Why has AFA grabbed such a foothold in other figure communities but not Mego?

[Vinny0026]

IMO you will start to see more Megos being graded going forward. EVery hobby now has some sort of grading. Baseball cards, Comic books, and now toys.
Even autographs have psa/dna etc..

I think even with the issues AFA has had in the past you will still see more and more people use it
Here are my reasons why:
1) people are curious to see what grade they will get on a figure - also people who are looking to flip or sell the item long term will want a grade so they have no hassel reselling it. Now they do not have to write a long winded ad picking out flaws and such that a buyer will argue that they saw or did not see because of the pictures. They will just say MOC Mego XXX AFA 85/80/85 etc. so they will just let the grade speak for it self.

2) another reason is after its graded the item is protected in that case. The case does display well and it protects your figure.

AFA is coming to mego, as more and more of these figures are featured on toy hunter, and toy shows, ebay etc..
people who want the rare figures will want to know what they are getting in terms of condition. And sellers will want top dollar. So all the really good MOC figures will be graded - all the mint figures on damaged cards will not be graded for the most part - because in those cases it ads no value. It only ads value to high condition figures - again just IMO

Megos over the last few years are really starting to jump. 2 years ago your average loose spiderman in good shape and up was about 30-35 bucks. Now the cleab ones are like 60 bucks. With all these mego remakes I think it id drawing more people back to mego. People wanting to collect them again, and people who have them that just want to sell them now.

I think if you have high grade you will want to grade it.
I have 2 case fresh spidermen MOC unpunched. I'm in the process of about to have them graded. one is just for the protection. the other is to see the grades.

I would certainly pay more for a graded figure than a non graded figure. but that is just me.
again I understand what most of you are saying. but this is just IMO. high quality should be afa just for display and protection alone. this way they stay that way

[luclin999]

Megos over the last few years are really starting to jump. 2 years ago your average loose spiderman in good shape and up was about 30-35 bucks. Now the cleab ones are like 60 bucks.

Toy Hunter may be pushing people to ask more for the toys (at least initially) however for the moment at least the buyers are (for the most part) not willing to pay that much.

Overall, it looks to me like Mego prices on many loose figures have seemed to stay fairly flat over the past few years. I tend to catch the Mego collecting bug back and the desire to add a few more to my collection every 2-3 years and many of the prices today are very close to what I saw several years ago.

Mego Hulks & Spideys have gone up a little bit (From $30 for a decent loose one up to around $45-50) but figures like Thor, Iron Man, Superman, Batman and Spider-Man are all just about what I remember from listings back in 2009-2010 and with that being the case, even based upon a purely financial standpoint I just cannot see the likelihood of many people starting to spend money on grading most loose figures or commonly seen carded pieces.

On the other hand, when it comes to ultra-rare pieces or super minty on card or boxed specimens which were already highly unlikely to ever be opened or handled directly and have a reasonably decent likelihood of increasing in value over time (and thus likely mitigating the cost of the grading service) I do understand why in those cases there might be some merit to having them graded.

As to more people coming into the collecting market due to seeing the figures on TV or the new Repro versions of them, I think that the majority of them are likely going to be happy enough with picking up a Repro or repro restored figure of their long lost favorites versus spending bigger $$$ chasing after the originals in original condition to have too great of an impact on prices overall. The fact that there is such a large reproduction market already being established may actually cause the prices of some figures to drop due to the casual collector's mentality of "Why should I pay $200 for this used, loose Speedy missing his hat versus $25 for a brand new one?" which could possibly decrease the demand for the original figures by eliminating many potential buyers.

However on the other hand, prices on the figures which are not reproduced may in fact spike due to there simply being no other option available for someone wanting that specific toy.

[Werewolf]

Yeah, I can't wait to see all those loose Mxyzptlks and Grandma Waltons graded and sealed in Lucite.

Like SW Lobot, for example, a dirt common and unpopular figure that you should be able to easily get loose NM and complete for $10. Stuck in Lucite, now worth $35 to $150, according to ebay.

AFA has been a blight and a bad joke on SW collecting, to me. It was bad enough when the carded figures were being stuck and plastic. But when they are grading loose Lobots, Salaicious Crumbs (which are dirt common still sealed in Kenner baggies) and Rancor Keepers and sticking them in Lucite, I'm not going to take it seriously.

