WATA imperfections

[3rdStrongestMole | 443]

 OK maybe this is totally ridiculous, but has anyone else ever gotten a graded game with some smudges on the inner plastic, or even where the game is a little crooked inside the plastic encasement? If I'm grading for display, then this is kind of frustrating, especially on a black box where it's noticeable.

(Maybe I deserve this for grading CIBs )

 

Edited September 15, 2020 by 3rdStrongestMole
Pics

[Gloves | 12,269]

Pics?

[jonebone | 1,329]

I have seen some crooked games in cases yes. 

[3rdStrongestMole | 443]

4 hours ago, Gloves said:

Pics?

It's that mark in the upper left corner and it's visible no matter what lighting. There are more on the upper right, but it's not as easy to see with the glare in the pics. 

[Gloves | 12,269]

8 minutes ago, 3rdStrongestMole said:

It's that mark in the upper left corner and it's visible no matter what lighting. There are more on the upper right, but it's not as easy to see with the glare in the pics. 

Oof. 

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,124]

I saw a similar one on ebay recently that had a mark like that on the front that looked almost like a crease from the pictures. I've had a couple games myself with those type of scuffs on the inner plastic.

[3rdStrongestMole | 443]

28 minutes ago, Bearcat-Doug said:

I saw a similar one on ebay recently that had a mark like that on the front that looked almost like a crease from the pictures. I've had a couple games myself with those type of scuffs on the inner plastic.

All I know is something like this (despite the grade) would really affect my want to purchase if I was a buyer. 

 

Does anyone know if WATA will do anything for something like this?

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,124]

11 hours ago, 3rdStrongestMole said:

All I know is something like this (despite the grade) would really affect my want to purchase if I was a buyer. 

 

Does anyone know if WATA will do anything for something like this?

They might reholder it, but you would still be out the shipping and the wait to get it back. 

[Startyde | 180]

I just sent a game to be recassed because the inner lining had a big smudge on the left. It originally looked like big scuffs on the game but it was an 9.8 A++ so didnt make sense. As teh game moved slowly in the case, I could see the smudge was some kind of residue that was independent of the game, but also scraping off as the game touched it. TLDR: FN Gross.

So I sent it to be recassed and soft cleaned if necessary. Of interest about the liners and how easily they scratch in general, Wata replied to me with this:

Quote

 

"We apologize sincerely for this and would be happy to resolve this for you. 
If you could pack up the game in a box and include a note in it that indicates to our receivers that this is a reholder (scuffed case), we will take care of it for you free of charge, you only need to pay for the shipping to get it to us. We will be sure to get this re-cased and sent back as soon as we receive the box.

3101 East 52nd Ave. 
Suite C. 
Denver, CO 80216

For you to know, the last batch of blisters we received are a little bit different and there is some inconsistency in the cutting of them. So while you have every reason to think that we would be able to catch these errors before they get out the door, we didn’t know this kind of damage was happening until after we shipped, since what’s happening is the little bit of movement from not being a precise cut is causing scratches between the blister and the case (nothing to do with the game thankfully).

But it is inconvenient to customers, because we only find out once it arrives. We've had 2 other instances of this. So thank you for telling us. I know it’s a frustrating aesthetic issue and we’re trying to figure out how to identify it before shipping but it’s very tough.

If there is anything else I can do, please let me know."

 

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Startyde

[3rdStrongestMole | 443]

1 hour ago, Startyde said:

I just sent a game to be recassed because the inner lining had a big smudge on the left. It originally looked like big scuffs on the game but it was an 9.8 A++ so didnt make sense. As teh game moved slowly in the case, I could see the smudge was some kind of residue that was independent of the game, but also scraping off as the game touched it. TLDR: FN Gross.

So I sent it to be recassed and soft cleaned if necessary. Of interest about the liners and how easily they scratch in general, Wata replied to me with this:

 

Good to know it's something they're aware of and working on. I'm definitely gonna send mine back in this case. The smudge make it hard to look at .  Did you have to wait a long time to get this back afterwards?

[B.A. | 1,141]

That's on the inside? Yuck

[OptOut | 9,034]

Oof. Stay classy, WATA. 

[Startyde | 180]

23 minutes ago, B.A. said:

That's on the inside? Yuck

Yeah, like someone jizzed and put my game on top of it. 

[TDIRunner | 2,912]

So now the big questions is whether or not you go to the front of the line when you send something back to be corrected, or whether you wait a really long time to get it back.  

[3rdStrongestMole | 443]

20 minutes ago, TDIRunner said:

So now the big questions is whether or not you go to the front of the line when you send something back to be corrected, or whether you wait a really long time to get it back.  

Yes. And honestly, that will probably determine whether i send it back or just eat it. 

[RH | 5,226]

Ok, I'm not sure where to post this and I didn't really want to make another WATA thread.  Here's a copy of a graded Syphon Filter 3, 9/11 Edition.  The thing is, like all other copies, there's a hole punch on the UPC.  In spite of the hole punch, it's graded a 9.4.  Is that a reasonable grade.  The game looks pretty solid otherwise but IMHO, that is damage to what is essentially a copy intended for sales and distribution. I personally don't care if this was a pre-release distribution for media, since it was a copy for standard release, this is damage and should take a hit on the grading.

