, and I expect others to do the same. So if a store owner (as has happened to me) replies to my question of whether I can take an opened and used record from from the 1980s out of its sleeve to examine it by saying, "don't even bother, the condition is Mint," I kinda wanna punch him.