I think that actually it is almost always worth getting graded in the current market climate if it is sealed. No matter the condition I think it being graded will make it easier to sell and it will out perform raw. Maybe not by a 50 usd margin but the ease of selling makes up for it. In my experience raw games really just don't sell. If you want to sell a raw pokemon game sealed and it is like below average condition you are going to see a significant price increase when graded no matter the grade. If anything I think that what matters more is how you are planning on selling something. If you have a mint condition sealed game that is somewhat rare but super niche, getting that graded and selling it as an auction would be a waste. At that point it being graded does not provide much of a boost to value. But if you are willing to sit on it as BIN the graded boost is worth it again. Another situation in which I think grading might not be worth it is when you have a nice condition game that is popular but also not super rare. My main example here would be a few recent solds on raw n64 games like dk64, paper mario, majoras mask etc. There you saw games, arguably in 9.4 to 9.8 a+ condition sell for like 9.6 a+ prices. At that point the speculation of bidders was worth the risk of not grading. That being said even in these upside scenarios, where the seller has to gamble on bidders to expect high grades, you could reasonably get the games graded for a few hundred usd and sell for atleast similar amounts. People always approach the question of should I get this graded with a card hobby perspective, but I think that is incorrect. Grades could be bad or good, but the inherent speculative and obscure element of the current market makes it so that the added desireability of an already graded game, as well as general misconceptions on what condition warrants a specific grade would generally cause grading to be a good idea selling wise. This inefficiency is bound to get ironed out at some point, and ofcourse what I said doesn't really apply to rough condition raw games that you can easily get for 40 usd in nicer shape on ebay. But most of the sealed games market is not readibly available for purchase at any given time, atleast not the correct condition/version etc. As long as you are sensible in your decisions, IE not grading a 100 usd game if you can get a 9.8 a+ for 150 usd on ebay, I think grading is almost always a good investment for reselling.
The big issue with you saying it's almost always worth grading is that you're assuming almost everyone buying *actually wants* graded, which at this point we know simply isn't the case with video games. Many, many of the participants still actively and purposely AVOID graded games which only hurts your prospects when you grade the wrong items in the wrong conditions.
@@GetTheGreg There is a difference between what is assumed and what activity the market actually sees. People that buy sealed games in the first place are already more open to the idea of grading usually. Sealed and CIB/loose are two entirely different hobbies almost. What I am saying is based on my own experience selling and my perspective on buying. Sealed games are niche items and it being in a case makes it appear to be more expensive. No matter the grade I think the subconcious association is there between encasing and value. And in practice I have seen this actually be realised.
The one thing about card grading you mentioned (and I don't know if this applies to game grading) that when you get something back in an unexpected grade you'll try and figure out how you were wrong. Keep in mind: if you looked over it twice and can't see any issues then you probably aren't the one that's wrong. The humans who grade make very questionable mistakes all the time and you can always resub something you're very confident in.
@@Versiris yes! Perhaps I should have mentioned: with my card grading I've done, I've had to resubmit multiple cards each time due to the grade just being "wrong" (and I think it was like 80% upgraded upon resubmission). That's probably more nitty gritty than most video game people can handle though if they don't even know when it's worthwhile to grade in the first place haha
Grade everything! Sealed, Complete In Box, and Loose. There's some stuff I just like to display on my shelf even if it's not worth "thousands" and some make great gifts!
Omg, thank you so much for calling out the lack of light reflecting off of shrinkwrap... can make some serious damage look invisible. I now recognize the common angle people photograph carts at that hides all issues from overhead lighting. If you know you know
Best episode yet, great topic and considerations everyone should make. I feel like there should be game theory matrix made around grading, but grading is not always an instant value added, and can in some cases bring the flaws of a game front and center. Also a PSA 7 is rough, Greggo
@viridionwaves as stupid as it sounds, way too many people who use PC never look at the actual captured data And that's not just for graded. That's just a general issue with many users of the platform, which I made a full video talking about quite awhile ago haha.
@GetTheGreg lol really? I pretty much only look at individual comps cause i care about condition a lot, and prices do vary a lot by condition, not to mention incorrectly categorized listings... guess we're a different breed lol caring about the details
I am from the EU and what I do regarding shipping is similar to what Greg says he does. I do UPS no insurance but instead of the fastest option I do the mid tier one which tends to take around 5 business days. Hasn't gone wrong so far.
GTG, I respectfully disagree with the idea that a 9.0 CIB isn’t a good grade. In fact, I think it’s an excellent grade, especially by WATA’s standards, which are notably stricter than CGC. In my experience, most loose CIBs for cardboard games on eBay typically fall in the 6.0-7.5 range, making 9.0s and above quite rare. For my personal collection, 9.0 is the minimum I accept, but I still consider it a respectable grade to have. Peace and love!
@@Michael_Tucci I'd have to listen again to see exactly how it was worded, but I also accept 9.0.vintage CIB and would for my own collection (assuming each piece is a 9.0 minimum), but I wouldn't call it "mint".
