Poll: Is grading video games a good thing?

Call me crazy, but it seems like almost every week, a new “VGA entrepreneur” hits eBay in hopes to win it big. As of today, if you search the term “VGA” under the video game section on eBay, you will get 1,400 results. I don’t normally look for VGA listings per se, but looking for stuff to post on the blog normally generates a few listings anyways. It amazes me that people think grading a game would automatically return their investment 5-20 times over which unfortunately have been for some people who do it on a regular basis. This practice is sending a pretty bad message, although most often ignored by veteran collectors, it’s almost as if that VGA grading means it’s OK to con unsuspecting buyers.

Another reason I brought this up is because of this. I thought I was dreaming when I saw that this game was graded and it’s a used copy as supposed to sealed ones. A new service called VGS – Video Game Seal, offers collectors grading of used games. Seems more like a joke to me at the moment. But the more you think about it, the more you sort of warm up to the idea. But I can’t help but wonder if this is going to be another reason to raise prices on games based on the grade & greed.

There’s many more listed on Terapeak (it’s an eBay sold item research service) within a 90 day period. It’s too much to list, but hopefully it proves a point.

But I’d like to have an open discussion to all our readers and most especially, those who are grading their games or even buying them from time to time. Do you think it’s a good thing? Bad thing? Are you neutral to the idea or absolutely despise it?