GetTheGreg | 105 Posted April 28, 2021 Share Posted April 28, 2021 (edited) Hey everyone! I'm going to start up a thread here for my YouTube channel as I'm sure there are some people here who would enjoy my content, plus I would like to come around here more often and this will give me a reason to work it back into my daily routine! I recognize a lot of names still hanging around on here, which is really cool to see! So, about me. I go by Getthegreggames on YouTube and Instagram. I'm a long time Nintendoage user by "Maertens29", which is why I continued that username here. My ego is large enough that I believe some people will recognize me haha I've been collecting over 10 years now and always emphasized learning and obtaining knowledge about video games as collectibles, but also many other collectible categories. The fundamentals across many categories are transferrable and parallel, which allows you to identify patterns. The financial aspects about the items we love to collect has always fascinated me. The YouTube videos focus on collecting/investing knowledge with emphasis on higher end collecting/sealed games. The goal is to spread information and education about topics that aren't generally discussed by many video game collectors on YouTube. Hoping to help collectors make more educated financial decisions in both life and with the hobby they love, and introduce them to a side of the hobby they may not have any other exposure to. Also showing variants and information about games in general to help give you an edge against other collectors! Some of my personal favourite content creators are: Reserved Investments, Graham Stephen, SMPratte, Alpha Investments (Rudy), Solemn Yu-gi-oh, and Gary Vee. Anyway, I'll stop by and continue to update the thread whenever I have a new video. I'll also include a text write up so we can discuss a topic even if you don't watch the videos. I want you to be able to engage without feeling the obligation to consume the video format as I know many prefer to read instead. I'll see how it goes and decide if the forum format into conducive to this idea. I'm honestly not sure yet how it will work haha. Here's the link to the YouTube if you want to check it out. I've quite a few different videos/topics to browse at this point: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqz404W7s6AT5jN3XPJvUkw Thanks to anyone who has already checked out the channel and thanks to anyone who decides to check it out! Edited August 30, 2021 by Maertens29 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austin532 | 469 Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 I can attest. Great channel here.....almost as good as mine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_wizard_666 | 1,332 Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 On 4/27/2021 at 8:48 PM, Maertens29 said: My ego is large enough that I believe some people will recognize me haha I do. I don't think we talked much, but I do remember you from NA. I'll check your channel out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetTheGreg | 105 Posted April 29, 2021 Author Share Posted April 29, 2021 6 hours ago, the_wizard_666 said: I do. I don't think we talked much, but I do remember you from NA. I'll check your channel out Haha yes! My man! I don't believe we spoke much either, if ever haha, but I'm very familiar with your name as well. Good to see you're still hanging around and thanks for taking time to check out the channel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetTheGreg | 105 Posted April 29, 2021 Author Share Posted April 29, 2021 7 hours ago, austin532 said: I can attest. Great channel here.....almost as good as mine. Hahah no way! I had no idea this was you! This whole time I thought I was talking to a stranger. I believe I sent you some specific PMs before regarding piecing together NES games. That was most likely on NA though, not VGS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austin532 | 469 Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 Maybe? I don't remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetTheGreg | 105 Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 Hey everyone! The discussion today revolves around the idea of "perfect grade" items - WATA 10 or VGA 100. Now, obviously, no one will argue that they aren't extremely coveted and valuable items. Achieving the perfect grade in video games is actual extremely difficult and only a handful exist from either company. VGA has far more 100s than WATA has 10s, but that's only because FAR more new gen/easy to grade items have been sent to VGA over the years - and those type of items make up the vast majority of VGA 100s. Which brings me to the main discussion point. Most of these "perfect grade" items are games where achieving a VGA 90-95+ grade isn't that difficult. Think about case packs of DS/3DS games, the GTA Trilogy pack games, Mario 3D Allstars or other Switch games; items of that nature. And amongst those extremely high grades, you really can't discern any kind of condition differences yourself. You'd be very hard pressed to guess the VGA 90+s vs the VGA 95+s. And as such, the incremental increase for a VGA 90 to 95 on these types of games is quite small relative to games where actual difficulty exists in the grading. So now the question is posed: How much more should the vga 100 of a "common game" cost vs the VGA 95+? Or the WATA 10 vs the 9.8 A++? In my video, I answer this question with an actual example of a VGA 100 selling compared to the lower grade counterparts, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the matter. Really, at those grade levels you're paying only for the label to say it's perfect, and for the inherent rarity that it brings - which is understandable. Not my personal preference or way to go about collecting, but I see the appeal. Do you think the VGA 100 price is justified given how truly difficult it is? Or is it ridiculous that people give it so much weight? No right or wrong answer here; the pricing evidence already exists - just curious to hear opinions! If you want to see the full video on this subject, click the link! