A deconstruction of the practice, in pictures…because I don’t need someone else to tell me my figure is in great shape. I also like the "5 Feet" argument : an AFA90, AFA85, AFA80 or AFA75 all look *exactly* the same from 5 feet away. Also, as far as I’m concerned it’s "artificial rarity" due to the fact that there could be 1,000 carded Super Powers Robins out there, yet the AFA90 "Only one in existence!" goes for $750. Give me a break, eh? Enjoy this "freedom" pictorial!
Ahhhh….MUCH better, don’t you think?
Peace,
Chip
Your money.I dont care either way.
I don’t care either. And I consider it a good use my time to let you know that, however baffling that may seem.
Have a good day.
John Cage
Freedom! Only one plastic prison left for them to escape from
AFA = Ridiculous.
I agree completely. I hate the CGC for those exact same reasons too.
Hi CHIP!
Excellent work! nice doing!You released them from their imprisonment!
I have noticed something about your PLASTIC MAN, did ESTRELA released SUPERPOWERS series III with a MINI-COMIC?.
As far as I know the US wave III release didn’t came with a mini-comic.
So is this an original SPOWERS comic?, if that’s so what a Cool surprise it is!
Howdy!
Thanks for reading the blog. Estrela in Brazil released Plastic Man, Shazam, and Cyborg with comics. They are all in Portuguese and have some art lifted from other sources, but yet…there they are!
Bravo, Sir!
I saw on Hasbro’s online store site they now sell some of their collector toys in AFA mummification boxes. How long before they ONLY sell their collectibles in these things with a $50 markup?
Well the AFA is one of the most clever scams I’ve ever seen and there’s plenty of fools out there gullible enough to fall for it. It’s only money right Chip?
You the man!
Ahh… free at last. Now take that final step. Toys are meant to be played with. Open it… you know you want to… hahaha.
But I agree – it’s completely artificial just like CGC as someone pointed out. I know there are people who go for this stuff, but not me. Overkill in my opinion.
You rock.
Screw scams like AFA and CGC.
There is nothing worse than a perfectly good action figure imprisoned in an AFA prison. This is a scam that I love to talk people out of any chance I get. We need to have a ‘panel’ at a convention (preferably a Wizard convention since they are one of the entities behind this stupidity) where we crack open as many AFA cases as we can.
Would it have been cheaper to buy versions that were not graded?
Tekwych that’s a great idea! Some of the fanboys would have fits, but we’d have a blast. Although Wizard would probably run us off with torches and pitchforks.
It cracks me up to see people get all bothered about how others collect. “It’s a scam! Only fools buy them!” The photos are entertaining, but the, “my way of collecting little plastic men is superior to your way of collecting little plastic men,” stuff is ludicrous. I mean like Spaceball One ludicrous.
FREEEEEEEDOMMMMMMMMM…!!!!!
That’s the whole main plot of “Toy Story 2″. If some people want to keep their figures boxed and minted, fine by me. But nothing can replace the feeling of open the cardboard and the smell of the new plastic. I play a little bit with the figures and then, put in the display in my home. Of course, you have to clean often, but that’s the life of a collector, not a museum curator. Greetings!
“The Prospector” of toy story is jealous! Now there is the mere simplicty of busting that 25 year old glue!
In theory AFA is a good idea but I would not pay a premium for an AFA’d figure.
The thing I’ve never gotten is AFA graded boxed vehicles and playsets. After all, that mint boxed, graded AFA USS Flagg could be full of rocks – and you’d never know! all you’ll ever see is – the box.
See, normally I don’t care how other people collect things. But when I see these officially graded items with insanely marked-up prices, I get bothered. It’s the same as the Wizard price guide – everything’s artificially inflated, so we end up paying more for the things we like. Whose authority do these places have, anyway? There’s no action figure canon or academic institutions. And it’s surreal to have bought single issues of Watchmen for $5 or $10 from comic book shops and then two months later see Wizard mark them at hundreds of dollars because they’ve got an arbitrary number attached. Ooh, my Watchmen #4 is an 8.5? Totally worth $480.
It’s even more surreal seeing old NES games with ratings. Should’ve kept my Friday the 13th sealed in the box, I could easily find someone who wants to pay $350 for it.
But you don’t collect graded items, so what do you care how much other people pay for them? Using your logic, you should stop collecting toys, because the added demand increases their value, resulting in higher prices for the rest of us. Seriously, stop hurting the rest of the toy collecting community by participating in it. If someone enjoys collecting graded items, there is no convincing argument as to why that’s any of your business.
I agree; I have no desire to get my collection graded because it’s graded based on THEIR opinion of how rare, and in good shape it is. Kinda BS in my mind.
Spot on Chip, Nicely done my friend.
How did I just notice this??? Thanks a lot for reading, John! Good to see you over here!
Peace,
Chip
An AFA Figure is one unloved by a child, and therefore the most worthless thing in the world.