Just wondering what everyone thinks about game and console grading? there is a place here in UK called UKG and they do toys aswell as video games. i have some sealed dream cast games and a sealed GameCube console resident evil edition. but they charge about £60.00 for console and £25.00 per game. is this just a waste of money or does it add value to an item? i know that the stuff will be well protected as it is in a Perspex case , just wondering what my fellow collectors think?
We have VGA grading service in the States and I seriously think they are useless. I don't know what criteria they base on to grade the games/consoles but I have seen a lot of variation. A beaten up boxed NES game received an 8 and another very good boxed condition NES game also received an 8. Their pricing is also not very affordable IMHO. Finally, I don't trust them handling my collection. I don't even let my siblings touch my stuffs so VGA is a no no. lol
Video game grading (VGA) is complete snake oil: 1. They are not experts. If they don't know or are unsure about some obscure item/game you send them, they will reject it. If you re-seal a product or provide them a product that looks legit, they will accept it. You can send them in a sealed Sapphire PC-Engine boot and they will very likely grade it. 2. They claim grading increases resale price. This is true, but only because you now need to cover the cost the VGA grading as well! Most VGA graded games are offered for sale at higher prices, but rarely do they sell. I've seen VGA graded games sell for CHEAPER than non-VGA graded games. 3. Your not really preserving anything. Getting your game locked in a tomb doesn't really do anything to preserve your game outside of very negligent handling. The case is not air tight and I doubt the shrink-wrap plastic would be of 'archive' quality anyway. Your better off putting it into a removable case yourself for protection. 4. The value of a game primarily has to do with the actual rarity and scarcity of the item. VGA grading an item doesn't instantly make something more valuable and rare. VGA grading a copy of SMB1 won't instantly make you rich. Just like comic books, value-added gimmicks don't make your comic any more valuable. Adding VGA grading won't do it ether. 5. Anyone who claims to have made money using VGA grading has only done so by selling out to other speculators. That is, selling to people who hope that a VGA graded game will appreciate in value more than a non-graded version. In addition, people who have VGA graded games are motivated and have a self-interest in promoting the fact that such items are worth more, simply because that is how they invested/gambled. I could go on, but that will end my rant for today! </rant>
Hahaaaa that answers my question thanks very much , and yes I agree games are meant to be open and played hence the only 2 sealed items I have are duplicates anyway. so in theory you could get a load of snowboard kids 2 boxes printed off and put any cart in them and seal it , then get it graded , so you basically don't even know what your buying anyway. thanks for the advice I will buy more of those plastic sleeves for my games.
And when the battery leaks inside the cartridge taking traces with it suddenly your VGA graded copy of Super Mario RPG is now worthless. Plus you've got to get of that damn case to even try to repair the traces. If you send them a sealed brick inside a box they'll happily grade it.
Whats QFT stand for ? I must be getting old as these new quick typing skeems keep getting popular even though it takes seconds to type three words.
In theory grading should be a good tool to verify authenticity on heavily bootlegged games. Actual results I don't know about. Not too interested in sealed games myself.
The real question though is whether grading has any advantage over appraisal. In fact, it probably only exists because formal appraisal isn't common enough to be a good tool. So yes, you're right. That would be one advantage of it.
There is no advantage to it because there is no proof the actual game or console is inside the box. Sealed collecting is pointless just like VGA.
It isn't. They happily grade bootlegged games, resealed etc they're happy to give a solid 92 for a $25 fee. This isn't like Dion and his King of Fighters, they just grade any old shit
The concept is important but currently I don't think anyone does it to the right standards or even for the right reasons.