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tId8dSsAV98 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,707 Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 The further up the conditional rarity chain you go, the less the item itself matters, which is why I'm not really into it. A cart or CIB has value mostly from the game itself as long as it's not wrecked. A near mint or sealed game has value from the uncommon condition it's been maintained in. Tippy top graded stuff, your VGA 95+ or BGS 9.5, is mainly glorifying the production machinery and shipping process. That overwrapping machine theoretically hit that copy of Super Mario 3D All-Stars just right. And the "perfect" stuff, your CGC 10s, your VGA 100, is glorifying the grading process itself. No mass produced object is "perfect". A MS-70 graded coin didn't have any flaws... noticed under 5x magnification. Why didn't the scale stop at the naked eye? Why doesn't the scale extend to 20x or 200x magnification and make gem mint coins virtually impossible? You could bust out a bunch of MS-70 coins and use an electron microscope and AI to determine the objectively most-perfect one or you could bust them out and mix them in with MS-69s and without additional equipment, no one would be able to tell the difference, yet because of the current grading scale you just know those coins aren't the same right?? And if you think a VGA 100 or your $150k Hulk 181 CGC 9.9 definitively stands above all other examples, prove it. Resub it, get the 9.9 again, and show that it's not a subjective fluke. If it's a demonstrably exceptional book it surely wouldn't come back a 9.8 like a hundred similar books before it have. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,707 Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 (edited) And having a perfect grade Trilogy Vice City is like getting the world's best McDonald's McRib and calling it Michelin Star-rated Pork Shoulder Structured ala Ribcage Caramelized avec Heirloom Tomato-based Vinegar Jus. Edited May 3, 2021 by DefaultGen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetTheGreg | 105 Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 27 minutes ago, DefaultGen said: The further up the conditional rarity chain you go, the less the item itself matters, which is why I'm not really into it. A cart or CIB has value mostly from the game itself as long as it's not wrecked. A near mint or sealed game has value from the uncommon condition it's been maintained in. Tippy top graded stuff, your VGA 95+ or BGS 9.5, is mainly glorifying the production machinery and shipping process. That overwrapping machine theoretically hit that copy of Super Mario 3D All-Stars just right. And the "perfect" stuff, your CGC 10s, your VGA 100, is glorifying the grading process itself. No mass produced object is "perfect". A MS-70 graded coin didn't have any flaws... noticed under 5x magnification. Why didn't the scale stop at the naked eye? Why doesn't the scale extend to 20x or 200x magnification and make gem mint coins virtually impossible? You could bust out a bunch of MS-70 coins and use an electron microscope and AI to determine the objectively most-perfect one or you could bust them out and mix them in with MS-69s and without additional equipment, no one would be able to tell the difference, yet because of the current grading scale you just know those coins aren't the same right?? And if you think a VGA 100 or your $150k Hulk 181 CGC 9.9 definitively stands above all other examples, prove it. Resub it, get the 9.9 again, and show that it's not a subjective fluke. If it's a demonstrably exceptional book it surely wouldn't come back a 9.8 like a hundred similar books before it have. All very well said. The biggest thing I always consider is that yea, if you were to resubmit any "perfect" grade item again (besides PSA 10 as those aren't nearly as hard as a BGS 10 Black), you won't get that grade again. Who knows if they will ever give it again. They basically hand out winning tickets here and there for the 100 grades and it just seems a bit too artificial for me at that point... