Id like to chime in here. I like to consider both Iain and Max friends in this hobby. Iain ive known for a few years and he is a true gentleman who is probably one of the best sellers i have come across and Max is a long time collector whom i remember from 2002 onwards on RS and who is also a great guy.
There isnt anything such as a C10 in my eyes, but it is us collectors who set a precedent as to what is and isnt that good. Its like AFA having a few MOC AFA 100 gem mint figures floating about (both vintage and modern) which quite frankly is bullshit as any figure that would have come off a production line would have even the tiniest perfection. Its the same with all collecting areas, whether it be figures, cards, comics or whatever. Gem mint doesnt neccessarily mean its the most perfect example ever, its just a designated name/grade by one person.
The figure Iain showed was a very good example of a mint Han, and ive seen the same imperfection before on the same character figure. However, lets take another figure from later down the line such as a Yakface. Now this is one figure that people will call C10 if it hasnt got even a hint of paintloss, and ive seen it many times over the years. We are crossing the lines of judging by rarity paired with condition. Yakface is easier to find mint that most of the other figures from the line, purely down to the fact that it was an end of line figure and wasnt really a huge seller back in the day. However, it still cannot justify a C10 grade, as grading is subjective. As someone said, one mans C9 is anothers C8 and its about time we found common ground. The problem is that too many people buy on a whim from a poorly listed item, which has little photographic visibility but is stated as C9-C10 when in truth it is of lesser condition. If only all sellers listed pieces like Iain, this hobby would be a lot more easy to manovure around.
Rare shouldnt be confused with condition either, and too often they are mismatched which causes added confusion. What Max is after is acheiveable, whereas he wants a mint set of the first 12 but it will take time and patience. In the scheme of things, the first 12 are very hard to find in MINT condition, but it can be done. However, the further down the line we go the easier it becomes to obtain cheaper figures. This is why many collectors (myself included) have opened MOC figures in the late 90,s early 2000,s to complete a loose set. Sometimes, the availablilty of carded examples can be easier than the loose. I remember when i opened a Tri Amanaman and POTF Warok and Romba to complete my run years ago, but i bought all 3 for LESS than the loose price-figure that out???
Thank feck i collect anything, even if its slightly beaten or ripped as to me it has more character
I do understand why both got frustrated here, but at least it can be discussed civil on this forum - and thats coming from me!!!
Lee
