GRADING VHS TAPES IS DUMB | VHS, DVD, & BLU-RAY GRADING SERVICES

VHS, DVD, and even Blu-ray/4K grading services have started to pop up online. I can’t begin to put into writing how dumb, unnecessary, and even predatory to tout this as an “investment” is, so here’s a video.
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#Bluray
#Grading
#VHS

[@Sting_ray]

I’m going to get my $3 Walmart bin copy of Shrek 2 on DVD graded so I can know that it’s really worth $4.

[@MentalDeviant]

LMAO

[@cable30]

Got a chuckle out of that lol. imagine if any reseller or scalper hit all dump bins for certain movies just to get slabbed and sale lol it be run of the dump bins lol .

[@Coinmancer]

That will be $65 for a sticker! Thanks for your business! Lololol what a scam

[@RabbiSteve]

😁🤣😂 genius

[@tyrellgrant1879]

Haha shit 🤣🤣🤣😂 thats hella funny dude. Lol

[@gaupau]

The people who win in a gold rush are the ones providing the mining tools. Remember that.

[@JeffRauseo]

Just so everyone’s clear - yes VHS can have value. So can DVD and Blu-rays in specific editions. But paying $65 to “grade” them isn’t going to make them any more valuable. It’s all market speculation and these companies are trying to drive up the prices. Check their eBay listings with the words “VHS going up and up!!” - it’s all a design to get your money, sell high, and then get out before anyone else makes money. I love VHS collectors and tape heads. I think that community is super cool! But you can buy a plastic display case for $5 on eBay. Dropping $65 so someone can “grade” a tape is really a predatory business practice.

[@celluloidtherapy5003]

$65 to “grade” a VHS box and tape, is patently INSANE.

[@viciousvideo3671]

While I agree with 90% of this video, one key word is missing from the discussion of an item's perceived value and that's desirability. There are rare tapes out there in limited runs that are worth shit all because there's zero desire to own them.. either a boring cover or content or both.. I don't care how rare some items are if they don't look cool or play cool no one cares.. another example is Nightmare on Elm St VHS.. Not a rare tape but it's always in demand because the artwork is punchy and the content is culty.. so while rarity is a big name in the collector's game it shouldn't dictate your investment decisions... i say trust your eyes, if something looks cool to you it will probably look cool to someone else and if you lock it away for 20-30 years you might just find out it's become rare too.. The rest i agree with let's bring down IGS ✊😊

[@ph8892]

You basically said everything I’ve been saying about this trend. Thanks for the video and putting your voice out there. It kinda helps stop this silly exploitative mentality that the companies and people who grade items have.

[@artboymoy]

I'm thinking VHS Porn would be more valuable as a collectors item.

[@adamhodgins3217]

nobody came out today did you do a review ?

[@j.anderson4254]

The same market manipulation used in the stock market. The graders dont care about the overall value or whether the market collapses they've made their $65 and they're out.

[@JeffRauseo]

Exactly. Crypto, grading, it’s happening everywhere. Markets are ready to crash a bit

[@Jose-fq1lj]

Collecting used to be such a natural thing. You collected what you loved and at some point it may or may not have an increase in value. But you didn't think about it. The collectible market was merely a byproduct of collectors who loved to collect. Now, it seems most people are in it to collect for profit, or at least have that in the back of their mind. "I'm going to buy this to flip it." "They only made 300 copies, so I have to order it." "it's a special edition, so it'll be worth more later." so on and so on.

[@robertt9342]

That seems to be the greater percentage of the comic market .

[@pxpin89]

@@robertt9342 Thats damn near all of the comic market nowadays.

[@ozmond]

Not true. The only people who say this are bitter people who wish they had things that’s other people have

[@FalconRS]

I made radical cut myself, when the stuff I used to collect started to cost absurd prices to the point it started to annoy me: so I rather sold everything and started to collect another similar stuff, not yet polluted by grading scam or flippers.

[@denali7432]

What a scam. Even if you take a movie that had a limited run due to the content it contained and you got it graded now you have to go buy another copy of that same version because it might have special features, pic quality, audio that can't be found on regular versions. You have already spent money buying this limited/rare copy, you spend $65 on grading it, and then have to go spend more money to buy another copy of the same movie to be able to enjoy its contents. Once it'd all said and done your close to $200 in the hole. For $200 I can buy a minimum of 15 movies.

[@setradoesntserve2426]

This is not completely true. I bought the 4k of rad which is extremely limited. I ripped it to my pc with make mkv and have a 1 to 1 copy that i can watch on any pc i like whenever i want and can copy to multiple hard drives. I never have to touch the discs again. This would be an excellent movie to be graded since there were only 12,000 made by vinegar syndrome. I like having the physical since i am a collector but if you were ripping your movies to hard drive it would not be as much an issue. i got a 100 dollar drive off amazon then flashed it in 10 seconds to its stock firmware and have been backing up all my movies ever since. Im actually ripping the new relic hunter blu ray release from germany right now. hell i might have to have it graded after im done lol.

[@denali7432]

@@setradoesntserve2426 copy quality is never as good as the original. But if your satisfied and happy with it then that's all that matters. It's your money, your movie, and your viewing time. Your opinion is the only one that matters in that situation.

[@setradoesntserve2426]

@@denali7432 except you are completely wrong in that make mkv is a 1 to 1 copy with no downgrades whatsoever. A 4k movie once ripped can be almost 100 gigs. I know what i am talking about as i do this on a daily basis and have ripped a ton of movies to plex or my hard drives. If this is new to you that is fine but do not try and tell me there is a quality difference when using make mkv. you can simply go to their site and see for yourself or check out the forums. We have been able to copy dvds and blu rays for years without any quality drop whatsoever.

