Well that's quite the scam then isn't it. Charge people a bunch of money for an opinion, an acrylic case, and a piece of tape.
That sums up the whole idea for me pretty well. I think it functions on the assumption that the AFA at least has half a clue, which they probably do, so you get a figure pretty close to what you're expecting. Me, I'd rather pay a lot less from an auction with good pictures, but whatever.
Plus I don't trust AFA. A guy I know pretty well from the snowtroopers board sent in his Toy Fair Vader to be graded and is absolutely certain that the one they sent back wasn't his it graded so low. And this guy isn't an amateur or new collector either. He grades honestly and reasonably and has been collecting for a very long time. Quite the vintage collection as well. So basically AFA scammed at least one person out of a figure and I'd bet they do it more often than we'd like.
How's that for casting (largely) unfound aspersions?