Ungraded Stadium Events for $30k

[Estil | 1,265]

13 hours ago, OptOut said:

If you know what you are doing in this hobby, and you pay attention to what you are buying, build up the knowledge and the connections with trusted sellers etc. then there is absolutely no necessity to buy graded games as a form of protection as you suggest.

Well I still say better safe than sorry regardless.  I mean this right here is a perfect example of what you wouldn't want to find out after your purchase!

 

[OptOut | 8,892]

9 hours ago, Estil said:

Well I still say better safe than sorry regardless.  I mean this right here is a perfect example of what you wouldn't want to find out after your purchase! 

Well, have fun paying potentially thousands of dollars more for the same item, I guess! 

[Estil | 1,265]

1 hour ago, OptOut said:

Well, have fun paying potentially thousands of dollars more for the same item, I guess! 

Paying thousands of dollars on an item?  That'll be the day...  

[Tulpa | 3,537]

10 hours ago, Estil said:

Well I still say better safe than sorry regardless. 

Given all the inconsistencies we've seen in grading, what about that is any safer?

[Estil | 1,265]

4 hours ago, Tulpa said:

Given all the inconsistencies we've seen in grading, what about that is any safer?

*shrugs* It's obviously not a perfect system but is there really anything better?

[OptOut | 8,892]

1 hour ago, Estil said:

*shrugs* It's obviously not a perfect system but is there really anything better?

I'll stick to collecting video games the old fashioned way. 

[fcgamer | 4,754]

Grading companies shouldn't necessarily be authentication companies. These are totally different things.

Grading = condition

Authenticity = real

Unfortunately, these companies usually dip their toes in both areas, yet fail miserably at the latter, since any variant is going to get dismissed as fake. 

A company is only as good as the data it has. 

Edit: And I, like many collectors, generally don't share the information we've got, for a myriad of reasons, i.e. snagging good deals, preventing 1:1 fakes, etc etc etc

Edited March 27, 2022 by fcgamer

[Tulpa | 3,537]

5 hours ago, Estil said:

*shrugs* It's obviously not a perfect system but is there really anything better?

Yeah, it's called having a brain and researching what you're buying. Collectors have been doing that well before the grading companies weaseled their way into the hobby.

[Estil | 1,265]

38 minutes ago, Tulpa said:

Yeah, it's called having a brain and researching what you're buying. Collectors have been doing that well before the grading companies weaseled their way into the hobby.

Why not do both?  Like most things in life it's not an either/or proposition.

[Estil | 1,265]

4 hours ago, OptOut said:

I'll stick to collecting video games the old fashioned way. 

I only mean the games and cards of really high value.  And for the record YES I can and do research and be careful about getting real cartridges (such as GBA ones which are the most notorious for fakes sadly; those aren't nearly valuable enough to be worth being graded though)

[OptOut | 8,892]

8 minutes ago, Estil said:

I only mean the games and cards of really high value.  And for the record YES I can and do research and be careful about getting real cartridges (such as GBA ones which are the most notorious for fakes sadly; those aren't nearly valuable enough to be worth being graded though)

Where's the value cut off, in your mind then? A thousand dollars? 5 thousand? Ten thousand? 

Really the only reason most people get games graded is to inflate their resale value, there are a few who do it for their own satisfaction too, of course, and then I would imagine only a TINY minority use grading primarily for the purposes of authentication...

It's a VERY costly and time intensive process to get a game graded, there are FAR more efficient and effective methods to verify authenticity of a game even BEFORE you have bought it than sending it off to WATA.

[Tulpa | 3,537]

30 minutes ago, Estil said:

Why not do both?  Like most things in life it's not an either/or proposition.

Because you're needlessly throwing money away. Getting a graded game is no guarantee of getting authenticity, so why bother when you can just learn yourself what a real game looks like?

[Gulag Joe | 584]

31 minutes ago, OptOut said:

Where's the value cut off, in your mind then? A thousand dollars? 5 thousand? Ten thousand? 

Really the only reason most people get games graded is to inflate their resale value, there are a few who do it for their own satisfaction too, of course, and then I would imagine only a TINY minority use grading primarily for the purposes of authentication...

It's a VERY costly and time intensive process to get a game graded, there are FAR more efficient and effective methods to verify authenticity of a game even BEFORE you have bought it than sending it off to WATA.

I had many of my games graded by VGA a hundred years ago because the cost was about the same as a nice acrylic display case.

[Code Monkey | 2,014]

5 hours ago, OptOut said:

Where's the value cut off, in your mind then? A thousand dollars? 5 thousand? Ten thousand? 

