Toy Toni Han

[Andreg]

IMO, they should definitely man up and sort this mess out. For god´s sake.....they both claim themselves to be the ULTRA-EXPERTS of the planet earth when it comes to vintage toys, don´t they? Earning money in grading vintage toys and putting a seal of authenticity on it. I mean.....they even call themselves AUTHORITY :lol:

The biggest blunder a company like this could to is to grade a non-authentic item and charging money for it. AND THE EFFING DID IT, not only once but on hundreds of cards out there that STILL floats around with their name on it, stamped like a police/government badge, loooool.

And they are not willing to do a d+mn thing about it.

An anti-AFA post? I'M IN!!!

For the sake of not having evidence, I will exclude UKG from this, because I have not seen evidence of them making mistakes aside from TT's. I'm sure they have, I just haven't seen it.

It's not just the TT's AFA have screwed up. I have seen them grade not just figures with the wrong weapon, but there are examples out there of AFA letting repro weapons slip through the cracks and get graded. I know offhand of a Dengar example, but the other ones escape my memory at the moment.

How can anyone collect and sleep peacefully having paid to have an 'authenticated' product, when there are examples of graded repros? It takes the guarantee out of the equation, and allows a small trace of doubt to come in.

They are highly inconsistent in their grading too. I sold off a Canadian 12 back GDE DS Commander in the spring, and the new owner got it graded (I refuse to grade ANYTHING). I ended up getting it back again (and promptly busted it out of the case), but not before I took a pic of it graded. Check out this. Mine - virtually no visible flaws, a bubble with the very slightest factory flaw in the top corner, unpunched, no veining, and it got AFA80, with subgrades C80, B85, and F85. The Chewbacca compared to it is punched, obvious veining at the hangar tab going to the edge of the card, a jagged edge on the top of the bubble, etc. It gets AFA80, with subgrades C80, B85, F85. Side by side, they are worlds apart visually - yet AFA gives them the EXACT same grade. Someone explain how they can justify their claims of consistency.....

The key to this hobby is EDUCATION. There is NOTHING that AFA can do that an educated collector can't match as far as authenticating. Unfortunately, as people new to the hobby seem to be in a rush to accomplish in weeks/months what most of us took years/decades to accomplish, they rely on someone else doing the homework for them. I personally cannot comprehend how someone willing to drop $7500 on a POTF Yak, for example, drops that money based purely on the opinion on a 'grader' that has been known to make mistakes, and to not learn how to identify fakes themselves. It's a serious lack of accountability for knowing just what the hell someone is buying.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of AFA.

Ian

Man, if the figure has even a minimal discolouration on any part of the body, it will be graded downwards right? So, if a 100% authentic Luke DT (just as an example) with wear get a grade of 85, another DT Luke in better condition but with a FAKE tip could get 90%?

Grading objects just by looking at the condition and NOT taking genuinity in consideration is right out crazy, especially when charging money for it. This means they are in it for the money more than the joy/respect for the collecting community in whole. By not manning up and straighten things out when doing these horrible blunders against their customers (which is us right?), pretty much confirms the above.......at least for me. I can´t believe that these companies still are alive.......or more precisely..........that people like US are letting them stay alive.

So, I think they should be more transparent in their business and do something like this instead;


CHOOSE GRADE
Choose your grade and get your object sealed with our Seal of Official Grading Judges Authority

G60 - €25
G65 - €30
G70 - €35
G75 - €40
G80 - €50
G85 - €65
G90 - €90
G95 - €150
G100 - €1000

ADDITONAL SERVICE
Choose your extra and get it sealed along your object with our Seal of Official Grading Judges Authority

Repro weapon/accessory - €10
Repro cardback - €15
Repro bubble - €20
Reseal - €50
Reseal with repro cardback and bubble - €75

IMPORTANT! Read the below in order to avoid misunderstanding.

Bear in mind that if an object is being sent carrying a repro accessory, it will only be graded according to your order specifics if that particular extra-service has been selected at checkout, except when choosing the G100 grade. By purchasing the G100 you´re guaranteed to have your item graded TOP on all segments no matter what you send to us.

SUMMARY

1. Items being graded with a repro accessory will, if the extra service has been paid for, get the grade of your choosing and the Seal of Official Grading Judges Authority.

2. Items being graded with a repro accessory will, if the extra service HASN´T been paid for, get the grade BELOW the one you chose AND get the Seal of Official Grading Judges Authority.

 

[Ian_C]

Man, if the figure has even a minimal discolouration on any part of the body, it will be graded downwards right? So, if a 100% authentic Luke DT (just as an example) with wear get a grade of 85, another DT Luke in better condition but with a FAKE tip could get 90%?

It could, if it passed authentication. They do catch most repros, just the ones they miss are what puts a cloud over the whole system.

Of course, they have graded TT's, which are NOT factory sealed cards that would grade higher than most actual factory figures.

Grading objects just by looking at the condition and NOT taking genuinity in consideration is right out crazy, especially when charging money for it. This means they are in it for the money more than the joy/respect for the collecting community in whole.

Of course. Ever hear of the U grade? Where they'll take a carded figure, up to 40 years old and still surviving in its original packaging, and they will open it up and display it in an acrylic case as a mint, "uncirculated" figure. Some collectors are so anal, they don't want to imagine some "grubby kid's fingers" have handled it so they pay extra for a card fresh example - not that any figure that's been in said grubby fingers would have a chance at an 85 or 90 grade. AFA have no shame in destroying an ever dwindling supply of carded items for an extra few bucks. At least UKG were convinced to stop doing that.

AFA (and all their competition) saw an opportunity to exploit the fears of reproductions and inaccurate seller descriptions of condition, and have made a huge business out of it. As a business, I can't blame them, but if you view collecting with a sense of ethics, they fail miserably.

Ian

 

[Andreg]

Nope, not until now. Jesus christ.......is this for real?

Although the u-grade thingy being completely crazy IMO, it´s not what makes me angry as of now.

What I don´t like is how they have handled the repro´s and toni´s. Is there an estimation on how many graded toni´s that´s circling around today?

 

[theforceuk]

This thread is going a bit crazy, evan for me. Just sticking up for the grader's, (not sure why just feel like it) but you need to be informed before kicking of like this. I mean experts sent TT's to be graded way before any of this was common knowledge and now you expect them to sort it out although their is no legal obligation? Why? Becuase you hate grading, their still making money. If you want to moan about them, focus on the 'U' grading and the fact that grading is pushing the price of vintage Star Wars up in general.

 

[Captainsolo1978]

Back to the TT thread. Didn't he use repro bubbles on the Jedi figures. I have a Toytoni C3PO and Luke Farmboy both with clear thicker bubbles.

 

[darth_daddius]

Not that I'm aware of. He is supposed to have used original parts. Nothing is fake except the seal....

Cheers
Pat

 

[yoda]

Ok I am confused with all this. So the figure I have the seal on the bubble is fake? Is my figure from a factory stock or has someone owned this figure before? The figure looks mint have I any way of knowing? :?:

 

[ScruffyLookingNH]

TT is known to have been purchasing mint figures during the period he had the cardbacks. These he sourced from a number of places, eBay included. As such, your figure is likely to have been pre-owned, which is the 21st Century way of saying second hand. But it's like the u-grade BS: if it's mint who cares whether it's been handled before or not? And if it's a TT, it matters even less, IMHO.

Keep it for what it is, a piece of history from the seedy side of the collecting world. And if you become sick of the sight of it and just want your money back then expect a return of around 50% on what you paid. Which, if you think about it isn't bad for a what is, essentially, a mint loose figure and card back.