SGH sealed game grading

Nice work there Pascal. Hoping to to utilize this to it's full extent. Is this grading system restricted to a specific region or is it open to all? (PAL, NTSC,etc)

thanks!
it will be open to all versions!

online

nice pics of the Persona 3 which you added

Talk to you in Skype

I think this is a great idea. I saw about it over at GameTZ (Sorry I hadnt signed in here in a couple months! I've been very occupied).

Anyway, everyone over there seems to think this is a joke, but I stood up for you. I think it's a great idea as I said and hopefully some day I'll have a handful of games I feel are worthy of having graded. (Hoping to grab me a sealed X68000 Haunted Castle!)

thank you very much!
We put a lot of work into our database and in our whole SGH grading system.
Hope you will find your sealed X68000 Haunted Castle soon and I hope we see some of your sealed gems in our database.

do you have different sized cases for different games , i.e smaller cases for gameboy games ???
could a game get damaged inside theses cases as they seem quite loose ??

> happyheed wrote:do you have different sized cases for different games , i.e smaller cases for gameboy games ???
yes of course! different sizes!

> happyheed wrote:
> could a game get damaged inside theses cases as they seem quite loose ??
no

@Pascal: Why did your games just get so low rating? What was negative? Must I pay 14 EUR per Game?

> gogeta259 wrote:@Pascal: Why did your games just get so low rating? What was negative? Must I pay 14 EUR per Game?

i also think your game should have a higher percentage ???

> gogeta259 wrote: Why did your games just get so low rating? What was negative?

We have a standard scale system and we really look for the smallest, minor negative points! We do not want to overgrade any game. So you can imagine that a game with 100% is really really really perfect sealed.

> gogeta259 wrote:
> Must I pay 14 EUR per Game?
thats right! 14 EUR for each game that has a value under $100. and 22 EUR for each game that has a value over $100 .

> Pascal wrote:
> > gogeta259 wrote: Why did your games just get so low rating? What was negative?
>
> We have a standard scale system and we really look for the smallest, minor negative points! We do not want to overgrade any game. So you can imagine that a game with 100% is really really really perfect sealed.
>
>
> > gogeta259 wrote:
> > Must I pay 14 EUR per Game?
> thats right! 14 EUR for each game that has a value under $100. and 22 EUR for each game that has a value over $100 .
Looking at the graded games i really think you are too picky

Of cause sealed games might have many blemishes to inspect but hell.. I guess delving into every detail on a miscroscope level is wrong. These 93 and 87 pecrents can really raise many questions, Like "Why all these games look the same but still get different percents??" I guess you need to be more objective in your grading measures and maintain more accurate and efficient system. Like "50/60/80 percents or something".

i think you are being too picky as well , what if there was a very smal bump or slight tear ?? would the game only get about 18% ???

thats just my opinion , its your system so you know best ??

> Dark Sol wrote:These 93 and 87 pecrents can really raise many questions, Like "Why all these games look the same but still get different percents??"

right ! That is the reason why I will add any negative point to our database (at the moment they all have the same negative points) ...
So stay tuned and you will understand that it is important to have a very very serious grading scale.

It is very important for me that a game is really really perfect and I have a high standard scale for my own collection.
I think its better to convert this standard scale to our grading system than overgrade every game! The users have to see what minor errors the game have for what they are paying hundred of Euros ! When you do not care about minor errors or something like that than this is no problem at all... you can buy all games that are lower rated ... the collector which are very strictly know that they are only can choice higher ratings!
Of course this way is more work for us but I think it is more satisfied...

> happyheed wrote:i think you are being too picky as well , what if there was a very smal bump or slight tear ?? would the game only get about 18% ???
>
> thats just my opinion , its your system so you know best ??

I have to agree, when you buy a game from the shop new - the game then should be classed as 100% - i don't think new games are devoid of small waves in the plastic. I think the games you showed were in mint condition in my eyes, and some of the games in my collection would not get a high percentage on Microscopic Analysis.

