Grading older games

[okami88]

Hi everyone, first time poster here but love collecting games. I recently got a new shelf and have gone through my collection and noticed i have some real good stuff still factory sealed. Xenosaga I and Xenosaga III, Baiten kaitos origins, and resident evil 4 premium edition for playstaion 2 albeit with damage to the plastic wrapper. Do you guys think those would be worth getting graded? Does any one have experience with getting games graded?

[bikingjahuty]

Graded games are an enormous scam. Putting some plastic around it and slapping a number on it suddenly makes it worth 5x more...sure....

[dhaabi]

I don't have any experience with having items graded, but, in recent weeks, there has been a lot of unfavorable news regarding conflicting interests from organizations such as Wata Games who grade gaming items. Personally, I would say just to invest in quality packaging to protect items among your collection.

[burningdoom]

Graded games are an enormous scam. Putting some plastic around it and slapping a number on it suddenly makes it worth 5x more...sure....

It's been a thing for a while in the world of comics and trading cards. I've never been one to do it, personally, but there's no denying the selling power graded items have in those markets. So I don't see why video games would be any different.

[kashell]

Grading video games is a scam. Just keep your stuff as is.

https://youtu.be/rvLFEh7V18A

[telly]

All you're grading with a video game is the quality of the box. You have no idea if the components inside the box are of good quality or not. At least with coins or trading/baseball cards you can see the entire thing that is being graded.

[gummo]

It's been a thing for a while in the world of comics and trading cards. I've never been one to do it, personally, but there's no denying the selling power graded items have in those markets. So I don't see why video games would be any different.

Some video games have batteries inside , can't wait to see what happens to those when the batteries start venting inside the case .

[okami88]

I understand both sides of the argument. But there's no denying that that plastic case and grade make those games worth so much more... i do love my collection but i can't keep it when I'm dead ya know... would be nice to be able to retire comfortably and not work till I'm 70. I can't seem to find graded copies of the games i mentioned online so I'm not even sure what the price difference is. Thanks for the replies folks, happy to be part of the community now.

[sworddude]

Hi everyone, first time poster here but love collecting games. I recently got a new shelf and have gone through my collection and noticed i have some real good stuff still factory sealed. Xenosaga I and Xenosaga III, Baiten kaitos origins, and resident evil 4 premium edition for playstaion 2 albeit with damage to the plastic wrapper. Do you guys think those would be worth getting graded? Does any one have experience with getting games graded?

if your keeping it it's not worth. it looks less nice on the shelves and it costs allot of money prices of grading start at a minum of around 60$ plus it's going to be there for months to close to a year. if the item is quite valuable you paying a couple hundred plus a % of the worth of said item.

If your planning to sell than it's worth, with the exception of the more niche stuff. It's especially the pretty popular stuff that does well with grading.

Wata with their practices atm is shady, but even prior to that grading did increase the value. VGA still exists. Those million dollar prices are however probably not happening considering the recent happenings in Wata in wich those sales are fake.

It's been a thing for a while in the world of comics and trading cards. I've never been one to do it, personally, but there's no denying the selling power graded items have in those markets. So I don't see why video games would be any different.

Some video games have batteries inside , can't wait to see what happens to those when the batteries start venting inside the case .

In most cases the batteries in games anyway dry up so in most instances nothing would happen aside from save batteries etc being dead. if you have terrible luck than you can have simular scenario's as say xbox consoles in wich you get leaks.

[gummo]

In most cases the batteries in games anyway dry up so in most instances nothing would happen aside from save batteries etc being dead. if you have terrible luck than you can have simular scenario's as say xbox consoles in wich you get leaks.

I had a lithium button battery from a watch explode once . It was sitting on my wooden work bench waiting to be replaced , not shorting or anything . After that I don't totally trust them .

[sworddude]

In most cases the batteries in games anyway dry up so in most instances nothing would happen aside from save batteries etc being dead. if you have terrible luck than you can have simular scenario's as say xbox consoles in wich you get leaks.

I had a lithium button battery from a watch explode once . It was sitting on my wooden work bench waiting to be replaced , not shorting or anything . After that I don't totally trust them .

Did the explosion leave a mark on that work bench?

