The Energon Pub

Hi all,

Can someone please explain to me how the 'figure' rating on an AFA graded toy works? Not the obvious answer of what AFA grades it, but why some figures that are still in their original box/card don't get marked as a 100? I can understand the box or window being damaged, dirty and so forth, but take a figure like Trailbreaker for instance:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VINTAGE-TRAN ... 2a1925cbe8

BOX 75 WINDOW 80 FIGURE 90
You can't say that he has yellowed over time...

Or Prowl:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Transformers ... 53eb0fda4e

BOX 80 WINDOW 85 FIGURE 85
Stickers in tact, nice coat of white...

How do you rate a figure that's brand new, less than perfect? What, did some one not line the tire treads up the right way? Shouldn't they be 100 straight out of the box? Has anybody seen an AFA 100-100-100 And why are the damn things sooooo overpriced?

AFA is extremely picky. They operate under the assumtion that no figure (or box) is perfect. I think the highest I've ever seen any single value is a 95. Boxes tend to be the easiest damaged, and thus usually carry a far lower rating.
As for why they're expensive - there are certain people who will pay out the nose for them. I'm not one of them.

Not to sound like a troll, but they've been known to grade KO's as the real thing on occasion. As such I really can't put any validity to their ratings.

breakdown99 wrote:Hi all,

Can someone please explain to me how the 'figure' rating on an AFA graded toy works? Not the obvious answer of what AFA grades it, but why some figures that are still in their original box/card don't get marked as a 100? I can understand the box or window being damaged, dirty and so forth, but take a figure like Trailbreaker for instance:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VINTAGE-TRAN ... 2a1925cbe8

BOX 75 WINDOW 80 FIGURE 90
You can't say that he has yellowed over time...

Or Prowl:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Transformers ... 53eb0fda4e

BOX 80 WINDOW 85 FIGURE 85
Stickers in tact, nice coat of white...

How do you rate a figure that's brand new, less than perfect? What, did some one not line the tire treads up the right way? Shouldn't they be 100 straight out of the box? Has anybody seen an AFA 100-100-100 And why are the damn things sooooo overpriced?

Well that 75 should have been an 80 from the look of it. But it depends when it was graded. In the beginning AFA were really strict with their grading, and what would now be an 85 were graded at 75. The prowl however just scraped through at an 80.

The figure is graded on not only colour and stickers, but general manufacture blemishes. So if your figure gets a 95, then you have a figure that has next to no defects. Even though none of us would consider any G1 original figure defective.

The price is based on 3 factors, personal worth to the seller vs rarity + demand. This can cause price to vary wildly between each figure.

I assume they're grading visible QC of the figure. How many TFs have you bought with less than perfect paint apps? Do you not inspect the figure through the packaging when there are multiples looking for the one that appears to have the best paint job or avoid ones with plastic imperfections?

I think AFA gradings work like the stats of your character in a game of D&D. Only once someone has an elf mage with +5 strength and no mana, you then can't play with them at all ever. Still, if you like expensive paperweights and have an allergy to gold or diamonds, that's cool.

I'll never understand why people blow so much dough on plexiglass boxes.

I think AFA grading bullshit. It's a MISB figure, should be treated as such. That's it. It's just a way for some people to inflate the prices. It's stupid.

Rodimus Prime wrote:I think AFA grading bullshit. It's a MISB figure, should be treated as such. That's it. It's just a way for some people to inflate the prices. It's stupid.

THIS. Oh so THIS.

First of all, I'm from the 4chan's /toy/ school of thoughts. Meaning a toy is meant to be out of it's box and played with. Spending so much cash on a MIB toy and not play with it is a waste. Granted, I do have some MIB toys that I keep sealed, but only the doubles. The more I think about it, the more I think it's a waste. I'm probably just going to sell them soon. I often get old TF or MP MIB, but only because I want them in good condition and complete. I also NEVER pay inflated prices for a MIB toy. The irony is often, the MIB toy is cheaper than the loose one! So I open everything and just enjoy the transformers. Maybe I'll even dump some of the most common boxes to make room.

I can understand paying a few bucks more for a MIB toy to make sure it's perfect and complete. I have a hard time understanding to pay 3-4 times the normal price of a figure just because it's MIB. But that AFA bull... Now that's just revolting. You pay often 10-50 times the normal price... to make sure you will NEVER enjoy the damn thing! Instead of torturing yourself buying AFA graded things with uncertain value, why not just invest said moner on thing you can enjoy? Or just invest in the stock market?

Life is too short to spend so much money and energy on something you can't enjoy fully.