[@denali7432]

@@setradoesntserve2426 how can I be wrong when I am sharing my opinion not proven facts. As you are also doing the same. Your opinion is its the same but it's a opinion not a fact. Because sound and picture quality is completely subjective from one person to another. What looks and sounds good to one can be the opposite to another. These are all opinions my friend and no opinion is wrong. Only subjective to each individual.

[@setradoesntserve2426]

@@denali7432 this is my last time dealing with you. i told you to go look up make mkv i did not ask for your opinion on how you think the copies come out looking. if you are to lazy to do that then do not respond anymore as i can not be going back and forth with some one completely uninformed. the movies play at the exact same bitrate and quality. all make mkv does is remove the copy protection. please educate yourself on the matter. this is not opinion these are facts about make mkv. what the hell do you think people use to put movies on flex, kodi and kaledeiscope.

[@shanerollins3736]

It reminds me of the guys who have books, videos, and seminars about getting rich quick. They’re getting rich quick off the dummies who pay to hear about getting rich quick. “Don’t trust everything you read on the internet.” -Abraham Lincoln

[@richellebrittain2127]

There's a HUGE difference between physical media, or even comic books, and cards or coins. Cards & coins can be fully appreciated in their sealed cases; movies & comic books cannot. How can you watch physical media if it's sealed in plastic?

[@shanerollins3736]

If I didn’t intend on opening an item and I got a good deal on it, then I might buy a graded item. I would’ve probably made a deal on Pulp Fiction had it not already been bid on. I’d want a lot more for $70 than a tape I’m not opening.

[@markpugh6808]

It's for all those loser collectors who collect something and keep it sealed just cuz it looks nice on a shelf nah if I buy something I want to watch it not look at pretty artwork in a plastic seal

[@OriginalKrizzle]

I see where you're coming from from. However, What about the graded game market? You can't experience those either. Yet that market is WILD. With 100's of thousands going through. Not much of a difference between a capsulated movie and a game. Don't get me wrong, it absolutely can be a rip off. But it is an interesting topic.

[@mikeymike4626]

fuck you talkin bout blood lmao. collecting comics and cgc definetly raises the value. lmao boomers actin like they know

[@richellebrittain2127]

@@mikeymike4626 Comic books may have a bit of both -- the inside of a sealed comic can't be read, but its cover can be appreciated much like sports cards.

[@kennylauderdale_en]

They'll grade anything these days.

[@AcevedoVideoStore]

Imagine if someone started grading cerel boxes.

[@HollywoodReseller]

If VHS tapes as investment are speculation then would that also mean sport card investment is also speculation?

[@Ben-vw8mw]

I respectfully disagree. You mention that there are millions of copies of each VHS that were made - making it worth a few bucks at most. However, very few of those copies are still sealed. A lot of VHS's are opened/used. Even ones that are sealed were re-sealed by video stores, or have garage sale stickers on them. To find one in the original packaging with the watermark on the seal is very rare and thus - valuable. It's the same reason why a base set Pokémon booster pack is going for $700+. Something 30-40 years old and unopened is incredibly rare to find, no matter what the product is. I agree with your comments IGS and grading. It's a completely sketchy website, and people are just trying to take advantage of the market. I have a few sealed VHS that I purchased for my collection at home, but like you said - a $5 case on eBay does the trick.

[@totempolejoe1]

Counter-point: I find sealed VHS tapes at Goodwill literally every time I go in to look. Disney, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., no-name companies, you name it. Either I am having incredible luck, or sealed tapes are incredibly common. Honestly, if a sealed copy really is abnormally valuable, it's likely that an unsealed copy is also abnormally valuable. The same can be said for Pokemon cards. The sealed, out-of-print booster packs sell for a ton of money, but so do the unsealed versions.

[@leeartlee915]

I think the argument that sealed new old stock is “rare” only with certain things. Original NES games being sealed? Sure, I buy that. Vintage toys? Yep, that is probably rare too. But VHS? It was too easy to keep copies of those sealed while still sitting on a shelf. There will of course be exceptions but in general, people are more likely to keep a movie sealed than a video game. And even if sealed VHS is rare, I think it’s unlikely the market will explode like similar things. Having an original Super Mario World sealed is one thing. Having a copy of Batman on VHS sealed, it all matters if people give a shit. I don’t “do” sealed collecting. But whenever I stumbled upon an unopened copy of old video games, I would snag them up. But like the person said above me, I’ve come across TONS of sealed VHS and never once picked it up. VHS is not “original” prints of these movies. They were just the first time the public could buy them. I think the original 16 mm prints are going to be valuable (which is the case now). But there will be people trying to create a market out of nothing with this because, in the end, people give this stuff their sense of value. You can trick anyone into thinking sealed VHS is “worth” something.

[@leeartlee915]

@@totempolejoe1 You’ve got it exactly right. VHS, unsealed, is worthless (or close to it). But retro video games are worth money. Naturally it’s sealed counterpart is worth more. Same deal with vintage toys. And vinyl records. And so on. This VHS thing is being fueled by people trying to force a market. They may succeed but it will be one of the greatest tricks ever pulled on the collectors market. There is a reason we all threw out our VHS tapes when DVD came around: the medium sucks. By contrast, I never gave away any of my retro games or collectible trading cards. I knew they would hold some value and they did. I also knew VHS is crap and it is.

[@nerdythings3889]

I'm a long time comic book, trading card, & physical media collector and I Hate Grading...in my opinion it just inflates the market and you start getting people who aren't even in the hobby that just buy everything just to make a profit!

[@M3LTUP]

I collect comics too. I do not own any CGC's. But that does not mean i do not appreciate them.

[@dalethelander3781]

@@M3LTUP I haven't bought any CGC books, either. Most of my Silver Age comics are "reader" comics (although I won't buy a book with a missing or detached cover).

