Sell me on AFA...

[Screwtape]

Alright, I am pretty tired of having to buy vintage Joes on Ebay or other online sites and then finding out when they arrive that they're just a hot mess in Joe form. Cracked elbows, paint wear, broken crotches, all of them carrying the MINT banner, have really discouraged me. I am at the point where I have totally given up on buying anything MOC unless I can actually hold them in my hand and inspect them first just to protect myself, which doesn't exactly give me a lot of options to buy the 80s stuff. Stuff on the pegs now? No problem. Not on the pegs now? Not gonna happen.

So, I have been looking at AFA more and more as a possibility just to insure that when I buy something MINT, it's MINT. Yes, I realize I would be taking someone ELSE'S opinion yet again that mint is mint, but it seems to be the only method out there of guaranteeing some sort of uniform quality.

The expense is a huge problem, of course. But paying X amount of money for a sure thing, in the long run, is a better investment than paying X for "meh"...repeatedly.

But I still can't pull the trigger. Do I go AFA figures or AFA carded? I've been buying figures on bad cards (not intentionally, see above) so I have been considering the send-in and let them open them option, but...I don't know - and I don't want to take the AFA's website's word for it. I'd rather hear from those of you who actually collect them and have experience with the end product.

Thoughts? Send-in and open them? Figures or carded? Buy AFA'd Joes on Ebay or right from the source?

[spiderpumpkin]

Even slabbed MOC figures by the "authority" can have broken o-rings, broken crotches, discoloration, bubble adhesion failure over time.

[vettfanatic]

I was collecting MOC figures well before AFA had started there grading of toys. I was totally against the idea of AFA at that time. It just seemed stupid to pay someone to encapsulate your figure and grade it. After the prices of carded g.i.joe figures started to rise and more money was at stake with every purchase. The idea of more accurate grading (a 3rd party opinion) started to have a lot more appeal. There was/is far to many sellers that did/will provide crappy pictures and overgraded descriptions. After getting burned enough times and having high grade figures becoming increasing harder to find I made the switch to buying only AFA graded figures. Once you learn their grading standards you can pretty much know what your getting when you make a purchase. Also the AFA cases make for a great display. Here's a shot of a shelf in my old toyroom.

[JoeToyFan]

Wow, on ebay right now there is an auction for a lot of 6 MOC AFA figures. 3 are graded 85 and 3 are graded 80.

Item # 120829283488

There is only 4 hours left with 12 bidders and the auction is already up to $1,415.00 + $89.95 s&h

[Bigbot]

Wow, on ebay right now there is an auction for a lot of 6 MOC AFA figures. 3 are graded 85 and 3 are graded 80.

Item # 120829283488

There is only 4 hours left with 12 bidders and the auction is already up to $1,415.00 + $89.95 s&h

Saw that. The seller claims he paid over $1000 for Ship Wreck before grading. If true, he over paid, and looks like someone else is going to over pay as well IMO.

[bluebikerboy1]

well pros would be they come in shiny cases and uv protected i think.
cons is when it comes to loose AFA dont know squat and ive seen them grade accessory pack weapons as original and claim the figure is complete.

as far as carded there are a few of my favorite joes i will one day aquire carded (87 gung ho plus others) and since they are my favorites ill send them on. More or less for the preaty case then the value but i know resale will be better if they grade for now.

[Delorean]

I only own 6 or 7 AFA graded vintage MOC figures. The reason being is because they can be extremely expensive and they can be upwards of 30 years old. With that being dsid, the O-rings on those high priced graded figures will snap at some point in the future and there is no way to repair a snapped O-ring on a loose graded, MOC graded, or just plain MOC figure unless you break it open. I fully expect more and more O-rings to begin snapping as the years go by. I remember years ago when AFA first began seeing a guy on eBay spend $5,000 on an AFA 85 Blowtorch only to have the O-ring snap shortly after he bought it.

[Satandy]

How much does the value on a carded figure drop when the o-ring breaks? It will be interesting to see if people start fixing and re-sealing figures so they can still make cool MOC displays. I am sure it happens now already, but if right now the most valuable joe is MOC unsealed and those can still break...would everyone rather have the figure intact even if they have to open it.

[zartan74]

I'm kinda in the same boat. I was thinking for a while now on AFA fig. But just don't know the price is what is holding me back for now, but like was said before you do get protected UV cases...I bought a case from them before for my vintage vehicle box and the case is pretty cool I like it.

[FireFox91]

The inconsistency in AFA grades is what concerns me most. There have been a number of reports of items that appear to have received too high or too low of a grade when compared to a similar item. The price is also a concern because it makes already pricey items much more expensive. I suppose that is the premium you have to pay to get the grading.