UKGraders Questions.

[plantman]

Hi Steve,

Its good you have come on here for opinions mate

i would say, ditch the rarity, 100%, it never did work as rarity changes all the time and is relected differently in other peoples eyes.

Change the label to maybe having a white inner area for the grading information so it it clear and visible.

i personally have found nothing wrong with your grading as it is normally accurate and at the end of the day, any grading is an opinion of another to avoid bias and bad description.

keep up the good work.

Andy

 

[Paul-itoy]

Re. the customs issue, it's something worth looking into. The US doesn't have the same issues as we have, so sending something there isn't a problem. it's the return leg when problems arise, but I believe AFA label the shipping boxes to specify that the contents have recieved a service only and have no material value as such.
Anybody using UKG outside of the EU needs making aware of this, and needs advising (by UKG) on how to word customs labels to ensure no charges are incurred.

 

[ukgraders]

Yeah I contacted customs and Parcel Force obviously parcel didnt want to know and to be fair you get more sense talking to your pet dog than Parcel Force at times.
No offense to anybody thats works for them!! just I have had soooo many problems with them before.
Customs really werent that helpful either even though I explained it's a service we are doing and nothing more.
But on a plus they are willing to look into something for us for items coming in but like you say the return leg is no problem for customs it just seems to be good old British Customs wanting as much money out of us as possible.

 

[airjedijamie]

I have used ukg for some time now i have got no problems with them i have met steve and mark both great guys and are willing to grade the odd things as well.
i got my adam west and burt ward signed batmobile graded and it looks mint and now i just use ukg instead of afa because it so much easier to deal with
so i cant say a bad thing about this company they are always happy to help which is great i have now had about 50 items graded now and everything has been well wraped up when sent back
so i would recommend them to all my friends

 

[SNAGGLE]

I have to admit, that 'thread' AFA v UKG was the biggest whinge I think I've read on the Internet!! And not alot of positive use to anyone. :lol:

In return to your question Steve, and fair play to you putting yourself in the firing line, it's the only way to get constructive feedback. I personally have only used AFA for loose figs, I've always been happy with their service (a little pricey, but hey, everyone pays the same, so if you want stuff graded, that's the cost)
However, I love the idea of a UK grading company, I've just been put off by some of the issues that the lads have mentioned above. Things like dodgy cases, spelling and the rarity stars (fair play to you for ditching them)
I have a load of JEDI cards I want graded, and would prefer to ship inside the UK, so if you working on the issues mentioned, expect my custom in the near future.
It takes guts to put your head on the block, and to challenge a company that have had it all their own way for far to long!
Respect 8)
SNAGGLE

 

[ukgraders]

Hi Snagg and thanks for the positives, to be fair I have probably met most of you guys in the past at fairs and such when I have been selling, we all make errors with things but the important factor I think is ironing out the creases and getting it right.
Business is really good for us and I guess alot of items go straight into collections and are not seen again.
We want everything to be right and at the end of the day it's about what you want as collectors not everybody is into grading but when it comes to keeping items secure and display friendly and away from getting damaged it does have alot of plus sides to it.
But getting back to our final machine arriving I am hoping I can supply you all with slide back cases at reasonable costs for all your items be it carded or boxed any size any shape.
Cost is a big factor with these and I know keeping the cost down for you guys is very important but I will try my best for example anything over the size of say a Slave 1 box will be done in 5mm Acrylic which does jump in price but they are solid and can take a good beating.

 

[Capetown]

But getting back to our final machine arriving I am hoping I can supply you all with slide back cases at reasonable costs for all your items be it carded or boxed any size any shape.
Cost is a big factor with these and I know keeping the cost down for you guys is very important but I will try my best for example anything over the size of say a Slave 1 box will be done in 5mm Acrylic which does jump in price but they are solid and can take a good beating.

Steve, if the price is reasonable, say around Oscar level, that would make me your customer for a few years to come as I'm looking to buy sliding cases for my entire MIB vehicle, creature and mini rig collection.

 

[ukgraders]

Hi mate yeah they will be, maybe even cheaper to forum guys I will probably set up a seperate website for them to order direct but if you guys PM me off here then discounts all round ;0)

 

[jaymassive619]

Hey Steve. Hope you are well.

AND LOL @ Jay's discussion about AFA vs UKG on TIG! It seems more like just another whinge from everyones favourite LL collector.
A perfect example of how money can't buy you brains IMO.

