Star Wars and Grading

[MikeSW]

Hi guys. New to the forums (first post) so if this is the wrong place to post this I apologize. But I'll ask the question and move it if I have to.

Recently I bought a small collection of about 40 or so Star Wars Kenner 3-4" action figures from the late 70's early 80's. I collect mostly die cast cars so I think I'm going to sell the Star Wars stuff. I realize the market is kind of soft right now but the price difference between graded and ungraded is huge. Now grading isn't a big thing in the die cast - matchbox, hotwheels, etc - world, so I was wondering what opinions on grading there were from the action figure guys and girls.

Thanks for any insight.

Mike

 

[MikeSW]

I'm sorry, is my question unclear? There has to be opinions on grading, no? Is it not something action figure people even talk about? I apologize for my ignorance but I don't know much about this particular hobby.

 

[morphosis]

I'm sorry, is my question unclear? There has to be opinions on grading, no? Is it not something action figure people even talk about? I apologize for my ignorance but I don't know much about this particular hobby.

Grading is tough because everyone has their own opinion. There are Professional Grading companies, like AFA, that grade toys, but sometimes dealing with sellers, their loose figure grading can be very different from Seller to Seller. I have bought tons of Vintage Star Wars for many years and sometimes you find sellers that can grade really well and fair, others don't. You can check out https://www.toygrader.com/ which is AFA. They grade on a 1-10 scale. 10 being Gem Mint.
They go into detail on their website.

I don't buy graded or get mine graded, but i use their scale to determine what I buy. Like I said, some sellers are really good at grading their loose figures, just check their reputation, and see if anyone complains about how they are grading. a few bad ones is fine, but if people are constantly complaining, stay away.

I once bought a Snow Speeder and the guy said it was Near Mint...It arrived and its was extremely dusty and filthy. They even said the battery sounds were working and they weren't. This wouldn't be Near Mint, he refunded me 1/2 my money and I got to keep it. I just cleaned it up best I could.

Loose Star Wars figures aren't worth that much, except a few of the rare ones. Or a White Gown Princess Leia mint with original blaster can get decent amount. Actually all the very first releases can get like $50+ if not more....But most of the others I have bought in the $5-$10 range The Vehicles however loose do pretty well. Or the Play Sets. Original loose Millennium Falcons, At-Ats, etc etc in Near Mint can sell for decent money.

One thing you need to be careful of are copies. Over the years people have been making copies of weapons and accessories. Usually you can tell by coloration. And some of the nice seller will list that its a copy, not original. Thats why White Gown Leia is worth a lot of you can find a mint version with her original blaster. A lot of the blasters wind up being copies or taken from other figures. Once you get really into it, you can start to tell the difference.

 

[MikeSW]

I have been looking at AFA and it looks expensive but may be worth the investment. The only drawback is there's no way to really know if it will come back as a 70 or a 90. I'm thinking about sending them 5 or 10 figures and see what happens.

 

[morphosis]

I have been looking at AFA and it looks expensive but may be worth the investment. The only drawback is there's no way to really know if it will come back as a 70 or a 90. I'm thinking about sending them 5 or 10 figures and see what happens.

ya its just something you have to learn with experience. but if you look carefully at them, see if there is any paint wear or chipping, any stains, do you have the weapons and accessories for each. anything damaged or broken, how loose the joins are. To get Mint gradings of 9.0 or higher, they really have to look almost untouched and unplayed with. once they start to shown signs of wear, then you get into the 7-8 range. Most of mine are in the 8-10 range. I usually went for the best condition ones even if i paid a little more.

 

[MikeSW]

They look like they're new and I know they have the correct weapons and were not played with. Matching the right weapons to the right figure should be fun. But they have been rattling around in the Darth Vader head case for the last 30+ years so they have to have some kind of wear on them. I think that's what I'll do. I'll send in 5 or 10 of them and see what happens. Thanks for the advice.

 

[morphosis]

They look like they're new and I know they have the correct weapons and were not played with. Matching the right weapons to the right figure should be fun. But they have been rattling around in the Darth Vader head case for the last 30+ years so they have to have some kind of wear on them. I think that's what I'll do. I'll send in 5 or 10 of them and see what happens. Thanks for the advice.

Yes if your interested in grading then try it with a few. Or If you took some really up close pix of them before you send and PM them to me I can give you an honest opinion.

 

[MikeSW]

I chose 5 that I don't have to worry about having the right weapons or that I'm sure have the right weapons so I can get an idea how they'll be graded. I'll try and take some pics and PM them to you and you can tell me what you think I'm going to get back. Thank you again for all your help.

 

[kirklondon]

You're wasting your money to grade loose figures that are not mint or uncirculated. Especially if they're not last 17 or blue snag.

 

[MikeSW]

You're wasting your money to grade loose figures that are not mint or uncirculated. Especially if they're not last 17 or blue snag.

So be it.

Sent them out today, we'll see what happens. To be honest I've always been curious because I've had other action figures and have always wondered about having them graded but never did it. My brother has also had action figures and he's curious as well. I suppose if you're doing a lot of buying and selling it's good to have an idea what grading is all about. As I said, die cast guys aren't into grading so much, but grading does have its place in the market. It wasn't terribly expensive, but you do need a PHD in math to figure out the order forms lol. Anyway, should be interesting (in 6 weeks )

 

[TheFiend]

You're wasting your money to grade loose figures that are not mint or uncirculated. Especially if they're not last 17 or blue snag.

Yup. You want to get a figure in the blister graded, thats when its worth it, at least to some.Most of those loose Star Wars figures can be had for cheap, especially in these days of the internet.


What were the figures you sent, MikeSW?

Sent from my SGH-T999L using Tapatalk 2

 

[morphosis]

Yup. You want to get a figure in the blister graded, thats when its worth it, at least to some.Most of those loose Star Wars figures can be had for cheap, especially in these days of the internet.


What were the figures you sent, MikeSW?
Sent from my SGH-T999L using Tapatalk 2

Yes., thats what i said in my first post, $8-10 is about the average for a good solid clean loose figure except for a very select few rarer ones. The vehicles and play sets have much more value even loose...Personally i never cared what they were worth. I just enjoy collecting them

 

[MikeSW]

Jawa, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, Sand People, and 2-1B. Mainly because I knew they had the right weapons and they are in nice (?mint? I'll get a better idea of mint, near mint, etc when I see what they come back graded) condition.

 

[MikeSW]

@ TheFiend: Jawa, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, Sand People, and 2-1B. Mainly because I knew they had the right weapons and they are in nice (?mint? I'll get a better idea of mint, near mint, etc when I see what they come back graded) condition.

@ Morphosis: Ya $8-$10. I have no delusions they are going to come back worth a lot more. But they are very hard to sell loose and not worth the effort for $8.