There are a lot of games that are coming from the factory with waves in the plastic seal or little waves on the top and bottom. The most notorious one I have seen lately is God of War 2, I have 4 copies and they are all identical with the waves. I would like to know how many collectors really care about a wave in the plastic seal anyway, if it's sealed then I collect it if there are no defects in the seal like a tear, rip or scratch.

Indeed. You're already grading NEW games. Such a wide scale fo grading can be really ridiculous. With such a "high standard" you can even give 10% off grade for a simple fungerpints on the plastic wrapping. Which is a nonsense.

Even a grade with 20 % or less is a good investment ! Why? - a simple answer: our grading system have high standards so every point you get is a point that increase the value of your game! so do not worry about the points your game will get !
Just focus on the grading level that you think is perfect for you ...
When you have low standards that doesn´t mean that everyone have those low standards and we want to serve every sealed collector with our rating system... So like I said just find the right rating level for you ..

@Dark: don't be ironic! I want a serious discussion and things that you believe can be improved...

thanks for clearing all that up . i fully understand your system now and i am very impressed with it . i wish i had loads of spare money so i could send some games but i will need to save


i keep spending all my money on expensive games just now but i will send some soon

> Pascal wrote:Even a grade with 20 % or less is a good investment ! Why? - a simple answer: our grading system have high standards so every point you get is a point that increase the value of your game! so do not worry about the points your game will get !
> Just focus on the grading level that you think is perfect for you ...
> When you have low standards that doesn´t mean that everyone have those low standards and we want to serve every sealed collector with our rating system... So like I said just find the right rating level for you ..
>
> @Dark: don't be ironic! I want a serious discussion and things that you believe can be improved...
hey Pascal i'm not ironic at all.


Well i'll try to summarize my thoughts.
First - "too many aspects" like ... emm.. "only UV light-visible fingerprints" and microscopic level holes are just ridiculous IMHO. Such in-depth details will be very unclear for everyone and will result in strange and random grading percentage fluctuations. You will get numerous emails for sure with questions like "Why my game achieved only 60%?? It's perfect mint!!" or "62%" or 65%? and so on. You MUST have a clear system so that everyone can understand it. You should really turn your "IMHO grading system" to a proffessional and clear-for-everyone system. Right now it looks to me like "Well... this definitely looks better then this one... and this one...I'll give it 92.87% cause it looks so shiny and better then the others!" And i'm not speaking about definite stuff like holes and rips. I'm speaking about very minor blesmishes.



I think it must be more simple.

I think what you mean is a general grading problem to be scared that your games are not graded like you want it

...

But like I said we have a very very good standard scale system that includes all important facts!
I think our grading system is very simple. Create your own grading order and you will see that it is a very very simple system!
And of course every graded game will get a detailed page with all explanations about the final grade.

Questions.

What sort of room for movement do the games have within the graded cases? How do the games sit within the cases, what do they rest on? Is it a uniform sit along the whole base of the game?

I'm hoping you'll say there's no room for movement whatsoever, and that the whole of the bottom edge of the game sits 100% perfectly along a smooth edge. Otherwise there's definite concern for marking the seal in these things! In fact just sending the graded version back could lower the grade due to movement. And with such high standards any mark whatsoever would invalidate the grade. But how would you know without opening it? So are the cases a tight, movement free fit, with a smooth bottom for the whole sealed bottom edge of the game to rest on?

Which actually brings me onto another point...is it actually worth it to send certain items to you in the first place, due to the risk of damage in the post? For example, pce games. It doesn't matter how well you wrap them or whichever way you orientate them in the box, the manuals can move about. Any serious pce collector knows to look out for rucks on the edge (by the side you'd open it where the little plastic fold tabs keep the manual in place). People already run the risk of damage/manual rucks when getting these sealed games sent to them in the first place (often after waiting an age for a perfect copy). Are they then going to send it off for two more trips? What about games where the cds came come out? I send you a sealed discs in place PDS and risk getting back a PDS with loose discs?