[kisstour03]

I stopped taking AFA seriously when Mexican Star Wars bootlegs started showing up on Ebay with the U Grade. The U Grade is uncirculated, untouched, never out of the package till just now when it was removed buy some guy/gal at AFA. What a joke that is with a bootleg Mexi figure. Even though the figure is probably vintage from the 80s. It was most likely stapled onto the card it came on last week. After spending years rolling around some market.

[clemso]

If you had a Mego in in window box, you'd want to open that sucker up, not place it in a plastic tomb, lol

[PNGwynne]

AFA grading actually makes me not want to buy a figure lol.

We all know that packaged Megos can vary considerably in quality--assembling minty loose figures is much more challenging IMO.

[palitoy]

I have two figures that are graded, they're Remco Monsters in Canadian packaging, which aren't easy to find. I paid him $75.

If they weren't AFA grading, I would have paid $75. It's a joke.

[PNGwynne]

"Plastic tombs." Absolutely correct, Clemso. It's just revolting to me.

I'm waiting for the day when a graded, sealed MOC Hulk's limbs fall off or turn blue-green.

[jwyblejr]

Yeah, I can't wait to see all those loose Mxyzptlks and Grandma Waltons graded and sealed in Lucite.

Like SW Lobot, for example, a dirt common and unpopular figure that you should be able to easily get loose NM and complete for $10. Stuck in Lucite, now worth $35 to $150, according to ebay.

AFA has been a blight and a bad joke on SW collecting, to me. It was bad enough when the carded figures were being stuck and plastic. But when they are grading loose Lobots, Salaicious Crumbs (which are dirt common still sealed in Kenner baggies) and Rancor Keepers and sticking them in Lucite, I'm not going to take it seriously.

I'm waiting for the day we see AFA graded Clown Arounds.

[superherocrazy]

I'm not an AFA grading fan and I hope it stays out of the mego world. I agree with other members the only individuals that want a number grade are speculators hoping to cash in big down the road!

[kisstour03]

Another member on a Star Wars board said something along this line about the acrylic tomb.: "I felt a great disturbance in The Force. As if millions of MOCs cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced in a tomb of acrylic."

[mishu2nite]

The main problem with grading toys opposed to comics and cards is that today the graded toy has a clear bubble and the figure is mint.,tomorrow the bubble would have turned to yellow, and if it is the 3 3/4 joes, the bands will snap inside. The grade no longer applies. Withe the cards and comics it still would for the most part apply.

Toy collectors,are a little more forgiving. If a mego type one elastic snaps, it is pretty much ok to put new elastic inside, nothing lost.,with cards and comics, "altered", kiss of death in that community.

[kisstour03]

"altered", kiss of death in that community.

Oh yes. Don't even suggest touching up the paint on your Vintage Kenner Star Wars figures so they look nicer in your display. That's WRONG and will bring down the integrity of the whole community. That'll start a fire real quick. And don't buy a gosh darn golly gee whiz repro blaster for your Stormtrooper army display. It'll destroy the hobby. Don't suggest getting a carded Klatuu signed by the actor. It'll throw the earth off kilter. So many rules. There should be a 3-Day course for all the ins and outs.

[Vinny0026]

If you had a Mego in in window box, you'd want to open that sucker up, not place it in a plastic tomb, lol

you know all the boxed figures have been opened
that is why the mego MOC's go for way more money than MIB

the fact that its untouched is why they go for more for the most part - IMO

[luclin999]

you know all the boxed figures have been opened
that is why the mego MOC's go for way more money than MIB

the fact that its untouched is why they go for more for the most part - IMO

True, that is one of the main factors which drive the value.

The others are the nostalgia effect of seeing the figure the way that it was on the shelf at K-Mart back in 1976 and the idea that a sealed package must mean that the figure is in "dead mint" condition.

However that last one of which can be wrong, particularly in dealing with Mego figures.

The last "mint" on card piece I opened was a mego Hulk back in the 90's. When it was still on the card it ~looked~ to be in perfect condition however within seconds of opening it I discovered that the the right knee pin was broken in two and that the leg had just been being held together all that time due to how tightly it had been forced together. So much for my "mint" condition figure.

That's why these days for me when I want a "mint" figure I would rather find a loose piece in perfect condition which can be examined far more thoroughly than one on a card ever could be to determine exactly what flaws may or may not be present.