[@hekstoo5988]

Exactly!! That's when collecting starts to become more of a chore. It sucks

[@leeartlee915]

I’m with you. I find the whole “mint copies” collectors to be so full of themselves. “We are preserving history” and other such bs. People should be free to do what they want as long as they aren’t hurting other people… but at the same time, we should be free to dislike people who get off on the quality of their cellophane seal.

[@kevinlambert2756]

Golden age and silver comics...are worth it...CGC... CBCS ... graded.. 💜

[@M3LTUP]

A Graded copy of Legend of Zelda just sold for $870k @ Auction. It would appear there is actually a Market for Media Grading.

[@bmtcinema3545]

I saw “Empire Strikes Back” graded going for $76,000 on EBay. The worst part is that people are bidding on some of this stuff. 9 people were bidding on a graded factory sealed “Pulp Fiction”, it was up to $70. I saw three of those when I was thrifting today, two factory sealed.

[@shanerollins3736]

I’ll take them. As a VHS collector, the most I’d pay for PF is $50, depending on which edition it was and the quality. I wouldn’t buy graded just on principle. ESB, I’d probably break three digits on that one if it was the pre-1997 version. Considering the rarest VHS tape ever Tales From The Quadead Zone sells for $2-3 thousand, use that as a guidance for what to pay. Also, recording tapes are truly unique, yet they sell for only $5 or less. Keep that all in mind when some jackass wants 25 grand for The Little Mermaid.

[@michaelarojas]

@@shanerollins3736 It’s only worth a few bucks my copy was $4 on eBay.

[@shanerollins3736]

@@michaelarojas The Special Collector’s Edition isn’t worth squat. Maximum $10. I was talking about either of the 1995 releases (fullscreen or widescreen) or the 1996 Letterbox Collector’s Edition, which are all fairly hard to find. Still, I would get them as cheap as possible, and not several hundred dollars, graded, and in a plastic case. Maybe if it came with Samuel L. Jackson screaming at me while I watch it I’d pay several hundred, but not for just a tape in an acrylic case.

[@CAPCOM784]

So many are easily manipulated in todays society. Same thing is happening with pricingand grading of video games. I think its needs to stop asap before it gets to the point of no return.

[@frankfinelli6364]

The pulp fiction kind of movies are the ones that won't be graded I the future. Remember they paid $65 to grade it, so even if it sells for $100 they're making nothing

[@randombitsofhorror3217]

I agree with you 100% Grading is part of why I stopped collecting retro video games a few years ago and like you said, I would hate for this to happen to physical media. I have a hard enough time hunting down certain films for a reasonable price as it is.

[@jeremyhatesgoogle]

This is the same thing that ruined collecting comics. Once it's sealed in plastic, you can't enjoy your collection. What's the point of owning a movie you can't watch?

[@shooter7734]

Collecting comics got ruined before grading comics became a big thing Back in the early 90s The crash in 93 was basically the end of collecting comics as a widespread hobby

[@jeremyhatesgoogle]

@@shooter7734 Fair enough, but I still collected until recently. CGC has made comics a commodity and a get rich scheme. Even finding the old gems is no fun anymore because everyone is trying to set the next record breaking price.

[@renemies78]

This is such a scam. Like you stated, there are some VHS tapes that can be very valuable. I've sold a lot of VHS tapes on Ebay for some money because these movies were not available on Laserdisc, DVD, or Blu-Ray and are not streaming. That's what made them rare! I hope people don't get ripped off by this thinking it's legit like the examples you gave (baseball cards, comics, action figures, etc.).

[@caedmonv55]

There are plenty of other reasons something is rare, like the supply and demand, the actual amount they made of it, or the rarity in a particular condition (such as like new or sealed).

[@assistantdogconsult]

You literally could have said all of the same exact things about any collectibles...

[@MikeHorror67]

I collected sports cards since i was little in the 1970's and remember when i first heard about grading cards and thought it sounded dumb. I'll admit with the cards you can see the whole card still after it's graded. But comic books ? You can't read them after being graded but it to became a thing. Right now VHS grading has became a thing and i think it's only going to grow. I have several really hard to find "sealed" vhs i'm thinking of getting graded down the line and i have all of those movies on dvd and blu ray. People with money to burn and want the best of the best will shell out big time for something nostaglic to them and that includes vhs copies they remember seeing from their favorite long gone video store. DVD & Blu ray grading might take longer to take off but i'm sure it'll be a thing someday.

[@JulesFox]

Great work Jeff - it is a very interesting topic. It's an example of people trying to create a market where there is no value for anyone else but the people charging the $65 for 'grading'! Silliness. Glad you are hear to try to nip this in the ...

[@Northernlightshow]

Physical media at items we love personally. I’ve still got lots of VHS, it’s worth nothing, but it brings back happy memories. As for DVD, I have a huge collection, but that’s worth nothing. My Blu-Ray collection will eventually by equally useless. What is of value to me is not grading, but the fact I legally own the media and can watch whenever I want. I’ve not seen this in the UK, but it makes me laugh some people grading fairly low value products. Great video on the state of the market.

[@patjenkins8744]

GREAT VIDEO! I went to the IGS site to do some of my own "due diligence" and they offer an "economy $65 deal with a 120 day grading turnaround, a mid tier $85 deal with a 45 day turnaround and then their "Emergency" 5 day grading deal for $215. The site is full of RED FLAGS including several grammar mistakes commonly seen in non-English speaking foreign scams. All you are going to get is a decent looking plastic enclosure with some "official" looking markings. Thanks for the reality slap!

[@RK-rf8rc]

I was about to jump in and comment that VHS can have value - why not? - but then I saw your specific gripe is with grading services themselves, not at VHS tapes having any value. This I can definitely agree with! But yeah, I don't see a reason why a scare VHS tape, especially in mint/new condition from the 80s or even the 90s, can't be sold for a decent amount of money when the retro gaming market is ridiculously expensive.

