scooternick said:
Glad you took it as it was intended - good natured ribbing!
And I do think you have a point; it's easy to veer off topic sometimes, and I can imagine the discussion around grading is somewhat tedious for collectors who have been around for decades.
Personally I'm not a fan of graded as I like to be able to have items in hand. For others, I'd imagine they buy nothing but graded. Ultimately you have to figure out your own approach to collecting.
In the case of that stormy, which I think is fair to say is not particularly rare, I wouldn't be that keen on paying someone else to have got it graded and then sell it to me for a premium price.
That said, if I was buying something like a vinyl Jawa I might feel more inclined to go down the grading route, partly for my own peace of mind, and because it then makes it easier to sell on later as an assurance of authenticity (well... of sorts!!)
Grading doesn't prevent degrading either, and I've certainly had carded figs and loose where the grade does not represent the current condition e.g. yellow bubbles and figures.
I'd be interested to know from any collectors of high end stuff whether grading makes a difference with regards to insurance of these items? And are there grading companies which focus on authentication without grading?