9.0’s would have commanded a mint premium before 2018 but people have gotten insanely more picky over mint cibs after grading. Coming from someone who was buying mint cibs before grading cib’s existed
Could there be an additional realistic "Buy, Sell, Hold" title in the last segments? Lol. I'm sure that 10 minute discussion is very helpful to the 1 or 2 viewers in the entire community who it might apply to, sitting on a sealed first print Zelda 1 at this point.
@@TheIslandKing well VGA themselves aren't bankrupt, so keep using VGA haha. Otherwise... CAS might do it....? They are the only other company that even comes to mind for the possibility
The graded average of price charting is junk However there are valid comps in the breakdown below with grades and what they sold for and the date Not perfect but it can be useful
Amazing content! About that last section: I may qualify as new money in this hobby but, for me, if you don't have nostalgia / feel genuine satisfaction just owning the thing, you'd be crazy to spend a lot of money on any particular game. The end consumer is ultimately he who decides what the real price of the thing is -everything else is just noise. From that perspective, I just can't see who in 2030 and beyond would be interested in spending millions on a subpar condition NES game they never played. It would just make no sense and, at the end of the day, it's a Gen Y who made this market a thing by spending $1.4m on an N64 game
100% but as the hobby matures, people get interested in historical pieces. Aka mostly NES because of its importance but even Atari games since they were the first to popularize home console
@ Agreed! Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, it's always to the point and smart. This thing could easily be quite a dried out game-centric "sign in / buy / sign out" type of hobby but you guys make it also about all the people involved and you're building quite the lore around it. I am super thankful for that! Cheers
I received GTA vice city sealed and graded for my birthday a couple years back but I recently sent out my first game to be graded and just got it back Pikmin 4 9.8 A++ yes I know it’s a modern switch game but looking at the past Pop reports from WATA my graded copy is the only A++ out there
I'd only lever consider grading extremely rare pieces of gaming history. Most games nowadays are over graded to many people are doing it defeating the purpose
I think that actually it is almost always worth getting graded in the current market climate if it is sealed. No matter the condition I think it being graded will make it easier to sell and it will out perform raw. Maybe not by a 50 usd margin but the ease of selling makes up for it. In my experience raw games really just don't sell. If you want to sell a raw pokemon game sealed and it is like below average condition you are going to see a significant price increase when graded no matter the grade. If anything I think that what matters more is how you are planning on selling something. If you have a mint condition sealed game that is somewhat rare but super niche, getting that graded and selling it as an auction would be a waste. At that point it being graded does not provide much of a boost to value. But if you are willing to sit on it as BIN the graded boost is worth it again. Another situation in which I think grading might not be worth it is when you have a nice condition game that is popular but also not super rare. My main example here would be a few recent solds on raw n64 games like dk64, paper mario, majoras mask etc. There you saw games, arguably in 9.4 to 9.8 a+ condition sell for like 9.6 a+ prices. At that point the speculation of bidders was worth the risk of not grading. That being said even in these upside scenarios, where the seller has to gamble on bidders to expect high grades, you could reasonably get the games graded for a few hundred usd and sell for atleast similar amounts.
People always approach the question of should I get this graded with a card hobby perspective, but I think that is incorrect. Grades could be bad or good, but the inherent speculative and obscure element of the current market makes it so that the added desireability of an already graded game, as well as general misconceptions on what condition warrants a specific grade would generally cause grading to be a good idea selling wise. This inefficiency is bound to get ironed out at some point, and ofcourse what I said doesn't really apply to rough condition raw games that you can easily get for 40 usd in nicer shape on ebay. But most of the sealed games market is not readibly available for purchase at any given time, atleast not the correct condition/version etc. As long as you are sensible in your decisions, IE not grading a 100 usd game if you can get a 9.8 a+ for 150 usd on ebay, I think grading is almost always a good investment for reselling.
The big issue with you saying it's almost always worth grading is that you're assuming almost everyone buying *actually wants* graded, which at this point we know simply isn't the case with video games.
Many, many of the participants still actively and purposely AVOID graded games which only hurts your prospects when you grade the wrong items in the wrong conditions.
@@GetTheGreg There is a difference between what is assumed and what activity the market actually sees. People that buy sealed games in the first place are already more open to the idea of grading usually. Sealed and CIB/loose are two entirely different hobbies almost. What I am saying is based on my own experience selling and my perspective on buying. Sealed games are niche items and it being in a case makes it appear to be more expensive. No matter the grade I think the subconcious association is there between encasing and value. And in practice I have seen this actually be realised.
The one thing about card grading you mentioned (and I don't know if this applies to game grading) that when you get something back in an unexpected grade you'll try and figure out how you were wrong. Keep in mind: if you looked over it twice and can't see any issues then you probably aren't the one that's wrong. The humans who grade make very questionable mistakes all the time and you can always resub something you're very confident in.
@@Versiris yes! Perhaps I should have mentioned: with my card grading I've done, I've had to resubmit multiple cards each time due to the grade just being "wrong" (and I think it was like 80% upgraded upon resubmission).
That's probably more nitty gritty than most video game people can handle though if they don't even know when it's worthwhile to grade in the first place haha
Grade everything! Sealed, Complete In Box, and Loose. There's some stuff I just like to display on my shelf even if it's not worth "thousands" and some make great gifts!
