WATA grade specifics? Any customers disappointed with the grade they have received?
I’ve checked the wata website but the pictures that coincide with the grade value are very difficult to differentiate from a score of 8-9 and near impossible to tell between a score of 9 or 10. Reading the explanation of how any item gets its score seems vague as well.
How much does an imperfection, not noticeable to the naked eye, deduct from a 10 grade?
How much does a small indent to a label deduct from a grade?
anyone here disagree with any grades they have received?
Just trying to undestand and the process better. Thank you.
How much does an imperfection, not noticeable to the naked eye, deduct from a 10 grade?
How much does a small indent to a label deduct from a grade?
anyone here disagree with any grades they have received?
Just trying to undestand and the process better. Thank you.
Comments
Post some pictures of the game you sent it. Before and after. I'm sure some of us can put our two cents in.
I have a few things graded from Wata. So far I am not at all disappointed. Did you ask them why your game got the grade it did? They are pretty nice and will explain it in depth. I'm a noob to the sealed world and after asking tons and tons of questions I've slowly started to learn what to look for. It's definitely not easy, a whole new level of collecting.
Post some pictures of the game you sent it. Before and after. I'm sure some of us can put our two cents in.
Thanks for the reply. I haven’t sent anything in yet. just curious how it all works concerning 9-10 grades.
I just have a couple loose carts I was thinking of sending.
I have a few things graded from Wata. So far I am not at all disappointed. Did you ask them why your game got the grade it did? They are pretty nice and will explain it in depth. I'm a noob to the sealed world and after asking tons and tons of questions I've slowly started to learn what to look for. It's definitely not easy, a whole new level of collecting.
Post some pictures of the game you sent it. Before and after. I'm sure some of us can put our two cents in.
Thanks for the reply. I haven’t sent anything in yet. just curious how it all works concerning 9-10 grades.
I just have a couple loose carts I was thinking of sending.
Thanks for asking about this, we're happy to answer questions as best as we can.
The intended purpose of the visual guide is to let the pictures do the talking, since words/descriptions can actually lead to more confusion than clarification. However, as you have seen, it's quite difficult to capture the differences and nuances of high condition items with photos, especially when you're dealing with a three-dimensional object. We don't aim to publish descriptors as we don't want to mislead collectors into thinking they are absolutes, but I still want to shed some light on your question by providing examples of how the descriptors and condition factors differ from 9 to 10. These should be taken with a grain of salt for the aforementioned reasons, and also because grading is a holistic process that is much more involved than 'following a guide' per se, as it takes into consideration the various different factors that exist as well as the state of the game. As a simple example, unlicensed games, which typically have thinner boxes more prone to damage and manufacturing flaws that are commensurate with the type of game they are, will be asessed with this understanding and may differ from the way a licensed NES box is assessed. Further, flaws that are identified as "manufacturing flaws" are weighted differently than wear or damage and therefore qualifying the type of flaw is critical in assessing condition accurately. This universal approach takes into consideration several factors that cannot be captured with a simple description, which is why we caution reading too deeply into them as they are not be-all end-alls. With that, here are some examples that may help shed some more light for you:
10 Superb Gem Mint — New, Flawless under 5x magnification. Perfect composition (No blurs, tiled or uncentered images). No packing distresses or distractions. Nearly impossible grade. Ex: New game produced and manufactured under the most perfect circumstances available and has remained as perfect.
9.8 Gem Mint + — Gem Mint. The highest regularly attainable grade without extraordinary perfect circumstances in play. New, excellent composition, nearly flawless. Approaching perfection, only just not perfect. Ex: 1 miniscule flaw in a non-focal area or imperfect centering, shrink wrap, sticker placement, etc.
9.6 Mint/Gem Mint — Borderline Gem Mint. Excellent overall presentation with 1-2 barely noticeable flaws. Ex: tiny distracting flaws in focal areas, but may need right light to highlight, i.e., cover wrap, miniscule corner flaw, etc.
9.4 Mint + — High Mint. Mint at first glance, but with a small or 2-3 minor distractions. Ex: Corner tears on lid (can be factory caused), tiny creases at box corners, smallest box corner ding, shrink wrap crush (not impact damage).
9.2 Mint — Low Mint. Mint with a small to medium flaw or a few small detractions. Ex: still very mint overall, but with 3-4 minor detractions.
9.0 Near Mint/Mint — Borderline Mint, some small but detectable detraction marks (5+). Ex: Several small friction scratches, box corner creases, box flap med chips, several small label bruises; Blemishes must show only in the right lighting angles.
Generally, when you're talking about cartridges, attaining higher than a 9 is very uncommon for cartridges that have been used or exhibit any signs of wear/usage. For NES, the label is the largest consideration in assessing the overall grade, followed by the surface wear of the cartridge itself, and finally the state of the back label. To the point about manufacturing defects, while actual defects from the mold, for example, may not have a substantial impact on the grade, in many instances cartridges that come straight off the manufacturing line may have wear, as these items were still handled by humans. It's unlikely that a cartridge coming from a sealed game will achieve less than a 9.4, but it is certainly possible, and it is not guaranteed that brand new cartridges are automatically 9.8s or 10s.
I hope this explanation provides some transparency on how condition differs on the higher end of the scale. While we don't intend to hide anything, part of understanding the scale and how items grade out is simply a function of time and experience with our universal standards. Many submitters have taken the time to assess their items before sending them in for certification to gauge their own scale with our consistent standards and understand how specific flaws may impact the final grade. This has resulted in these submitters improving their accuracy over time and through more submissions with estimating how their items will grade out. As is commonplace in collectibles, dealers/sellers will tend to over-grade raw items while buyers will tend to under-grade. But for all collector we aim to equip you with as much as we can offer to make your own educated assesments, whether you intend to certify your games or not. We are always here to answer your specific questions and provide our assistance!
Since they're the only copies with "tm" not clipped off on the right, and the top portion of the label displays the name fully without being clipped off.
Interesting.
Yeah man, they graded one of my games as a 1.0 and I thought to myself, this should be like a 0.8 or something.
Lol. Ya ya, more like a 0.00
So because of the artwork requirement, the only possible way to get a 10 on a Stadium Events would be to have the rarer (5 commons for every 1) centered artwork 3-screw variant, or Uber rare (3 known copies) 5-screw variant.
Since they're the only copies with "tm" not clipped off on the right, and the top portion of the label displays the name fully without being clipped off.
Interesting.
Similar to what was outlined with the Unlicensed box example, games are graded based on the variant they are and take into consideration all factors about that specific copy. A 5 screw variant would be graded based on its unique characteristics, as would a 3-screw. The TM being clipped off is characteristic to that variant, so it would not impact the grade.
Yeah man, they graded one of my games as a 1.0 and I thought to myself, this should be like a 0.8 or something.
Ha Ha classic!
So because of the artwork requirement, the only possible way to get a 10 on a Stadium Events would be to have the rarer (5 commons for every 1) centered artwork 3-screw variant, or Uber rare (3 known copies) 5-screw variant.
Since they're the only copies with "tm" not clipped off on the right, and the top portion of the label displays the name fully without being clipped off.
Interesting.
Similar to what was outlined with the Unlicensed box example, games are graded based on the variant they are and take into consideration all factors about that specific copy. A 5 screw variant would be graded based on its unique characteristics, as would a 3-screw. The TM being clipped off is characteristic to that variant, so it would not impact the grade.
Thanks for the clarification.
Coin grading about MS-65 always seemed pretty subjective to me because the flaws are just so minor at that point.