[@SMALLSandJOE]

I'm glad you brought up how the tapes could be moldy on the inside. I recently bought a lot of 20 sealed tapes (didn't buy because they were sealed, just wanted the tapes.) 1 was clearly ruined by water damage so I opened it and yeah... moldy! So seeing this, I opened all other tapes because I'm allergic to mold. I can't keep those on a shelf. And guess what, 3 more out of those 20 were moldy and based on the seal, I was not expecting those to also be moldy, but I'm glad I checked.

[@M3LTUP]

I do not see why VHS , DVD , BR can not be graded. Just like comic books. Only some key titles make sense to grade. VHS , DVD holds alot of nostalgia. People may even want to display select VHS tapes on a shelf. As an homage to the 80s.

[@MikeHorror67]

You're on the money ! VHS collecting has been a thing for awhile and "most" people are only buying these to display (why would you watch these when you have other better alternatives) unless it's only on vhs. I have a sealed original copy of Pumpkinhead from the 80's.....try finding a sealed copy (other than the IGS graded one on Ebay their asking over $7000 for). I have Pumpkinhead on dvd & blu ray so i'm never going to watch that vhs. But it looks pretty darn cool encased with that original vhs artwork from back in the 80's. There's only so many "sealed" vhs tapes out there and that's what their grading (not ratty & beat to hell opened copies). It's a thing and i think it's here to stay and the maker of this video has some valid points but he's off on others. Just look at the sold listings on Ebay for "IGS sealed vhs" which has sales for only sealed vhs and for one's that were graded by IGS.

[@braveheart8085]

@@MikeHorror67 I’ll give you a dollar for it. Make a decision cause I might change my mind .

[@watcher7261]

@@MikeHorror67 some of those sold listings don’t get paid for that can easily be manipulated by shill bidding. Just because some people win an auction it doesn’t necessarily means it has been bought. A buyer can easily not pay for it. And that list will still be up as sold on eBay.

[@dannycasey8261]

I agree. He says it's a bad idea then he says except rare pieces. Well it's the same with sports cards. It's not smart to spend that much to grade Anything that's not worth but $10. And some of us want to get some graded because I want to sell some and being graded let's the buyer know it's not a fake. He said these high dollar ones will be faked.

[@robertremali8245]

Agreed. I’ve seen some of the people involved with grading and they were laughing at other collectors because they were making money off of them. It was all very untrustworthy and distasteful. Certainly a scam for those who are in the hobby for the wrong reason.

[@ObsessedCollector]

Grading goes way back. 1930s saw grading Stamps, 1974 saw grading coins by ANACS. 1983-5 saw the 1st encapsulation services for coins, PSA would follow suit with cards by the early 1990s, CGC doing comic books shortly after. AFA started toys next and Videogames with VGA (Same company as AFA) and CGC added Magazines soon. Finally IGS started VHS/DVD in the 2020s. I expect Cereal Boxes, Vinyl Albums, Cassette tapes and Books to be in our future.

[@TheEasterFerret]

I collect VHS because I like them being beat up and grungy, they have character. I found a cart full of tapes outside a thrift store with a free sign. Found stuff like Conan and Evil Dead in there, the only downside being they all had ELAINE written on the front in big letters. I still took them and the movies work just fine.

[@thelegendofmedail4300]

I'm a video games collector & enjoy my collection in my game room. But you do make a very valid point in regards of movies. Great video as always

[@leeartlee915]

I could be completely wrong but I just don’t think VHS, DVDs, Blu-ray’s will ever reach the level of vinyl records, retro video games, comic books, and collectible trading cards. I think people will try and make a market with VHS since that was the first time movies were commercially available to the public but it’s not the “original” copy. For example, you could first buy “Westside Story” on VHS some time in the 80s but that movie came out decades before. Unlike Super Mario Bros which was first made and released back in the mid 80s, the movie situation is just different. Having said that, people are gonna try and force VHS to become “a thing” but it will never take off, imo.

[@jesusgalindo4109]

I can't wait to grade my Titanic VHS tape, thanks.

[@shanerollins3736]

Considering over 30 million of them sold, yours will be worth $25,000 be eBay standards, and it’s a paperweight by mine. Congrats!

[@elitheprofit]

Saying that video grading is a joke but you have a whole shelf full of dvds is like saying buying dvds is pointless when I could just stream a movie 🤡

[@Art_kore]

Great video man, we need more people like yourself calling off that scamming b.s.

[@strongmanvhs8125]

Grading early VHS prints makes total sense, they are often very scarce and many first prints of movies only exists in a few renaming sealed copies and sometimes NONE sealed copies. So anything released 1976-1984 in sealed condition is pretty rare. However grading dime a dozen 90's prints which are laying around everywhere at yards sales in sealed condition is not a good idea.

[@justinlaird1655]

Hate to see everything these days becoming a money grab…if you love your VHS tapes, great! I’m sure someone has a pretty awesome sealed collection but what happened to collecting for fun and the point of enjoying what you collect? Totally agree Jeff this whole thing sounds like a dumb joke

[@RottenPopReviews]

You are 100% correct. Although I would like to see a Beckett for VHS or something that has actual prices or something like that. I started work on one with the average value being roughly $4 to $5 bucks for uncommon titles. Becketts can also help people complete collections. Think about it. A guide with all releases by major VHS distributors year by year. Set up like Wizard used to have in the back of their issues.

[@pearspeedruns]

I appreciate your reasoned analysis on this. I’m primarily a video game collector, and I’ve seen all the arguments in those communities over grading. Personally I think having rare cards, games, etc. graded would be kind of cool, but at this time I’d rather put my money into buying more games instead of grading services.

[@samsdrive-in]

The first thing I do when I get my 4k or bluray home is open it and play it. If I didn't take it out of the seal to watch it, why the hell would I buy it.

