OK... I'm super confused as how people brains operate internally.
I got a email request asking me if there was "grading service" for sealed laserdiscs...
I had honestly no clue what it even meant. Had to google it and check eBay.
"VHS grading" seems to cost anywhere from $100 to $300.
Why would anyone in his/her right mind pay hundreds of $$$ to have a sealed VHS (the type that was mass-produced in the millions and must exist as old new stock all over the world) "graded", encased and slapped with various stickers?
Are people crazy?
I would think the smart guy is the company providing the grading... that costs real money. But hoping to sell your "graded" T2 or Goonies VHS for $1,000? Unlikely.
You only need to find one crazy person per tape (assuming you're not just laundrering money) to cash in, so the good news is that this doesn't mean people at large are crazy. The other side to this isn't craziness but old-fashioned speculation: "The price of [thing] is going up, so I'll buy it and sell it again before the price falls." The thing can be literally anything. All you need are a few hucksters to get in bid wars with their own alt accounts to make the illusion of a collectable on the rise to get some suckers in on the game.
So we've got a few crazy people, a few frauds, and a few more speculator suckers but still not many. In general, people don't go in for this nonsense.
And anyway, most of us here understand that a sealed disc or tape is less desirable than one that's been verified in a player.
Pay a premium for a sealed (technically perishable) item that's been laying dormant for 10 to 40+ years and may be broken, moldy, rotten or just plain not working? No thanks.
As for 'grading' physical media. What are they grading? The box? The cover condition? Shelf wear?
Pricing an item based on rarity, but which is also tested and 100% proven to be working is a different matter. 'Grading' an unopened item that could be in bits is just lunacy. People want their heads checking.
It probably is a lie. That grading company probably bought that tape for marketing propaganda. They probably paid that website to feature this sale or that website indirectly belongs to them. It is so easy to create a hype with the internet.
It is a stupid idea. First of, grading should cost much more than $300. It would only get you about 2 labor hours to perform all grading work. That’s barely watching the tape from finish to end. The cost should be more like $1,500 for it to be feasible. Who is going to pay that for a VHS?
_________________ Wanted HD-VMD Discs Hi-Vision/Muse Discs Only complete/mint!
It probably is a lie. That grading company probably bought that tape for marketing propaganda. They probably paid that website to feature this sale or that website indirectly belongs to them. It is so easy to create a hype with the internet.
Read the website article first
The author also thinks it's probably of a scam/fraud with impossible to confirm eBay sales and screenshots of prices he can't confirm.
While he acknowledges that some VHS tapes can be rare and expensive (obscure horror movies, first batch with errors, etc.), "grading" them looks more like pump'n'dump from the grading service companies.
(that's the asking price) The Goonies - $75,000 The Natural - $50,000 UFC1 the beginning - $50,000 Rookie of the year - $25,000 Ferris Bueller's Day Off - $25,000 Rocky - $23,000 Karate Kid - $22,000 GI Joe - $22,000 Last Starfighter - $22,000 Stand by Me - $20,000
Of course they won't sell but each "grading case" made the grading service at least $100 richer.
("Sold" removing best offers because we don't know what the final price was)
Jaws - $6,100 Jaws - $5,600 Jaws - $4,638 First Blood - $2,250 The Super Bowl Shuffle - $1,450 Akira - $1,350 Rocky - $1,325 Karate Kid - $1,225 Star Wars - $980 The Goonies - $888 Street Fighter - $799 Big - $548 Jurassic Park - $500
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum
Thanks list
