Survey Regarding the Potential of a New Video Game Grader in the Market

[VideoGameGradersLLC | 82]

18 minutes ago, Gloves said:

People are gonna wanna show them off.

Fair. The game box should be the hero with the big bold grade behind a colorful star as the one and only sidekick. 

[Brickman | 4,014]

Are you doing population reports from the start? I think this will set you apart from others if you do this off the bat.

Also agree that the label looks boring. I also have no interest in graded collecting but this definitely wouldn’t convince me to start.

[VideoGameGradersLLC | 82]

7 minutes ago, Shmup said:

Are you doing population reports from the start? I think this will set you apart from others if you do this off the bat.

As soon as possible is the plan. Publishing data too soon can be misleading but we would rather be early with an explanation of data at the size we have when we release it than to hold it way too long for unknown reasons with sketchy explanations for the ongoing delay. 

7 minutes ago, Shmup said:

Also agree that the label looks boring. I also have no interest in graded collecting but this definitely wouldn’t convince me to start.

PSA has enjoyed a lot of success with the most boring label in history. I think ours is at least better than theirs. 

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

2 hours ago, VideoGameGradersLLC said:

Can you clarify what you’d like to see in more detail? 

 

 

Yes. Case will be sealed pretty tightly and tough to open without it being obvious. Additionally a small custom printed security sticker will go over the seal at the top, impossible to open the case without clear evidence of tampering with the seal. 

What’s wrong with Word?

it is a bit boring but part of our effort is to keep the focus on the game not the label. 

The grade, on the side.  Like if you had multiple graded copies, you could sort them by grade. 
 

I dont care for a security sticker, personally. Makes it feel cheap. Reminds me of rental stickers used to cover screws on games.  I would prefer something built into the case, it makes it seem higher end and more thought out or “designed” .
 

 

And nothing is wrong with word, for word processing. But that label looks like a border line joke, and I know nothing about graphic design. Is that comic sans that says “certified by videogamegraders.com”? That itself is jarring and screams low quality to me.  Like do you have to really say it? Its not even level. The background is boring and generic, so is the star. Maybe make the star as a hologram or something.

I dont buy the whole “keep the focus on the game/box” either.  Sounds like marketing speak.  People that grade CIB games literally only care about resale value, because if they really just cared about the artwork they wouldnt throw it in a thick acrylic case with a big label on top. And it cant be played when slabbed either, so yep just resale value. And thats fine if thats your market, just dont pander.

 

But hey what do I know, Im just a guy on the internet. 

[AdamW | 713]

FWIW I think a fairly plain label is fine as long as it looks professional. These obviously don't ATM but they're just prototypes, with a little bit of adjustment and higher quality paper and printing they'd be fine.

No other grading company I can think of has super whizzy labels. So sure, you can say that's a potential way to differentiate yourself...but it could also just be a signal that most people don't want something like that, they just want something that gets the job done and doesn't distract from the game.

[inasuma | 1,205]

Wanted to chime in on this thread because the OP and some of the initial responses intrigued me. Keep in mind I’m not an investor or market speculator or any of that. I just like games and think grading is a great way to encapsulate my favorite childhood items.

Please. For the love of god. This market is so broken, and the competitors are lacking in really crucial (yet different) categories. The two options are:

- wata: amazing submission experience, no pop reports, market manipulation on the secondary market, kinda ugly cases, again no pop reports

- vga: horrible submission process, limited or non-functioning pop report system, broken website

This market is not mature at all. It needs more competition. More importantly, the two main figureheads need to fix some insanely glaring problems for anyone going into this hobby for anything other than personal collecting.

For wata: as someone who builds software for a living, it can’t take this long to build a functioning, iterated pop report product that fits into watas brand. It’s just data entry + queries. I could make a basic version in a few months tops. I’m not saying this because I hate Wata or think they’re evil villains. I just feel bad for the unassuming collectors who are paying the obscene prices on the secondary market, of which wata is directly responsible for that market manipulation. It might be good business for them but it’s so cringe to witness.

For vga: where to even start. Online sub process still relies on flash (can’t use it with modern browsers). Paper form version feels like I’m filing taxes. Website barely works half the time. Pages 404 and sometimes don’t even load. UV cases aren’t the default. They were the guinea pig in this market and it shows.

Heres my problem at the end of the day: neither business seems keen to own up to their products in ways that benefit consumers. Watas lack of a pop report hurts collectors. Vgas lack of modernity hurts their customers (in addition to their shadow of a pop report). These are not good signs for a blooming market, yall.

[drxandy | 3,236]

Hire a graphic designer, please!!

[VideoGameGradersLLC | 82]

3 minutes ago, inasuma said:

 I just feel bad for the unassuming collectors who are paying the obscene prices on the secondary market, of which wata is directly responsible for that market manipulation. It might be good business for them but it’s so cringe to witness.