[@KKairos7]

Great video, very informative and I totally agree! Thank you for doing good for the community 👊🏼🙌🏼👏🏼

[@jamesmartinez5622]

lol I open every movie I buy while I’m in the car on the way home 😂

[@nordy259]

Same on the rare occasion I buy a new movie. 90+% of the time I buy from craigslist or a pawnshop

[@shanerollins3736]

I usually open one and keep one sealed. Also I occasionally get a few extra for trading, but that’s on a case-by-case basis.

[@robertobuatti7226]

I try to keep my movie collection as good condition as when I bought it, Been collecting movies for over 26 years on multiple formats, started out with VHS in the early 90's as a kid and collected over 1000 VHS tapes but sold them all for better formats, I would never would want my movie collection graded because the value to me is the movie it's not about how much I can get for it.

[@m.dorado6966]

I remember when VHS first came out, movies were selling between $50 to $80. I bought a opened box demo Panasonic unit at the PX for $500 and thought it was steal cuz everything else was starting at $750 and as high as $1,500. Clubs were formed to pool money together so members could build their libraries. I paid $20 for a blank VHS to record three movies. Don't ask me about the picture quality. Lol

[@robertobuatti7226]

@@m.dorado6966 I remember back in 1997 or 1998 I asked the video store owner how much to buy a copy of Face/Off on video cassette and said $300 I was thinking it was at least going to cost me $50 so I didn't get it. Movies to purchase cost quite a lot when they were new releases at the video store.

[@m.dorado6966]

@@robertobuatti7226 I bought the demo VHS player/recorder in late 1981 while stationed in Germany. Vinyl records, high end turntables, hi-fi cassette players, receivers, real to reel players, and massive stereo speakers were must haves back in the day.

[@robertobuatti7226]

@@m.dorado6966 Wow that's quite an entertainment centre.

[@m.dorado6966]

@@robertobuatti7226 VHS player story is embarrassingly true. The price I paid for it was a overseas military deep discount. It was top loaded not front loaded like today's player. Bigger, heavier with bulky oversized press down lock keys. A real relic. I wonder what kind of grading I would get (if I still had it)?

[@MrRobertHarding]

grading helps only in online sales where you aren't able to physically see in person the condition. Someone else already has, sealed it up at that condition, and given it a "Grade" so others know what the condition is. It doesn't matter what the item is, that's all grading is good for. So for collector's of whatever... be it sports cards, comics, VHS, toys, etc, that's what grading provides. The rest is a matter of supply and demand.

[@nickjebeles5601]

Good presentation and I strongly agree with all you said. The only graded items I collect are old US coins graded by NGC and PCGS which is well worth the investment for scarce coins.

[@ReelClassicFilmReviews]

Very well said mate. This whole thing is hilarious, where will it all end. Thanks for bringing it to peoples attention, we just need to vote with our wallets and not pay to grade our collection and certainly not pay over the odds for ‘graded’ physical media. Take care buddy 👍🏻💿💿

[@dustthethrift3457]

Seems that this hasn't aged well. Sealed copies are rare because nobody thought to collect them, everyone bought them to watch them then collect dust with them lol

[@aarongilmore1254]

Thank you for this!!. This is EXACTLY what I would have said. I've heard of that clamshell Disney scam before

[@pungisotu]

I saw a graded copy of Halloween II, a reissue from Goodtimes Video no less, on eBay for $100. 🤦‍♂️

[@dubbzysmoviecorner2773]

I completely agree with u. I think it's ridiculous. Movies are meant to be enjoyed, not graded and put away on a shelf somewhere. I love my movie collection but I know it's not gonna make me rich someday. I hope this doesn't become a popular thing to do. All I can say is wow.

[@AdamLovesHorror]

This is your opinion. By this logic why would anyone want to collect any sort of cards? You can argue that you don't play with the card, it's in a case if it has any kind of value, and it's printed on cardboard. The market dictates what people will pay for things.

[@shorty332]

My hard earned money will never be wasted on something as that. I came close to spending 60 bucks on a blu-ray of Dutch but that was it.

[@RobsShinyDex]

Guy on Pawn Stars "I have a Home Alone Graded VHS. I want $200" Rick - Best I can do is $4

[@HandiMatic127]

I'm always trying to sort out how you organize your movies in the background. Are you doing alphabetical? I always try to sort by genre and then within each genre I organize by same director, actor, sequels, etc. Or just my favorites within that genre. Can you do a video on organization options and tips?

[@lunamonkey]

He explained it in a previous clip. It’s categorised around different genres, box types, collections, and subject to shelf size. So pretty random to a casual observer.

[@dylanrogers7419]

He doesn't do completely alphabetical for the entire collection but does keep the A's together and the B's together, etc.

[@cable30]

I think everyone organize it different if ocd or anything else . can do it in so many ways so can find a movie u wana see and what it pertains to at time. can have it one way then may wanna change it later so it easier find later.

[@Celtpjs34stone34]

Getting movies graded makes NO SENSE! Video Games make more sense (I still think its ridiculous because I buy games to PLAY them) to me because most games get released physically in their original form once. Movies can be re-released on SUPERIOR physical formats. If you want to collect something for a movie would be to get like a 35mm film roll of a classic movie or props and posters from the original release.

[@20rileybob]

This reminds me of my step mom and all her antiques and nic nacs she says are soooo valuable. Not sure how popular that stuff is in the younger generations, but like my dad and I say, things are only as valuable as someone else is willing to pay for it. Nobody wants it, not worth anything. As much as VHS hold a special place in my heart, thrift stores and good wills are apparently sitting on a GOLD MINE

[@williamwalker8201]

One of these companies was promoting a bootlegged VHS of Seed Of Chucky. Someone just took the dvd cover and resized it to make a fake vhs slipbox. They didn't even try to replace the DVD logos with VHS logos

[@giles852002]

I 100% agree with you. It’s a pointless idea. You can grade the case etc but as you said, what if the tape/disc is mouldy or damaged? It becomes worthless. I’m tempted to buy cheap Laserdiscs just to frame as art work & put on the wall.