Just curious, looking forward to your answers.

> wheelaa wrote:
> So are the cases a tight, movement free fit, with a smooth bottom for the whole sealed bottom edge of the game to rest on?
thats 100% correct!

> wheelaa wrote:
> Which actually brings me onto another point...is it actually worth it to send certain items to you in the first place, due to the risk of damage in the post? For example, pce games. It doesn't matter how well you wrap them or whichever way you orientate them in the box, the manuals can move about. Any serious pce collector knows to look out for rucks on the edge (by the side you'd open it where the little plastic fold tabs keep the manual in place). People already run the risk of damage/manual rucks when getting these sealed games sent to them in the first place (often after waiting an age for a perfect copy). Are they then going to send it off for two more trips? What about games where the cds came come out? I send you a sealed discs in place PDS and risk getting back a PDS with loose discs?
> Just curious, looking forward to your answers.

Well if you are an experienced sealed collector you know how to pack your games well so the risk of any damage is set to a minimum.
Of course you can not have a risk of 0% in any shipping but if you know what you are doing you can avoid any damage. The manual thing for pce games is a difficult thing thats right!
But its nearly impossible if you pack your games well that you get a sealed game with a loose disc ... bubble wrap, foam, paper and other things are good weapons against loose discs

...

Question #1: What is to stop you from keeping a very expensive game and never sending it back?

For example, someone sends you sealed mint chrono trigger NTSC.

It would be well worth it to shut down the entire site and keep it forever.

for the price (~770 EUR) that you get, you would need to do about 56 appraisals to make that much money!!!

Of course, I am not suggesting that you guys are criminals, but I want to ask, would YOU send your most precious game away to be graded and not have any way of getting it back IF someone decide to keep it?

Question #2: Why would a grading from you specifically mean anything? Do you guys have some kind of official tiitle or education? What is to stop everyone from buying there own plastic cases, ordering their own holographic stickers, starting their own website and giving themself a grading of 100% for every game they have? Do you have any more credentials than they do? Are you guys any more of an "official game grader" than everyone else?

Again, I'm not saying this to you guys as an insult or to try and make business bad, I am just asking questions to you that ANY serious potential customer would ask themselves before they send their precious items to you for grading.

I think it would do you a world of GOOD if you posted such questions on your FAQ too, along with maybe some kind of proof that this is 100% legit (like a testimonial from a happy customer, or post average prices of games WITH a high grading from you vs. those without).

I wish you the best of luck on your business!

hi buddy!

First of all: very good questions! I think i would ask the same questions too!

answer #1:
Well, we all are sealed collectors for at least 3 years and I wouldn't work over 300 hours on our page if I wouldn't love this hobby.
The primary meaning of our page is to support this hobby and to eliminate problems caused by a wrong condition description.
If I want money I work for some maths projects for at least 25 Euro per hour (I am a maths student) or I start to program some webpages for at least 35 Euro per hour.
Even if I would have a criminal potential, a hourly rate of 770/300 Euro (which is around 2,57 Euro per hour) doesn't seem very well paid

...

answer #2:
The first thing I can say is: We have a lot of experience! Thousands of hours have gone into browsing the web for more informations about the different seal styles, more informations about good protections and so on... . So we all put our knowledge together and built a experienced team.
Of course we do not have any education! We start the whole grading system this year and we were the first one (yes we started our grading system before VGA started their grading). So their is noone out there who have ever done this before with video games.
But you can say we all created our own education over the last years. But its a good idea. Maybe we should offer a SGH education to pass on our big information pool

.
Furthermore sealed game informations are more complex than often thought. And you do not only have to collect all informations you must create a network of other sealed collectors. And I think we have the biggest sealed collector community. I think i do not have to mention that this fact is very important for every project. Furthermore you get new daily informations. It is important that we share informations with each other and make sure that we all have a maximum of informations.