WATA Pop Reports are HERE

[ThePhleo | 2,184]

Here's some fun data.

Seems like for NES, the average CIB is 7.5

That tells me that people generally overestimate the condition of their CIBs, because who in their right mind would submit something and say "Yeah, it's in terrible condition...but it's only $175 to grade and I'll see it in 3 months!"

Also, it seems wata should consider drawing the line at 6.0 instead of 6.5 because I can’t stand seeing the <6.5 column being taller than 6.5

Edited December 21, 2022 by ThePhleo

[3rdStrongestMole | 430]

56 minutes ago, ThePhleo said:

Here's some fun data.

Seems like for NES, the average CIB is 7.5

That tells me that people generally overestimate the condition of their CIBs, because who in their right mind would submit something and say "Yeah, it's in terrible condition...but it's only $175 to grade and I'll see it in 3 months!"

Also, it seems wata should consider drawing the line at 6.0 instead of 6.5 because I can’t stand seeing the <6.5 column being taller than 6.5

So hard to get any CIB over 9.0 especially NES. I think maybe what it is more than anything is people having a really nice box or cart and submitting the whole thing and then the manual gets a low grade and ruins the average. I'm about to submit a pretty pristine Ghostbusters 2 CIB so we'll see how it goes,  but I'll be stoked if it's over 9.0

[Gulag Joe | 582]

I have a few CIBs graded. Everything has to be perfect to reach a 9 and I have frankensteined a few of them to get there. It’s just frustrating when you have a minty box and cart (9.4+) and then a manual that has a small fold or some wrinkles and it grades out way lower than what the eye can actually see. And in a perfect scenario I’d like for them to start acknowledging the 100% CIBs.

[Gulag Joe | 582]

Also, the one person who has the 9.8 CIB snes Zelda Link to the Past has to be a time traveler.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

13 hours ago, inasuma said:

I would have loved a dirt cheap minty sm64. What jerks!!!

Figure out who the collectors/stores/etc. are that are sitting on the stock and hit them up for a copy.  As many of that game as were produced, I'm sure somebody would come off of one for not-batshit-insane money.  Problem will be figuring out who's holding the stuff if you don't already know, as most collectors in that situation tend to be very guarded and private, don't do public sales (sometimes to hike speculation on the prices, but also just so they aren't pestered), etc.

[jonebone | 1,307]

15 hours ago, Gulag Joe said:

Also, the one person who has the 9.8 CIB snes Zelda Link to the Past has to be a time traveler.

He frankensteined that together.  I believe I had a 9.2 LTTP with a 9.8 component (Manual or cart? Can't remember) and he traded me a 9.6 for my 9.2 straight up to get the component so he could marry his other 9.6 into a 9.8.

We'll both have the 2 first print Mario World 9.4 CIBs as well and one could be married up to a 9.6 in a similar fashion.  I'm going to be holding out on that one though.

[Gulag Joe | 582]

For what it takes to achieve a 9.8 cib, I value those more than any sealed 9.8.

[Code Monkey | 2,006]

9 hours ago, Gulag Joe said:

For what it takes to achieve a 9.8 cib, I value those more than any sealed 9.8.

A sealed 9.8 is literally a 9.8 with a seal on it. They're the same thing.

[Gloves | 11,774]

4 minutes ago, Code Monkey said:

A sealed 9.8 is literally a 9.8 with a seal on it. They're the same thing.

Yeah like just remove the seal at that point lol.

[inasuma | 1,203]

I made a pretty simple breakdown of a few console pops for fun

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16F0GOcyLgKQu7KlrwyeLjl7eauPN8ngRLH0oeJGyGWw/edit#gid=0

I love that BOTW is 40% of all graded wii u games. well done, speculators.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

44 minutes ago, Code Monkey said:

A sealed 9.8 is literally a 9.8 with a seal on it. They're the same thing.

Hey, you could probably have 9.8 CIB's out of lower graded sealed copies that got knocked for their seal quality by stripping off the seal.  I'd start stripping the lower 9's with bad seals to get high grade CIB's before I'd start converting them from "perfect" examples of sealed to opened versions.

[Gulag Joe | 582]

Don’t tell me none of you have opened sealed games to find the contents inside the box having imperfections.

[OptOut | 8,883]

8 hours ago, Gulag Joe said:

Don’t tell me none of you have opened sealed games to find the contents inside the box having imperfections.

Yep!

Literally opened a brand new old-stock game from a game store here, and there was corrosion on the cart pins! Real common to find warped, bent manuals and rusted staples in sealed games too.

Who KNOWS what horrors lurk inside the sealed innards of the 1.56 million dollar Super Mario 64!!! 

[Gulag Joe | 582]

41 minutes ago, OptOut said:

Yep!

Literally opened a brand new old-stock game from a game store here, and there was corrosion on the cart pins! Real common to find warped, bent manuals and rusted staples in sealed games too.

Who KNOWS what horrors lurk inside the sealed innards of the 1.56 million dollar Super Mario 64!!! 

Thats why we gotta open them all!

For real with the manuals though, I think that some games not stored properly, games that see big temp changes over seasons, or even games living in a cold weather area and moving to a warm weather area, something happens to the manuals where they curl up over time inside.