[@krosan606]

What people also forget about grading. Let’s say a movie is worth $1,000 and it’s graded 5 out of 10. That tells a buyer it’s only worth $500 now and an investor will only pay $200 max for that. Grading many times actually decreases value. Plus the cost of grading should never be even close to 10% of the projected value let alone 50%, you loose that much in your initial investment by buying a grading score. Grading is for items in the $10K range etc and mostly for authentication because the score almost always hurts the value.

[@gizmoitaliano554]

Completely agree with you Jeff, the value of any item is based on supply and demand....the item is scarce and a lot of people want it the value increases and then the condition of the item also impacts value. Movies, music, books, comics are all items that are readily available. When a new media format emerges, the vast majority of titles are rereleased in the new format, so the supply never really diminishes and therefore the value remains the same or decreases. The only exceptions would be where there was something truly unique about a past release that helps it maintain some value (packaging, special feature, special edit, etc) or instances where a title isn't rereleased in the latest media format. Video games titles aren't quite the same situation, since more often than not they are not rereleased for the latest console format, therefore the supply remains limited, once a console is retired its games go out of print and eventually dies off with it (very sad).....therefore its easier to justify the increase in value of certain video games.

[@RenePeraza]

I own three limited-edition laserdisc box sets in near-mint condition: numbered edition of The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980 (told in chronological order - not flashback), Star Wars Trilogy: Definitive Collection - all pre 'special editions,' and T2: Judgement Day silver embossed over leatherette (silver was limited, gold was common). I know these are worth something especially because they're either numbered or pre-tinkering, etc. I don't need a grading service to tell me what I have on my shelf ;)

[@Strangestthing1]

I actually want my VHS beat up. I actually look for VHS that was a rental. Theres an energy knowing it's been played multiple times. I actually hate when my VHS is supremely fresh.

[@slick-nh7is]

Lots of good points made man 👍

[@sonnyfausel4386]

Vhs should only be worth anything if it never made it up to dvd blu ray, or 4K.

[@shanerollins3736]

Yep. John Waters, Star Wars, The Exorcist, those are the ones I can justify paying buttloads for. A pristine VHS of Home Alone in an acrylic case, that’s just a bunch of crap.

[@FernandoGastelo]

I just searched graded vhs on eBay and so some ridiculous prices. And some with 27 bids of over $60 for a graded copy of Billy Madison on VHS. There is absolutely no way in hell anybody will pay that much for that movie on VHS (and I love that movie) that’s definitely the grading company with multiple accounts bidding to create the illusion these things are worth something. So you can give them your $1 VHS movie to be graded for $65 !! Because that’s what they charge

[@coolcollects8912]

I agree with your point that it’s probably not a good idea to grade physical media..as an economist though value is not inherently based on scarcity, that’s just half of the equation, it’s based on supply and demand..if there’s a million of something but 30 million people want it then it’s value will go up..

[@JeffRauseo]

Fair point. Supply and demand definitely matters. It could be the rarest VHS out there but if no one wants it, it’s worthless.

[@eddieegan9887]

Great points. Glad you are trying to protect people against scams.

[@dertodesking8379]

I had no idea this is a thing LOL! So dumb! Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[@interstellar1962]

Greetings from England! Never knew about this grading for physical media. Seems like a scam to me. Very informative, thanks!

[@Ewong251]

The analogy I can make comparing grading movies vs cards. The individual card has value due to quality and scarcity. All movies can be released later in New formats. So, grading a sealed VHS/Bluray/4k is like grading a sealed pack of baseball cards. You might have something valuable, but unable to see because it's been encased to hold its "value". It's basically just grading the packaging and how well it's held up without wear. It's not like grading the actual card, where you're grading how well the art has held up over time

[@Downhuman74]

In the 90's, my brother had a sports card collection that was valued at about $50,000 dollars -- not officially, of course, just his off-the-cuff estimation based on what he knew about them personally. And sports cards were huge back then. Card shops were easy to find -- they would compete with one another . And conventions were plentiful and massive -- there were about 4 or 5 of them held locally in our area and they always topped capacity. It was big, big business and then...all of the sudden...it wasn't. The bottom just absolutely dropped out of the sports card market. All the shops closed up. The conventions dried up. The whole thing collapsed in about 1 year's time. And my brother's collection -- into which he had already poured a considerable amount of money -- was suddenly worthless. And for longest time it was hard to pinpoint what happened but eventually it came down to what he laid out in this video -- overvaluation. People were collecting print sets that had been produced in the millions and tried to sell them off like rare items. And the thing was that people just didn't know -- there was no way to track how many of these cards had been printed.

[@daviniarobbins9298]

All bubbles burst eventually.

[@Dan-Null]

Almost 10 years ago I sold my copy of the walking dead #1 for about 1500 dollars. Before selling it I debated on getting it graded, because a graded copy sold for 10,000 dollars a few weeks before. I wasn’t expecting to get that amount, but I wanted in on this action. I decided against the grading and feel like I still made out well. Before the auction I was getting tons of offers to buy it but I held out. I felt like the grading system wasn’t worth the time or my money. Also the comic didn’t mean that much to me. I only bought it when it came out because a good friend of mine worked at a comic book store and whenever I’d visit him, he’d say read this, get this, and I just did.

[@dougdugster542]

Grading...destroyed the sports card market...total BS...manipulated market.......total insanity.....

[@alwaysemployed656]

Totally agree. I don't see any value with sealed physical medias unless it is a very rare hard to find film or music album that had very few prints made. Temperature and humidity are physical media's two worst enemies! Humidity wrecks the cardboard used to contain VHS. I've seen VHS boxes so bad from humidity, you can see the box turning to dust. Hot weather expands the tape inside VHS, then cold weather shrinks it, then hot expand, cold shrink. After so many expands and shrinks, the VHS image quality will not even be visible because the magnetic information is no longer aligned to flow with the VCR's head. Audio will be muffled. The Hot Expand And Cold Shrink also wrecks the label side of optical disks making the digital information unreadable. So, no. Investing on old physical media is a no.

