Hasbro Gradings Are A Joke

So not a hasbro figure but very relevant to the conversation when talking grades figures

Graded 70% sealed in box George the animal steel sold for £10.50 the last day or so

Four days before, so in the same week, one ungraded and loose sold at the same auction site for £24.99

Kind ends the "if given the chance everyone would go graded over ungraded" comment doesn't it.

But if it sold for more than the lose you would say "see told you graded figs go for more" lol

you said "given the chance I'd go graded over non" and this proves others wouldn't

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You said "given the chance I'd go graded over not" now your adding conditions and caveats to it

Iv been collecting hasbros for alot of years and will say 100% graded figures are what they are....better!

For example, my fav figure was series 8 bret, still is. I spent £150 on my first one, some bends is the corners..

I then spent £220 on one from the states, damaged corners in the post.

Spent another £250, was really happy with it, and although i took good care of it he ended up taking a very soft bump where i store him and....another bend.

So i bought a 90 grade bret fot £300. Best move i ever made. The figure is pristine, the case is sealed and after years of trying i finally have a truely MINT Bret. Happy days.

If it adds to the value thats great. People saying they would rather have ungraded that graded is really childish. So you would rather have vulnerable items worth £200 than having a graded...protected item for £200?! A good sealed case with a genuine grade is like buying car insurance. And with the prices of these figures i know what ill be doing.

And like it or not, graded figures sell for much...much more. So its not a debate...grading is where the big collectors hang!!

this whole graded vs non graded conversation definitely is a sensitive topic...clearly, after reading the entire thread.

but for the sake of a healthy discussion i will add my two cents for what it's worth....

first, i am not new to collecting...i collected baseball/basketball cards for a long time. when it comes to figures though, i am new. i don't have the experience nor the knowledge that i do when it comes to the trading cards. but even with that said...a collector of any sort knows what to look for. personally, i think the whole grading of items has got a bit out of hand. if i can buy a ken griffey jr rookie card for 20 bucks in great condition why would i spend 100 for the same exact card in a case with a sticker on it? because it guarantees something? well, what does it guarantee?

i understand that condition is everything when it comes to collecting. trust me, i get it. but a true collector knows. i believe that grading exists for the inexperienced collector...one who is not certain. and that graded GEM MINT gives them that guarantee, that certainty. but why are we putting that absolute power into the hands of someone we don't even know? if I know what i have then i don't need someone else certifying what i already know i have, does that make sense?

at the end of the day, it isn't right or wrong to grade your collectibles...it's truly a matter of preference. some people like that "guarantee" and that's fine. no foul, no harm. do I think it overvalues certain items? yes. maybe we can make a case for truly older collectibles? not sure. but at least let's be respectable here as i am sure most of posting are adults. (seeing that we have interest in 30+ year old toys)

back to Hasbros....i will trust my own eye. i am new to figures like i stated. but I thank my kids for that because they got me back into it. they have all my loose hasbros from when i was a kid. sparked up an interest to collect some MOC (particularly the warrior) and series 1. if i'm gonna dive in and spend the money i want to spend it right. i'm patient and will wait for what i think is worth my money. not going to grade them but i will get a nice acrylic case for them. i think the site is CGA or CAG - having a brain fart at the moment. they have some really neat acrylic cases for hasbros. not the plastic ones i've seen on ebay.

bottom line...do what makes you happy. we are all in collecting for the same reason. right?

One last thing - an acrylic case will cost you £25 - grading a figure doesnt cost much more. So again....graded figs are the best wooo

Newgenandy - that's not in any way what I'm saying, clearly if someone is collecting moc hasbro then they have a bit of disposable income...or they wouldn't be collecting moc Hasbro...

It really isn't a debate, graded sells for more. They just....sell..for more. Look at the completed listings on a random auction site (you know) and see it in black and white. People WILL pay more money for an item that has been verified by a third party to be in a grade collectors recognise. And with companies that are recognised as fair graders the grading they give let's people know what they are getting. I collected Hasbro for a lot of years, and I hated getting what should have been c9 and c10 condition figures that had either been damaged in the post or a crack on the bubble or a reseal or the bubble coming away from the card or it arrived in a jiffy bag... yes you can return them but it still costs time and money.

To conclude - I have a hybrid collection, I have plastic cases for figures like Greg Valentine, steamboat, irs, hacksaw1, Brutus 1, Texas tornado etc but I have the full series 11 Graded, Bret series 8, purple heart Bret etc.

I don't knock either way - I collect and have fun doing it. But I think the original post was a bit distasteful to those who like grading rare or nice items. Grading isn't a joke, it's an option. And from what I've seen some go for on an auction site, a fairly lucrative one at that...

I was answering the point you made that people who don't like headings can't afford it - which is clearly not the case

That's what your eluding go by adding "Perhaps there is some jealousy"

It doesn't only come down to money, there's many factors