Am I right, and if I am, is 9.4 still a fair grade for this?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/193656790219?ul_noapp=true

I'm more asking for expert opinions.  Maybe I'm off base since that was done at the factory but, you know, miscuts happen at baseball card and comic factories and those ding the grades of those items all the time.  Should similar imperfections affect games as well?

EDIT

I also thing the blurb on the back of the WATA grade is wrong.  It's the same "facts" about this game that everyone states, but I've not found a single copy of this game without that hole punched into it.  If a game was released for commercial sale, it wouldn't have that hole punch because I though that type of damage to the UPC was to specifically show that the item was "written off" by the distributor and, thus, used for preview/media copies and other types of developer/publisher giveaways.

Bottom line, I don't think this game was ever commercially released.  I think all we ever see is people in the media who received copies in the mail but never opened them.  If anyone has a photo of this game without the hole-punch, I'd be interested.  This game is common enough for "super rare items".  Having a no-hole-punch would be the REAL gem of a PS1 collection.

Edited September 17, 2020 by RH

[Startyde | 180]

20 minutes ago, RH said:

Ok, I'm not sure where to post this and I didn't really want to make another WATA thread.  Here's a copy of a graded Syphon Filter 3, 9/11 Edition.  The thing is, like all other copies, there's a hole punch on the UPC.  In spite of the hole punch, it's graded a 9.4.  Is that a reasonable grade.  The game looks pretty solid otherwise but IMHO, that is damage to what is essentially a copy intended for sales and distribution. I personally don't care if this was a pre-release distribution for media, since it was a copy for standard release, this is damage and should take a hit on the grading.

Am I right, and if I am, is 9.4 still a fair grade for this?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/193656790219?ul_noapp=true

I'm more asking for expert opinions.  Maybe I'm off base since that was done at the factory but, you know, miscuts happen at baseball card and comic factories and those ding the grades of those items all the time.  Should similar imperfections affect games as well?

EDIT

I also thing the blurb on the back of the WATA grade is wrong.  It's the same "facts" about this game that everyone states, but I've not found a single copy of this game without that hole punched into it.  If a game was released for commercial sale, it wouldn't have that hole punch because I though that type of damage to the UPC was to specifically show that the item was "written off" by the distributor and, thus, used for preview/media copies and other types of developer/publisher giveaways.

Bottom line, I don't think this game was ever commercially released.  I think all we ever see is people in the media who received copies in the mail but never opened them.  If anyone has a photo of this game without the hole-punch, I'd be interested.  This game is common enough for "super rare items".  Having a no-hole-punch would be the REAL gem of a PS1 collection.

1. I dont believe Wata counts bar code punch outs as damage, which I also don't believe in. People can spin the word "promo" copy all they want, they are maimed copies given to any moron who claims to be a reviewer, or reseller, or whatever, specifically designed to be strikingly unsellable. Not exactly a collector piece.

2. 9/11 Syphon was a retail game that was pulled at the zro hour, making legit copies infinitely more rare than the dolled out ones as described above. 

[RH | 5,226]

@Startyde Thank you for posting those photos! So the white whale does exist!

Curious, do you keep your eye on these?  You have a general ratio of these that are promo copies versus retail copies?  This is the first copy I've seen without the hole punch, and I've been watching eBay for a couple of years.  I may not have paid attention for the first 6 months or so, but when I did notice the hole, I've always checked.  I've probably seen 4-5 of these in that time frame and I've never seen a retail copy.

[Startyde | 180]

Just now, RH said:

@Startyde Thank you for posting those photos! So the white whale does exist!

Curious, do you keep your eye on these?  You have a general ratio of these that are promo copies versus retail copies?  This is the first copy I've seen without the hole punch, and I've been watching eBay for a couple of years.  I may not have paid attention for the first 6 months or so, but when I did notice the hole, I've always checked.  I've probably seen 4-5 of these in that time frame and I've never seen a retail copy.

This is where I make you feel bad. Three of these have been sold in the last 18 months because the seller doesnt list the titles very well. I think they've finally run out though.

In general, I find promo copies to be infinitely more common than mint, retail versions of the same game, because noone cares about them but resellers. 9 out of 10 times, ever copy of Capcom Vs SNK Pro for PS1 you see will be a promo copy, you almost never see a retail version, because everyone bought the retail version and left these garbo copies behind. 

[RH | 5,226]

23 minutes ago, Startyde said:

This is where I make you feel bad. Three of these have been sold in the last 18 months because the seller doesnt list the titles very well. I think they've finally run out though.

In general, I find promo copies to be infinitely more common than mint, retail versions of the same game, because noone cares about them but resellers. 9 out of 10 times, ever copy of Capcom Vs SNK Pro for PS1 you see will be a promo copy, you almost never see a retail version, because everyone bought the retail version and left these garbo copies behind. 

No, I've seen those.  I'm semi-interested in finding on and I really hope someone posts one not paying attention and sells it as cheap as a standard copy.

Maybe that's happened because I don't pay attention to past sells but I do have a saved search on this game.  If a few have sold in the last 18 months then people have snatched them up faster than I can check, and I probably go through my list of saved searches once every 1-2 days.

This isn't a high priority game for me, but I'd definitely love the score.