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NOW HTS.com HAS AFA GRADED GI JOE 25th ANNIVERSARY FIGURES FOR SALE


lldjslim

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This AFA craze has gone too far and it looks like it will never end. Now HTS.com is trying to cash in on the AFA craze.

 

WTF is so special about AFA, just because its graded by AFA - SO WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

If you ask me AFA is made for suckers and fools who don't know there joe. In fact AFA is ripping you off. Why pay some company just to tell you how good of condition your figure is in. I can do this myself, if its mint on card and has no dogears or scratches then buy all means its flawless

 

But If you really need your AFA fix then prices between $50.00 - $100.00 shouldn't matter to you at all.

 

And also there is a Cobra EEL wepond variant, so that fig will probably sell for $10,000.00 on ebay and some poor fool will buy it too, maybe one of you.

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I say good for them-- it's hard to make a buck in this hard economy and nobody is forcing people to pay ridiculous prices on toys. In the meantime, I'll take all those worthless, crumby, ruined little toys that have been forever marred by a terrible CREASE on the corner of the package. Really, all those should only be worth, I don't know, maybe 10% of their original value... Seems fair to me. :)

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Even though I hate AFA, in a way, I say good for Hasbro.. though, I'd wait till the figs were out there a little more.. they're probably seeing the people out there selling AFA figs for hundreds of dollars and in a way, I think it'd help more than hurt the secondary market, cause if you can get them from Hasbro, then why pay the scalper prices on ebay??? Know what I mean?

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Even though I hate AFA, in a way, I say good for Hasbro.. though, I'd wait till the figs were out there a little more.. they're probably seeing the people out there selling AFA figs for hundreds of dollars and in a way, I think it'd help more than hurt the secondary market, cause if you can get them from Hasbro, then why pay the scalper prices on ebay??? Know what I mean?

 

 

Im with Joe on this one. AFA is a scam in my opinion, people like you or me "gradding" toys how they see fit. But it is what it is, to each there own. Obviously its popular, or else the idea would have dies long ago. Hell im a little mad I didnt think of it first...lol.

I dont see why hasbro wouldnt sell AFA grade figs, a part of their collector base buys them, so why not cut out the middle man and directly supply them. As long as they sell regular versions for us I see no problem.

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Grading and slabbing toys and other collectibles is pretty dumb in my eyes, here's one of the reasons why:

 

Suppose you have two identically graded and slabbed items, same appraisal, same value.....but.....the AFA bubble on one has a ding on it, or is maybe buckled.

 

Which of the two is worth more??

 

 

That's right, in most cases the flawless AFA slabbed item would be considered to be worth "more"--even though the contents of both slabs ( the whole point of the grade) are exactly identical.

 

The whole idea behind slabbing is to preserve the collectible in its graded condition for as long as possible, and once its opened from the slab......its value changes--so the slab now becomes part of the "collectible" and thus part of its value. Ding the slab and you ding the value.

 

 

Where does the idiocy end?

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I hate AFA crap. Stupidest thing to happen to toy collecting in my opinion.

 

and I hate Hasbrotoyshop for doing this too.. totally explains why these figures were "sold out" when I was trying to buy them earlier with the coupon... they were actually all being shipped to AFA! @lol@

 

 

like when the SDCC Destros were "sold out," but actually just being graded instead

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I haven't visited the HTS site since I heard this, but if there are AFA graded SDCC Cobra Commanders on that site right now, I am giving all my 25th Ann. figures to Goodwill. They did that last year with the Destro exclusive, and it was sickening.

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I haven't visited the HTS site since I heard this, but if there are AFA graded SDCC Cobra Commanders on that site right now, I am giving all my 25th Ann. figures to Goodwill. They did that last year with the Destro exclusive, and it was sickening.

 

Boohoo... They paid a third party to give their items a nice case, and guarantee that the card's not being damage in transit to you! HOW DARE THEY!

 

Guess someone who actually collects the item, as opposed to just playing with all of their Joes should drop some knowledge (thanks Gary)...

 

AFA, Action Figure Authority. I agree that when I first got into toy collecting I had the same thoughts and ideas as you did.

 

But here's what you (apparently just openly hostile) people don't seem to understand, they provide a service for those who buy online. Why am I going to buy a MOC figure that could be in who-knows-what-condition? Sure, they can provide me with pictures, but what good is that going to do? I could show you a picture of any number of items in my collection, and sell you the crappier version. By providing you with the "AFA Grade" you have a figure in a durable acrylic case, and a number verify that on AFA's own website.

 

I will not buy an item off e-bay that is NOT AFA graded now, because it is that extra protection for a quality item in my collection. My RAH collection is now short some 30-expensive-ish figures. I'm happy to pay that extra 20% for these MOC to guarantee their quality.

