Compare VGG to Wata Games

Complete In Box (CIB) Grading Scale

Every game we grade will get a grade from 5-100 by 1 point increments. Subtle differences matter and our grading scale doesn’t leave room for wondering about in between grades. Plus you get individual scores and grades for the box, the cartridge and manual.

Only a 0.5-10 scale. If a game receives a grade below 9 you only get a score in ½ point increments – but on a scale of 10 a half-point makes a big difference. Is a 7.5 game almost an 8? Or is it only barely above a 7? And only for the highest graded games above 9 the .2 increments are better but we believe 90, 90 ½ , 91, 91 ½ , 92, 92 ½, 93, 93 ½ , etc. on a VGG game is superior to only 9, 9.2, 9.4, etc. you get from WATA.

CIB Overall Grade Balance

We believe the box is the most fragile piece of a CIB game and of course it’s the box that is seen when displayed so we weight it a bit more heavily. The game box is 60% of the total grade with us. The manual and box are each 20% of the total grade.

WATA weights the overall grade a bit differently. The box grade is 50% of the overall grade, cartridge is 30% and the manual is 20%.

Sealed Grading Scale

We have 11 levels to evaluate the overall quality of the seal. On a star system: 0 Stars, ½ Star, 1 Star, 1 ½, Stars, 2 Stars, 2 ½ Stars, 3 Stars, 3 ½ Stars, 4 Stars, 4 ½ Stars and of course 5 Stars.

WATA offers 7 levels for the overall quality of the seal, a letter grade: A++, A+, A, B+, B, C+, C.

Turnaround Times

Certainly a moving target for all grading companies and a big challenge to manage as demand for excellent services grows quickly. As of June 2021 we are meeting or exceeding all service level turnaround time estimates. Sure, it’s easy for us since we’re new and don’t have a huge volume yet – but when that changes we believe we will be ready to manage it properly to keep delivering games back to you in a timely manner at every service level.

With the explosion of the collectibles market in 2020 it is understandable that all grading companies have gotten REALLY far behind on meeting turnaround times. WATA has been as much as 6-12 months LATE on getting games back to clients. 3x,4x,5x and even higher turnaround times than estimated has not been unusual for WATA for many months into 2021. As of April 2021 they have published an apology and promise to do better on their website but remain very slow to get games graded and back.

Cost

Our prices are competitive (slightly lower at most levels) with faster turnaround times and we have only one add-on option. Plus we don’t charge more for more valuable games. We grade all games equally so why should it cost more just because it might be a more valuable game?

When the lowest price option is available it’s a slower option for about the same price. And when creating your order on WATA watch out for add-on fees and an increasing price as your declared value rises. Do they grade more valuable games better or differently? Why does it cost more?

Cases

Our cases have been custom designed and built specifically for us. They are a great way to display your graded games. They feature UV protection as high as 99.7% to ensure your games stay looking great and are not damaged by light. Learn more here but don’t take our word for it – here is all the info you need to know about our cases: https://www.acrylite.co/acrylite-uv-filtering-op3-product-info.html and https://www.acrylite.co/uv-filtering-op3-5-conf.html How’s that for full transparency – no pun intended.

The only thing we can find on the WATA website is that their cases are “archival quality UV-protection” which sounds good but what does that really mean? We happily share the exact detail about our case material and UV protection. And for our tastes their cases are a bit bulky and much bigger than they need to be for NES games – but maybe that’s just us.

Labels

The front of our labels prominently display the overall grade plus individual scores and grades for the box, cartridge and manual (for CIB) and a seal grade (for graded games) along with the name of the game and some details. The back of the label provides a security hologram, the serial number of the game for verification and additional key details for the box, manual and cartridge. Click Here To Learn More

WATA features sub-grades on the back of the label and the box, manual, cartridge details on the front which feels backwards to us. Additionally there is an upcharge for a more prominent grade badge.

Intangibles

Choices are better. Competition forces everyone to be better – and that’s good for the hobby, most importantly that’s good for you the consumer. We believe we offer a high quality option to video game collector’s and investors.

We are fans of WATA, they have done great things for our hobby. But no company is perfect (including us) and without true competitors it’s too easy for established market leaders to get complacent and the service suffers.

Information regarding WATA Games is accurate, per their own website, as of 4-24-21 and is subject to change.