Is there any point to this?

[thenammagazine]

From what I know, the folks at AFA do that inspection. I'm not sure how they do it with figures, but I'm sure that's what they do for trading cards, like basketball cards, etc.

They check the condition of the cards and they provide ratings based on their assessment. I'd also be very surprised if they'd tarnish their reputation for one measly customer, so I don't think the seller would be given a pass at getting a good grade for a broken toy.

As it stand, though, I still don't find the merit of AFA-grading toys or action figures. Might as well do that to a statue.

Even still, what's to say it's even in the same condition it was in when sealed? And what makes them the authority on action figures. Could they tell you if a knee joint or wrist peg on a HT figure had been replaced? Would they know if every single quill on Elder Predator's head was accounted for? What about a Sideshow Luke? Could they tell you if the boots on him were the original? Or if he'd been swapped to another buck? Would they be able to actually identify an original Adventure Team Joe and not a remake tucked neatly in vintage clothing? I really question their expertise. Seems like they made a mint off of doing this with comics and said, "Hey, we could always do action figures too! We already know people are stupid enough to pay for it!" That said, as I pointed out earlier, their "rating" is all but useless. Another example is you could seal a DX Batman like that and the oils would deteriorate the suit, while sealed in the box, and yet it would still have the high rating. Same deal with a rotting ED209. Or potentially a Medicom figure that breaks while they're placing it in the box. My point is, AFA rating is useless.

I didn't follow properly at first then - so the rating is void if the box is opened? Fine for some to swallow this I guess, but I'm in the I-handle-my-dollies crowd, so I could care less.

Yes. You'd have to have it re-rated and resealed and believe me, it ain't cheap. It boils down to the best judge for a figure is the collector themselves. When you buy something like the DX Joker, strip the whole figure down and inspect every aspect, the body, joints, seams of the clothes, every accessory, etc. Otherwise, leaving it to someone else is asking to get ____ed in the ass and the only one to blame is yourself.

 

[samueljd]

What a crock. It's just somebody trying to sell their Joker for more than anybody else usually does.

 

[Lejuan]

The other question is I guess, does this make a figure more valuable? I would pay more for a MIB figure than I would for an AFA (or whatever) rated loose figure. And if I was buying a loose figure, I'd trust the word of the seasoned collector I'm buying it from over a rating slapped on it by some mob who, as Nam says, don't have expertise in this area.

 

[jrice73]

AFA or CGC for toys and comics can make people who sell their stuff a mint. Case in point, my buddy Dave who runs the local comic shop had a gentlemen come in with no knowledge of comics whatsoever but had a collection that he had inherited from his dad. What Dave saw in that collection made him almost faint--a pristine, massive collection of mint Marvel comics from the seventies. Dave could have given the gentlemen what he normally gives for used comics which is far below collector's price and really ripped the guy off but Dave said he could have never have done that and lived with himself. Dave said in over his nearly 30 years of running his shop, this was one of the greatest collections he had ever seen and we're talking about several hundred different issues totally mint and multiple copies of each issue. Well, Dave said he could help the guy unload them and so what he had the gentlemen do was take them to be professionally graded by CGC. As of right now, that collection has been fully graded and nearly 3/4 of it sold earning the gentlemen a couple of hundred thousand dollars. Dave said he's been able to invest some of that money as well as do restorations and add-ons to his house.
But something that my buddy Dave and I both agree on is this--CGC is slowly killing comic books. It's one thing to grade something that is a few or several decades old but when people try to take stuff that is new and get it graded and then sell it for profit hoping to make a killing they are really fooling themselves. What it really comes down to is the CGC grading of these books drive them up beyond what they should really be worth. And what's worse, is the market is beyond saturated with this ____ and nobody is buying it. It's just like what happened in the nineties with the speculator market. That nearly killed comics. I never, ever buy anything that's been CGC graded. It's an absolute waste of money. And for AFA toys, it's the same. ____ THAT ____! There are some online stores out there that will not be named that sell AFA graded toys which in this day with the economy as it is have to be taking a hit for selling such outrageously overpriced merchandise. And what's really hilarious is that these toys could still be mint and sealed in their boxes but will that stop them from yellowing. Hell no. Why unload a $1000.00 for a toy when you can may be pay a $100.00 or so and get the exact same thing in the exact same condition sans grading. An AFA ebay auction for a loose Hot Toys Joker and a version 1 no matter is just lame. But its a symptom of a massive problem affecting both comics and toys--over inflation and over grading of what something is worth when the market is already saturated with said product.

 

[cr0w]

There's no point to anything related to collecting, really.

 

[lerath666]

granted, but the grading thing is even more so. like buying a screen door at lowes for an imaginary submarine.

 

[Karnis]

They are simply trying to pump up the value of a figure that is basically the least desirable of all the HT Jokers in hopes some dope will pay $$$ for it.

After all, there is a sucker born every minute.

 

[D'oh!]

I think it's kind of stupid, they don't even have the box.

It's assumed if it's in the box and hasn't been opened it should be in perfect condition. I wouldn't spend as much on something like that without the box even if it was graded to be mint

I'll bet there are some out there with the box... sealed inside of an outer, plastic box that's graded.

 

[galactiboy]

I think even better than the crooked ankle is that its an awful looking figure... the V1 headsculpt is easily one of HT biggest misses and to have it immortalized in an AFA box is hilarious.

 

[rivera2171]

Completely pointless...