VGA Qualified scale still commands no premium?

alekx

So i was browsing ebay and noticed an auction for an 85 vga link to the past qualified at auction. I like qualified games for the same reason I like sealed games and mint complete games.

Anyways it ended around the $243 cad mark, and I noticed another mint complete zelda ended for $222.

Do you guys think the vga qualified games will ever be worth getting done in terms of profiting?

Im actually surprised it isnt more profitable.

Thoughts?

Cheesemeister

The only thing it means to me is that there might be less wear and tear over the past couple of years. For items that are decades old, that doesn't mean much. Rather, unsealed games are just harder to get at and play when boxed up like that, so it becomes a nuisance to be avoided. I personally wouldn't buy a game like that.

NeverBeenOddjob

There was a spike in the beginning, but it's leveled off over the short years. I dunno, I find it more fun to receive a mint game without it being graded or permanently encased in anything, it just feels more real.

sephiaya

It purely depends on the title..



Rare titles, then yes; common games like alttp (which are easy enough to find sealed) then no.

jonebone

Personally, I completely disagree with the Qualified unless the game is so absurdly rare that it must be a placeholder (i.e. DK Math).



I collect sealed when I want a pristine Mint game. I also collect CIB Mint when I want a playable copy of the game (even though I don't really play retro that much). Qualified doesn't fill either of those requirements for me, so it is of no interest.

supergoku

I think that there just aren't as many people that are willing to pay extra for qualified unless it's a near perfect box or something very rare at least when compared to sealed and there are, for most games, probably 20 VGA qualified 85+ for every sealed VGA 85+. So even though there probably aren't that many being graded with vga qualified the demand when compared to the supply probably isn't there.



Add to that that a lot of people can understand having sealed games in cases just to look at, but they don't really understand having a copy that's allready been opened in a case where you can't really play it(i know the contents of the box are supposed to be new but me personally and probably a lot of other people still see it as opened and thus usable instead of just something to look at). This also actually lowers the potential value for at least some people because they want a playable perfect condition CIB as opposed to a showpiece.



As a final point, a lot of the people who want high quality CIB's are the ones who make the prices of the cib's as high as they are because they are trying to get a perfect quality box for their collection, the only thing the qualified grade does is take the guesswork out of it and that just doesn't seem to be worth as much to CIB collectors as it is to sealed collectors and coupled with the mentioned higher supply means that qualified grade games probably won't ever be worth a huge premium over an equally nice looking CIB.



Just my thoughts on this.

1upped

I'm not a fan of qualified either---it's just too easy put a mint cart together and call it new--one of the extreme challenges of sealed is to find the game untouched---I also think that VGA needs to take a look at the "Q" labels and make them stand out a little more---the light blue and light pink are just too similar when you are talking about how hard some of these games are to find sealed and unopened opposed to their qualified counterparts---

Sjp5412

When the VGA gives a game a Q grade, are they grading the interior contents as well? Meaning, could you have a dead mint box, that if sealed, would be a 90+ but there is a big scratch on the cart label? Would this drop the grade?

Doc.Stalk

I actually surprised people don't buy qualified more often, realistically if you buy a MINT CIB your going to put it in a protector and avoid touching it. So why wouldn't you buy one that's certified a great grade, then if you really want to play it rom, or buy a cart version. I myself like to keep great looking boxes untouched, even if it's my favourite game. It's like when people ask me why would you buy a graded comic book, you can't read it? I say would you really read a comic that's worth anywhere $1000+, hell I wouldn't even risk reading a book worth $400+. I'd rather read a digital book, paperback etc. So with that in mind I have the same mind set in gaming, would I really want to handle a $250+ game, I don't even like opening any near mint games because I know if in anyway I damage it, it will bug me for life. That's why qualified games appeal to me and I've been thinking more and more of grading some of my great condition CIB games. Maybe I'm just dumb and I'm sure a ton of people will disagree with me, but it's just my opinion, no shots fired .

BreaKBeatZ

I think they will be worth something once people perfect making fake manuals and boxes, which I think will eventually happen. A Qualified grade prior to that date will ensure the game is real.