[OptOut | 8,883]

2 minutes ago, Gulag Joe said:

Thats why we gotta open them all!

For real with the manuals though, I think that some games not stored properly, games that see big temp changes over seasons, or even games living in a cold weather area and moving to a warm weather area, something happens to the manuals where they curl up over time inside.

Absolutely, and, I mean, gravity ALONE can warp the manuals over time, depending on the orientation of the box and what kind of game we're talking about.

With NES, SNES and N64 games, the manual is usually tightly pressed between the outer box and the game and/or insert, so usually it won't fold or bend on its own. But Genesis games, and CD/DVD games, and any other games in plastic cases or larger boxes have PLENTY of wiggle room for the manuals to just flop around and bend and fold and crease.

Game manual osteoporosis is no joke, lol!

[sp1nz | 611]

Graded items CIB/Sealed could degrade in their casings, so the grade is a condition snapshot not necessarily indicative of the current condition of the game outwardly or inwardly. Love me some Schrödinger's cat

[inasuma | 1,203]

Gathered some interesting numbers on graded gamecube games. It's really fascinating how less than 5% of graded GameCube has A++ seal grades, but then 96% is over 9.0 A+.

Anywho, some cool numbers:

Here are some intriguing figures:

• Wind Waker has only nine Made in Japan examples graded, one 9.8 A+, and only two 9.6 A+.
• Wind Waker also has 130 Made in USA examples graded, one 9.8 A++, three 9.8 A+, one 9.6 A++, and **twenty** 9.6 A+ graded.
• Super Smash Bros Melee (SSBM) has 13 Made in Japan (standard retail) examples graded. There is one 9.8 A+ and two 9.6 A+.
• SSBM has only five Made in Japan NFR examples graded (this was part of the 2002 console pack-in). The highest graded is 9.6 A+ with two examples.
• SSBM has 23 Made in USA examples graded. There is one of 9.8 A++ and 9.6 A++, each, and three 9.6 A+.
• Mario Kart Double Dash (MKDD) has only 4 Made in Japan retail prints graded, three of which are 9.6 A at the highest end.
• MKDD has a sparse two total copies of its Made In USA Bonus Disc (standard retail) variant graded (53155A part code).
• MKDD also has 39 examples of its NFR variant (part code 56043A), with one 9.8 A++, two 9.8 A+, and eight 9.6 A+ examples.
• Metroid Prime has all of 10 Made in Japan examples, the highest of which is 9.6 A+ with just one example.
• Metroid Prime's standard Made in USA retail print has 43 copies graded, with one 9.8 A++, three 9.8 A+, one 9.6 A++, and seven 9.6 A+ examples.
• Metroid Prime has ZERO Target Exclusive variants (49830A part code) graded.

[tidaldreams | 654]

On 12/21/2022 at 1:20 PM, Gulag Joe said:

I have a few CIBs graded. Everything has to be perfect to reach a 9 and I have frankensteined a few of them to get there. It’s just frustrating when you have a minty box and cart (9.4+) and then a manual that has a small fold or some wrinkles and it grades out way lower than what the eye can actually see. And in a perfect scenario I’d like for them to start acknowledging the 100% CIBs.

hmmm ive bought quite a few 9.2-9.4 on HA for less than the cost of grading

[fcgamer | 4,722]

On 12/21/2022 at 5:25 PM, jonebone said:

The CIB pop reports were exciting to finally see.  I suspect when the CIB pricing comes back down (it's inevitable with CGC in the market now) and the Wata redesign cases are out, then we'll see a lot more coming in.

Agreed, as CGC will let new players in, unlike the scam that is wata 

[Gulag Joe | 582]

CGC gonna have to drop them prices. $50 CIB at Wata!

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

+Liability***

[Gulag Joe | 582]

I may have gotten excited a little too quickly. What TF is this… so we’re gonna see graded CIB games floating around without knowing what components and variants are inside because some people didn’t pay the extra $50??? This is a slap in the face to 100% complete collectors.

Edited January 17, 2023 by Gulag Joe

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

Crazy. Its almost like they care more about profits and putting whatever possible in plastic, than about documenting and improving the “community”. 

[Gulag Joe | 582]

From Wata’s blog post:

”With our new CIB service, we grade only the Box, Cart/Disc, and Manual. This streamlined process services the majority of submitted items and allows collectors a more affordable option for those games that may not be jam-packed with inserts. Any inserts (including but not limited to maps, posters, warranty cards, baggies, and dust sleeves) will be encapsulated with the game but not listed on the label or dashboard – we will not send these items back separately. This also means that GSIs are neither listed on the label nor graded separately. If you have a more “complete” game with inserts and/or GSIs, we recommend submitting with the CIB Plus add-on.”

EBAY: Wata 9.8 100% Complete CIB NES Al Unser Jr Turbo Racing READ DESCRIPTION

*it doesn’t list all of the inserts and baggie because I didn’t pay the extra $50 ($40 in the blog post) but trust me, everything is in there!*

[Gulag Joe | 582]

Where’s @OptOut cuz he needs to know I’m finally criticizing Wata!