Seriously Josh man is that all you can do pop at other collectors again :roll: get a grip bro yes Dan can be a bit nuts at times granted but the issue he had was a genuine one lets remember the USA dont have customs its not something US guys think about in terms of themselves. Technically customs are charging the UKG for receiving a Parcel from the US just as UK guys are often hit when buying from abroad i can imagine the chew on Steve has had with them as well.

Unfortunately UK customs puts the UKG at a disadvantage when it comes to international customers as the US dont have incoming customs its not something the AFA have to think about.

I have to say though Steve's response shows what a class act he is in my book -

We recently have just had an issue with a guy sending an item from the U.S and he did not realise about customs charges ect to be fair we should have something on the website explaining about customs from over the pond and that is being addressed.
We have paid for the customs for him though as I would feel like crap knowing his item was sat in some dank warehouse so I paid for it and have sorted the issue out.
I guess I never thought about the whole customs side I just took for granted people were aware that customs do charge some parcels and that is something we dont pay for.
But I have squared it all up now.

 

[Paul-itoy]

[
Unfortunately UK customs puts the UKG at a disadvantage when it comes to international customers as the US dont have incoming customs its not something the AFA have to think about.

Just remember though, that EU countries sending stuff to the UK can do so with no customs problems. It's only goods coming from outside the EU that pass through customs/can be subject to VAT.
At least that is a bonus/one less problem for UKG.

 

[ukgraders]

Yeah EU is fine we get quite alot from Germany and France mainly MOTU from France but Star Wars and M.A.S.K from Germany.

 

[jaymassive619]

[
Unfortunately UK customs puts the UKG at a disadvantage when it comes to international customers as the US dont have incoming customs its not something the AFA have to think about.

Just remember though, that EU countries sending stuff to the UK can do so with no customs problems. It's only goods coming from outside the EU that pass through customs/can be subject to VAT.
At least that is a bonus/one less problem for UKG.

Yeah thats a good point Paul! I suppose the UKG mainly targets the European Market first as many people would rather send item to the UK instead of to the US and back I know if i was to grade some of my MOC's the less time in transit the better!

 

[Josh]

.

 

[jaymassive619]

Jay he is a whinging fool..and you know it! He is on a UK forum nearly 24hrs a day...and he hadn't heard of the custom charges before???? The guy is a muppet.
AND who the **** sends an item from the states to UKG to be graded anyway???? Just so it can be cased with the COA...something that AFA does anyway? :lol:
I will leave you to feel sorry for him mate :roll: The guy has more bad luck than than anyone else..so sooner or later you gotta wonder how much is his own fault.

As for customs..how does AFA get around it when sending items back from the US to the UK? Surely not everyone gets stung after they have sent an item off to the states to be graded. Or do they get stung customs also on the return trip? I don't see how they (AFA) can have it over UKG if returned items from AFA, get a customs charge anyway when heading back into the UK. Seems like exactly the same thing to me.

Your all heart Josh!

The UK customs charge only applies to items been sent into the UK so if a UK guy sends an item to the AFA if he gets hit by customs its when the AFA have finished the service and have sent it back therefore its the UK who is to suck up the cost as he is a UK residence whos had an item shipped to him from overseas at that stage it has nothing to do with the AFA.

For the example to be the same it would be like a UK guy sending an item to the USA / AFA and the US Goverment charging customs to AFA to pick up the parcel so they could grade it and then send it back to the UK customer.

I hope that explains it a bit better bud

Jay

 

[Josh]

.

 

[Josh]

.

 

[spoons]

In my experience there is no customs on AFA items sent back to the UK because the items have not been imported - only returned to owner


Stuff from the States to UKG could be similarly marked and there would be no charge

 

[Josh]

.

 

[iDrew]

Steve

I have bought several UK Graded figures over the years and find it would be great if the online archive was more up to date, as it is useful to be able to verify the figure is genuine before I buy.

Cheers

Ian

 

[ukgraders]

Hi Drew yeah the archive really needs looking at we have graded now over 2000 star wars items and thats just star wars.
I was thinking of updating the archive quartely this way it is easier for you guys and we can get large amounts on at one time but so your not waiting to see items that have been graded I was thinking of linking flikr to the website so before all items are officially listed on the site archive you can view them through the link by typing in the requested number like SW002010 ect.
What do you all think to that?.
We have graded some cool items and you should see some of the boxed stuff we have done. The cases look Impressive...most impressive.
Sorry couldnt resist the last bit.