Video Game collecting is different from sports cards, coins or other collectibles. Video Games are meant to be played with, and many collectors want to do that. Comic are meant to be read, and some collectors want to do that.
Look at the comic market. Random comics aren’t worth a ton, graded comics that are popular or rare are worth a nice bit.
Think about that for a second and apply it to the video game market. What happens?
- If you want to play a game, it’s now cheaper to buy.
- If you want to collect a game, it’s now cheaper to buy a normal copy.
- If you want to sell a game, you can get it graded and sell it for more.
- If you collect super mint or sealed games, than you just found the perfect way to authenticate your purchases.
Essentially, everybody wins. I understand if you’re going to be buying mostly graded stuff, your hobby just got more expensive. Tough luck. Those of you who have the balls (and the bank account) big enough to run that way really don’t have any right to complain. Weigh the value that your items are more likely to increase in value over time and that you’ll likely never be ripped off again and it starts to look like a fair deal.
Once again, for some people grading will suck. For the average collector however, grading is good.