Today's collector has seen a huge growth in sight-unseen purchases. The purchase of action figures through the Internet, mail and phone have opened the door to greater selection and prices never before available to collectors. On the other hand, it is impossible to know exactly what you are getting until it arrives. A seller could describe the figure in C9 condition and you purchase the item. When you receive it, you think it looks more like a C8. Sure, you can return the figure, but you're left feeling cheated and lose money and time on the transaction. AFA virtually eliminates this problem by standardizing the grading scale. In addition, counterfeiters exist in any collectible market where money is involved. The carded action figure market is no exception. These crooks attempt to deliberately alter or counterfeit items for monetary gain. With today's advanced technology in computers, printing presses, etc. counterfeiters now have the advanced tools to successfully mislead the collector. They can actually create reproduction card backs and can even remove blister bubbles and reapply them without anyone knowing! While it is not always easy to spot their forgeries or tampering, the graders at AFA are experts at identifying them. Figure graded by AFA gives you the confidence and peace of mind to know that the figure is authentic and has been properly graded by a professional. Buyers will enjoy the peace of mind and security of knowing exactly what they are getting.
