Action Figure Collectibles

The condition of a figurine can have a huge impact on its value. Whether you’re buying or selling, it’s important to know the grade of your action figures. If you’re buying, you’ll want to ensure that the action figure is in the condition the seller claims. And if you’re selling, you’ll want to accurately grade your figurines or you could have an unhappy customer on your hands. In this post I’ll share how figures are graded and the different approaches you can take to grading your action figure collectibles.

How Are Action Figures Graded?

Great question! This isn’t as easy to answer as you may think.

There are different scales used to grade statuettes. The Action Figure Authority (or AFA), who professionally grade figurines, use two different scales. Their “AFA 3-Tier Grading Scale” grades figurines produced from 1960 to the present, grading them from 100 (Gem Mint) to 10 (Very Poor). Their other scale, the “AFA Modern Grading Scale” is for items produced from 1995 to the present, grading figurines from 10 to 1. There is also the C Scale, grading from C10 (Mint) to C1 (Very Poor), which is often used by collectors when they are grading their own action figures.

While these grades might be comparable, a AFA 3-Tier 90 isn’t the same as a AFA Modern 9, which in turn isn’t the same as a C9. It should also be noted that grading isn’t an exact science. Professional grading can be relied on, but amateur grading often depends on the individual, and not all sellers are honest about the condition of their action figures.

Should I Submit My Figurines to the AFA? Or Should I Grade Them Myself?

Another great question! It depends on what you hope to achieve by grading your figurine(s).

When an action figure has been graded by the AFA, you can trust it’s accurate. If you’re buying an AFA graded figure, you can be sure it’s not a counterfeit and has not been tampered with. If you’re selling, you will probably sell it at a higher price because people trust the AFA’s grading. However, the extra money you gain because the figurine was graded by AFA doesn’t always justify the cost of submitting it to the AFA. Also, submitting takes time while it is delivered and graded, and time to safely package your action figures so they don’t get damaged in transit.

If you’re grading a figurine yourself, it’s free and relatively quick and easy. While it can be inaccurate, if you just want a rough idea of what your figurine is worth, it’s fine. Buying action figure collectibles that aren’t professionally graded comes with some risk, but most people, if they haven’t already, will provide close-up pictures of the figurines so you can carefully look at them and make sure you’re getting a fair deal.

If you’re a beginner to action figure collectibles, then this is the right place for you!

Action figure collecting is a fun and easy hobby for anyone, but its important that you understand what you want to get from it at the start, before you jump blind into a massive area! Are you a “completist” that simply has to have every toy in a particular set? Do you want to have a large figure display, or do you just like playing with them? (Adults as well as children!) Maybe you want to see if you can make some money from the hobby? It’s important to know what you want from your hobby, so you can get the best from your experience.

Looking After your Action Figure Collectibles

Most people like to keep their figures “carded” - i.e. on the original card that they were packaged in. This is absolutely essential if you are planning on reselling the figure; most of its value will be lost if it is separated from the card. It is still easy to display the figures on their cards, but you must be careful with the environment that they are in.

Moisture and sunlight both harm action figure collectibles in the long term, so if you are planning to keep them looking “boxfresh” for a long period of time, you absolutely must keep them dry, and out of direct sunlight. Displaying them on a wall is fine,as long as the wall is shady, and not likely to succumb to damp.

A lot of collectors will buy two copies of each figure - one to keep carded, and one to take out of the box and play with, or even give to the kids!

The Values of Action Figure Collectibles

It is often hard to know the value of an action figure collectible that you find in the bargain bin, or hiding on the shelf behind another toy, and I can’t give you a magic wand. All I will say is this: Do Your Research!

The most important point to know about is, of course, the rarity of any particular figure. It is only when there aren’t many figures around that anyone will pay the big bucks! You need to pay attention to the company making the figure, when it was made, and obviously what figure it is - all information that should be easy to get from the packaging.

If you find the toy without packaging, the copyright date will often be stamped directly onto the toy, but as before - a toy out of its packaging is very unlikely to be worth anything unless it is extremely rare.

It might seem a bit daunting to have to know about so many different toys, but the secret is - you don’t have to! No one can know everything about action figures, no matter how much of an expert they are. I highly recommend Tomarts Encyclopedia & Price Guide to Action Figure Collectibles, which gives you an absolute wealth of information at your fingertips. It has a comprehensive list of action figure collectibles, together with price information. For the serious collector, or for the complete beginner, this book is an essential tool.

The Difference Between Dolls and Action Figures

When you hear the word “doll,” the first thing that comes to mind is “Barbie”. The major difference between dolls and action figures is that the former is oriented towards girls, while the latter is oriented towards boys. Dolls usually include matching outfits while action figures generally include clothing and accessories that you might not see every day.

Look at Barbie. Since her inception in 1959, Barbie has been the quintessential girls’ toy, what with her interchangeable clothes, pink cars, and Malibu Beach House variations. Though the collection later included Ken, of course, Ken was by no means an action figure. His clothes, like those of Barbie, were typical day-to-day outfits, albeit ones that was masculine.

By comparison, your typical “action figure” is muscular, especially to an exaggerated degree, and might include weapons as accessories. Two classic examples that come to mind are Thundercats and G.I. Joe. Thundercats characters, while somewhat human-looking, were normally yellow or gray-tinted, with overdeveloped muscles; their outfits consisted of tank tops or tights. Most Thundercats figures, whether male or female, included a weapon; Lion-O, for example, was packaged with The Sword of Omens, a longsword with a fiery-red handle.

G.I. Joes, while not as muscular as the Thundercats, still looked physically fit and generally included accessories such as machine guns, knives, and grenades. Can you really argue that these weren’t designed for boys? That isn’t to say that girls never played with them, but that’s not what the marketing companies had in mind.

Other popular dolls include American Girl and Ashton-Drake, both of which are also oriented towards young girls. On occasion, some adults may collect dolls of this type, because of their realistic appearance and value, if kept in good condition.

Another classic action figure collection that may come to mind is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, whose very name suggests action, and perhaps violence. Like G.I. Joe and Thundercats, the Turtles, armor, and play sets with vehicles such as tanks and artillery-studded cars. Again, while some girls may have found the Ninja Turtles appealing, they were primarily popular with boys. The villains, too, were distorted and mutated, such as Shredder and his henchmen, Bebop and Rocksteady. Perhaps these figures were meant to appeal to the same boys that liked aggressive competitive sports and war games.

Today’s action figures vary somewhat, but again, their appearance as a whole is about the same. Perhaps, even as times change, people’s mindsets tend to stay the same. The toys produced for boys and girls, for the most part, reflect this.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant about kids toys, stuffed animals, and dolls. You will find the best marketplace for kids toys, stuffed animals, and dolls at these sites for action figures, stuffed animals.

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