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Vintage Star Wars Collecting
Vintage Collecting Chat
The vagaries of graded figs
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<blockquote data-quote="Snaketibe" data-source="post: 470702" data-attributes="member: 7379"><p>Everyone is entitled to their opinion, including you. You like, or at least believe you can see some benefits in, grading. That's entirely fair enough. However, it's also fair enough for those of us who consider grading to be a waste of time and money to hold that view too.</p><p></p><p>Your views are your own and you are absolutely entitled to hold them, no matter who might agree or disagree with them. I would however like to offer a rebuttal to some of the points you raise. Firstly, I genuinely don't require someone else, whether expert or not, to tell me how good something I already own actually is. I have eyes and a brain and can see that for myself.</p><p></p><p>Secondly, you mention what at first glance sounds like a good point with regards to repro weapons (presumably with loose graded figures, of course). However, firstly this assumes that the graders can actually spot a fake weapon from a real one (some will, some may well not), however once that weapon is encased in its plastic prison, it makes checking whether the graders have made the right decision considerably more difficult. Far more to the point however is that you seem to be saying that there are people out there paying the very steep grading prices in order just to guarantee a genuine weapon. Come off it! Who pays twice the price for a loose figure in order to ensure that <u>just</u> a weapon (which incidentally can never again be held by any figure for as long as it's encased in Perspex) is the real thing? A vanishingly few people might do this, but the vast majority of people won't.</p><p></p><p>You also mention that some collectors like having an independent body validating an item's condition objectively, but it isn't objective. It's entirely subjective; it's simply the personal opinion of that particular grader or that particular day. There's no official global standard measure for assessing the condition of these things. It's only ever been about people's personal opinions. And yet once those opinions are given, they magically imbue the graded item with double the value of an identical ungraded one! That in a nutshell, more than anything else, is why I consider grading to be so pointless.</p><p></p><p>By implication as well, you seem to be saying that there is almost an altruistic element to grading; that the graders are assisting the inexperienced collector in purchasing the real thing (both figures and weapons, of course). But let's get real here, if that ever happens it's an incidental by-product of the grading business. Grading exists for one reason only; so graders can make money.</p><p></p><p>If you personally don't understand the dislike of grading, even after you've heard the arguments of those people, such as myself, who don't like it, then that's fair enough. I can only repeat that you are absolutely entitled to your opinion and YOU ARE <u>NOT</u> WRONG <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />; if you like graded figures and the grading process, that is your perfect right. However there is no absolute right or wrong answer here regarding whether grading is good, bad or indifferent, and therefore those of us that don't like grading for the reasons stated above (or others), are entitled to think that too.</p><p></p><p>Peace! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Snaketibe, post: 470702, member: 7379"] Everyone is entitled to their opinion, including you. You like, or at least believe you can see some benefits in, grading. That's entirely fair enough. However, it's also fair enough for those of us who consider grading to be a waste of time and money to hold that view too. Your views are your own and you are absolutely entitled to hold them, no matter who might agree or disagree with them. I would however like to offer a rebuttal to some of the points you raise. Firstly, I genuinely don't require someone else, whether expert or not, to tell me how good something I already own actually is. I have eyes and a brain and can see that for myself. Secondly, you mention what at first glance sounds like a good point with regards to repro weapons (presumably with loose graded figures, of course). However, firstly this assumes that the graders can actually spot a fake weapon from a real one (some will, some may well not), however once that weapon is encased in its plastic prison, it makes checking whether the graders have made the right decision considerably more difficult. Far more to the point however is that you seem to be saying that there are people out there paying the very steep grading prices in order just to guarantee a genuine weapon. Come off it! Who pays twice the price for a loose figure in order to ensure that [u]just[/u] a weapon (which incidentally can never again be held by any figure for as long as it's encased in Perspex) is the real thing? A vanishingly few people might do this, but the vast majority of people won't. You also mention that some collectors like having an independent body validating an item's condition objectively, but it isn't objective. It's entirely subjective; it's simply the personal opinion of that particular grader or that particular day. There's no official global standard measure for assessing the condition of these things. It's only ever been about people's personal opinions. And yet once those opinions are given, they magically imbue the graded item with double the value of an identical ungraded one! That in a nutshell, more than anything else, is why I consider grading to be so pointless. By implication as well, you seem to be saying that there is almost an altruistic element to grading; that the graders are assisting the inexperienced collector in purchasing the real thing (both figures and weapons, of course). But let's get real here, if that ever happens it's an incidental by-product of the grading business. Grading exists for one reason only; so graders can make money. If you personally don't understand the dislike of grading, even after you've heard the arguments of those people, such as myself, who don't like it, then that's fair enough. I can only repeat that you are absolutely entitled to your opinion and YOU ARE [u]NOT[/u] WRONG :-); if you like graded figures and the grading process, that is your perfect right. However there is no absolute right or wrong answer here regarding whether grading is good, bad or indifferent, and therefore those of us that don't like grading for the reasons stated above (or others), are entitled to think that too. Peace! :-) [/QUOTE]
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