tear in sealed game

[WhyNotZoidberg 580]

I feel like this debate was done over a million times but somehow flew over my head.

What's the status of a sealed game that has a tear in the plastic? Still sealed, but in bad condition? CIB with plastic over it? 

[tbone3969 303]

I would say it is still new and sealed but its not "mint" sealed.  In other words it wouldn't get graded very high.  People pay premiums on mint sealed games, usually to get graded.  Hope this helps.

[Magus 169]

It depends on how bad the tear is. If we are talking small tears where the game is mostly sealed, then it's sealed with flaws.

IF the seal is practically falling off with giant rips across it, then it really holds not much value sealed nor would most people who care about sealed even buy it anyway. 

Edited August 7, 2020 by Magus

[tbone3969 303]

1 minute ago, Magus said:

It depends on how bad the tear is. If we are talking small tears where the game is mostly sealed, then it's sealed with flaws.

IF the seal is practically falling off with giant rips across it, then it really holds not much value sealed nor would most people who care about sealed would even buy it anyway. 

Good point Magus.  I was assuming a small tear or two.  If half the side is teared off that is different obviously.

[DoctorEncore 3,605]

As long as the game can't be removed or the packaging opened, then I consider it sealed.

[Code Monkey 1,755]

I have a Golgo 13 with more than 50% of the wrap missing but I still consider it sealed because you technically can't remove the game without removing more wrap.

[austin532 457]

For some reason tears in shrinkwrap seem to subtract more points than box damage. Go figure. I'd rather have a mint box with some shrinkwrap missing rather than a fully intact shrinkwrap but the box is beat up.

[16BitBricks 59]

If this is a B+ seal, then what does a C seal look like? In my mind, an A to A++ is nearly perfect and a B to B+ would have small tears or scuffs. I can’t believe what constitutes a B+ seal considering how picky the grading of the actual box is. Especially since the cellophane is what makes it exponentially more valuable.