Did VGA Damage My Sealed Video Game!?
Рет қаралды 4,766
2 жыл бұрынI was surprised by the grade my sealed Metroid Prime got in my latest VGA submission. Then I noticed something on the game... Now, we open it up to see exactly what is going on with this VGA 85.
Either I was blind on evaluating this game or it got damaged at some point during the grading process. Unfortunate, but there is always a risk.
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Video game collecting and investing KZfaq with emphasis on vintage video games. Grading VGA and WATA retro collector. Gaming with consideration on rarest games ever or most expensive games. Talking about N64, NES, Super Nintendo, DS, 3DS, Sega Mario and More!
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
Like shopping on eBay? Click this link before you make a purchase to directly support the channel! : ebay.us/S0DWtC
@MayorMori 11 ай бұрын
I would love to see a video of your latest recommendations for submitting between WATA VGA and CGC.
@anthonyjawad7029 2 жыл бұрын
When you pulled out the butterknife I lost it hahaha. Great video.
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
😂
@4KAnimeRecap 2 жыл бұрын
Nice video as always. Scary seeing you pop that case open lol.
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
😬😬
@ItsMeLele 2 жыл бұрын
really good to have the regular videos back! super glad you had a great vacation though
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
I appreciate it haha! Feels good to be back to making them😎
@ParallelUniversity 2 жыл бұрын
It makes you wonder how gently they are handling these games prior to grading them. Maybe someone in the office sneezed and some of it fell on your cover and bonded to it, and it got factored into the grade.
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
This submission sat at VGA for over a year so honestly, who knows🤷♂️
@undamned 2 жыл бұрын
With that bit of sticker stuck to it and new defects, I wonder if it was accidentally swapped? We should look into some sort of UV markings to "tag" our games and see if they get swapped.
@clrodrick 2 жыл бұрын
Does VGA offer 'pre-grade' pics like Wata does? It would be nice for these companies to have as solid a 'proof of ownership' chain as possible where whoever opens the packages takes pics of game right out of box and then more pics posted by grader right before grading, and then pics of post-grade in slab at the end
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
@@clrodrick as far as I know, VGA only takes photos at the "receiving" step and doesn't currently provide the grading reports anymore
@jayz6706 2 жыл бұрын
The butter knife bit got me man lol. But sorry that this happened and good luck with the wata submission.
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
haha cheers man!
@delta_shift 2 жыл бұрын
Ah man, I feel your pain, I really do 😂 Best of luck with the resubmission, it’ll be interesting to see how WATA grade it.
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
I'll even accept 9.4 A+ on it. Any lower and I'll be a little bit peeved 😬
@SamuraiStyleTV 7 ай бұрын
I'm late to the party! Sent in a sealed PC game to VGA.. I was expecting at least an 85. Got it back as an 80, gave it a once over to see why it could have gotten the lower grade and found a nice crease on the bottom of the box that wasn't there when it was carefully packaged up and shipped out. Tried emailing VGA customer service about it, but haven't received any type of response. Total bummer.
@GetTheGreg 7 ай бұрын
Ahhh man, that sucks to hear. It's always a small risk when sending stuff to any of the companies that "damage" will happen at some point during the process, but it reaaallly sucks when it actually happens...
@super_junk 2 жыл бұрын
Really informative video! Made me so nervous opening that case, never knew you could open em like that. Between this and the Wata cases damaging cardboard games, doesn't make me feel great about how they're handling our items.
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
Just is what it is. With literally every grading company you'll be able to find stories of stuff getting damaged😬
@stanceswitch6419 2 жыл бұрын
Greg, for WATA PS2 games what typically differentiates A+ from A? I thought it usually dealt with the seal and when I finally got my game back , after a year, they said it was an A and not A+. My game didn't have any tears or damage to the seal
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
It's just the amount of degree of scratches and scarring at that point then. Think of A+ having a minimum tolerance threshold and whatever amount of wear your game has just happened to be over that threshold. When you don't have blatant rips or tears, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what might have put it into A vs A+
@Cosmolax 2 жыл бұрын
Great video as per usual! Hoping for 9.4 A or above for ya
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
That's my minimum level of happiness haha🤞 Thanks man!
@Zuje86 2 жыл бұрын
Hey Greg, How can I see the difference between the First Print US Version Last of US Ps3 and the re-release Version? Thanks for Help 🙂👍🏼
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
The first print uses the earlier style ESRB in the bottom left corner on the front, won't have any "not for resale" text on the back UPC, and I'm pretty sure uses the earlier PS3 banner on the top right of the front!
