This must cross some kind of line.

[davepesc]

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 280836527379

 

Video games are being sealed in plastic cases and graded like baseball cards!?! I know this has been going on forever with sports cards, but at least I can still look at and enjoy my graded sports cards.

 

This feels wrong, not to even mention... $1,000 for Super Mario World and Yoshi's Island?

[A_Locomotive]

I hate it too, I first found out about it last year while looking for a copy of Ys III. eBay Auction -- Item Number: 220988245143 I'm just glad they idiot who did this one has been sitting on this copy for a long time with no bites because fuck them. The game is already expensive enough without idiots seeing that copy and assuming their copy is a gold mine.

[20ohm20]

To be honest, I'm surprised I haven't seen more of this.

[Rex Dart]

Assuming that's original shrinkwrap, what's the big deal? If you're the sort of collector who needs everything sealed & perfect, seems like a good idea to slap it in a case, too.

[+remowilliams]

[purduecrum]

I think some people value the objective grading. You can see some auction pictures and take a generic seller description like "near mint" but then get totally surprised that the seller's vision of near mint doesn't match yours. If you know there is a neutral trusted source doing the grading and that there is a standard rubric for grading, then an assigned number can really let you know what you are getting.

 

With ball cards, especially the older and rarer sets, a high grade, rather than a seller's opinion, can really jack up the prices. Will video games warrant the same reaction among its collectors? I guess that is the question.

[HatNJ]

Really??!!

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 130672774208

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 130654256962

[BillyHW]

This is so retarded. I hope it's a defective cart inside.

[Atari_Bill]

I abolutely detest this practice. It ruined the comic & card collecting hobby and now is trying to invade here. I would NEVER purchase a graded item of any kind. Hopefully this descpicalble practice dies off.

[davepesc]

 

Why is Missile Command sealed in a Ziplock freezer bag? And why is there a sticker with a pic of a pile of dog poo on it?

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

 

Why is Missile Command sealed in a Ziplock freezer bag? And why is there a sticker with a pic of a pile of dog poo on it?

 

I hope that you are being sarcastic, but in case you are not: Back when VGA was starting to grade sealed video games, someone on one of the gaming web sites, (I can't remember which site), made this up as a spoof and I guess got it sold on eBay.

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

Also on a semi-related note based on the eBay links in the replies here:

 

VGA is the best known of the grading services out there. They are the same outfit that are involved in the grading of action figures and other stuff as well. The other one, the guy with the eBay name of video_game_quality is laughed at on a number of sites. Part of the problem is that he grades the items and sells them. Is it just me or is that a conflict of interest? That is the same thing that bothers me about Beckett magazine offering a grading service and providing the price guide as well as selling graded items. Also with respect to video_game_quality, he had a game up a while back that gave me a laugh. I forget the grade and whether or not it was sealed, but it was a copy of one of the Shining Force games for the Genesis, except that his custom made sticker on the sealed case said, "Shinig Force" or some other typo like that. Yeah, I'll pay $250 for a game with a misspelled label.

 

Oh, this guy also offers "Custom Made" empty boxes for a number of games. A bargain at only $25 a pop. I guess these are for the people that aren't aware of the Universal Game cases and the Cover Project.

Edited March 31, 2012 by Jimmy Yakapucci

[SpendTooMuchOnAtari]

I believe people can get these games "graded" by this company for about $25 each. I guess they are just grading the condition of the case or box and the shrinkwrap. Or, maybe the allure is the fact that these "professionals" can weed out any reseals and verify that if they grade a game, it is without question, 100% factory sealed.

 

I don't really understand though, a sealed game has no real value to me....you can't do anything with it! Now, when it's "graded", the sealed game is in a sealed case that you don't open.

 

I do understand grading a rare ball card and then sealing it up because you can't really do anything with a card other than look at it. But a game is meant to be played.

IDK, maybe I'm getting old.