Guntz

Originally posted by: Doc.Stalk



I actually surprised people don't buy qualified more often, realistically if you buy a MINT CIB your going to put it in a protector and avoid touching it. So why wouldn't you buy one that's certified a great grade, then if you really want to play it rom, or buy a cart version. I myself like to keep great looking boxes untouched, even if it's my favourite game. It's like when people ask me why would you buy a graded comic book, you can't read it? I say would you really read a comic that's worth anywhere $1000+, hell I wouldn't even risk reading a book worth $400+. I'd rather read a digital book, paperback etc. So with that in mind I have the same mind set in gaming, would I really want to handle a $250+ game, I don't even like opening any near mint games because I know if in anyway I damage it, it will bug me for life. That's why qualified games appeal to me and I've been thinking more and more of grading some of my great condition CIB games. Maybe I'm just dumb and I'm sure a ton of people will disagree with me, but it's just my opinion, no shots fired .

I have a $400 Neo Geo game and I play it like any other game. Don't lock yourself into a prison dictated by value. Break out that expensive comic book, book or game. It's like a breath of fresh air.

Retroman86

Originally posted by: Sjp5412



When the VGA gives a game a Q grade, are they grading the interior contents as well? Meaning, could you have a dead mint box, that if sealed, would be a 90+ but there is a big scratch on the cart label? Would this drop the grade?

all the contents must be new and unused they check the pinboard as well.

VGS_captmorgandrinker

I thought the point of qualified was for stuff that never had any type of seal (like Super Famicom games)?

Retroman86

Originally posted by: captmorgandrinker



I thought the point of qualified was for stuff that never had any type of seal (like Super Famicom games)?

If a famicom game has never been opened they will grade it as new under the standard scale, if an nes or super nes game has bad or torn cello then you could take it off and send it in for qualified grading, also if you have a game that has no cello but has been opened they will qualify it as well as long as all the contents are new.

dr.robbie

personally, qualified VGA games have zero interest for me. It's like a "minty" version of a CIB game... but can't play it. Falls in-between the two collecting areas for me (playable / sealed).

wrk

Q is poo. The only thing worse was the NG "sealed" games.

Sjp5412

I think the reason they're not commanding a premium is because Q grading a game automatically places it in a 2nd-tier category. So now instead of being the most desirable CIB, it's a less desirable graded game. The 3 biggest things that drive the value of collectibles are condition, rarity and desirability. And unfortunately a Q graded game just lacks the desirability factor within the sealed/graded collector world.

Enternal

Originally posted by: Guntz

Originally posted by: Doc.Stalk



I actually surprised people don't buy qualified more often, realistically if you buy a MINT CIB your going to put it in a protector and avoid touching it. So why wouldn't you buy one that's certified a great grade, then if you really want to play it rom, or buy a cart version. I myself like to keep great looking boxes untouched, even if it's my favourite game. It's like when people ask me why would you buy a graded comic book, you can't read it? I say would you really read a comic that's worth anywhere $1000+, hell I wouldn't even risk reading a book worth $400+. I'd rather read a digital book, paperback etc. So with that in mind I have the same mind set in gaming, would I really want to handle a $250+ game, I don't even like opening any near mint games because I know if in anyway I damage it, it will bug me for life. That's why qualified games appeal to me and I've been thinking more and more of grading some of my great condition CIB games. Maybe I'm just dumb and I'm sure a ton of people will disagree with me, but it's just my opinion, no shots fired .

I have a $400 Neo Geo game and I play it like any other game. Don't lock yourself into a prison dictated by value. Break out that expensive comic book, book or game. It's like a breath of fresh air.

Agreed, give the game some love.

PowerPlayers

I'd buy Q games at Minty CIB Price + Grading fees....not at Minty sealed price like many people ask.

final fight cd

Originally posted by: retroman86

Originally posted by: Sjp5412



When the VGA gives a game a Q grade, are they grading the interior contents as well? Meaning, could you have a dead mint box, that if sealed, would be a 90+ but there is a big scratch on the cart label? Would this drop the grade?

all the contents must be new and unused they check the pinboard as well.

I would love to know how one goes about telling if a manual is unused.

jonebone

Originally posted by: Sjp5412



I think the reason they're not commanding a premium is because Q grading a game automatically places it in a 2nd-tier category. So now instead of being the most desirable CIB, it's a less desirable graded game. The 3 biggest things that drive the value of collectibles are condition, rarity and desirability. And unfortunately a Q graded game just lacks the desirability factor within the sealed/graded collector world.

Exactly this too.



A Mint CIB appeals to every single Mint CIB collector there is.  You make that Qualified, and now you appeal to a much, much smaller niche.  And furthermore, it only appeals to a tiny fraction of VGA collectors too.