[@tekkamanviper2783]

random question, when is the lord of the rings middle earth collection on 4K being released? and do you know what website i can go for more information

[@mdc5143]

Great information - thank you! 🙂

[@ian23doc]

Excellent points made about this scam, for me collecting is about having the passion and love! No monetary value can match that! Just be happy and enjoy!

[@edwardiii8409]

Well they made Conker's Bad Fur Day $200 complete Might as well make Disney Black Diamond VHS $200 and Little Mermaid itself should go for $450 because 'Penis'

[@titankooyman3638]

Well, these VHS tapes are now selling for tens of thousands of dollars a year later. Im glad I bought all the sealed copies I could while they were cheap.

[@GaryRinaldi]

The Mario Brothers vhs from the 90's seems to be a valuable investment right now and graded copies sold for alot of money.

[@MikeHorror67]

A sealed copy of the Double Dragon vhs from the 90's sold for $299 (not graded) on Ebay recently. I have a copy sealed but i also have it on blu ray so i'm never going to open it. What's going to make these "more common" type movies more valuable in the grading world is them being sealed graded copies. And watch out for the "less common" cult type stuff. They don't grade used copies (at least not yet) and just like in the comic book world, trading cards, etc people that have money to burn want the best of the best. Some vhs are almost impossible to find sealed and it will only get harder and harder to find stuff sealed even for the less rarer stuff.

[@ute_n8tve]

Ive got some basketball cards from the 90's I have put away. I just don't when I should bring them out?? Where do I get them praised or looked at?? Or is 1990s basketball cards not popular yet? Help!

[@JeffRauseo]

Send me an email. I’ll help. [e-mail]

[@chackokhan]

Shelf life. What is the use of encapsulation if an product if it no longer holds the medium? All physical media has a shelf life. I can see it with paper items like cards, comics & such to extend the life. But with mediums like CD, Blu-rays and such it you run into issues of disc rot and data loss. Another issue is that these are all copies from the original film itself. There is no true first printing on these mediums unless it’s the film itself.

[@peterpalmiotto4590]

This was the same attitude most parents had about baseball cards in the 50's and 60's, crypto in the early 2000's...how'd that work out for them? Obviously not all items "pop" in value, but for some speculators, it's worth a try. To each his own.

[@JeffRauseo]

Rarity and scarcity + nostalgia creates value. This has nostalgia, but no rarity or scarcity. You can still buy sealed VHS tapes for 50 cents at thrift stores. They produced hundreds of thousands of copies. It’s equal to the junk wax era of sports cards.

[@Dan89201]

I’d sooner take a hammer to the case of my movies and be able to watch them than put it in a sealed plastic box

[@snowatom]

I have switched to digital online purchased media, so I have no concern regarding this. My library is big now, but takes no space, and I love it.

[@thebizzle413]

Only sports card make sense to grade since you can still enjoy them. I might seal things that have nostalgic value like my Ghostbuster Genesis game since I play roms and won’t sell it. Nice to have it in a frame.

[@hamrammr1]

Great video, Jeff. Hard to believe that people would actually go for these scams. As you say - way too many copies of most DVDs and blu rays for them to ever be worth anything.

[@cable30]

Kinda how when ps3 came out and read was so many ps2 games to really worry of ps3 any. still dvd out number blu rays by or depend what movie u want on blu ray. so not all movies are on blu ray and so i get dvd and if so a combo dvd and bluray so less case to store any.

[@justcallmedan7687]

My limited edition copy of Pieces has a nudie puzzle like in the movie. I know when it came out, the puzzle alone was going for 100 bucks. Haven't checked on the price since then though.

[@daviniarobbins9298]

I would say the only physical media that might be worth collecting for as an investment would be laserdiscs. The 9 disc CAV original Star Wars trilogy box set is worth over $150 or so on eBay.

[@daviniarobbins9298]

@Jay bruno It is if you bought it at rrp in the 1990s.

[@ACommenterOnYouTube]

The bottom line is, its what the buyer is willing to pay for what he/she wants ...

[@zmbdog]

It's a hilarious misunderstanding of what collecting the format is even about. (and for all those who wonder why anyone collects VHS, here you go). VHS collecting is rooted in rental store nostalgia, particularly among those who were children in the early 80s - mid 90s. Many (like myself) basically started collecting unintentionally. When rental stores began switching over to DVD they started selling off their VHS inventory for $2-$3, and often 'buy 1 get 1 free' just to clear them out. So you'd see these tapes at the counter that you used to rent over and over and now you could BUY it for the same price you rented it at! It seemed silly _not_ to get it. Once you started buying those up you'd remember specific tapes you used to see on the shelves and you'd think "Oh I'd like to have that one". That's why horror became the dominant genre in collecting the format. They had the garish box art that we spent our childhood transfixed by basically everywhere we went. It wasn't just rental stores. Practically every gas station and grocery store in the country rented tapes. You couldn't escape them. Some collectors do watch their tapes but we don't really buy them for that purpose. They are essentially display pieces, the tape itself is of little value except to those who have the box but need to replace the tape. You might think 'Well why not have them graded if it's all about the box?'. Well, VHS was by-and-large a rental format, even after sell-through pricing became commonplace. The tapes that are most sought after generally pre-date that era anyway. They simply _do not exist_ in sealed condition because they were priced at $80-$100 and 98% of their sales were to rental outfits, not consumers and they sold out long before the format died. There is no unsold stock anywhere. So sealed VHS really isn't something collectors care about because we've never sought out such a thing. Plus, the rental store aspect is so important to some collectors that they _don't even want_ tapes that weren't actually on the shelf, available to rent somewhere. When I saw these tapes had sold on ebay for thousands, I had to laugh because it is so clearly a case of outsiders trying to do with VHS what they've done with video games recently and not at all understanding why anyone collects VHS. And they're such common titles too, I love it. There is NO collector out there who will pay 5 figures for a Friday the 13th movie, sealed or not, but if you look at 'sold' items on ebay, there they are. Big surprise it's the same couple buyers on all the tapes too. 🙄 Expect some press to drop as soon as they work up to selling themselves these tapes at $100k, just like we saw with the NES games. I just hope they fall flat on their face when they set these tapes loose rather than inspire a new breed of collectors who will actually snatch them up.

