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Banzai-Tron
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Post by Banzai-Tron »

Minerva wrote:Woah! I don't think I will ever truly understand AFA-grading or the amount of money some people are willing to pay for certain items.

EVERYONE: Please remember that no eBay links are allowed (see forum rule #7)!
http://www.transformerland.com/forum/vi ... php?t=3436
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or any other administrator or moderator.
Thank you. :)
I thought we were allowed closed item Ebay links that are pertinent to the discussion? I'm sure I've had this conversation with someone before...

EDIT: Errr, unless you're just referring to skywarp's link ;)
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Post by Banzai-Tron »

Time Traveller wrote:All i can say, is AFA got caught grading a zhong jin as original. I'm with Matt. their numbers really mean nothing to me, other than someone paid them a lot of $ to oodle it and then seal it up.
Well, there numbers mean something to ME: I'm NOT going to buy it! LOL.

Even giving them a pass on the Zhong Jin matter (they made that mistake VERY early in both their grading of TFs AND early in the accurate bootleg production game), to me, encasing a toy in lucite/acrylic whatever ONLY adds the protection value the case provides. If you're never going to open it, you basically just have a REALLY HEAVY PHOTOGRAPH! LOL.
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Post by Minerva »

Banzai-Tron wrote: I thought we were allowed closed item Ebay links that are pertinent to the discussion?
Sorry, the 'no eBay-links'-rule include that too.
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skywarp408
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Post by skywarp408 »

Sorry for the ebay link.

Anyways, I'd love to see someone buy this and then smash the hell out of that damn afa case.
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Banzai-Tron
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Post by Banzai-Tron »

Minerva wrote:
Banzai-Tron wrote: I thought we were allowed closed item Ebay links that are pertinent to the discussion?
Sorry, the 'no eBay-links'-rule include that too.
So then TT's ruling (from this thread I made specifically asking about this particular circumstance: http://www.transformerland.com/forum/vi ... =ebay+link) has been changed? ;) (I found it!)
Time Traveller wrote:Alright, lemme lay it down. Posting completed auctions for research purposes is OK, as long as it isn't about giving your opinion on the buyer or seller. So, to say "i saw this rare item go for $85 *here*"- 8)
however "DON'T BUY FROM THIS SELLER HE SUX" - :evil:
If you have any questions about why we have the links policy in place, PM me.
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Post by Time Traveller »

heheh. fixed.
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Post by captainamerica »

Time Traveller wrote: their numbers really mean nothing to me, other than someone paid them a lot of $ to oodle it and then seal it up.
Couldn't agree more. I've been collecting long enough that I don't need someone else to tell me what a toy's condition is. And I don't see the purpose of keeping a toy (or a comic book) sealed in a little plastic coffin. I can see having an acrylic case made for a particular favorite piece, but even then I'd want a case I could open.

Does anyone else think condemning a transformer to one mode for eternity is a cruel, sadistic bit of torture? I can see Megatron cackling with delight, grabbing every starscream or prime he could get his cold, steely fingers on and cramming them in a box with 'to:AFA' scribbled across the top.
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Post by Banzai-Tron »

Time Traveller wrote:heheh. fixed.
Well, in that case, I will be posting less frequently. Obviously, I like everyone here, and I'm not going to do anything rash, lol. Most likely nobody will notice that my .02 cents worth of harmless closed-item evil-bay linking is missing anyhow.

But I also don't have the spare time to live up to this new Retconned standard, that makes no apparent sense ;)
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Post by LD2062 »

$150,000 ebat auction with 10,000 shipping. For anime, transformers, macross figures.

Whole collection shown here:
http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e203/ ... obusa1225/
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Post by skywarp408 »

And not a single sealed g1 figure :roll:
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Post by Countdown »

man, can you imagine the time it would take to pack all of those. And, I would assume you would need a uhaul truck for all of that. That would take for ever to get shipped out.
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Post by Dirge »

i actually considered getting a couple of my misb tfs AFAd

there was an auction a few weeks ago for a 2005 reissue op prime

MISB
AFA graded

$1500 USD

and it did actually sell :shock:
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Post by Time Traveller »

Dirge... Don't waste your money. For the value it adds, it's very expensive to do. Considering recent errors in AFA's grading judgement, I'm not sure how the value of it's graded figures will hold out. As for ebay guy, I think he's being pretty optimistic. If that's worth $150,000... I'd love to know what my collection is worth! (I have G1s!)
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Post by TheHun »

just my opinion, but at least if you don't have a completed figure, it can still look good in a standing pose.
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Post by Dirge »

if i did have them AFAd it wouldnt be to add value or anything
its the prestige thing to me
how many collections actually have an afa misb action master soundwave or an afa misb g1 swindle ?

not many i would guess

thats what im after

quality not quantity

anyone can have a complete collection of 400+ g1s
less people have them boxed or misb or afa graded or even complete

thats how it look from planet dirge anyway :roll: :lol:
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Post by Time Traveller »

does AFA grading really make your figure any nicer, though? that's what you have to ask yourself.
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Post by Dirge »

like i said

for me it isnt about making the fig nicer or adding value or anything of that nature

its about the prestige

granted it wont make the fig any nicer than it already is

but as i said very few people have or can afford afa graded stuff

so its pretigious to have such a graded figure isnt it ? :P :lol:
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Post by Banzai-Tron »

And who will lavish this prestige upon you?