So you take the same game and vastly reduce the demand for it, of course the price stays flat or even decreases.

Retroman86

Originally posted by: final fight cd

Originally posted by: retroman86

Originally posted by: Sjp5412



When the VGA gives a game a Q grade, are they grading the interior contents as well? Meaning, could you have a dead mint box, that if sealed, would be a 90+ but there is a big scratch on the cart label? Would this drop the grade?

all the contents must be new and unused they check the pinboard as well.





 

I would love to know how one goes about telling if a manual is unused.

the spine would have a white crease from opening the manual.

jedisam2013

I like black box qualified games. Outside of black box I don't see a purpose other than for early release/rare titles. To piece together a black box game with mint manual, poster, baggie, etc isn't cheap coupled with buying the acrylic.

TheBiRD

But is there really more Qualified then Sealed? I mean, if the seal has been removed, 99% of time its because of the game has been played? We could suppose that there're more sealed game then unsealed new...

noquarter

Are VGA cases difficult to open? I wouldn't really pay a premium for Q games, but if I'm trying to get CIB, wouldn't mind picking them up to verify that all contents are there and that everything is in good shape. It is a service, not qualified as new but graded with contents and such, that I would be interested in, as long as the cases are easily opened.



Buying the game to crisply in the case isn't something I'm interested at this time. If I was, would probably go for sealed anyways, as I can easily display opened games in box protectors, as I wouldn't be displaying the number anyway, just the game.



I also don't mind buying sealed comics though and cracking them. Don't mind paying a few more bucks to make sure there isn't any color touch your or other funny business that happened to the book to increase value.

final fight cd

has anybody ever got denied a qualified grade because their contents were "used," minus the cart?

BreaKBeatZ

Originally posted by: captmorgandrinker



I thought the point of qualified was for stuff that never had any type of seal (like Super Famicom games)?

I'm going to be submitting a sealed Diablo 1 and 2 for grading that were sealed with stickers that are still intact.  I'm going to request a sealed grade but there's an option to request a Qualified grade instead if they can't verify that a sticker seal is factory sealed.  I have a feeling that they might come back with a Qualified grade for that reason.



I was hoping to get a sealed PC Starcraft and sealed PC Warcraft 2 (both original releases) to send all at once but I've had no luck.  I might go ahead and submit the Diablos by themselves soon.  Anyway, I'll post my results in the VGA show off thread whenever they come back - wish me luck on getting a sealed grade

Shane

Originally posted by: jonebone



Personally, I completely disagree with the Qualified unless the game is so absurdly rare that it must be a placeholder (i.e. DK Math).



I collect sealed when I want a pristine Mint game. I also collect CIB Mint when I want a playable copy of the game (even though I don't really play retro that much). Qualified doesn't fill either of those requirements for me, so it is of no interest.

Quit reading after this comment, couldn't agree more. If the game is open I don't see the point of encasing it to where you can't play it or look at the manual/inserts. 

GPX

It's been over 2 years now since anyone's made a comment on this thread. Wonder if the general public has has a mental shift regarding Q games?

I personally think there is a major lack of understanding regarding what a Qualified grading really means, particularly those non-VGA collectors. I'm a member of SGH and it took me about a year to figure out what a Q grade actually meant!

There is a false perception that Q grades are just certified MIB. When in fact, they are BNIB, but with opened sealed, or opened box (if game never originally came as sealed).

B.A.

Is that a false perception? I wouldn't pay an extra penny for a Q game. I'd much rather just have the game in a nice case. No one will ever convince me that there were that many people that bothered to open their games yet never remove the contents as there are qualified games already out there graded.

DefaultGen

Originally posted by: GPX



It's been over 2 years now since anyone's made a comment on this thread. Wonder if the general public has has a mental shift regarding Q games?

I personally think there is a major lack of understanding regarding what a Qualified grading really means, particularly those non-VGA collectors. I'm a member of SGH and it took me about a year to figure out what a Q grade actually meant!

There is a false perception that Q grades are just certified MIB. When in fact, they are BNIB, but with opened sealed, or opened box (if game never originally came as sealed).

I would pay an extra 10 bucks for the nice case.



Otherwise the distinction between brand new unsealed (but opened to inspect contents) and mint/complete seems ridiculous to me. I'm paying a premium because some guy opened the box and made his best guess that electricity has never flowed through these sacred chips? On top of that, once you remove it from the box, it's not new anymore! I have no interest in someone grading the theoretical newness of a video game.