[@stevestewart6287]

I think grading for a sealed VHS tape is a total scam. It's not like a comic book, or a sports card, it's a movie on tape. With a comic book you can touch it, read it, look at all the pages, the cover, the corners, etc. Same with a sports card. When you have a sealed VHS movie all you can do is look at the box and try to figure out if the seal is from the factory. You are not grading the movie, or the quality of the play of that movie, you are just grading the box, through the plastic seal, and the actual seal. It seems shady as hell to me, and I would never waste a dime getting a sealed VHS movie graded.

[@ACommenterOnYouTube]

grading is nothing more than hope for the seller to make more $$$ on it. Me personally am NOT going to pay you $hundreds$ for a VHS tape that was "graded" when i can get the same VHS tape for $20 also NEW in box that was NOT graded.

[@Claws-kw9qn]

What do you suggest I can do with the legend of Zelda VHS tape? Still good condition?

[@ts214121]

I wonder if vintage sealed VHS tapes will become bad investments like Beanie Babies and Disney Black Diamond VHS tapes. What do you think?

[@AcevedoVideoStore]

Why would I pay $65 to grade my new and sealed "Godzilla vs Megalon" VHS tape. I could just buy plastic display case for basically less than $10.

[@Steger13]

Most of them being trashed is not that much VHS left. One thing you should collect is the HDdvd they don't produce then anymore and getting rare to find .

[@frankp8022]

I don’t see this video aging very well. That is all.

[@DriveupLife22]

As a devils advocate, I think grading could be a thing for home media when all big studios have completely ended production of the three mainstream formats (DVD, Blu and 4k) and their catalog films are streamed, seen via an oop home release or not viewed at all. Scanavo the steelbook patent holder will lobby the studios to keep releasing titles for as long as possible.

[@Lastsonkal]

Ok. But wouldn’t you be buying the physical graded movie to watch in that medium? Like why buy a physical version to just sit sealed and still stream the content anyway? The grading is really only for collectors. They only want something that’s “valuable “ they don’t care about the content.

[@misterkeebler]

@@Lastsonkal i agree. If there were any physical media rush after production was widely cut, it would be people scrambling to buy copies for viewing, which would largely be used copies in nice condition, or maybe sealed if necessary. People wouldn't want to pay a premium for a graded copy of a movie they want to watch. So yeah like you said, graded and sealed would only be sought by a very select group of collectors.

[@dalethelander3781]

I thought that movies and tv series collections would transition from discs to thumb drives.

[@brittyn]

I don’t even have to watch this whole video to know the idea is dumb!

[@stingraytf2]

Jeff makes several very good points in this video. Another great video Jeff.👏 Let me add just a little more to what Jeff said to drive home his points. Grading of baseball cards has many advantages. Sealing then in a case does slow down the aging process. Authentication also adds great value to the card collector and the industry in general. Many fake cards and especially signatures were flooding the market years ago. Grading stopped most of that. Now on to "grading" VHS tapes. This is a total con job and a scam and here is why. The Grading company claims to "authenticate" the VHS tape. But how can this ever be done if they never look at the actual tape? When a baseball card is graded and authenticated, the entire card is looked at, nothing is left out. When a VHS tape is graded, only the box is being graded and authenticated. The actual tape inside may be totally unplayable because of bad storage, a magnet placed near it, the tape could be a bootleg copy or even just a blank tape! You are willing to pay $65 bucks to have a VHS box graded and sealed? The only thing being graded is the box. Is there really a market for graded VHS boxes? Will people in the future think that VHS boxes are works of art and will be willing to pay top dollar for them? Or is the true art work the Movie? The sealing method used will do nothing to protect or extend the life of the tape inside the box. This very poor "grading" service will most likely increase the likelihood that you will have a bootleg copy in your collection. Knockoff artists will quickly see how easy it is to fool the grading company and flood the market with fakes. The most difficult part to fake or copy is the tape which is not even visually looked at during grading. Again, when a baseball card or a comic book is graded, the entire product is viewed and fully inspected. Not true in the case of VHS tape grading. You are just throwing your money down the drain and may even be doing a disservice to the media collector anytime you get a VHS graded...

[@miketapia4527]

@@donjonbovi3840 I see people throwing $65 away. It's got to be the most ridiculous thing I've seen

[@bathombre9739]

They are selling for thousands because of shill bidding

[@JohnSmith-zl8rz]

9:51 that's exactly how movies niche works! are so different than others, when a new release has a new better transfer, people sell the old one, is totally different on music, games or others.

[@shaunspins]

I wonder if betamax and laserdisc will be next. The comics worth something are rare since not many around or made it from 50-60s. Some of these vhs as you spoke on sold a ton of copies.

[@decalsbycoy]

I have sealed VHS but no way I will get those graded. I have it because I love them to keep and reminds me of my childhood :)

[@ACommenterOnYouTube]

Amen When family comes over, they are like, WHY do you still have a VCR and VHS tapes, and i am like because it reminds me of my childhood that i don't want to loose. Unlike the others that throw everything away and move with technology, i am all for technology BUT i am also for nostalgia.

[@deesvintage1282]

Is there a way to check pop reports for rare vhs tapes ?