Hey, I was just wondering who planned on grading their 25th figs. I think I'll have all of them graded over time, especially Flint, Doc, the SDCC Destro's, and the new SDCC Cobra Commanders..., are ya'll going to AFA figs, vehicles, comic packs, the DVD packs...?

For the time being, no. Maybe I'll end up grading Flint in the future...

Hey, I was just wondering who planned on grading their 25th figs. I think I'll have all of them graded over time, especially Flint, Doc, the SDCC Destro's, and the new SDCC Cobra Commanders..., are ya'll going to AFA figs, vehicles, comic packs, the DVD packs...?
I'm collecting 25TH Joes graded AFA 85/90 U only.

I wish, I got a gold and silver PDD at AFA right now. Mabey over time. Was thinking of wating 5 years or so....

Da_Last_2_Walk, I think I bid on some AFA figs of yours on ebay, same user name on ebay right?

Takk Viper- do you think it's better to grade later, maybe it'll be cheaper to grade them then, or do it early so they're in that protective case asap? I would do them all now, but I don't have the cash.

Da_Last_2_Walk, I think I bid on some AFA figs of yours on ebay, same user name on ebay right?
The one and only!

Hit me up if you are looking for AFA Joes.

Takk Viper- do you think it's better to grade later, maybe it'll be cheaper to grade them then, or do it early so they're in that protective case asap? I would do them all now, but I don't have the cash.

Well, from my AFA experience, they are alot easier on the grade depending on the age of, or the rarity of a figure. My buddy just got a pre-rub Skids back from AFA and they were VERY gracious with the grade. they gave it an 85 and the box was in terrible shape! lol....youd have thought he paid them off for that grade!:eek::D Im no expert, but i've seen the same type of stuff at conventions, in collections and on e-bay....horrible boxes+ age or rarity= good grades.

Of corse, stuff like 25th joes are hot now, but 20 years from now on the secondary market they may (?) not be worth too much. Kids actually played with these toys in the 80's so, to find a v1 Flint or Storm Shadow on a mint card is a rarity...people collect 25th figs and hang on to them in thier minty glory...thier will still be a good number of them 20 years from now...but who knows...I wont let that stop me from collecting!!!

Well, from my AFA experience, they are alot easier on the grade depending on the age of, or the rarity of a figure. My buddy just got a pre-rub Skids back from AFA and they were VERY gracious with the grade. they gave it an 85 and the box was in terrible shape! lol....youd have thought he paid them off for that grade!:eek::D Im no expert, but i've seen the same type of stuff at conventions, in collections and on e-bay....horrible boxes+ age or rarity= good grades.

Of corse, stuff like 25th joes are hot now, but 20 years from now on the secondary market they may (?) not be worth too much. Kids actually played with these toys in the 80's so, to find a v1 Flint or Storm Shadow on a mint card is a rarity...people collect 25th figs and hang on to them in thier minty glory...thier will still be a good number of them 20 years from now...but who knows...I wont let that stop me from collecting!!!
Yo,

Skids was series 2 with a rubsign. Only series 1 has pre rubs.

He was the first series 2 figure that was released late in 1984. This is why Skids was packaged with series 1 box art.

It's possible for a figure to get an overall grade of 85 with a box subgrade of 80.

Is your friend selling this piece?

Yo,

Skids was series 2 with a rubsign. Only series 1 has pre rubs.

He was the first series 2 figure that was released late in 1984. This is why Skids was packaged with series 1 box art.

It's possible for a figure to get an overall grade of 85 with a box subgrade of 80.

Is your friend selling this piece?

Nah, it's for his personal collection....Mabey it was Soundwave. I dont't know much about TF packaging history. I was just amazed the toy got a grade that high. I know he just got 5 or 6 back from AFA not too long ago.

Nah, it's for his personal collection....Mabey it was Soundwave. I dont't know much about TF packaging history. I was just amazed the toy got a grade that high. I know he just got 5 or 6 back from AFA not too long ago.
Yo,

PM sent.

I think it might be a waste of money to AFA grade any 25th Joes, barring possibly the variants and/or con exclusives.

There's just so much of the product out there and, like someone already said, far more adults are buying these and keeping them MOC than there ever were in the 80s. I just don't see most of the 25th line ever achieving true rarity.....it's far more likely that the 25th Joe line will end up like the Star Wars relaunch did (you can't even get back original cost on 90% of them now).

AFA grading doesn't increase the rarity of a figure, and the rarity is where a figure's value comes in. An AFA90 Wave 5 Snake Eyes might be the only one in the world with that grade.....but that's only until someone else sends theirs in.

I agree, if you're just trying to make money by AFAing your figs and then plan on selling them later you might be wasting time and money, but for me I would like to have a complete collection all AFA graded just for myself. Are any of ya'll planning on that?

Thats what i say. I would like to AFA my 25th collection just so it will look nice displayed. Im keeping everything MOC or MISB anyways (with occasional doubles I open lol...) It's a large investment for a *possibly monitarily worthless line of figures, but hey, I love the 25th line and i want my collection to display well.