[tripredacus]

My opinions on grading is from outside of the video game sphere. IMO the only things worth grading are things that need to be preserved due to their rarity. In general, this is to mean things that are rare but have a low value do to there being a low or non-existant collector market for it. And I do mean actual rare items, rare due to time or circumstances not rare due to limited production. Also getting something graded for the lulz, an item that has no high value, not particularly sought after but you want to get it preserved.

The value is a good consideration since most grading companies will charge a fee based on the current market rate. So unless you are sitting on stacks of cash, there is little reason to get a high value item graded.

I only have 1 graded toy which I purchased after the fact. Worthy consideration as it is Antex Camaro from Argentina and it had cost $75 at the time. Finding any Antex toy from the 80s in good condition is rare enough especially outside of South America, so this certainly fits my criteria. Here is what it looks like:
https://shmax.com/product_details/2903/camaro_blue

I have purchased graded sports cards, but will not spend more than $10 for one, and thus it has to be something I really want. As for items I have gotten graded myself there are only 4 things that I am aware of. Two were rookie hockey cards that I did at a discount. One was a mail-away exchange card and the other was from Upper Deck Black Diamond which is notorious for wear due to how it is printed. The first one I ever did was a lulz grade, an baseball card variation where the guy in the background is readjusting his cup which is this card:
https://www.tcdb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/132/cid/53396/1989-Score-595-Paul-Gibson

The only item I had graded for preservation was a tobacco "card" (triple-folder) I had bought at a rummage sale for $1. It took a few weeks to identify it, and it turned out to be from 1895. As of this time, it is only one of two that are known to exist. There are 2 known graded and there is no photos of it otherwise. This is an item that is extremely rare but has an unknown value because the market for it does not exist.

[sworddude]

My opinions on grading is from outside of the video game sphere. IMO the only things worth grading are things that need to be preserved due to their rarity. In general, this is to mean things that are rare but have a low value do to there being a low or non-existant collector market for it. And I do mean actual rare items, rare due to time or circumstances not rare due to limited production. Also getting something graded for the lulz, an item that has no high value, not particularly sought after but you want to get it preserved.

The value is a good consideration since most grading companies will charge a fee based on the current market rate. So unless you are sitting on stacks of cash, there is little reason to get a high value item graded.

I only have 1 graded toy which I purchased after the fact. Worthy consideration as it is Antex Camaro from Argentina and it had cost $75 at the time. Finding any Antex toy from the 80s in good condition is rare enough especially outside of South America, so this certainly fits my criteria. Here is what it looks like:
https://shmax.com/product_details/2903/camaro_blue

I have purchased graded sports cards, but will not spend more than $10 for one, and thus it has to be something I really want. As for items I have gotten graded myself there are only 4 things that I am aware of. Two were rookie hockey cards that I did at a discount. One was a mail-away exchange card and the other was from Upper Deck Black Diamond which is notorious for wear due to how it is printed. The first one I ever did was a lulz grade, an baseball card variation where the guy in the background is readjusting his cup which is this card:
https://www.tcdb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/132/cid/53396/1989-Score-595-Paul-Gibson

The only item I had graded for preservation was a tobacco "card" (triple-folder) I had bought at a rummage sale for $1. It took a few weeks to identify it, and it turned out to be from 1895. As of this time, it is only one of two that are known to exist. There are 2 known graded and there is no photos of it otherwise. This is an item that is extremely rare but has an unknown value because the market for it does not exist.

you could also just get a box protector to preserve it.

Most things aren't as fragile as comics after all.

[tripredacus]

I do use box protectors for cardboard box video games and JP CD games (like Saturn) so I can put the obi stip on the "outside" rather than in the jewel case.

For the toy, a box protector wasn't an option back when I bought it. Carded toys from South America use inferior cardboard than in the US or EU of that time, so it is extremely difficult to find a cardback that isn't warped or damaged. For something like that, you'd have to purchase the custom acrylic cases that the grading companies sell (now others sell them) in order to make it so the cardboard backer is kept in place.

[burningdoom]

No more than $10 for a graded card? I imagine you must not find many for that much. Doesn't it cost more than that to send it in to be graded?