If you're not looking to sell it, and you're not worried about it getting damaged, then what's the point?

How often will people be dropping by your farm to marvel at the prestige of your AFA 80/90 AM Soundwave?

Also, don't forget the added timecost involved in explaining to EVERY non-collecting visitor why exactly you have a toy, from the 80s, that was meant to be played with, not only sealed in the original package, but then again sealed AND graded in a lucite package. Trust me, this conversation can take over half an hour.

Just my thoughts... and also why I've (so far) refrained from graded my set of Orange G2 Constructicons.
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Post by Dirge »

i do see your point ...
BUT ...
dont you think its better to keep it in good condition by casing it in that acrylic case ?

these toys wont last forever and as time goes on they will all but dissapear from existence

so in ... say .... another 50 years these toys will be museum pieces

its people like us collectors who guarrantee that the next generation of children and the ones that follow get to see the kind of things that their great grandfather used to play with as a child


the ammount spent on afa ing now ...

will guarrantee that my great grandchildren get to keep a part of their family history

even if it is * only * a toy that their great grandfather once played with
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Post by Banzai-Tron »

Now, I'm just playing Devil's Advocate here, Dirge...

Except... no amount of acrylic casing is going to prevent the plastic from deteriorating over time.

Very little from the eighties is sufficiently rare enough to warrant this sort of treatment. For instance... I think we can agree that we would call a MISB 1984 PEPSI Optimus Prime a rare Transformer. However, there are currently 36 of them grade, with 34 of them being over AFA 75.

By comparison, the ENTIRE 1979 line of Mego SuperHeroes only has 24 MOSC graded figures. You might have to trust me on this, but I can tell you that Mego fans are just as rabid as Transformer fans. And unlike say, the Action Masters line, its not due to the lack of value that they're not AFA'ed.... it's due to lack of supply. (Though, I must admit there's also a tendency to not want to AFA Megos because of the plastic deterioration issue).

Sometime in the early 80s, our society changed to a consumer/hoarder culture. They made more. We bought more. We saved more. I think society took all those 1970s, "Indian-Crying-whilst-floating-down-the-river-with-no-paddle Don't Pollute" ads to heart, and just stopped throwing things away. (Though, I assume you didn't get those on your side of the pond, eh? Here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7OHG7tHrNM )

Our stuff's just not THAT rare.

Not to mention, once cased, you'll lose ALL tactile appreciation for it. Here's an experiment to try:
1) Find a clear box.
2) Find something you appreciate to put into clear box.
3) Note how you feel while looking at said object while inspecting it (IN YOUR HANDS!) before putting it into the clear box.
4) Put item in clear box.
5) Note how you feel while looking at said object in its new clear boxy home.
6) Any difference?


PS:
Dirge wrote: even if it is * only * a toy that their great grandfather once played with
If it's AFA'ed MOSC, then how did Great Grandpa play with it?
If you're simply trying to pass on something you love, you could just as well wrap it in archival paper, a few paper bags, and some bubble wrap, and a plastic tote. Or seal it in a vacuumed environment.
And be sure that you have a loose one as well, so the conversation can be more touching:

Great Grandson: "GreatPa, wot's this?"

The Consciousness of Dirge, Uploaded onto the Family's Pentium X Braincore with Windows2urSoul 2089: "Why, That's my prized Action Master Soundwave toy, that I loved dearly, Johnny!"
GG: "Cool! (Starts opening the case)"
TCoDUotFPXBwW2uS2089: "Noooo! Don't open it!"
GG: "Errr... but why, GreatPa?"
TCoDUotFPXBwW2uS2089: "There's only 35 of those left in existence. I'm trying to preserve my childhood memories for generations to come, so that you can understand what a real, honest to goodness toy that people played with and loved was like in the future! Now, you kids are spoiled with your Holographic Virtual Worlds and Neural Jack Virtual Toys"
GG: "I see... but how did you love it and play with it, its sealed in this case, in its original packaging?"
(This is where you need to whip out the beaten, playworn, loved on version. Umm... but don't love on it too much. That's gross.)

Or something. I think I started rambling (about 45 sentences ago?)
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