This is spot on. They claim they don’t have enough data to fairly release the pop report yet are so insanely busy they can’t keep up. Pop reports will hurt their business. Period and that’s why they aren’t releasing them. They need a competitor. Competition makes everyone better. 

3 minutes ago, inasuma said:

 

Heres my problem at the end of the day: neither business seems keen to own up to their products in ways that benefit consumers. Watas lack of a pop report hurts collectors. Vgas lack of modernity hurts their customers (in addition to their shadow of a pop report). These are not good signs for a blooming market, yall.

Direct result of lack of competition in our opinion which is why we feel strongly a legit new service has plenty of room in the market. Time will tell. Maybe we’ll force VGA and Wata to shape up and they’ll crush us when they fix their issues. 

[VideoGameGradersLLC | 82]

5 minutes ago, drxandy said:

Hire a graphic designer, please!!

Working on it. Anyone have any sketches and or ideas they’d like to suggest we’d love to see it. 

[drxandy | 3,236]

2 minutes ago, VideoGameGradersLLC said:

Working on it. Anyone have any sketches and or ideas they’d like to suggest we’d love to see it. 

That's why you hire the designer, they are more than capable of that. I find it intriguing that you would expect someone to do that willingly without compensation.

[OptOut | 8,892]

10 minutes ago, VideoGameGradersLLC said:

Working on it. Anyone have any sketches and or ideas they’d like to suggest we’d love to see it. 

I'm on it boss!!! I'll have a few new and improved mock-ups for you to take a look at soon. In the meantime, I have circled the problems I have identified in the current design for your appraisal below:

5 hours ago, VideoGameGradersLLC said:

I received $7.

Oh yeah, sorry about that, but they refunded me when it didn't hit the goal! 

[inasuma | 1,205]

19 minutes ago, VideoGameGradersLLC said:

Working on it. Anyone have any sketches and or ideas they’d like to suggest we’d love to see it. 

I appreciate your interest to add competition (please do) but please don’t look for spec work, here or anywhere. There are enough issues with graded video games as a market without the need for labor exploitation. Designers have bills too.

Edited June 15, 2021 by inasuma

[drxandy | 3,236]

I'm just saying, when I read "what's wrong with word?" I about cried and threw my phone across the room. If you want to be a legit business you will need to understand the power of branding. Maybe take a marketing course or something. I have nothing really to contribute, but if you aren't good at something and everyone is telling you that you aren't it's probably better to hire someone who has skills at what they do to make you look good.

[drxandy | 3,236]

Also when you hire the designer I don't want you to give them any input, just the information that needs to be displayed. They will do the rest. Do not fucking meddle. And don't cheap out on them. They are the artist, not you. Admit you are bad at design and move on with your real business and stop wasting time on things. 

[inasuma | 1,205]

1 hour ago, drxandy said:

Also when you hire the designer I don't want you to give them any input, just the information that needs to be displayed. They will do the rest. Do not fucking meddle. And don't cheap out on them. They are the artist, not you. Admit you are bad at design and move on with your real business and stop wasting time on things. 

Not really critical to the discussion but a designer should be able to receive criticism, even from a client who doesn’t know any better. It’s fine to have opinions. Graphic design isn’t strictly “art” as its goal is corporate appeal, rather than aesthetic beauty. There are lots of ugly logos that are memorable and that’s part of the designers job to sell as such. Just my $0.02

That said, a clients ignorance is no excuse to not pay fairly. But that’s been beaten into the ground at this point haha 

[OptOut | 8,892]

Righto BOSS!!! I'm back to present a ground-breaking grading service product launch! I think we have something TRULY special here, a true USP... Introducing GRADED CUSTOMZZZ!!!

The market is CRYING OUT for something new. People are tired of grading a wide range of games for a variety of systems and selling them for unjustifiably huge profits. No, what people want these days is choice, and a personal touch! Here are just a few of the unique options GRADED CUSTOMZZZ has to offer:

1 - Ol' Faithful: Put a tear in Ronnie Reagan's cold dead eyes with this classy, patriotic choice.

2 - Benny Boy: It's why we're all here, isn't it?! What better way to celebrate the history and cultural relevance of video games than reducing them to a number on a box and a dollar in your bank account!

3 - SANIC: Attractive to the emotionally sub-normal and socially stunted. Our best-seller! 

4 - PERKERMEN: This is where the REAL whales know to park their investment capital! A beautiful, powerful artistic representation of CHARMANDER elicits the childlike joy of discovery, as well as the thrill of putting innocent animals to the slaughter for the purposes of entertainment.

5 - One for the ladies: This model is especially popular with the GAYMERS! Looking good fellas! 

6 - One for the lads: The female form has NEVER been so tastefully represented in art as with our finely crafted custom game cases.

These samples are a mere taste of the many MILLIONS of possibilities GRADED CUSTOMZZZ offer for you! You want YOUR face on a 68 1/2 graded CIB 4th print of Pokemon Yellow? YOU GOT IT! You want a jpeg of pixel Mario sexually assaulting Toadette on a 94 1/2 CIB World Class Track meet? IT'S YOURS!