Omg, thank you so much for calling out the lack of light reflecting off of shrinkwrap... can make some serious damage look invisible. I now recognize the common angle people photograph carts at that hides all issues from overhead lighting. If you know you know
Yup it comes with experience. Seller does their best but you’d need probably 3 different front side angles to actually see what’s going on.
That reminds me. I have a loose copy of Sneak King for the Xbox 360. Disc is pretty rough. I don't think it will read. Should I get it graded?
Best episode yet, great topic and considerations everyone should make. I feel like there should be game theory matrix made around grading, but grading is not always an instant value added, and can in some cases bring the flaws of a game front and center. Also a PSA 7 is rough, Greggo
Really great stuff!
Price charting is only useless if you are looking at the one price at the top. It can still be useful to find comps for your grade
@viridionwaves as stupid as it sounds, way too many people who use PC never look at the actual captured data
And that's not just for graded. That's just a general issue with many users of the platform, which I made a full video talking about quite awhile ago haha.
@GetTheGreg lol really? I pretty much only look at individual comps cause i care about condition a lot, and prices do vary a lot by condition, not to mention incorrectly categorized listings... guess we're a different breed lol caring about the details
I am from the EU and what I do regarding shipping is similar to what Greg says he does. I do UPS no insurance but instead of the fastest option I do the mid tier one which tends to take around 5 business days. Hasn't gone wrong so far.
GTG, I respectfully disagree with the idea that a 9.0 CIB isn’t a good grade. In fact, I think it’s an excellent grade, especially by WATA’s standards, which are notably stricter than CGC. In my experience, most loose CIBs for cardboard games on eBay typically fall in the 6.0-7.5 range, making 9.0s and above quite rare. For my personal collection, 9.0 is the minimum I accept, but I still consider it a respectable grade to have. Peace and love!
@@Michael_Tucci I'd have to listen again to see exactly how it was worded, but I also accept 9.0.vintage CIB and would for my own collection (assuming each piece is a 9.0 minimum), but I wouldn't call it "mint".
9.0’s would have commanded a mint premium before 2018 but people have gotten insanely more picky over mint cibs after grading. Coming from someone who was buying mint cibs before grading cib’s existed
Could there be an additional realistic "Buy, Sell, Hold" title in the last segments? Lol. I'm sure that 10 minute discussion is very helpful to the 1 or 2 viewers in the entire community who it might apply to, sitting on a sealed first print Zelda 1 at this point.
Let's goo!
With VGA bankrupt - where can i get oversized games (Demon’s Souls Deluxe) graded?
@@TheIslandKing well VGA themselves aren't bankrupt, so keep using VGA haha.
Otherwise... CAS might do it....? They are the only other company that even comes to mind for the possibility
Good info here
The graded average of price charting is junk
However there are valid comps in the breakdown below with grades and what they sold for and the date
Not perfect but it can be useful
Amazing content! About that last section: I may qualify as new money in this hobby but, for me, if you don't have nostalgia / feel genuine satisfaction just owning the thing, you'd be crazy to spend a lot of money on any particular game. The end consumer is ultimately he who decides what the real price of the thing is -everything else is just noise. From that perspective, I just can't see who in 2030 and beyond would be interested in spending millions on a subpar condition NES game they never played. It would just make no sense and, at the end of the day, it's a Gen Y who made this market a thing by spending $1.4m on an N64 game
100% but as the hobby matures, people get interested in historical pieces. Aka mostly NES because of its importance but even Atari games since they were the first to popularize home console
@ Agreed! Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, it's always to the point and smart. This thing could easily be quite a dried out game-centric "sign in / buy / sign out" type of hobby but you guys make it also about all the people involved and you're building quite the lore around it. I am super thankful for that! Cheers
@@taxmoneyyy keep listening amigo, gonna be a lot more interesting topics coming in the next few weeks
I received GTA vice city sealed and graded for my birthday a couple years back but I recently sent out my first game to be graded and just got it back Pikmin 4 9.8 A++ yes I know it’s a modern switch game but looking at the past Pop reports from WATA my graded copy is the only A++ out there
I'd only lever consider grading extremely rare pieces of gaming history. Most games nowadays are over graded to many people are doing it defeating the purpose
Agree
Speaking of TM Zeldas and grading CIBs, when are you grading yours?
Probably this year! I have a box with my really nice CIBs I need to get cleaned up and graded at some point haha
today's the day that we dweebs make gayme grading great again!
@@ChocoBuns420 hell yea bruther!
Almost as hot as Larry!
If it’s vintage & sealed in great shape, yes. Otherwise, probably not.
I want the pokemon gamecube games but I won't buy them because the scratches look too deep and abundant
Ooo I'd quote PC for graded when I need a deal though... hah
the "cheat code" is to grade nothing and instead sell em raw using lighting tricks to hide suspicious areas 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Scummy reseller!
This dude trying to be cool with the backwards hat 😂
A guy with a backwards hat and a dude in tank tops. This is truly the "hello fellow kids" podcast 🤣
😂@@GetTheGreg
@@GetTheGreg😂
What a tool