The inconsistency/error from VGA grading probably neglects any swap that wasn't super obvious anyway. You can also reseal y-folds with a little patience and the right method as well. I wouldn't worry about fakes especially if you buy from a reputable collector or seller.
I'd like to thank everyone for participating in this thread (disagreements are ok). My take away is:
1) I should be comfortable buying either VGA Gold or if I read the details carefully WATA graded games (need to make sure seal is graded A, to ensure equivalency). That said, I have only seen one WATA GBA game for sale, so at least for now, it will mostly be VGA Gold, or sealed purchases.
2) I'm still on the fence about which company to use, but since I'm not in a rush to get my games graded, I can wait and see how things shake out. If I had to decide today, I'd probably go with VGA for consistency, but only games I think will be rated gold and only my rarer and expensive titles (think Gemsmasher, Ninja 5-O. Scary Dreams). Perhaps I'd use WATA for ultra rares that I have CIB but in minty condition. (Like my copy of Invader, which I still don't know if it was every shipped sealed.)
3) I see no reason to get my Gold VGA games regraded now or in the future.
I still didn't get a sense on my question regarding buying VGA games without the heavy plastic overwrap, or games that haven't been rated recently.:
"I've also noticed that I feel hesitant to buy VGA games that aren't in their heavy plastic bags, or that weren't graded recently. Mostly they are different and I don't know if these are bad things or not. Am I being irrational here?"
Thanks again!
P.S. - SInce I'm largely treating the graded games as really nice sealed copies, I think I'll just carefully inspect any purchased sealed games, just aas I do any purchases, and as long as they look like really nice original sealed copies, I'm not going to worry about the risk that they are swapped graded reseals, as I'm assuming that it wouldn't be worth the risk to swap in something that can pass as an 85+/90 for an actual 85+/90. (I'm not goign for 100's so the benfirt of swapping is likely to be outweighed by the risk.)
My biggest reason I'm planning to switch from VGA to WATA is due to price and service.
VGA has recently raised their prices, and made their turnaround times even longer than they used to be. So higher cost, slower service, even in the face of increased competition.. yeesh.
I like the storability (not a huge fan of the case edges and pointy top of the WATA cases) of the VGA cases and the more simplistic grading (though I do appreciate the breakdown WATA gives, many factors makes the actual overall condition more nebulous, at least to me).
I do like how WATA feels more modern, and the submission process seems leaps and bounds over the VGA process (not to mention there are services on the VGA website that have been advertised as coming soon for years, and still are not functional).
"I've also noticed that I feel hesitant to buy VGA games that aren't in their heavy plastic bags, or that weren't graded recently. Mostly they are different and I don't know if these are bad things or not. Am I being irrational here?"
Those bags are free, you can ask VGA to include an extra one when you send in a submission. They won't just send you a bag free of charge, but if you're already grading games, they don't mind throwing an extra one in your package.
I find that buying a VGA game without a bag is more of an annoyance than a deal breaker.
Comments
1) I should be comfortable buying either VGA Gold or if I read the details carefully WATA graded games (need to make sure seal is graded A, to ensure equivalency). That said, I have only seen one WATA GBA game for sale, so at least for now, it will mostly be VGA Gold, or sealed purchases.
2) I'm still on the fence about which company to use, but since I'm not in a rush to get my games graded, I can wait and see how things shake out. If I had to decide today, I'd probably go with VGA for consistency, but only games I think will be rated gold and only my rarer and expensive titles (think Gemsmasher, Ninja 5-O. Scary Dreams). Perhaps I'd use WATA for ultra rares that I have CIB but in minty condition. (Like my copy of Invader, which I still don't know if it was every shipped sealed.)
3) I see no reason to get my Gold VGA games regraded now or in the future.
I still didn't get a sense on my question regarding buying VGA games without the heavy plastic overwrap, or games that haven't been rated recently.:
Thanks again!
P.S. - SInce I'm largely treating the graded games as really nice sealed copies, I think I'll just carefully inspect any purchased sealed games, just aas I do any purchases, and as long as they look like really nice original sealed copies, I'm not going to worry about the risk that they are swapped graded reseals, as I'm assuming that it wouldn't be worth the risk to swap in something that can pass as an 85+/90 for an actual 85+/90. (I'm not goign for 100's so the benfirt of swapping is likely to be outweighed by the risk.)
VGA has recently raised their prices, and made their turnaround times even longer than they used to be. So higher cost, slower service, even in the face of increased competition.. yeesh.
I like the storability (not a huge fan of the case edges and pointy top of the WATA cases) of the VGA cases and the more simplistic grading (though I do appreciate the breakdown WATA gives, many factors makes the actual overall condition more nebulous, at least to me).
I do like how WATA feels more modern, and the submission process seems leaps and bounds over the VGA process (not to mention there are services on the VGA website that have been advertised as coming soon for years, and still are not functional).
Those bags are free, you can ask VGA to include an extra one when you send in a submission. They won't just send you a bag free of charge, but if you're already grading games, they don't mind throwing an extra one in your package.
I find that buying a VGA game without a bag is more of an annoyance than a deal breaker.
What does the bag do exactly? Is it increased uv protection?
Keeps the case from getting scuffed. I understand removing it for pics, but throwing away in general is just foolish.