@edwinsvideogames 2 жыл бұрын
Love the thumbnail
@martinrbookermb 2 жыл бұрын
Great video Greg, do you think it's possible that the scratches were caused by taking it out of the case? I'm a bit worried because I put some of my sealed games in the softer plastic protection boxes you can buy for the gameboy. Do you think I should take them out (carefully) before I submit them? I could do with some advice on that as I haven't submitted any of my sealed games yet? Keep up the good work!
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
I wouldn't think so, no. I've used those soft plastic $1 protectors for 10 years now and not noticed any kind of damage to my sealed games that I would contribute to the use of such cases. I still store my games in those cases haha, they work great as far as I'm concerned!
@martinrbookermb 2 жыл бұрын
@@GetTheGreg Ho phew! I did wonder if they would cut them out or try and slide them back out to grade them and if they would get damaged in the process? That's reassuring thanks. The plastic protection cases are needed 100% for gameboy C.I.B that's for sure! thanks man.
@yugipreneur 2 жыл бұрын
Broooo I got anxiety when you cracked the case
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
Not the most elegant crackout ahah
@lilvenusaur3861 2 жыл бұрын
When I submitted my Pokémon Box RS Disc version a while back I was expecting a 90 or higher, minimum 85+ though. When I got it back it got an 85 and it had a bunch of marks on the back that it didn’t have before and it also had damage to the case. I wrote to VGA and they told me to send it back and they could try and clean and recase it but the grade likely won’t change. Long story short they sent it back to me and it regraded an 85+ after they removed all the marks that weren’t there originally on the back. They didn’t even let me know, it just arrived with another batch of games I had sent in and had the new grade.
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
Ugh, that's rough to hear. Good that you had a bit of a positive resolution, but still, not great to hear
@andresmithe298 2 жыл бұрын
@@GetTheGreg The attitude of VGA and WATA towards the community is very disheartening and has killed any interest I have in getting my games graded. Super backlogged and it's clear that both companies do not prioritize carefully handling product. Which is insane. That or they swapped it accidentally. I don't know what's worse. WATA is a bit scummy. VGA has a history of things like this. Even WATA does too. I'll reconsider if it turns out CGC has a better track record. What a shame. It's crazy such a large industry has such poor options for grading. No chain of custody. No pre-grade pics (from VGA anyway). Not even good communication regarding customer complaints. Yeesh.
@MkMaster13 Жыл бұрын
I was thinking about opening my VGA cases and then sending those games to WATA instead. I'm just scared the knife will snap in half and fly into my face haha. That and I don't want to inadvertently damage my games in the process 😭
@psbforever1 2 жыл бұрын
I blame WATA because everything is WATAs fault we all know that!! 😜
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
Exactly hahah
@miranda1068 2 жыл бұрын
Thumbnail 11/10
@brianrichards8013 2 жыл бұрын
@getthegreggames have you ever thought of polishing the plastic wrapper with a form of car wax and then buffing it off with a micro fiber cloth? Maybe something as simple as armor all spray and a wipe could remove fine scratches ? Just a thought
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
I've attempted Plast x on a game before and it created a milky-like finish to the wrap while producing middling results to the scratches themselves. I genuinely don't think the wrap is sturdy enough to handle such treatment effectively
@brianrichards8013 2 жыл бұрын
@@GetTheGreg o gotcha, worth a shot if it helps to the potential abuse to the poor Metroid wrap
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
@@brianrichards8013 I'm sure eventually someone will find a good method to do a bit of "restoration" to the wrap. The other question will then be if the restoration is at all noticable and if your grade would be denoted as "restored" haha😬
@GoodVibeCollecting 2 жыл бұрын
Definitely an 85 silver with those indents and scratches. The spot on the front looks like leftover sticker residue that got dirty. Was there a sticker on there at one point? You're halfway there. Now that you opened the case, time to break the seal. XD I opened my sealed MP although thinking back I probably would have kept it sealed because of one thing. Instead of coming in the locking case, it was sealed in the original non locking case. Nintendo probably had some left over stock and they used that instead. I imagine finding one like that is pretty rare to find. It may have been up there with a 5 screw Megaman in terms of rarity...oh well.
