Action Figure Authority
AFA is the abbreviated name of the Action Figure Authority, the first company to offer a toy-grading service in which the graded toy is placed in a sealed acrylic display box. The sealed acrylic box of AFA-graded toys is intended to keep the toy safe from future wear and tear. The label on side or back of an AFA-graded Transformer's acrylic case contains identifying information for the toy (such as the figure's name, the toy line, etc.), the overall grade given to it by AFA, and where applicable, the three subgrades (box/card, window/bubble, and figure).
Although AFA's grading scale ranges from 0 to 100 at increments of 5 units, typically AFA-graded Transformers score between 60 and 90 for their overall grade, with a large concentration around 80. The exact process by which the overall grade is determined is unknown, but it is always either the lowest of the 3 subgrades or 5 units higher than that. Thus, two figures with the exact same subgrades may receive different overall grades. (E.g., if two different figures receive subgrades of 85 box, 90 window, and 90 figure, then one may receive an overall grade of 85--the lowest subgrade, and the other may receive a 90--the lowest subgrade plus 5.) In addition to the grade on the label, there may also be a "Y" or "U" after the grade, meaning "yellowed" or "uncirculated" (i.e., from an unopened case), respectively.
AFA only grades toys that are either MOSC, MISB, or MIB with unopened internal bubble and unopened accesory/paperwork baggies. AFA will not grade items that are double-taped or look like they have been resealed. However, AFA will grade double-taped items if they come in an unopened sealed case. AFA will also grade completely unused toys if they never originally came sealed, such as certain Microman and Diaclone toys.
AFA-grading can be relatively expensive, but it also tends to increase the value of a Transformers toy significantly, particularly if it is in good condition and it is either an old toy or a popular character. On eBay, some of the most expensive Transformers toys are those that are AFA-graded, selling for as much as several thousand US dollars.
Despite being the first and most well known company to offer this grading and casing service, AFA has made and continues to make mistakes when grading Transformers toys:
- AFA has and continues to grade licensed 1990's Chinese Generation 1 Transformers consistently as the original 1980's US and European versions because the packaging is almost identical.
- AFA has mistakenly graded knockoff Beachcombers as originals, and then later, incorrectly again as 1990's Chinese reissues.
- AFA has mistakenly graded a resealed Masterforce Browning with stickers applied as a MISB toy.
Recently, other companies have begun offering the same service as AFA. CSG (Collector Source Grading), located in South Carolina, offers the same service, but with a more intricate grading system, whereby there are 6 subgrades averaged together to create the overall grade. UK Graders offers the same service, but with an additional "rarity" rating.
Among the Transformers community, much controversy exists over AFA-graded toys. While some collectors appreciate the service for preserving their MISB toys and assigning a grades to their toys, other collectors take issue with AFA for various reasons, including what they observe to be inconsistent grading, the aforementioned flubs, the high prices, or simply because they believe toys were meant to be opened, not sealed away forever in an acrylic "prison".