 

Now, for new figures, it's the same thing. I'm provided with a case, and a quality of a product. How many of you ordered cases of a wave, only to have that box partially crushed, bending maybe ONE of the 8 cardbacks, and it's one you intented not to open? Do you want a bent cardback on your wall? I sure don't.

 

I do think the grading of loose figures/vehicles is a joke though. Although it provides the same attributes as the MOC items.

 

-Kevin

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Kevin--

 

I stated my reasons above and elsewhere--and I stand by them. Its your choice to purchase such things and your right to enjoy those purchases, but in my eyes, to my mind, I would feel stupid buying an AFA type item.

My view of collecting just says slabbing is a waste of money, simply because AFA grading becomes an end unto itself.

Especially with vintage items......the grading and encasing of older toys presents a problem ( particularly with Joes) in that you can have a seal figure or boxed vehicle slabbed, based on observations of that sealed item, but if the item deteriorates in the sealed package ( o-ring breaks on a figure) or is actually incomplete ( as in the case of a sealed vehicle box) you've just tossed the "grade".

And if you ding the case, the slab (case)itself ends up becoming part of the collectibles value.

 

(I could not help but note this line in the copy on the listings:

"....this figure has received an individual label with barcode and has been sealed in a slightly UV-resistant hard acrylic case designed to preserve the figure’s condition for decades to come."

Man, slight UV protection isn't going to help protect a figure very much, it can still discolour over time and from light exposure so the grading here is arbitrary at best. And for $50 min, all you get is SLIGHT UV protection?? Does paying $100 or $500 get you any better?? Not from what I can see.

You could better protect any of these toys by simply placing them in a $5 plastic Sterilte tub and storing it in a cool dry place--something that a "smart" AFA collector would probably do anyway.)

 

 

Honestly, a great many of the collectible hobbies soured badly once they began treating collectibles as valued commodities. Comics, baseball cards etc.......all bear testament to this.

There's nothing wrong with preserving something you like a great deal, and there's nothing wrong with asking that its value appreciates.

However, offering current items as self-proclaimed collectibles just fuels a bizarre frenzy that, imo, doesn't really serve the hobby any good at all.

Are ANY of these toys ( or the plastic cases that now shroud them ) truly worth playing about 10 times more?

 

That's the silliness I'm seeing, and talking about.

 

But at the end of the day, its your money to spend.

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The problem with AFA grading is there is NO backup or basis for it. Maybe if connected to an auction house like Christie's or something, they might be somewhat legit.

 

But these jackasses just like us, a bunch of fans, essentially, working out of their garages. How is it ANY different mailing your MOC Stalker to one of these AFA guys then to me. I'LL grade it for you!

 

How does that work? Because AFA grading is purely subjective. Look at Arrow's example above.

 

If I buy 2 MOC Stalkers, Stalker A could get a grade of 90 and Stalker B an 85 because the "grader" doesn't like the look of one of his eyes. Where as a another "grader" could give Stalker A an 85 and Stalker B a 90 because he likes the "uniqueness" of his eyes.

 

Grading does NOT work because there is NO "baseline model" for comparison. There is no perfect version (ie 100) of the item that other items can be compared to.

 

Hell what's to stop a grader from downgrading a figure just becuase HE doesn't like that particular figure?

 

Actually I can think of one thing: Money. The higher the grade, the more YOU pay for the grade. Only once have I've EVER seen a grade below 80 (a 75). But I bet you if you took that 75 and had us look at it, we wouldn't grade it that way ourselves.

 

Someone tell me:

 

Just WHAT is the differece between a graded figure and an ungraded figue. A case and a certificate?

 

What a scam. These guys are geniuses!

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I think, at this point, that it needs to be understood that I/we are not ganging up on Kevin ( or any other AFA collector for that matter) on this issue.

I come from a collecting philosophy that defies MOC--I'm an opener.

There's my bias right there.

Packaging means little to me because if I really like the packaging.......I'll get a print of it. I'm not collecting boxes or cards.........its the contents that I'm interested in.

 

Slabbing toys and comics always struck me as a bizarre kind of enjoyment.......like having a hot girlfriend who badly wants to jump your bones............but you never touch her. Almost defeats the purpose, doesn't it?? That's how I see slabbing, or even MOC collecting.

 

I do not collect for value, because in a collecting environment where a LOT of people are archiving "collectibles" scarcity is arbitrary and totally subject to trends. Toys make for LOUSY investments on that score, so why treat them as such?

 

If the only reason for slabbing is to preserve an item.......why does it need to be slabbed at such a high park-up--when any collector can ( with patience) find an item of similar condition and store it safely for much less cost?

It just stings of all the fluff-hyperbole that action figures went through a few years back when 5 POA's was called "poseable" and everything was labelled a collectible.

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I haven't visited the HTS site since I heard this, but if there are AFA graded SDCC Cobra Commanders on that site right now, I am giving all my 25th Ann. figures to Goodwill. They did that last year with the Destro exclusive, and it was sickening.

