AFA's secret underground facility!

[Zemo]

From their FAQ

Can I visit AFA's facilities?
No, for security purposes AFA's location is kept secret and no customers may visit the facility.


Two idiots in their moms basement. lol

[theantiquetiger]

From there FAQ

To idiots in their moms basement. lol

Thats the "Man Cave!", get it right!!!

[toys2cool]

who's to stop these people from saying the package got lost and turn around and sell it graded? anybody ever thought of that? or from switching it

[theantiquetiger]

who's to stop these people from saying the package got lost and turn around and sell it graded? anybody ever thought of that? or from switching it

Thats what the BBB (Better Business Bureau) is for. I would check with them before sending anything, if I was to grade something.

[Megotu]

Ideally, if the figure is worth getting graded, it is worth insuring for full projected value and getting signature confirmation/registered postage.

[Chris DVM]

Hey,
I had the same answer from them. Originally, CloudCity did all of their cases. I had a great relation with Cloud City, they were doing custom cases for me all the time. Went into hibernation mode for about a year. Came out, but Cloud City sold the case making group to AFA.
So I contacted them. They would not tell me where the location is (although I am pretty sure it is in the same place it was before). When I made a joke about it to them, they explained it was for insurance reasons - they are getting a lot of high end toys shipped to them for grading and casing, and the insurance company would not give them good prices if it was known where they were doing this at.
I can buy the story, but it is still hard for me to get them to be as easy to deal with for cases as Cloud City was.
Chris DVM

[draconianguard]

The Cloud City/ AFA connection has been rumored for years. Tom always had highly graded stuff, Tom sold custom cases and both were located in Georgia.

[Sowth]

I think Tom is on the record as saying that he no longer has any ownership in Cloud City, but that he does now have ownership in AFA. As to what percentage etc, no idea.

His authentication of items such as vinyl cape Jawas and DT Sabres while still at Cloud City went a long way to giving AFA credibility in Star Wars collecting circles. They really should ask Dan, Rob or Benjamin to consult on submitted MEGOs if they ever want to be taken seriously in this community.

Not they seem to require it just at the moment with insane prices for stuff like this crazy arse Hulk going on. Don't need to be an expert to see that blister is yellow as hell either.

Cheers,
Will

[toys2cool]

Hey,
I had the same answer from them. Originally, CloudCity did all of their cases. I had a great relation with Cloud City, they were doing custom cases for me all the time. Went into hibernation mode for about a year. Came out, but Cloud City sold the case making group to AFA.
So I contacted them. They would not tell me where the location is (although I am pretty sure it is in the same place it was before). When I made a joke about it to them, they explained it was for insurance reasons - they are getting a lot of high end toys shipped to them for grading and casing, and the insurance company would not give them good prices if it was known where they were doing this at.
I can buy the story, but it is still hard for me to get them to be as easy to deal with for cases as Cloud City was.
Chris DVM

If they are located in Georgia,maybe they should hire someone like you Chris to atleast go once a week and authenticate the figures.It'll be better for them and maybe you could make some money on the side by helping to grade these

[Adam West]

How much do they charge to grade an item for you?

I just don't get why people will pay multiple times what something is worth because it is certified.

I have seen this with figures, comics, coins, etc.

A very honest comic shop owner who I have known for a few years told me CGC is so subjective that he doesn't buy into the hype. However, like others, he finds it a necessary evil because people are willing to pay top $ for CGC graded comics. He has a lot of experience in this area and showed me a comic that was graded a 9 by CGC that he sent in but said it honestly isn't higher than an 8. He said he even conducted an experiment once where he pulled a CGC graded comic that was a 7.5 about 2 years ago and sent it back in for regrading. It came back a whole grade higher 8.5. What changed in 2 years? His theory, is pressure on the company to grade higher than they should because people are paying a lot of money to have their items graded and don't want the disappointment of an truly objective grading.

[theantiquetiger]

A couple years ago, I bought a #1 Thun'da comic in pretty nice condition for $8 and sold it for $600. I didn't hype it, just took a few good pictures, etc.

Hake's had a CGC #1 Thun'da graded a 8.5 or 9 (I don't remember) a couple auctions ago, and it only sold for $500. I don't know if it was from a lack of buyers or since there is an exact amount chart a graded comic is worth that hurt Hake's comic book.

[megomaniac]

I know some will swear by it, but to me a poor smuck, AFA just means the price has been ramped WAY overboard and not worth even looking at (execpt maybe for a good laugh that someone will actually pay that price)

[Megospidey]

How much do they charge to grade an item for you?

I just don't get why people will pay multiple times what something is worth because it is certified.

I have seen this with figures, comics, coins, etc.

A very honest comic shop owner who I have known for a few years told me CGC is so subjective that he doesn't buy into the hype. However, like others, he finds it a necessary evil because people are willing to pay top $ for CGC graded comics. He has a lot of experience in this area and showed me a comic that was graded a 9 by CGC that he sent in but said it honestly isn't higher than an 8. He said he even conducted an experiment once where he pulled a CGC graded comic that was a 7.5 about 2 years ago and sent it back in for regrading. It came back a whole grade higher 8.5. What changed in 2 years? His theory, is pressure on the company to grade higher than they should because people are paying a lot of money to have their items graded and don't want the disappointment of an truly objective grading.

The only thing I have found CGC is really good for is detecting restoration in a comic book. Most people do not want to pay top dollar for a comic that is restored, and because most people cannot detect comic restoration on their own, they are willing to pay the higher prices for a CGC graded book to be certain it is unrestored.