Dumars2001 | 164 Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 (edited) Well, the time has finally come! We are about a day out from the inaugural video game Golden Auctions ending. At this time, the SMB 64 WATA has a "mere" $300,0000 lead over the SMB VGA 95U. (The poor SMB64 VG80+ is sitting at a "meager" $6,000, an unreal discrepancy in price from the other 2, but it is, what it is) From what I have read, most people/collectors think that the VGA 95U is the superior copy to the WATA 9.8, but it appears the big dollar spenders obviously don't agree/think so. If the gap between the WATA 9.8 and The VGA95U is substantial (for me that would be more than 10 to 15%), I myself would have to grade all of my raw sealed games going forward with WATA and I would have no choice but to crack my VGA graded games and have them re-slabbed (what a pain) with WATA to be sold or auctioned off at any of these auctions, (Goldin, Heritage, Certified Link, etc.) if I ever wanted to sell them off, because this would clearly make more financial sense for me. We will all have a clearer picture when the dust settles in about 34 hours, but unfortunately, it appears that WATA graded (negative press be damned) games will garner the the highest prices/returns no matter what, when selling graded games on all platforms in the foreseeable future. This may never change. It is kind of like PSA cards selling for quite a bit more than BGS these days. The funny thing is, it used to be BGS out-selling PSA way back in the day, so I guess I should "never say never" about WATA being the undisputed kings at the moment, BUT, if the SMB VGA95U doesn't close the gap by the end of the auction, it will clearly be the case! On a personal note, seeing that first print Genesis Sonic WATA 9.4 going for so high (currently at $185,000 with the buyer's premium) is killing me! I am guessing that it ends up at around $500,000. Ouch! For all I know, that is my old copy, lol! I have mentioned in the "My biggest regret Thread" that I sold my mint sealed copy off about 10 years ago for $400!!!!!! Edited September 17, 2021 by Dumars2001 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOURTURN | 1,258 Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 At this point @Dumars2001 I'd rather retire from from both video game collecting and this forum long before I'd use Wata's service. It's not even about the money, but rather the integrity of both a collector and potential seller. Personally speaking, I do not oppose those who collect their brand to any degree. If they want to focus on both the brand and grade, it is a waste of their money. Because as I have pointed out in the first of two double replies I made yesterday, their own "10" to "9.4" box examples do not prove that (as one has claimed) that a "9.8 A++" officially means that the game is "mint" in the end. Nor does it guarantee that it is not a soft graded 9.6 A+/A++. But then again, there are Star Wars collectors that only collect loose "U" graded because they might be "more mint" than regular loose ones. Then again... I tried to promote that VGA alternative because people here complained about Wata's QC. And in regards to losing money, I expect that to be the case when I sell off my soon-to-be re-cased PSO V2. But then again, I am also thinking about using either Goldin or Hake's as a way to see if I can curb that conclusion. Then again... I personally feel that the VGA sales are more realistic, while the Wata hype that HA has created makes those sales artificially inflated. Which is anything but new at this point of time. <-(Click there for an example.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 12,037 Administrator · Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 5 minutes ago, FenrirZero said: At this point @Dumars2001 I'd rather retire from from both video game collecting and this forum long before I'd use Wata's service. It's not even about the money, but rather the integrity of both a collector and potential seller. Personally speaking, I do not oppose those who collect their brand to any degree. If they want to focus on both the brand and grade, it is a waste of their money. Because as I have pointed out in the first of two double replies I made yesterday, their own "10" to "9.4" box examples do not prove that (as one has claimed) that a "9.8 A++" officially means that the game is "mint" in the end. Nor does it guarantee that it is not a soft graded 9.6 A+/A++. But then again, there are Star Wars collectors that only collect loose "U" graded because they might be "more mint" than regular loose ones. Then again... I tried to promote that VGA alternative because people here complained about Wata's QC. And in regards to losing money, I expect that to be the case when I sell off my soon-to-be re-cased PSO V2. But then again, I am also thinking about using either Goldin or Hake's as a way to see if I can curb that conclusion. Then again... I personally feel that the VGA sales are more realistic, while the Wata hype that HA has created makes those sales artificially inflated. Which is anything but new at this point of time. <-(Click there for an example.) FYI you don't have to actively collect video games to continue using this forum! 