racketboy.com

Hope this is in the correct section of the forum.


I was lucky to come across a sealed copy of Dr mario for gameboy-a very rare find in my neck of the woods, and the first sealed game I've ever come across. After lots of searching on the internet, I am certain this is a "legit" copy and not a reseal for various reasons. The plastic wrap has 3 small holes on the front from being tossed around for who knows how long (this thing had multiple price reduction stickers on it all the way to 5 dollars when I bought it). My question is...is it worth it to pay to get this rated as is as a collectors item? I do not intend to sell this (yet) but I am curious of how much this will take the value down. If I were to sell, would I be better to unwrap and list as a brand new item without wrap, or sell it as is? If I do sell it and its in its original wrap, Would it be worth my time to get it certified? If i decide to certify it and put it in a protective case, will said case protect it despite the 3 holes? If I am going to keep this I want it to be in the best condition it possibly can be (it is in prime shape right now.) What would my best option be as a collector/potential seller?

all 3 holes are about a quarter of an inch and circular. I was able to get all the pricing tags off of this without any damage, so aside from a hang tag it looks very close to it would have in the store, if that helps any.

Any sealed game is a risk and to me worthless. What if the game is defective or even worse, if it were a reseal and the game is not even inside. Imagine waiting ten years to finally play it only to discover a replacement is impossible to find. The rating badge also has no meaning to me, a waste of money.

Getting stuff graded costs money. Unless it is close to perfect, I doubt any crazy sealed collector will pay a big premium that covers your shipping and expense of putting it in a coffin and make it worth your while. I could be wrong though.

3 holes, together equalling the size of a quarter, will probably end up in a very serious reduction in the grade. A game that's been bruised enough to have holes in the wrap probably has other scuffs that aren't as obvious to the novice, too. The VGA does offer an option that might be a better fit. They will grade unsealed but unplayed games as "Q" for qualified. So, you could remove the wrap (or leave it on for extra protection during shipping and have them remove it at the VGA) and they'll confirm the game is unplayed and legit, and then they'll grade the (unsealed) packaging quality with a Q grade.

Cost of a slow grade with slow shipping will end up about $45ish in the US. See nintendoage collector's forum for more info if you aren't there already.