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
Nope, this game had no stickers removed from it. Just got a light clean/wipe from myself before submitting. That's really interesting. I can't wait for the day when we are chasing after GameCube case variants 😅😐
@clrodrick 2 жыл бұрын
You got the right attitude Dylan. Always sucks to have something like this happen, but VGA / Wata are run by humans and to err is human. When one submits a high volume of games to be graded, it is inevitable you get the occassional screw job like with your Metroid. Wata will give it 9..4 - 9.6 along with A+ seal. I would say A++ seal, but Wata doesn't seem to be giving out anymore A++ since moving to California hahaha.
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
Yup, that's basically all it is. I'm sure everyone who has submitted any decent volume to *any* grading company will have an example of something getting damaged haha. Unfortunate, but just is what it is! And yea I doubt I'll get the ++ if my modern submission is the gauge haha. I might be closer to A flat than A++ 😬😬
@Stampede215 2 жыл бұрын
Maybe 9.0 A for Metroid Prime?! Good luck my friend.
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
God I hope not haha, anything less than 9.4 and I'll be a bit choked😅
@aldunk2360 2 жыл бұрын
This actually just happened to me with Wata. Just got a large submission back an my Kmart exclusive Metroid prime for GameCube came back a 9.0 A an the seal wrapper is absolutely beautiful ( definitely nothing enough to get it a A 😔) grader notes said it had a crack on the case which I'm completely baffled because it didn't before they handled it
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
Dang, sorry to hear that. Metroid primes out here getting wrecked left and right haha
@aldunk2360 2 жыл бұрын
@@GetTheGreg makes you wonder though.. like what they don't want us to know such as population control 👀🤫😅
@boxwi 2 жыл бұрын
I'd guess 9.6 A or 9.4 A+ depending on the depth of dings/scuffs.
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
I'm really hoping for at least 9.4 haha🤞 it'll be interesting to see regardless of the outcome, though!
@Galaxy32231 Жыл бұрын
Awh man I just sent my first sealed game to VGA. Hopefully I have a better experience 😱
@GetTheGreg Жыл бұрын
It's almost a "sure thing" that you'll be fine with your order! It took me 8 years and 100+ games before I had any issue at all with their service!
@zandgemporium 2 жыл бұрын
It’s not made in Japan so might as well throw it in the trash
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
You're a menace
@leeartlee915 2 жыл бұрын
I’m gonna laugh pretty hard if WATA gives you a 9.0 A seal.
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
I will not ahaha😅😢
@quezcatol 2 жыл бұрын
dude greg, hold on to these games they will most likely climb in value - do no sell them anytime soon! sealed games from the gamecube era is probably gonna be the last "rare" sealed. too much after that era.
@expensivecardboard 2 жыл бұрын
He has no plans on selling this game anytime soon! It's one for his PC collection
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
Yes! This is absolutely a PC one for me which is why I care so much about the condition. If I was just going to sell it, I likely wouldn't have even bothered cracking it
@PokeRetroFan 2 жыл бұрын
It happens. Wata damaged my clean mario kart 8 wii u. Blatant year on the from seal that wasn't there. Oddly enough they gave me a 9.6 a++ go figure...
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
Yup, just part of the "game" unfortunately!
@Jordangooddeed8 6 ай бұрын
I'm going to give my honest opinion, grading the plastic this way seems a bit much. The game is new and sealed and never played hahaha, what else do you want? The plastic isn't even part of the game case or game. It doesn't make sense.
@Moulin13 2 жыл бұрын
It sucks that they messed your game like that, I get it graders want pristine seals but I just don't like that some buyers out there are scamming and wasting sellers time buying sealed games and if they don't like the seal condition they open a return request...
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
Yea, that's definitely becoming much more prevalent. If I was a random person selling a sealed game, I wouldn't even understand what was happening haha (and it would probably tick me off quite a bit!)
@Mitjitsu 2 жыл бұрын
It depends how well you've shipped it. I put a mile of bubble wrap followed by putting it in a massive padded envelope. To ensure even the most shoddy handling wouldn't damage it.
@leeartlee915 2 жыл бұрын
Here’s my question: can someone who plans to never grade a game in their life still join your Patreon? Wouldn’t that make zero f’ing sense?
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
Depends what your goals are! I'm also super well versed in CIB and cart collecting (though I don't focus on it as much these days) so if anyone wanted readily available access to advice on that kind of collecting, I could absolutely help with it. Or just join for the monetary support aspect😎 Either way, never an expectation for people to join, always greatly appreciated if someone does!
@pikapoo8796 2 жыл бұрын
1st
@GetTheGreg 2 жыл бұрын
You never fail to impress me!