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetTheGreg | 105 Posted May 9, 2021 Author Share Posted May 9, 2021 Trying out some more commentary style videos as I actually really enjoy doing it! Today, we take a look at Twitch streamer/YouTuber/Tiktok star, Mizkif, and his $25,000 "investments" into graded video games! Now as far as I have seen, Mizkif might be the largest public advocate of buying sealed/graded video games!? The video he did showing off his games got 250k views, and his twitch and YouTube both have over 1M subscribers. The guy has a genuine passion for the games and you can tell he loves what he is collecting. Video before potential spoilers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38Z1GdxVPwQ However.... He is seemingly a "victim" of the VGA Qualified Scale. He talks about all of his games being factory sealed, yet doesn't ever make mention of a couple of his games (BIG GAMES) having the "Qualified" distinction. If you don't know, Qualified essentially means "opened, unused". And this is a huge distinction in both collectability and, of course, price. Although this was a huge bummer to see (and I'm sure he is crushed about it now if anyone told him), his collection is still super impressive! If you want to check it out, link is in my bio! (Latest video!) If you enjoy this, I'm also going to do a follow-up video in which I add up the collection's CURRENT value, since he purchased the games sporadically over the past couple of years. We'll see just how good of investments they were! And one other question: do you think VGA clearly labelled their Qualified games adequately enough for people to recognize it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link | 2,876 Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 I remember ya from NA 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPX | 1,402 Posted May 15, 2021 Share Posted May 15, 2021 On 5/10/2021 at 5:07 AM, Maertens29 said: Trying out some more commentary style videos as I actually really enjoy doing it! Today, we take a look at Twitch streamer/YouTuber/Tiktok star, Mizkif, and his $25,000 "investments" into graded video games! Now as far as I have seen, Mizkif might be the largest public advocate of buying sealed/graded video games!? The video he did showing off his games got 250k views, and his twitch and YouTube both have over 1M subscribers. The guy has a genuine passion for the games and you can tell he loves what he is collecting. Video before potential spoilers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38Z1GdxVPwQ However.... He is seemingly a "victim" of the VGA Qualified Scale. He talks about all of his games being factory sealed, yet doesn't ever make mention of a couple of his games (BIG GAMES) having the "Qualified" distinction. If you don't know, Qualified essentially means "opened, unused". And this is a huge distinction in both collectability and, of course, price. Although this was a huge bummer to see (and I'm sure he is crushed about it now if anyone told him), his collection is still super impressive! If you want to check it out, link is in my bio! (Latest video!) If you enjoy this, I'm also going to do a follow-up video in which I add up the collection's CURRENT value, since he purchased the games sporadically over the past couple of years. We'll see just how good of investments they were! And one other question: do you think VGA clearly labelled their Qualified games adequately enough for people to recognize it? I consider myself qualified for talking about Qualified. I honestly think VGA Qualified games are mostly misunderstood specimens. I’m from Australia and over here, the early Nintendo games didn’t come factory sealed, and a lot of the games graded are quite often Qualified due to the boxes being checked for contents over the years. This is different from games where they formally come factory sealed, and therefore there is no need to be checked if all the contents are there. I see Qualified games as being valuable in the spectrum somewhere between a CIB (used) and sealed game, of the same title. The inside contents should be new and unused and this is something as a mint collector, I appreciate more than the typical mint CIBs. ———— VGA labels their Qualified games fine. It’s more up to the buyers and sellers of these items to be more aware of what they’re setting themselves up for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetTheGreg | 105 Posted May 16, 2021 Author Share Posted May 16, 2021 7 hours ago, GPX said: I consider myself qualified for talking about Qualified. I honestly think VGA Qualified games are mostly misunderstood specimens. I’m from Australia and over here, the early Nintendo games didn’t come factory sealed, and a lot of the games graded are quite often Qualified due to the boxes being checked for contents over the years. This is different from games where they formally come factory sealed, and therefore there is no need to be checked if all the contents are there. I see Qualified games as being valuable in the spectrum somewhere between a CIB (used) and sealed game, of the same title. The inside contents should be new and unused and this is something as a mint collector, I appreciate more than the typical mint CIBs. ———— VGA labels their Qualified games fine. It’s more up to the buyers and sellers of these items to be more aware of what they’re setting themselves up for. The big issue for myself, is that even though the inner contents are unused and in "hypothetical" mint condition, their actual condition is not assessed in the overall grading of the item. If the box has been opened anyway and items confirmed as new, it seems confusing that their condition is not also assessed and laid out in the overall grade. It's hard for me, personally, to even prefer them over CIB as I don't have that guarantee of condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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