True. We're all about owning stuff today, just to have it. IMO if you aren't going to do anything with it but look at it, I don't see the value of...just having it there. I mean collectors seem to only get stuff like that to brag it up or tell others they now have something super-rare and vintage. To me it's a waste, but I guess people have nothing better to do than blow their money sometimes. Yeah, VP, I understand what you mean...plus, isn't it also kind of a way to show off how much spare cash you have? It's like you're also bragging about how friggin' loaded you are.

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Exactly.  And actually alot of people think like you do as well.  People who look at adults buying toys think to themselves "why the hell is this 30 year old buying toys for?  He's too old to play with toys isn't he?"  But they don't understand the mere owning side of collecting.  Now, I don't think you look down at other transformer collectors in that way or think in that condescending manner, but its the same "why do you still collect toys at age 30?" type of mindset.

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I agree with Viagra Prime. The whole collecting thing, much like how people gets their stuff graded by the AFA, is a personal choice. If collectors want to buy Transformers, even if they are 30 years old or whatever, is a choice. People jack up their stuff and sell it to suckers, it's a choice. The key idea here is -  you guessed it - choice.

 

I don't think agree that we own things for the sake of owning things. There are people out there who likes to think that everybody is greedy. I think for the most part, people want to get rich so they can get to a position in life. If there are people who graded every toy via the AFA, got a high price for it from suckers who are willing to pay the exorbitant prices, and use that money to buy a car or put a down payment on a house, more power to them.

 

So unless some commie dictator like Castro comes to the U.S. and start telling everybody to stop making a profit, I don't think there's going to be an end to this.

 

To me, part of collecting things is holding them in your own hands and being able to enjoy them on a personal level instead of staring at them through a glorified hard plastic airtight case with a grade sticker on the side.

 

And that's cool, M.G. - I'm collecting like you, too. But you have to respect those who uses the AFA and who collects MISB as well.

I can respect collecting on that level...I just can't respect charging ludicrous prices for them. But if people are willing to put that kind of a value on them, great, they can do that. I understand full well why this is done -- we live in a capitalist society, where everyone wants to make money by whatever means possible. And maybe there are lucky bastards who had the foresight to keep their toys painstakingly well-preserved so they could one day make a retirement fund's worth off of them -- but like I said, I just don't agree with that kind of collecting if you just want to put it on a shelf and never do anything with it. I guess the only thing I can see is them "freezing" something in time that way. Still, I can imagine that another 20 years from now...G1 toys will be 40 years old...and if they still exist in MISB condition, what will they go for then?

I can respect collecting on that level...I just can't respect charging ludicrous prices for them. But if people are willing to put that kind of a value on them, great, they can do that. I understand full well why this is done -- we live in a capitalist society, where everyone wants to make money by whatever means possible. And maybe there are lucky bastards who had the foresight to keep their toys painstakingly well-preserved so they could one day make a retirement fund's worth off of them -- but like I said, I just don't agree with that kind of collecting if you just want to put it on a shelf and never do anything with it. I guess the only thing I can see is them "freezing" something in time that way. Still, I can imagine that another 20 years from now...G1 toys will be 40 years old...and if they still exist in MISB condition, what will they go for then?

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Maybe by then a lot of us will surpass our recapturing our youth phase, and TF collecting will dwindle...maybe not. Who knows.

I wonder if there's a 100 AFA item?

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I doubt it because even sealed I've never seen anything's toy condition grade higher than 85 or 90.

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An item has to be sealed for AFA to even consider grading them (although they have started to grade certain loose toys, but thats a different story).  I highly doubt AFA would ever give anything a grade of 100.  100 would mean perfect condition.  Giving something a perfect grade would, in the eyes of many, discredit AFA because, in the eyes of many, there is no such thing as perfect.

 

I've only seen a MISB USA Fort Max once.  And it went for $1500, not graded.  So a graded one, based on the aformentioned non-graded one, would probably go for $3000-4000 max.

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The funny thing to me about toys like Fort Max is that they came in a window-less box. So technically you'd have no idea of what was actually inside the box unless you..... opened it.

 

Either way I still think this is retarded. If people want to pay a bajillion dollars for unopened toys, that's their prerogative. It doesn't stop me from thinking it's a complete waste of money, however.

That's like with my Botcon exclusive Shockaract. The box has no window. It's technically "worth more" when it's sealed, but you can't even see it. There could be a piece of concrete in there or something and you'd never know.

 

 

Honestly though... sealed is worthless to me, unless I'm going to be able to open it.

Hey, how DO the AFA grade toys without a window? They can't have a window grade or a toy grade unless they open it, which destroys the mint factor. So how would they AFA some of the larger ones (Trypticon, Fort Max, Metroplex, Scorponok, etc. etc.)?

My beef with AFA grading is the expense relative to the value of the figure itself.  For example, I have a large collection of carded Tonka GoBots which some time ago I had considered getting officially graded.  Going by the prices I paid for them at the time and current eBay averages, grading would cost 3-12 times as much not even considering transport costs to and fro.  Who's going to pay me $75+ for a MOC HansCuff or Pathfinder?  It's a futile effort in a resale scenario and absolutely ludicrus for a real collector who intends to keep them long term.

 

I'd be very hesitant to have _anything_ estimated at less than C8 or $100 graded.  Paying $50 to have a $20 Alternator (or $100 for 2, $150 for 3...) graded is _throwing_money_away_.  Why not help keep Takara afloat with a BT purchase, see a minor league baseball game, donate to the Free Software Fund or a local food bank?  Yeah, peace of mind is nice from either side of the field but the rate structure is a real downer.  Just my particular POV though, as grading even 10 items from the smallest collection (most certainly not mine) is getting pricey.

My beef with AFA grading is the expense relative to the value of the figure itself.  For example, I have a large collection of carded Tonka GoBots which some time ago I had considered getting officially graded.  Going by the prices I paid for them at the time and current eBay averages, grading would cost 3-12 times as much not even considering transport costs to and fro.  Who's going to pay me $75+ for a MOC HansCuff or Pathfinder?  It's a futile effort in a resale scenario and absolutely ludicrus for a real collector who intends to keep them long term.

 

I'd be very hesitant to have _anything_ estimated at less than C8 or $100 graded.  Paying $50 to have a $20 Alternator (or $100 for 2, $150 for 3...) graded is _throwing_money_away_.  Why not help keep Takara afloat with a BT purchase, see a minor league baseball game, donate to the Free Software Fund or a local food bank?  Yeah, peace of mind is nice from either side of the field but the rate structure is a real downer.  Just my particular POV though, as grading even 10 items from the smallest collection (most certainly not mine) is getting pricey.

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I'd love to have some carded Go-Bots, for nostalgia value alone... but you're right, I'd never pay AFA graded prices for one.  I would think a carded Go-Bot would be worth roughly $10 to maybe $20 max, depending on which charachter it was... (I used to buy them at a flea market in the very early '90s carded for something like $1 a piece.  This was after they were long out of circulation... I think the guy had a line on a bunch of old store stock.  Of course, they're all long gone now.  In those days, "collecting" meant filling the toybox... :tard )  AFA graded, they'd probably end up listing on Ebay for $50+, which is just silly to me. 

 

That having been said, if anybody has any carded Go-Bots they're willing to let go cheap, PM me! :thumb