 

Boohoo... They paid a third party to give their items a nice case, and guarantee that the card's not being damage in transit to you! HOW DARE THEY!

 

Guess someone who actually collects the item, as opposed to just playing with all of their Joes should drop some knowledge (thanks Gary)...

 

AFA, Action Figure Authority. I agree that when I first got into toy collecting I had the same thoughts and ideas as you did.

 

But here's what you (apparently just openly hostile) people don't seem to understand, they provide a service for those who buy online. Why am I going to buy a MOC figure that could be in who-knows-what-condition? Sure, they can provide me with pictures, but what good is that going to do? I could show you a picture of any number of items in my collection, and sell you the crappier version. By providing you with the "AFA Grade" you have a figure in a durable acrylic case, and a number verify that on AFA's own website.

 

I will not buy an item off e-bay that is NOT AFA graded now, because it is that extra protection for a quality item in my collection. My RAH collection is now short some 30-expensive-ish figures. I'm happy to pay that extra 20% for these MOC to guarantee their quality.

 

Now, for new figures, it's the same thing. I'm provided with a case, and a quality of a product. How many of you ordered cases of a wave, only to have that box partially crushed, bending maybe ONE of the 8 cardbacks, and it's one you intented not to open? Do you want a bent cardback on your wall? I sure don't.

 

I do think the grading of loose figures/vehicles is a joke though. Although it provides the same attributes as the MOC items.

 

-Kevin

 

 

You may not have intended it, but the above post comes across as more than a little snide. You don't open your toys, you "collect". Good for you. I don't "get" the whole notion of "toys as collectables" just as you don't get why adults "play" with toys. Neither "side" is right or wrong here, but both are equally geeky. Afterall, these are just toys that we're all taking so seriously. They are disposable, unimportant playthings originally intended for children. In the grand scheme, none of us have any just cause towards righteous indignation over this subect. Hasbro builds them, HTS sells them (AFA graded or otherwise) and we buy 'em... or we don't.

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Okay, I have to admit to a bit of confusion here.

 

Whether Hasbro or HTS sends the toy to AFA, they aren't paying full retail.

 

It's something like what, $30 to grade a figure? And I think it's safe to assume that there is some form of bulk discount at work.

 

I know I'm not using sound mathematics here, but I think it's safe to assume that there's a least a 100% markup over actual cost on any given figure... several times that on the more expensive ones.

 

I realize that an individual figure at retail is likely seeing that kind of markup, but even so, this seems a little... odd. I mean, why is the manufacturer and/or the outlet for the manufacturer charging us based on the 'collector value' of the product that they make rather than some form of standard retail cost? Shouldn't all the AFA figures have the same price in a case like this, not just a price according to grade?

 

It just strikes me as a lame cash-grab by a toy company that's already one of the largest in the world. I mean, are they going to put all that extra profit into making new molds, better paint, etc? Of course not.

 

But hey, silver lining... we conclusively know that Hasbro is aware that the collector fanbase exists.

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I look at it this way: Hasbro recognizes there's a segment of the collector base that wants high-end "perfect" or "near perfect" examples of the figures, and is willing to pay for it.

 

Fulfilling that demand is just good business on their part, particularly if it pulls in a profit.

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You may not have intended it, but the above post comes across as more than a little snide. You don't open your toys, you "collect". Good for you. I don't "get" the whole notion of "toys as collectables" just as you don't get why adults "play" with toys. Neither "side" is right or wrong here, but both are equally geeky. Afterall, these are just toys that we're all taking so seriously. They are disposable, unimportant playthings originally intended for children. In the grand scheme, none of us have any just cause towards righteous indignation over this subect. Hasbro builds them, HTS sells them (AFA graded or otherwise) and we buy 'em... or we don't.

 

I actually did intend to come across as snide. Mostly because I'm tired of all the hatred the notion of AFA grading is.

 

Like most folks, I was actually anti-AFA until I obtain a few AFA items in my collection (for the same price I as the MOC figure w/o AFA went for, hence why I went with it). Now, as I stated earlier, it's all I'll buy, for RAH, over the internet. I met the AFA crew, and think they're a bunch of dicks in reality, but their "graded figures" have become accepted by the collecting community (not specificly this one).

 

(Odd, been here for how many years and still no idea how to multi-quote!)

 

Ken, in no way am I offended by your comments. :-P I also am an opener! That's why I buy two. But I would like to be able to eventually let my children play with my Joes (whenever some poor girl decides to birth them of course). I'm also a visual kind of guy. Currently, all the MOC stuff is shut away, in dark places, as you suggest. But, I also plan to be able to display them. To give the feel of being back in a store in the 80s with all of the G.I.Joe a kid could want. And it will of course be in a dark room with only one light!

 

-Kevin

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