Flake wrote:Is there a minimum level of quality they will accept for grading?
I dont think so. There is a guy on nintendoage that collects crappy condition carts, and another member managed to get a sealed SMB graded for him that was so beat up it recieved a rating of 10.
Found it. So I guess they only grade the box? The actual cart does not matter?
They grade packaging (the seal and the box I believe). If you have an item that has the seal removed, but the box has never been opened they will grade the inside contents as well as the outer box as "qualified".
Other than the qualified status they dont generally deal with opened games. I think they make exceptions for items that werent released with official packaging (like a NWC cart).
Crabmaster2000 wrote:They grade packaging (the seal and the box I believe). If you have an item that has the seal removed, but the box has never been opened they will grade the inside contents as well as the outer box as "qualified".
Other than the qualified status they dont generally deal with opened games. I think they make exceptions for items that werent released with official packaging (like a NWC cart).
So confused. Until now I had never heard of this VGA stuff. It seems so arbitrary if it is only about the packaging. What about games that have batteries or other parts that will degrade despite the plastic box? Do they get any type of qualified grade to indicate that the contents will drop in quality over time?
Maybe now Nintendo will acknowledge Metroid has a fanbase?
Crabmaster2000 wrote:They grade packaging (the seal and the box I believe). If you have an item that has the seal removed, but the box has never been opened they will grade the inside contents as well as the outer box as "qualified".
Other than the qualified status they dont generally deal with opened games. I think they make exceptions for items that werent released with official packaging (like a NWC cart).
So confused. Until now I had never heard of this VGA stuff. It seems so arbitrary if it is only about the packaging. What about games that have batteries or other parts that will degrade despite the plastic box? Do they get any type of qualified grade to indicate that the contents will drop in quality over time?
Not as far as I know. I've seen several Skyward Sword w/Wii Remote (including batteries) VGA slabbed and they dont seem to be any different from other VGA items.
sometimes on amazon i find dreamcast games cheaper new and sealed then used (must be warehouses trying to get rid of stock) i feel bad opening them but it must be done
How much does it cost to get a game graded? Does the price differ depending on the game? I mean it would be pretty easy to verify if a copy of Skyward Sword has a a genuine factiry seal as they are still in the shops, but verifying the seal on a game for a Binatone Supastar would be a bit harder I would think.
Curlypaul wrote:How much does it cost to get a game graded? Does the price differ depending on the game? I mean it would be pretty easy to verify if a copy of Skyward Sword has a a genuine factiry seal as they are still in the shops, but verifying the seal on a game for a Binatone Supastar would be a bit harder I would think.
A cool guy over at nintendoage put this faq together for VGA newbs. Also the customer service at VGA was fantastic when I dealt with them. I wouldnt hesitate to call if you have any questions.
RyaNtheSlayA wrote:
One of my favorite things to do, provided it's affordable enough, is to buy old games new, and then open them.
I just can't bring myself to do that. If I found say, a copy of The Legend of Zelda still sealed, I don't think I could bring myself to be the one to break that seal after it's been sitting undisturbed for 25 years.
I don't think I'd keep but, but I'd definitely sell it to a more interested collector and use the money just to buy another copy of the game or something.
honestly i could see the value of having a sealed copy of your favorite game of all time but to collect them just for the sake of having a collection of sealed games just doesnt appeal to me
AppleQueso wrote:
I just can't bring myself to do that. If I found say, a copy of The Legend of Zelda still sealed, I don't think I could bring myself to be the one to break that seal after it's been sitting undisturbed for 25 years.
uh, yeah. There's definitely a line. I've opened plenty of games... hell, I opened Phantasy Star Online I & II (GCN) a couple of years ago. But it was my intention to keep it (and play it) at the time. I opened Daedelean Opus (GB) a couple years back too. Again, it was for my own playable collection. And honestly, about half of the DC games I acquired this past year were sealed. It's strange how easy it still is to find sealed DC games -- I wasn't even trying!
But at the same time... yeah I think Zelda's a good example. I think if I found that sealed somewhere I'd be like "ok, I better sell this to someone who wants it BECAUSE it's sealed."
RyaNtheSlayA wrote:
One of my favorite things to do, provided it's affordable enough, is to buy old games new, and then open them.
I just can't bring myself to do that. If I found say, a copy of The Legend of Zelda still sealed, I don't think I could bring myself to be the one to break that seal after it's been sitting undisturbed for 25 years.
I don't think I'd keep but, but I'd definitely sell it to a more interested collector and use the money just to buy another copy of the game or something.
Well that's Zelda. I'm talking about the less... collectible games. Quake on the Saturn was a recent one.
