News and Updates
Introducing Our New Crystal Clear Loose Action Figure
Cases with laser cut and laser welded acrylic accessory holders
In order for us to offer a higher level customer experience with many upcoming enhancements, price
increases for most services will go into effect beginning on
Monday August 13, 2018.
Immediate enhancements which will go into effect with the new pricing include:
- Casing innovations tied to our new high powered laser CNC equipment, including new acrylic accessory holders.
- Guaranteed turnaround times on all Archival, Premium, and Express tier submissions for both loose and packaged items.
- Lifting of quantity limitations for loose submissions when using any of these three guaranteed tiers.
Additional enhancements including more on-line services, tracking, and updated
information and population report access are not far behind.
*In order to catch up on loose items previously submitted under our standard tier, we will not be accepting loose standard tier submissions until further notice. Eventually we will introduce an Economy Value tier without a guaranteed turnaround, but beginning Monday, 08/13 we will exclusively offer guaranteed tier services under the new Express, Premium, and Archival pricing.
AFA IMPLEMENTS PLUS (+) GRADING SYSTEM
Several years ago we introduced the “plus” designation to our grading system for Video Game Authority to create a finer differentiation between items of similar conditions. The plus attached to the end of a grade denotes an item which is above-average for its grade level, yet doesn't quite possess the qualities to reach the next-highest grade.
Because of the popularity of the plus grading system with video games, as well as the flexibility it gives us to identify more exceptional pieces near the higher end of the scale, we will be incorporating the same method with all items graded by Action Figure Authority effective immediately. This includes packaged and loose figures, vehicles, playsets, and all other items eligible for AFA grading.
In addition, most items previously graded by AFA are eligible to be reconsidered under the new scale, with the exception of loose custom items. For those wanting to have graded items re-evaluated under the plus scale, we are offering reassessments for a limited time at our current “Priority Recase” pricing (LINK HERE).
Furthermore, similar to grading under VGA, any item receiving a grade of 85+ or higher will be recognized as “Gold Level” and will also be given an accompanying gold hologram under either the Classic or Clearview label styles.
For a more detailed breakdown of our grading scale, please follow the accompanying LINK.
UPDATES ON LOOSE FIGURE GRADING
Due to the increasing popularity of loose figure grading, our Loose Department is still currently running several months behind schedule.
In an effort to honor our commitments and expedite all loose submissions currently in-house, for the next several months the ONLY loose items we will be accepting are vintage Star Wars 3-3/4" figures and coins.
Effective immediately, the grading of any other loose toy lines will be temporarily suspended.
Please click the link below for loose toy line restrictions, as well as current pricing and quantity limitations for loose vintage Star Wars.
CLICK HERE
All custom loose figures already in-house and awaiting grading are being processed normally. We ask that all customers please refrain from sending any other toy lines in that are not already in-transit so that we may focus our efforts on taking care of delayed submissions. Items already in-transit and postmarked before May 5th will still be accepted.
Carded/Boxed AFA, VGA, CDA, and DCA items are unaffected and will still be accepted for authentication and grading. These submissions are currently running on-time and are in no way affected by the suspension of the custom loose figures.
Loose figures requiring authentication by CIB will continue to be processed under the new pricing and turnaround time.
We apologize sincerely for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding while we work hard to get back on schedule.
CIB UPDATES
We are happy to announce that CIB is now accepting submissions.
We want to thank all AFA/CIB supporters for their patience and understanding over the last several months.
For future submissions with Prototypes and other rare figures, that require authentication through CIB, please click the link below (at the bottom of the page) for our new pricing updates:
CLICK HERE
For Custom Size Prototypes and other rare figures, in order to ensure acceptance at this time, please contact the Customer Service Department via email before sending your items.
We can create virtually any custom style or size acrylic display case and we're excited to offer some new additions to our in-stock sliding bottom cases. Find the right case for your collectible on our Online Store.
AFA has added conservative minimum value requirements for
several types of vintage collectibles to ensure they are properly
insured in return shipping to you. For additional details please
visit our Minimum Declared
Values page.
Attention Collectors in Japan.
Hakurai Toys is
now our official Japanese Submission Center, so if you don’t want
to worry about shipping your items to the United States and clearing
them back through customs, please contact them for information
on how they can help take care of the submission process for you.
