Message posted on SWF by Steve the owner of UKG -

"Hi everyone

We would like to just inform everybody that UK Graders will no longer be U grading Vintage carded figures or Baggies.
I know we did have rules when it came to U grading items anyway, so it is time to make the decision to stop U grading, However we will still U grade modern items due to mass production and we will also U grade Mailers i.e plain white box mailers and Brown Sears Mailers ect but the baggies inside will not be U graded.
This is with immediate effect on any orders being placed from 27-02-2015 but we will honour any orders that we currently have in for grading if they meet the criteria.

Could people please share this information with other forums.

Steve."

Great news! Thanks for sharing Frank.

That's great news. Now if AFA will follow suit.

That's brilliant news!    Didn't think I'd see this day come so soon. Kudos to UKG for finally ditching profit made by the destructive U-Grade. Bit contentious they're still going to U-Grade mailers but at least not the baggies inside. Just need AFA to have the sense to follow suit now.

very good news indeed, personally I don't get the whole U-grade thing anyway.

I think it's a great idea but I have to wonder if it'll actually decrease the amount of figures getting opened. I still imagine people will pull the bubbles up and send them in

If they do that from my understanding they wouldn't be considered a U-grade as AFA needs to open them personally if I understand it correctly

No, I get that part. I just meant that I wonder if people will shoot for high grades by just pulling figs off the card and then sending them in.

Personally I think the allure of the "U" was the impetus. So I hope not

Got ya I could understand a person removing a figure from a card and sending it in, I mean it is their item and they can do with it as they chose it's much the same as us taking a vintage figure and customizing it, Some would think it's wrong to destroy a Boba Fett or a Blue Snaggletooth but the person who owns it my not really care or has a few of them.

I don't like the idea of a third party doing it though as the grade they give is way off like a U85 differs from an 85 in only the fact it was removed from a card, and that is suppose to make it more in cost. Sorry an 85 is an 85 I don't care what letter you put in front of it.

I agree with the services stopping th u grade and am definitely not a fan of the u grading practice. I am happy with that. What I don't get is the people calling for banning the sale of them in the forum. They exist......as much as we wish they did not, they do. I am not a fan of telling people how they have to collect, nor what to collect. Don't get me wrong, I will give an opinion when asked, but ultimately it is the choice of the individual. I say if they are out there and want to sell them the. Let them sell them on. Why stick people with fewer avenues to get rid of them. The problem lies with the grading companies. They created a desire for these products that they never should have created. The desire to have "untouched" figures came from this grading technique.

I should preface this by saying I have one graded figure and it happens to be a u grade. I did not even notice it was a ugrade when I bought it. I saw a top toys stormtrooper and it was cheap so I grabbed it up, only later did I even notice the ugrade. funny thing is it was cheaper than any ungraded top toys trooper I saw which is why I got it. I still have it in my collection and don't plan on moving it ever, but if I did want to move it along I would hope I could offer it up in the forums where someone may appreciate the top toys line instead of being forced to throw it on eBay. Again I am glad they are quitting this grading practice and hope AFA follows suit, but I see no reason a forum should ban the sale of them. If you don't want them then pass on buying. To me if I see an 85, u85, and loose mint looking ungraded for the same price I am going to go for the loose as that is what I collect. If this talk of banning them in the forums goes on and demand for them goes down though they may fall in a price range lower than a loose comparable figure and honestly I would buy them as I don't see why I should pay more for a loose in the same shape. I don't know if that will happen, but it did with that stormtrooper as nobody seemed to want it so it was lower than a loose one.

Good news for sure.
I doubt the cash hungry AFA will follow, but at least there is one less source for this moving forward!

cheers!

Funny little update though not unexpected, just spoke to Steve & its seems he is getting a few emails from disgruntled customers saying now he is not doing U grading they will be taking their business to AFA instead, so no matter what is done by one grading company, if others will not follow suit its still going to be going on, be great to hear AFA picking up the batton & doing the right thing to,fingers crossed they will consider making a chance for the better.

Wonder if thy will buckle to the pressure? If afa doesn't quit u grading then will ukg take it back up in order to compete? I wish they would both stop, but remember these are both businesses with people that they need to pay.

trappedtexan wrote:

Wonder if thy will buckle to the pressure?  If afa doesn't quit u grading then will ukg take it back up in order to compete?  I wish they would both stop, but remember these are both businesses with people that they need to pay.  

Steve has told me he will not go back on this decision & after dealing with him for many years online & face to face I trust his word.