Anyone ever given any thought to or researched to see if anyone actually does it?  I took a quick pass through CGC's and PGX's websites and didnt see anything that might relate other than silver age magazine style comics, but don't think that applies.

Neither here nor there, just curious.

benjoshua wrote:
I have just started a professional grading business.  Simply send the item you want graded in an insured package to me plus a $100.00 Money Order, and I'll tell you the item's grade on a piece of fancy paper with my authentic signature on it!  Woah!    It doesn't get any better than that!  

Amusing.  Oh, wait, no.

There's Troll & Toad. They are honest and their grading system is accurate and clear. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't consider themselves to be the authority in the industry.

At the GenCon auction, of the collectible items that we describe, about 1 in 500 is declined -- always because we missed something (due to time pressures), not that the description was wrong.

fwiw...

stylean wrote:Anyone ever given any thought to or researched to see if anyone actually does it?  I took a quick pass through CGC's and PGX's websites and didnt see anything that might relate other than silver age magazine style comics, but don't think that applies.

Neither here nor there, just curious.

For the non-comic-collectors:

• CGC = Comics Guaranty Corporation
• PGX = The Professional Grading eXperts

I have never heard of any professional grading service for RPGs.  That does not mean that they do not exist, but the market for such a service is extremely limited.  Comic collecting is a huge industry; RPG collecting is very small.  RPGs also have more parts than a comic book or magazine, and determining the completeness of a piece can be difficult.

benjoshua wrote:
No problem! Just enclose an extra $100.00.  

Ladies and gentlemen, the next head of RPGs at Troll n Toad...

There was a time, years ago, when this subject was quite important to me . . .   I expended a fair amount of time & effort to try and create/define a set grading system.

Hell!  I just took a look and it appears the Acaeum is still using it - one of my earlier drafts is still posted on the Acaeum, complete with the examples I provided.  Cool.  

Anyway, I used to be a serious collector of comics with a meticulous concern for grading . . . (shrugs)  I wasn't employed by CGC or anything, but I personally feel that I was/am a "professional grader".  What makes someone "professional" anyway . . . its got to be more than just getting paid for it!

RPGs?  Well, I've seen a lot.  I spent years reselling and devoting an absurd amount of effort into grading each item with exacting detail.  Turthfully, I wasted a lot of time . . . but what the hell, right?  It was something I enjoyed.  So, I have personally graded thousands of RPG items from across the board (as a reseller, I would look at any genre/system).  The difference, of course, between myself and other resellers is that I would create huge cover scans of both the front and back, examine the entire item will careful scrutiny . . . including all internal pages and then list the grade.  It was all based on the comics system which I adapted to RPGs.  

Certainly I would consider myself an "expert" . . . at least with the Acaeum defined system!     Others have their own scales . . .

Plaag wrote:And that's why I bought from you Beyondthebreach, the attention to detail. Plus you had those occasional freebie giveaways.

ShaneG.

It is so true !