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I will start by saying I despise AFA. Never understood the need to pay someone to validate my collectibles. I just noticed on Ebay how so many MOTU, Star Wars, Thundercats, GI Joe RAH, etc. are AFA graded, yet Mego's for the most part are not. Why is it so important to these collectors but not us? Is it because AFA became big, just as the 80's kids were beginning to rediscover their childhood toys? Please discuss.
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It's cause them thar youngun's ain't got a lick a sense! They'll buy a piece a horse dung iffins you put a certificate with it sayin' it's chocolate! -
Ain't nobody got time for that.Comment
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I too despise AFA. Just to get clear of that really quick.
Now to answer your question: Because Mego people have a brain
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Having spent a few years around Star Wars forums, AFA is always a hot topic. I really do think a lot of AFAers feel that the sticker and the grade are a badge of honor or something. They don't even talk about their toys they talk about the number. "Yeah I have an 85 in my collection. What figure? I forget but it's an 85." Then there's the whole U Grade thing. Taking a MOC figure and sending it in to be taken off the card and graded as "Uncirculated'. The prestige there being strictly the grade since the figure is supposedly as mint as you can get. A Klattu is considered super rare because he has a 95 grade
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Some people say AFA is useful for authentication of rare items as insurance for future resale. I think that's bunk because there are lots of instances where it's been learned that AFA graded resealed figures and such.
And the biggest strike against AFA for me personally as a poor, moneyless collector. It puts the prices up on common items simply because it's in a shiny acrylic case with a bull poop sticker on it.
It's funny that this topic was posted today. One of the draws to start seriously collecting Mego, besides being awesome, was I have noticed a big lack of the stain of AFA on this hobby.
Sorry to be so long winded. Just don't care for AFA.Toys and comics. My house isn't big enough. It's an addiction.Comment
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As a collector and toy lover I generally want a loose piece for display and so paying a premium for a "mint on sealed card piece" is already unappealing to me.
To actually pay someone to "grade" that piece and then put it in yet another box (which can also never be opened) is crazy.
The only people that I can see who would appreciate this service are "speculators" who buy the toys as "investments" but who are not into the hobby deeply enough to be able to determine to overall conditions/quality/completeness of a piece on their own and so have to rely upon someone else's opinion to determine the condition of the piece.Comment
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AFA rose to prominence with 70s kids but in the much bigger Star Wars world, where there is a greater amount of fraud. They seemed to know what they were doing there.
From what I've seen of Mego, they don't have a clue, broken knees, grey faces, all ignored. As a whole, I'd say most Mego collectors don't care.
Recently, I've read of a forgery scandal involving AFA and recently sealed vintage cardbacks, it seems AFA's rep took a beating this year.Places to find PlaidStallions online: https://linktr.ee/Plaidstallions
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http://www.plaidstallions.com/reboot/shopComment
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Besides Mego, you just don't see graded toys that women primarily collect. No graded Barbie, Jem, Strawberry Shortcake, etc. It's a non issue.You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...Comment
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There's a HUGE hub bub going on right now over this in Star Wars land. The basic gist of it is some guy is supposed to have bought up a bunch of unused cards and bubbles in the UK. and used them to reseal mint figures and sold as original. And did a decent enough job that it got by AFA and a lot of seasoned SW collectors. There's a lot of guys ready to quit the hobby now because it's thrown a lot of doubt on MOC collecting and even what variations came on what cards. I know a guy who spent YEARS working on guides for COOs and such and now all his work may be frigged because some variants may never be able to be verified as legit on certain cardbacks. It's a huge uproar.Toys and comics. My house isn't big enough. It's an addiction.Comment
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The inflated prices that go along with the case and sticker are what bug me the most. I would love to delve into other lines but jeez even a common figure is outrageous. Stupid!!!!!Comment
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I suppose it is actually kind of ironic considering the negativity directed at reissues and reproductions that it was actually deception with all original vintage figures and parts that brought down MOC SW collecting.You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...Comment
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Yup. Between AFA and the fraudulent sellers, vintage Star Wars collecting has pretty much been ruined. It's a shame, because I think there is a good enough quantity of Star Wars toys out there to have a robust and thriving market without the need for ridiculous inflation of prices.
Could some of it have to do with Megos being boxed versus a Star Wars being carded? I mean, I know Megos were carded too, but maybe the fact that so much existing Mego stock is found essentially loose in box, it makes AFA somewhat unnecessary? Whatever the reason, Mego collectors are a far more evolved breed. And I say that as a Star Wars collector.Comment
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I love Kenner SW toys but, yeah, some of SW collectors can be a bit out there. I Still remember the hysteria over some guy opening a common figure on a beat to hell card. People were freaking out because he didn't grade it. They were going ape spit. Crazy.
Way too much importance over the false status of some meaningless grade artificially increasing the value and not enough love of the actual toy itself. It was probably only a matter of time that house of cards fell.You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...Comment
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I don't want to be negative. I really don't. But I think that's one of my biggest reasons for drifting away from vintage Star Wars collecting over the last couple of years. It can be summed up in one word. DRAMA!!! Battles, flame wars, name calling and back stabbing. Over toys that are supposed to be our common bond. Fights over whether or not a Chewbacca with green limbs is a variant or plastic degradation. Having a fit over someone deciding to open their toy that they paid money for. Going ape poop over someone posting their collection of vintage figures resealed on new cards. The negativity gets old fast. A nice little thread about a figure someone picked up at a flea market can break down into a wars in three postings. It's not all bad in that world but it seems to bee far ore common than in other hobbies.
It's another reason I've been drawn to Mego, it seems fairly drama free. I'm sure there are moments of fights among Mego fans. It's bound to happen in any gathering of people. But in the years I've checked out this site and others I haven't seen it.
Anyway back on topic. AFA BAD!!!! BOOOOO AFA!!Toys and comics. My house isn't big enough. It's an addiction.Comment
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Like I said I'm sure it happens here like anywhere. It's human nature to have some conflict. And I tell myself all the time I shouldn't let the drama affect my enjoyment of the hobby. But the constant bickering sucked the fun out of it of it for me. One final blowup, which I didn't care one lick about, tried to suck me into the melee and that was it. I decided to take a break from the SW forums. I sold a few SW pieces. I rekindled my love of collecting/reading comics. I fooled around with some other toy lines and refocused on my Hulk collection. Buying our first house last year was another nice sideline. While redoing a part of my Hulk shelf earlier this week I got looking over my Mego Hulks and something "clicked". Megos were a big happy part of my childhood. I had toys back then I didn't even realize were Mego at the time. Collecting makes me smile again.
Anyway. Sorry for going way off topic again. BOOOOOO AFA.Toys and comics. My house isn't big enough. It's an addiction.Comment
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