Really the only reason most people get games graded is to inflate their resale value, there are a few who do it for their own satisfaction too, of course, and then I would imagine only a TINY minority use grading primarily for the purposes of authentication...

It's a VERY costly and time intensive process to get a game graded, there are FAR more efficient and effective methods to verify authenticity of a game even BEFORE you have bought it than sending it off to WATA.

Grading a game doesn't make it any more valuable. If you have a 9.4 A copy of a game, getting it graded at 9.4 A doesn't add any value to it, it's still worth the same amount. There's a difference in adding value to something and confirming value in something.

I just had a game graded because I wasn't sure if I should sell it at a 8.0 condition or a 9.0 condition and the difference between the 2 is thousands of dollars. I had no idea what the condition is and I don't want to misprepresent it so now that I have it graded, I can confidently assign the correct price to it. No value was added, it simply confirmed the value it already had.

[Estil | 1,265]

On a related note, I'm not so sure about comic book collecting...whether graded or in a regular holder (I think it's clear front and cardboard back or something) how the heck are you supposed to read it without risking wrecking it?   At least with trading cards or coins or stamps, whether graded or in an album you can easily see both sides without having to take it out.

[Tulpa | 3,537]

20 hours ago, Estil said:

On a related note, I'm not so sure about comic book collecting...whether graded or in a regular holder (I think it's clear front and cardboard back or something) how the heck are you supposed to read it without risking wrecking it?

Graded: You don't.

Regular holders: with tweezers.

 

Of course if you just want to read it, I'm sure someone has a scan of it somewhere.

[DefaultGen | 5,436]

23 hours ago, Estil said:

On a related note, I'm not so sure about comic book collecting...whether graded or in a regular holder (I think it's clear front and cardboard back or something) how the heck are you supposed to read it without risking wrecking it?   At least with trading cards or coins or stamps, whether graded or in an album you can easily see both sides without having to take it out.

READ it??

[DarkTone | 988]

I remember taking a gamble on a competition cart. And by gamble, I didnt even think to ask any questions. 

To spend that amount on a game, there must be SO much research to be done. 

[Link | 2,738]

On 3/27/2022 at 3:21 PM, Estil said:

 or in a regular holder (I think it's clear front and cardboard back or something) how the heck are you supposed to read it without risking wrecking it?   

It's a bag. The flap is sometimes secured with scotch tape. It's not difficult to open. 

[Estil | 1,265]

1 hour ago, Link said:

It's a bag. The flap is sometimes secured with scotch tape. It's not difficult to open. 

I didn't ask how to open it, I asked how are you supposed to read the comic without risking wrecking it?

[Estil | 1,265]

6 hours ago, Tulpa said:

Graded: You don't.

Regular holders: with tweezers.

 

Of course if you just want to read it, I'm sure someone has a scan of it somewhere.

I've seen some but I reckon even now the number of comics (of all eras) actually scanned/available online to read is a tiny TINY fraction of what's available.

[Tulpa | 3,537]

32 minutes ago, Estil said:

I've seen some but I reckon even now the number of comics (of all eras) actually scanned/available online to read is a tiny TINY fraction of what's available.

I dunno, there's some pretty enterprising people with a scanner out there.

Besides, how many are you actually going to read?

[Link | 2,738]

1 hour ago, Estil said:

I didn't ask how to open it, I asked how are you supposed to read the comic without risking wrecking it?

... you lay it carefully on a clean table and turn the pages gently? Wear latex gloves, or use tweezers as Tulpa said if you're extremely concerned? This isn't the incredible mystery you're making it out to be. 

[Link | 2,738]

I have no problem pulling out any of my comics to read. I own far more comic books than video games, and unless the issue in question is already deteriorated, it really isn't the slightest bit difficult. While cheap, thin newsprint is more common in that space, especially with older material, it's conceptually no different than reading a magazine. The type of comic books that range in four figure prices and up are collected in trade paperbacks not always, but quite frequently, and that's a perfectly adequate solution for readers. As are reprints and lower condition copies. In my opinion, grading is more sensible in comics and doesn't always require slabbing. Although the demand for that has been increasing for decades, thankfully at a slower pace than that of games; but it has also been a precursor to the madness that is going on now. 

Edited March 29, 2022 by Link

[Matchbook | 194]

4 hours ago, Estil said:

I didn't ask how to open it, I asked how are you supposed to read the comic without risking wrecking it?

"Turn the page, wash your hands.  Turn the page, wash your hands.  Turn the page, wash your hands."

-Filburt Shellbach

Edited March 29, 2022 by Matchbook