OT but intresting - Toy Grading..

[Silvers24]

Looking on ebay, decided to search for Optimus Prime

And came along this auction. http://cgi.ebay.com/2004-TRANSFORMERS-20...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Anyone knew about this company AFA, or the thought you could get toys graded???

 

Linky: http://toygrader.com/index.aspx

 

What do you guys think about this??

[nickwire]

i get the toy mags every so often to see whats going on and people have been selling graded toys for quite a while now

[heinlein99]

I've known about it for some time. They must be able to create some really big slabs, because some of the things they grade are rather large (compared to a comic, anyway). I suspect it's soft plastic, but still.

 

It makes as much sense as anything else, really...

[AnthaiHERO]

i used to collect toys, but never had them graded. i basically looked for factory sealed figures that were mint on card. mostly final fantasy and evangelion figures.

[FrankCastle]

Hey guys.

The plastic is hard plastic just like the CGC case, but the price goes up based on the size of the toy being graded. The most I've paid is about $85 for one toy to be graded, but items like Castle Greyskull or a large GI Joe jet for instance are up in the $150-200 range per item.

It works the same as the comic grading phenomenon, as stuff that was supposedly common just isn't in high grade (early 1980's GI joe figures for instance), and the premiums they command are insane, but again, just like comics.

It's only a matter of time that everything we consider pop culture will be graded, there is just too much money in it.

Jay

[HULKTOM]

I have an Ultimate Hulk figure AFA graded (it's the only Hulk Toy I've found so far). They don't seem to grade to many of those figures. However, I've never sent any of my own for grading (to busy with the comics for now). Maybe in the future.

[Silvers24]

, that's cool.

I would love to try one of my toys haha.

 

THeir gonna be at the WW Chicago. cool

[carcrawfordfan]

I think I was one of the first people to get my toys AFA graded about 5 years ago. It was all the rage for a while, but it is much harder to find a "gradable" toy and the costs have gone up substanially since the inception. They also grade much lower than the original owners and it just does not seem worth it anymore. At the very least they can identify resealed toys and things of that nature. I thought it was a great idea and was actually in a small race with them to start a service of that kind. They obviously won and I gave up!!!

[Raphael]

it collecting toys was my thing, i'd be all over that.

 

but the way i see it, most toys are inspired by comic books, so grading comics is where it's at for me

[Michael2007-migration]

It's not just action figures and "boys' toys" that are being graded now...I saw a full-page ad soliciting submissions for DOLL grading. I just don't think grading dolls' boxes is going to catch on the way it has with action figures. It seems that if you have a vintage action figure collection with halfway decent packaging, it pays you to get them graded by AFA. I used to have a really choice 1977-1978 Star Wars action figure collection (most of the original 12, plus the first carded 21-back Boba Fett) that had fantastic cards (I purchased them at a local auction). Unfortunately, I was an *spoon* and sold them to Brian's Toys at their published Buy Prices some years back before realizing I had a gold mine in those gems...I'm sure they would have bought me a new car today.

Michael

[Guardian Comics]

They have been around for almost as long as CGC but hasn't quite caught on with most toy collectors as much as CGC has. They don't grade restored toys, which I always thought was a mistake. If they see something has been touched up, they just send it back explaining that the toy has been touched up. The prices on regular action figures stay the same but on huge toys that don't get submitted very often they indeed do charge a heavy premium, just to cover the cost of creating a one of a kind custom acrylic case.

 

Jim