here is a link to them:

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=ghostbusters+afa&_sacat=0&_trksid=p3286.m270.l1313&_sop=3&_odkw=ghostbusters&_osacat=0

What's “AFA”?

Action Figure Authority

But looking at that picture… of the $100 figure… of which I paid $30… the only difference is that little certificate on the top of the box. My action figure may not be certified by some authority, but I'm happy with it none-the-less.

It is a professional toy grading company. They check that the figure is authentic, that it hasn't been tampered with, assign a grade and then case it into a tamper free acrylic protective case so that the condition is preserved. I can't tell you how many people out there think they have factory sealed toys and they really don't. They have been doubled taped, inked to cover up the toy previously being open, things that many people wouldnt think to ask about or notice. I love the service and in the collectable market, ensuring the quality of the toy increases its value tremendously. Their website is www.toygrader.com.

Kingpin;157334
What's “AFA”?

LOL, Classic

I honestly didn't know what it was.

Although now I do, it just seems a tad shady and even more silly, like an excuse for some sellets to lump on a couple of extra zeros on the price (not saying anyone here does that).

Oops, sorry about that.
The “What's AFA?” line is often used as a joke on some forums. I totally agree with you though, the price AFA graded figure is often out of this world. Mostly because it cost a lot to have them graded. But some sellers suffers from the “AFA fever”, which result, as you mentionned, in adding a few zeros to the real market value of an item.

I've been out of touch for a little while, but Cloud City Collectibles' owners are behind AFA. I'm not saying that this is shady, but still, we can't deny that it smells like a conflict of interest…

Good luck with your auctions, but I don't think anyone is going to be $200 for a Fearsome Flush figure that is frankly on eBay fairly often, just because some company grades it as a 9.0 condition.

Fearsome Flush is not a popular figure to begin with… Its not like we're talking about the GB's themselves here. The GB's MOC usually go for the $200 price range on the high end… Just cuz this comes with a hard plastic shell does not mean its suddenly going to sky rocket in value to $200.

The fearsome flush isnt my auction. I posted my figures several weeks back (about 20), all of which sold off of ebay to mostly to private collectors, and the few that didnt I am goig to relist, I have many new ones as well.

Cloud City collectables is actually owned by Brians Toys now and so I am not sure they have anything to do with AFA any longer.

With regards to AFA figures, its really personal taste. High end collectors, meaning people who insure their collections, have them appraised etc, and have thousands and thousands of dollars worth of toys, dont just use AFA for the grading, even we dont agree sometimes, but the casing, authentication, and preservation techniques are really a major factor. For those who want more zeroes, that really only happens on really high end figures, items like fearsome flush as an example (auction in question) have been up on ebay for over a year now, re-listed over and over. For the casual collector, AFA probably isnt worth it, but the older a toy gets, the less chance there is of finding one in stellar shape, as the die hard collectors get them graded, casual folks often open them and store them loose, and any others just get held on to and often get damaged or lose value due to wear.

Anyways, like I said, its all personal taste. Fyi also, AFA has competitors now as well that do Action Figure grading…..