*(Just because kids aren't playing with them. Mostly adults collect so the "rare factor" for the future is non-existent except for exclusives and such:eek::D. lol)

I would say its early to afa them, but saying that just because adults are collecting them doesn't mean they won't become rare. Nobody knows if a tragic accident will befall anyones collection and I'm not wishing that on anyone, but it could happen. I always have that thought in the back of my mind that with all the money I have put in to my collection that it could all disappear in a heartbeat.

I hear ya buddy, that's why I take pictures of everything, save all my e-mailed receipts/order forms, and make sure my homeowner's insurance gets paid every month!

I was told by my agent that homeowner's insurance would not cover my toys in the event of a catastrophe because they are considered "collectibles" and are excluded from the general policy.

I was told that I would have to buy separate collectibles insurance from a specialty underwriter. The policy isn't terribly expensive (it's about $50-60/year per $10K of coverage), but the headache comes in that you would be required to have a full inventory and appraisal of your collection, and send them updates periodically.

I haven't done it yet (but I should). Anyway, I thought I would float it out there.....

I think it might be a waste of money to AFA grade any 25th Joes, barring possibly the variants and/or con exclusives.

There's just so much of the product out there and, like someone already said, far more adults are buying these and keeping them MOC than there ever were in the 80s. I just don't see most of the 25th line ever achieving true rarity.....it's far more likely that the 25th Joe line will end up like the Star Wars relaunch did (you can't even get back original cost on 90% of them now).

AFA grading doesn't increase the rarity of a figure, and the rarity is where a figure's value comes in. An AFA90 Wave 5 Snake Eyes might be the only one in the world with that grade.....but that's only until someone else sends theirs in.

I don't think it's a waste of money to AFA grade 25TH Joes.

An AFA 95U Major Bludd just sold for $365! He is not a variant.

An item doesn't have to be rare to be valuable.

True; AFA grading doesn't increase the rarity of a figure, but it does increase the value of a figure.

Wow.....I guess there are people out there who will pay a premium for a graded item, no matter how common it is.....you said an item doesn't have to be rare to be valuable.....but if the rarity of an item isn't what drives prices, then what does? I love discussions on economic theory.....

As an aside, most of the graded 25th figures that have sold in the last 30 days have sold in the $60-70 range (including an AFA 90U Bludd for $89). That's certainly better than the prices ungraded figures bring, but the seller's investment is much higher as well.....how much does it cost to get a 25th figure graded? I don't know.....

Wow.....I guess there are people out there who will pay a premium for a graded item, no matter how common it is.....you said an item doesn't have to be rare to be valuable.....but if the rarity of an item isn't what drives prices, then what does? I love discussions on economic theory.....

As an aside, most of the graded 25th figures that have sold in the last 30 days have sold in the $60-70 range (including an AFA 90U Bludd for $89). That's certainly better than the prices ungraded figures bring, but the seller's investment is much higher as well.....how much does it cost to get a 25th figure graded? I don't know.....

The cost varies on the turnaround time one wants to get the figures back. I normally pay the $24 to get them graded (10-15 bus. days) and when I factor in the cost of buying the figure, it comes to around $30 total.

I just sold an AFA 90 Firefly for $125 so I was able to generate a profit of about $95 on this graded figure. I agree with the person who said that grading it doesn't make it rarer but it does increase the value. There's no way I could get that much for a non-variant figure that isn't graded.

Also, in a way, a graded figure can be considered more rare if you base it on the AFA population report. For example, they have only had 2 Firefly's from the 25th line that have graded 90. Now I didn't advertise this but I could have said "1 of just 2 figures" which could make it more rare than the regular hard-to-find figure.

The previous person is also correct when they mention the collectors investment is also higher because of getting it graded, shipping costs, etc. It comes down to each person's perference and desires.

Wow.....I guess there are people out there who will pay a premium for a graded item, no matter how common it is.....you said an item doesn't have to be rare to be valuable.....but if the rarity of an item isn't what drives prices, then what does? I love discussions on economic theory.....
I'm not KRS-1, but here's my philosophy.......

I answered your question in my last sentence:
True; AFA grading doesn't increase the rarity of a figure, but it does increase the value of a figure.

You also answered the same question :
Wow.....I guess there are people out there who will pay a premium for a graded item

Also, I didn't say rarity didn't drive prices, I said it's not the only factor. An AFA graded item will always increase the value of an item.

There are other factors that also play into an items selling price:
Seller feedback, bidding wars, time of year,................


As an aside, most of the graded 25th figures that have sold in the last 30 days have sold in the $60-70 range (including an AFA 90U Bludd for $89). That's certainly better than the prices ungraded figures bring, but the seller's investment is much higher as well.....how much does it cost to get a 25th figure graded? I don't know.....
Let me break it down for you:

Say it costs about $60 for a case of 8 figures. It costs about $30 a figure to get graded. That's a total of $300. Then sell all 8 for $70 each. That's a total of $560. That's $260 profit!

I guess in the end the lesson is that "value" is a perception that varies from person to person and is really nothing more than a subjective decision that we must each make.

I would never pay $60 for a general distribution figure that came out less than a year ago, regardless of whether it's been graded or not. But there are people out there who will and do......and some of you are able to make a tidy profit off of those people. It's the American Dream at work!