FooFghtrs33 | 16 Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 I am looking for some opinions on how I decide to handle a game in my collection. I was wondering if you guys think there is a premium on the high grades of CIB grading. I'm specifically referencing (I hate this term) key games. Think Metroid - Castlevania - Icarus hangtab, Black box / sticker seals, Zelda tm, mega man wright. So my questions, do you think there is a premium for each grade bump from 9.0 and above. Like would it be worth putting more money in to upgrade a cartridge or manual to go from a 9.0 to a 9.2, 9.4, 9.6 etc. Or do you think once its a 9.0 or better, they are all kind of considered "high grade". thanks ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Code Monkey | 2,006 Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 (edited) The premium is for highER grade. If a 9.6 comes up and is the highest grade seen so far, it will go for X dollars. However, if a 9.4 comes up instead and it is the highest grade seen up to that point, it will also sell for the same X dollars. Then if the 9.6 comes up shortly after, it will sell for more than X dollars because it's the new top of the mountain. The grades themselves don't have prices, it's higher grades getting that price plus more. Edited August 28, 2020 by Code Monkey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,691 Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 I think 9.6 and 9.8 absolutely demand a premium in essentially all circumstances. 9.0 to 9.4 is not quite as clear to me. Maybe some of the sealed/graded collectors can weight in on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Code Monkey | 2,006 Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 33 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said: I think 9.6 and 9.8 absolutely demand a premium in essentially all circumstances. 9.0 to 9.4 is not quite as clear to me. Maybe some of the sealed/graded collectors can weight in on that. How? If you have $3000 to spend on a 9.6 and currently the highest graded copy is a 9.2, will you pay your $3000 if a 9.4 pops up? Or will you only pay less than that because you're holding out? A 9.6 may never pop up so now the 9.4 holds every bit of value a 9.6 would have held if it were available. In my scenario where neither a 9.4 nor a 9.6 currently exist, the first one that comes to market will hold all of the value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captmorgandrinker | 1,649 Administrator · Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 13 minutes ago, Code Monkey said: How? If you have $3000 to spend on a 9.6 and currently the highest graded copy is a 9.2, will you pay your $3000 if a 9.4 pops up? Or will you only pay less than that because you're holding out? A 9.6 may never pop up so now the 9.4 holds every bit of value a 9.6 would have held if it were available. In my scenario where neither a 9.4 nor a 9.6 currently exist, the first one that comes to market will hold all of the value. But in your scenario, wouldn't the 9.2-9.4 take a hit on value when the 9.6 shows up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FooFghtrs33 | 16 Posted August 28, 2020 Author Share Posted August 28, 2020 1 hour ago, DoctorEncore said: I think 9.6 and 9.8 absolutely demand a premium in essentially all circumstances. 9.0 to 9.4 is not quite as clear to me. Maybe some of the sealed/graded collectors can weight in on that. yea. this is kind of what I am wondering. I have a key game that graded 9.0 all across, so a 9. I have the option of a 9.6 cart that is graded. so if I spend some money, I can bump it to a 9.2 in this example. But then my thoughts are, is someone really going to be wanting a 9.2 more than a 9.0 . like they are "high grade" and likely not the highest any ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,401 Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 (edited) In terms of comics, the value sometimes almost doubles when you go up each step 9.0 > 9.2 > 9.4 > 9.6, etc. The super high grade CIBs are so rare that if you think you can get one, I'd absolutely go for it. Lots of people out there just want to drop all their money on "the best thing" and not have to think about upgrading components later. Edited August 28, 2020 by DefaultGen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Code Monkey | 2,006 Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, captmorgandrinker said: But in your scenario, wouldn't the 9.2-9.4 take a hit on value when the 9.6 shows up? Sure, but that's not the point I'm making. What I'm saying is when the 9.2 is the highest grade available, the 9.4 and 9.6 hold the same value, it's like Schroedinger's game. Let's explore our example where a 9.2 is the current highest known grade and you have $3000 ready to spend on a higher grade if it comes available. If a 9.4 shows first, you will no doubt spend your entire $3000 on it. Then when a 9.6 shows, the precedent has been set so it will go for $3000 plus a premium. If the 9.6 shows first, will it cost the same $3000 plus premium? No, it will sell to you for just $3000 because that's what you're offering. Then when the 9.4 comes available, it'll go for $3000 minus the premium amount. So in both scenarios, the first to market determines the value and 2 scenarios with the same items will have an outcome of different values depending on first to market. Economics is something I'm very interested in and I really like to analyze the psychology behind spending habits. EDIT - I see what you mean now, the overall value of a 9.4 will settle down to the same value in both scenarios once the 9.6 shows up. I was considering the value of only this one time sale, not the overall value of a 9.4 on the market. I was assuming once you had unloaded the 9.4, your interest in the value was over. I understand your point now. Edited August 28, 2020 by Code Monkey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonebone | 1,307 Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 You just upgrade as high as you can afford and find. If its a desirable title and you are almost certain you can bump from 9.0 to 9.2 I would do it. Or at least keep all the components and add it to you to be graded pile somewhere down the road. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearcat-Doug | 5,104 Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 I'm not really into upgrading myself, but it's probably worth it if you have the time to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkturus | 18 Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 If your collecting high grade cibs you are already knee deep in. If a component of the cib is available I would just keep upgrading. Im trying to do that with my tyson to 9.4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPX | 1,369 Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 I think the key issue is “time” and not just “money”. You need to factor into the amount of time it takes to find an upgrade, messaging to and fro, waiting for shipping etc. Then ask yourself is the amount of time you spend obtaining an upgrade, is it worth it for a marginal profit? If you spend little time for an upgrade, then chances are, your boost in grade will likely not bring you much extra worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetTheGreg | 105 Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 7 hours ago, Arkturus said: If your collecting high grade cibs you are already knee deep in. If a component of the cib is available I would just keep upgrading. Im trying to do that with my tyson to 9.4. This really is the weirdest thing about CIB grading. The whole "Frankenstein-ing" together the nicest possible combination almost feels like cheating haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonebone | 1,307 Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 2 hours ago, Maertens29 said: This really is the weirdest thing about CIB grading. The whole "Frankenstein-ing" together the nicest possible combination almost feels like cheating haha. Eh I think it's completely fair, especially with the emphasis on IMPs and making sure the variants match. Back in the day when you married parts it wasn't nearly as precise and if you just kept the best conditioned cart or manual during a CIB upgrade then you may have matched the wrong components. As long as as it's the right variation it doesn't bother me. Besides, the cost of grading a CIB is more than Sealed and it isn't exactly cheap. People will only grade the stuff worth grading and only pay a regrade fee if they are pretty confident that the new component is in fact an upgrade. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bergalon | 8 Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 I recently sent my first order to WATA and included some CIB I purchased on NA back 15 years ago. Some advice that helped me to choose to pay $55 a game was "if you never want to open it, or if you feel nervous opening the box, then get it graded". They were urban champion, ice climber (both with seal intact), metal storm, and kid icarus which I always was nervous about wrinkling or damaging. No doubt WATA has completely changed this hobby. As someone who was never that fond of VGA, I hope for the better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dkaps82 | 3 Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 If it were a box upgrade I would absolutely recommend. If you have a 9.0 box and upgrade your cart to a 9.6...your 9.2 is negligible in my eyes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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