I decided to get a few of the Kenner toys we had graded because I thought it
might make it easier to sell them on ebay. I sent them to AFA, which is the
action figure equivalent of CGC.
Now initially, I had pretty much decided against it. The same arguments here
for and against an outside entity grading movie memorabilia holds true for
action figures. A lot of Star Wars collectors feel AFA grading has "ruined" the
hobby, while others feel it has set a standard. On the CON side are also
arguments that although AFA is suppose to have a standard, the standard varies
dependent on who the individual grader is, and that AFA has made mistakes --
which AFA readily admits, and has backed their grading mistakes with buy backs.
I decided to grade the Star Wars Kenner action figures because I thought it
would be easier to sell them on ebay if there is an AFA grade, plus, with the
plexiglass case, its easier to offer a return.
So I shelled out the bucks and had them graded. Some of the larger toys, like
the laser rifle, are expensive to grade because their plexiglass boxes are big.
I am of the subjective opinion that AFA's critics are right -- the grading does
have a degree of variable. For vintage Kenner action figures, the difference
between an 85 or 90 grade is a huge difference in retail value. Essentially,
with a 90, "the sky's the limit."
My grades? I couldn't understand why some which got an 85 got the 85, while
others got a 90. I'm not alone. There are dealers who will send a toy back to
get it regraded to see if they can get a better grade.
Conclusion? For a toy valued over $1000, the grading is worth it. For the rest,
I would have been better off saving my money.
We had a distributor's bundle of Star Wars Issue #1 comics, but for the reason
cited above, I've decided against sending them to CGC. Each graded comic would
mean an additional $23 plus shipping I'd have to recoup.
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