1 1 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidaldreams | 654 Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 1 hour ago, Dumars2001 said: Well, the time has finally come! We are about a day out from the inaugural video game Golden Auctions ending. At this time, the SMB 64 WATA has a "mere" $300,0000 lead over the SMB VGA 95U. (The poor SMB64 VG80+ is sitting at a "meager" $6,000, an unreal discrepancy in price from the other 2, but it is, what it is) From what I have read, most people/collectors think that the VGA 95U is the superior copy to the WATA 9.8, but it appears the big dollar spenders obviously don't agree/think so. If the gap between the WATA 9.8 and The VGA95U is substantial (for me that would be more than 10 to 15%), I myself would have to grade all of my raw sealed games going forward with WATA and I would have no choice but to crack my VGA graded games and have them re-slabbed (what a pain) with WATA to be sold or auctioned off at any of these auctions, (Goldin, Heritage, Certified Link, etc.) if I ever wanted to sell them off, because this would clearly make more financial sense for me. We will all have a clearer picture when the dust settles in about 34 hours, but unfortunately, it appears that WATA graded (negative press be damned) games will garner the the highest prices/returns no matter what, when selling graded games on all platforms in the foreseeable future. This may never change. It is kind of like PSA cards selling for quite a bit more than BGS these days. The funny thing is, it used to be BGS out-selling PSA way back in the day, so I guess I should "never say never" about WATA being the undisputed kings at the moment, BUT, if the SMB VGA95U doesn't close the gap by the end of the auction, it will clearly be the case! On a personal note, seeing that first print Genesis Sonic WATA 9.4 going for so high (currently at $185,000 with the buyer's premium) is killing me! I am guessing that it ends up at around $500,000. Ouch! For all I know, that is my old copy, lol! I have mentioned in the "My biggest regret Thread" that I sold my mint sealed copy off about 10 years ago for $400!!!!!! I'm going to go ahead and assume that the owner of the 95U already looked at the box and doesn't believe it's worth the risk to try and cross it to a 9.8 A++. If they didn't, then that was a huge missed opportunity as the buyer will just cross it to WATA and flip it in the next auction. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,627 Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 (edited) 37 minutes ago, tidaldreams said: I'm going to go ahead and assume that the owner of the 95U already looked at the box and doesn't believe it's worth the risk to try and cross it to a 9.8 A++. If they didn't, then that was a huge missed opportunity as the buyer will just cross it to WATA and flip it in the next auction. The game itself is probably nice. There is still risk in shipping, Wata handling, losing a .2 or + due to something unforeseen, etc. Plus it will be potentially $10,000s to regrade it. It’s not a missed opportunity, but a risk he would rather have the buyer take than himself. The seller is also a long time collector, so likely personally thinks 95U is more prestigious than 9.8 A++, so maybe he believes he’s able to successfully market the game as such despite a whole high end market who deal in nothing but Wata I’ll be shocked if the VGA game doesn’t sell for 10ks or 100ks less than the Wata copy. The megabucks sales are Wata games and if it’s an speculative purchase (which it is obviously) you need to have the perfect Wata game to get the eye popping, headline making resale. That regrade risk will be 1000% priced in. If the buyer publically says he doesn’t intend to regrade it, I think that’s pretty newsworthy for VGA. Edited September 17, 2021 by DefaultGen 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidaldreams | 654 Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 36 minutes ago, DefaultGen said: The game itself is probably nice. There is still risk in shipping, Wata handling, losing a .2 or + due to something unforeseen, etc. Plus it will be potentially $10,000s to regrade it. It’s not a missed opportunity, but a risk he would rather have the buyer take than himself. The seller is also a long time collector, so likely personally thinks 95U is more prestigious than 9.8 A++, so maybe he believes he’s able to successfully market the game as such despite a whole high end market who deal in nothing but Wata I’ll be shocked if the VGA game doesn’t sell for 10ks or 100ks less than the Wata copy. The megabucks sales are Wata games and if it’s an speculative purchase (which it is obviously) you need to have the perfect Wata game to get the eye popping, headline making resale. That regrade risk will be 1000% priced in. If the buyer publically says he doesn’t intend to regrade it, I think that’s pretty newsworthy for VGA. Yeah exactly. So if the buyer crosses it and it gets a 9.6 A++ for example they're f*cked basically. Not sure I would want to risk that if I were the buyer. The seal will get an A++ no matter what so it's moreso the box grade. I don't think WATA has a minimum grade you can specify for crosses where if it won't get it they will just send it back to you. Like if you try to cross a PSA 10 to a BGS 10, you can specify that as your minimum grade so if it won't get it you just get your card back. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Bogomil | 819 Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 Regrade a VGA gold 85+? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