Go nuts, I'm seriously! The possibilities are ENDLESS at VIDYAGARMEZZGRADERZLLC.COM! 

[AdamW | 713]

4 minutes ago, OptOut said:

4 - PERKERMEN: This is where the REAL whales know to park their investment capital! A beautiful, powerful artistic representation of CHARMANDER elicits the childlike joy of discovery, as well as the thrill of putting innocent animals to the slaughter for the purposes of entertainment.

[drxandy | 3,236]

11 minutes ago, inasuma said:

Not really critical to the discussion but a designer should be able to receive criticism, even from a client who doesn’t know any better. It’s fine to have opinions. Graphic design isn’t strictly “art” as its goal is corporate appeal, rather than aesthetic beauty. There are lots of ugly logos that are memorable and that’s part of the designers job to sell as such. Just my $0.02

That said, a clients ignorance is no excuse to not pay fairly. But that’s been beaten into the ground at this point haha 

Well I felt I had to be blunt when he used a yellow star on it. Come on.

[Brickman | 4,014]

1 hour ago, OptOut said:

Righto BOSS!!! I'm back to present a ground-breaking grading service product launch! I think we have something TRULY special here, a true USP... Introducing GRADED CUSTOMZZZ!!!

The market is CRYING OUT for something new. People are tired of grading a wide range of games for a variety of systems and selling them for unjustifiably huge profits. No, what people want these days is choice, and a personal touch! Here are just a few of the unique options GRADED CUSTOMZZZ has to offer:

1 - Ol' Faithful: Put a tear in Ronnie Reagan's cold dead eyes with this classy, patriotic choice.

2 - Benny Boy: It's why we're all here, isn't it?! What better way to celebrate the history and cultural relevance of video games than reducing them to a number on a box and a dollar in your bank account!

3 - SANIC: Attractive to the emotionally sub-normal and socially stunted. Our best-seller! 

4 - PERKERMEN: This is where the REAL whales know to park their investment capital! A beautiful, powerful artistic representation of CHARMANDER elicits the childlike joy of discovery, as well as the thrill of putting innocent animals to the slaughter for the purposes of entertainment.

5 - One for the ladies: This model is especially popular with the GAYMERS! Looking good fellas! 

6 - One for the lads: The female form has NEVER been so tastefully represented in art as with our finely crafted custom game cases.

These samples are a mere taste of the many MILLIONS of possibilities GRADED CUSTOMZZZ offer for you! You want YOUR face on a 68 1/2 graded CIB 4th print of Pokemon Yellow? YOU GOT IT! You want a jpeg of pixel Mario sexually assaulting Toadette on a 94 1/2 CIB World Class Track meet? IT'S YOURS!

Go nuts, I'm seriously! The possibilities are ENDLESS at VIDYAGARMEZZGRADERZLLC.COM! 

These are all a million times better than the current one. I actually love the idea of selecting from a choice of backgrounds haha.

[fcgamer | 4,753]

@VideoGameGradersLLC : I thought there was going to be sort of grade component based on the smell of the game? 

I've gotten numerous games over the years that have boxes / carts / whatever that look really nice, yet smell musty, moldy, like cigarette smoke, etc. This is an important thing when I buy games, surely I'm not the only one who feels that a game that smells moldy shouldn't rank the same as one that smells "standard"?

[VideoGameGradersLLC | 82]

5 hours ago, fcgamer said:

@VideoGameGradersLLC : I thought there was going to be sort of grade component based on the smell of the game? 

I've gotten numerous games over the years that have boxes / carts / whatever that look really nice, yet smell musty, moldy, like cigarette smoke, etc. This is an important thing when I buy games, surely I'm not the only one who feels that a game that smells moldy shouldn't rank the same as one that smells "standard"?

It's part of the scoring system.

[final fight cd | 187]

The star and number looks corny as hell. 

[retro.magnus | 136]

Coming from someone with a degree in Graphic Design, I can almost guarantee no one sane will pay to get games graded with your labels looking like they do now. Even if they do, they'd sell for less. imo..  At a minimum go to one of the many online sites that connect you to a designer and pay someone. 

Think of it this way, if you have a label that is at least on par with WATA, how much business do you think you'll get? Then compare that to how much business you think you'd get with the current label. That's the value of design that not everyone realizes. You casually asking people in this thread for ideas is a really shitty look, and immediately turns people off without ever using your service. Just my two cents...

[DefaultGen | 5,433]

These little feet are going to catch against other games when you pull them off the shelf. The case design in general just doesn't look well designed from an aesthetic, security, or convenience sense.

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

1 minute ago, DefaultGen said:

These little feet are going to catch against other games when you pull them off the shelf. The case design in general just doesn't look well designed from an aesthetic, security, or convenience sense.

When you line them up on the shelf, do you touch toes? Or do you offset every other one so they don’t sit flush? Good call.