operationivy | 24 Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 That game was already looked at to be crossed before being listed. There is a reason it was not crossed- it was not a 9.8 (the 95). It is not a 9.8. Wata grades N64 games a lot different than VGA. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonebone | 1,313 Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 5 hours ago, Dumars2001 said: Well, the time has finally come! We are about a day out from the inaugural video game Golden Auctions ending. At this time, the SMB 64 WATA has a "mere" $300,0000 lead over the SMB VGA 95U. (The poor SMB64 VG80+ is sitting at a "meager" $6,000, an unreal discrepancy in price from the other 2, but it is, what it is) From what I have read, most people/collectors think that the VGA 95U is the superior copy to the WATA 9.8, but it appears the big dollar spenders obviously don't agree/think so. If the gap between the WATA 9.8 and The VGA95U is substantial (for me that would be more than 10 to 15%), I myself would have to grade all of my raw sealed games going forward with WATA and I would have no choice but to crack my VGA graded games and have them re-slabbed (what a pain) with WATA to be sold or auctioned off at any of these auctions, (Goldin, Heritage, Certified Link, etc.) if I ever wanted to sell them off, because this would clearly make more financial sense for me. We will all have a clearer picture when the dust settles in about 34 hours, but unfortunately, it appears that WATA graded (negative press be damned) games will garner the the highest prices/returns no matter what, when selling graded games on all platforms in the foreseeable future. This may never change. It is kind of like PSA cards selling for quite a bit more than BGS these days. The funny thing is, it used to be BGS out-selling PSA way back in the day, so I guess I should "never say never" about WATA being the undisputed kings at the moment, BUT, if the SMB VGA95U doesn't close the gap by the end of the auction, it will clearly be the case! On a personal note, seeing that first print Genesis Sonic WATA 9.4 going for so high (currently at $185,000 with the buyer's premium) is killing me! I am guessing that it ends up at around $500,000. Ouch! For all I know, that is my old copy, lol! I have mentioned in the "My biggest regret Thread" that I sold my mint sealed copy off about 10 years ago for $400!!!!!! If it makes you feel better than U95 Mario is my old copy. Traded down for a 90+ and cash 5 years ago. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidaldreams | 654 Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 9 minutes ago, jonebone said: If it makes you feel better than U95 Mario is my old copy. Traded down for a 90+ and cash 5 years ago. Damn...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Winterborn | 80 Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 1 hour ago, operationivy said: That game was already looked at to be crossed before being listed. There is a reason it was not crossed- it was not a 9.8 (the 95). It is not a 9.8. Wata grades N64 games a lot different than VGA. I've heard this as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOURTURN | 1,258 Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 5 hours ago, Gloves said: FYI you don't have to actively collect video games to continue using this forum! Good to know. I mean I know you guys would fall apart without me promoting CAS as a "We grade more honestly because we use math, complete with a decimal point and a 1/10th after it." option. But we all know that I am mad at them for grading my Super Convoy a 84.1 and not an 85. But even then... Me leaving here is not an option as long as those here don't sound like they are Wata cultists. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 12,037 Administrator · Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 17 minutes ago, FenrirZero said: Good to know. I mean I know you guys would fall apart without me promoting CAS as a "We grade more honestly because we use math, complete with a decimal point and a 1/10th after it." option. But we all know that I am mad at them for grading my Super Convoy a 84.1 and not an 85. But even then... Me leaving here is not an option as long as those here don't sound like they are Wata cultists. 1 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dumars2001 | 164 Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, jonebone said: If it makes you feel better than U95 Mario is my old copy. Traded down for a 90+ and cash 5 years ago. Well, I certainly feel/know your pain! Let's see where they both end up tomorrow. At least, you still got the VGA 90+ back (and a chance of resubmitting it to WATA for a possible 9.8 grade), I got a measly $400. The interesting thing is, I remember selling my Sonic to some guy in Germany. Edited September 18, 2021 by Dumars2001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidaldreams | 654 Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 btw, what happened to OP jared goldin? You think he'd be around here pumping up some of these since it's only about 24 hours before the end. Can we bitch yet about the 30-minute rolling end times and the hidden buyer's premium? I mean, it's not like i can afford any of these but if i could i would be pretty pissed about some of these nonsense rules. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOURTURN | 1,258 Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 1 hour ago, tidaldreams said: btw, what happened to OP jared goldin? You think he'd be around here pumping up some of these since it's only about 24 hours before the end. Can we bitch yet about the 30-minute rolling end times and the hidden buyer's premium? I mean, it's not like i can afford any of these but if i could i would be pretty pissed about some of these nonsense rules. The topic is in an isolated location, with the host suddenly disappeared, and people who were invited here have things to complain about. I say that Professor Plum @Dumars2001 killed Mr. Bobby Jared in the library with a candlestick Nokia 3310. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidaldreams | 654 Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 22 minutes ago, FenrirZero said: The topic is in an isolated location, with the host suddenly disappeared, and people who were invited here have things to complain about. I say that Professor Plum @Dumars2001 killed Mr. Bobby Jared in the library with a candlestick Nokia 3310. Ha! I used to play that game when I was a kid and no one had any Clue what they were doing. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnimalHouse | 117 Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 10 hours ago, FenrirZero said: Which is anything but new at this point of time. <-(Click there for an example.) The watches and star wars action figure collection I can understand but this listing looks like something IKEA would sell. Many of the items sold on the website reminds me of a story I heard a while back of a banana duck taped to a wall sold for $120,000. Later the buyer ate the banana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickman | 4,117 Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 14 minutes ago, AnimalHouse said: The watches and star wars action figure collection I can understand but this listing looks like something IKEA would sell. Many of the items sold on the website reminds me of a story I heard a while back of a banana duck taped to a wall sold for $120,000. Later the buyer ate the banana. I think the price is crazy but this is from 1958 and is solid oak not flat pack MDF rubbish. These designs were pretty revolutionary at the time and it shows because we’re still using them today and ikea bases a business off these designers and carpenters. Original furniture is very sort after especially from a well known designer. I don’t know what the equivalent would be in video games, maybe the original artwork and box design? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOURTURN | 1,258 Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 10 minutes ago, AnimalHouse said: The watches and star wars action figure collection I can understand but this listing looks like something IKEA would sell. Many of the items sold on the website reminds me of a story I heard a while back of a banana duck taped to a wall sold for $120,000. Later the buyer ate the banana. A lot of the non-Star Wars and jewelry was either created by, or for, NIGO®. He's the founder of A Bathing Ape and Human Made, and co-founded Billionaire Boys Club with Pharrell Williams. So a lot of his design tastes make more sense to those who follow him. Even though him selling his entire Star Wars collection was a total 180. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnimalHouse | 117 Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 30 minutes ago, Shmup said: I think the price is crazy but this is from 1958 and is solid oak not flat pack MDF rubbish. These designs were pretty revolutionary at the time and it shows because we’re still using them today and ikea bases a business off these designers and carpenters. Original furniture is very sort after especially from a well known designer. I don’t know what the equivalent would be in video games, maybe the original artwork and box design? My poor attempt at IKEA humor. Its late here. I agree. Every time I am at a estate sale, old furniture are the first to go. Yup, original box art. Found several on HA and ebay. I'm not sure if prototype box exists? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptOut | 8,911 Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 1 hour ago, AnimalHouse said: My poor attempt at IKEA humor. Its late here. I agree. Every time I am at a estate sale, old furniture are the first to go. Yup, original box art. Found several on HA and ebay. I'm not sure if prototype box exists? Well the thing about furniture, as long as it's in good condition, you will definitely be able to make really good use out of it, as long as you have the space. You get a REALLY nice dining table, or bedframe or something and you can use it everyday for like decades! I'm not surprised good quality old furniture would be highly desirable and sell for a lot of money, it's actually way MORE surprising that all our old toys are still going strong! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dumars2001 | 164 Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 Tonight is the night, lol! 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californication | 1,490 Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 (edited) Nm Edited September 18, 2021 by Californication Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared_Goldinauctions | 39 Posted September 18, 2021 Author Share Posted September 18, 2021 Hey Guys - first and foremost I appreciate anyone & everyone who is participating tonight! Please be aware our next auction in November will feature much more games of all dollar figures, not just super high end. There will be a large amount of VGA, more memorabilia/signs & awards in that sale. If anyone has any questions regarding tonight. I am here as always. Thank you once again! 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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