Sand1man

Thank you for your interest !!! I've over-extended my welcome here - this is David's thread. I'll consider starting a new one!

Books were in a bag with board - no tape - stopped using tape on bags 20 years ago.

KirbyTown - "Regardless, if you happen to have a scan or photo of the slab I would love to check it out for the area they might be referencing." There's nothing to post. CGC and I agree - the pre-graded book and post-graded book look "exactly" the same - posting a photo of a book that had no tape on (ever) does nothing. The question is, why did the grader make the remark at all? David I'm done. I'll start my own thread on this if required. But hang in there, hopefully things will turn-around for you in the future!

Just a follow up here. This is not a case of tape being on a book, then removed, and the cover losing some ink. This is a case of tape being on the book when received amd removed by the grader. Apparently, CGC has photos of submissions and can "see" if a book was damaged or not - which - is why an investigattion was to be conducted. The pre-graded book and post-graded book looked exactly the same! No tape. They, CGC, were at a lost as to why the grader even made the remark....as was I !

Incorrent. During my phone call, CGC remarked "tape pulled from cover" and that the matter will be investigated. Nevertheless - there never was any tape in the 1st place.

My apologies to David for hogging his thread - and I still believe your original post is correct. First - thehumantorch. There is way too much experience in this thread to debate pressing. Like most, I know poor, average and very good pressers: I know cheap, average and expensive pressing machines/techniques - But So What? Its only my opinion. CGC on the other hand is a different matter. Again, like many, I've called CGC on their grading, multiple times, and lately literally - on the phone - twice, two different people. They told me they were going to "investigate." That was nearly 60 days ago - no reply I offered presubmission pics (which can be a problem from CGC's point-of-view (and I respect that)) - but they weren't interested. Fine. But David, whom this thread concerns, made many valid points about CGC's inconsistencies and I agree with him. My little community of collectors are having serious problems with CGC grading consistency. We've even submitted two (2) of the same book (new - purchased from the distributor) [nearly identical] untouched by human-hands and received different grades (2 points!), different notes (finger presses, etc.), and explanations on why it turned out that way (e.g., different graders have different opinions, etc.). The only consistent factor is money: When multiple books were submitted and the bill was thousands of dollars the results were MORE than great! Consistently! We even thought a few of those books "were gifts" in grading. But when under 10 books were sumbitted and/or resubmitted with lower invoices - the grades were beyond belief LOW - Consistently! When CGC went under new management and hired new graders, many of them couldn't hold a candle to the original crew. Lastly, the old crew gave GREAT advice on how to improve your books to raise the current grade or on future submissions. Not now! Wam-Bam-Thank-You-Mam - that's it. Its sad CGC has come to this. Our little community continued to cater to CGC's new regime (though now 8 out of 10 have moved on!) in the hope something would change...it hasn't. I am one of the last to believe (In my circle) there's hope for CGC. Lastly, as an aside, in my little circle, many didn't/don't have book graded for money/resale. They're gifts to families and extended families - to enjoy for many years to come. So, I disagree, facts........rarely........matter. 2nd - KirbyTown. I am posting a screen shot of the Note that is suppose to be under "investigation." Conclusion - So David, please forgive me hogging your thread. It was not my intent. But I believe you got the raw end of the deal - and you're not alone! Different people have diferent opinions and things change over time. That's life. But as they say in poker, I'd rather be lucky than good - and so it is with CGC grading.

David As you know, pressing and pressers are two different things. The results from pressing(s) are equally subjective. Pressing use to make a book more valuable years ago! Now it seems pressing(s) reduces its value. But I agree with you about the CGC notes - if the notes are useless why give them? I know CGC, in its explanations, declares Notes are unrelated to the Grade....really?.... E.g., when my books came back the Notes remarked "Tape Removed" from from cover....there NEVER was any tape on the front cover!....but according to CGC there was !!!! And it showed in a lower Grade to boot ! I think CGC, overall, is only about 30% as good as it use to be. Anyway, don't let the Notes bother you. Just make a decision if you want to "Gamble" with CGC again or not - because Facts don't seem to matter much to them. Hey, but you could always get lucky if you put in a Very Large Order.....which seems to work for many of the collectors I personally know... Nonetheless, David, I agree with your 1st post !!!

I take all my books to other trusted collectors for review and analysis. Every precaution is taken: gloves, temperature, no book stacking, etc. We compare prior graded books, newer graded books, grader notes, before/after submission photos, and even examples from this chat board! The conclusions are clear, CGC is NOT what it was when it comes to quality and accuracy - and that's a shame. One of my books was reported to have "tape removed" from the cover (in the grader notes) - but CGC was not interested in my pre-sumsission photos that showed NO TAPE on the book !!! I was hoping with CGC's new ownership and increased numbers of graders that things would improve. Still, I know some folks, where CGC has treated them fairly, even "more than fairly" with no major conflicts of any kind. But I would never send an expensive book to CGC for grading, etc., - once-bitten-twice-shy. I thought I could trust them - I was wrong! My advice would be to execute private trades/sales of raw books - if you can.

Absolutely Yes. I've sent in 26 books - 8 have returned - all 8 have "finger bends!" I am seriously reconsidering my grading options as this was the "least" of my "concerns" in re grading and book handling! Plus, "finger bends" come in Light, Moderate, Heavy and Extreme LEVELS from what I am seeing with my returns and other collectors returns - with whom I compare with all the time! Maybe "visible-light reflections" will be next? Its to the point that no one can really tell what a potential grade "may be" because the criteria are becoming so vague, inconsistent and erroneous, that its just a shoot! Lots of room for improvement here...not mention the $$$ loss due to this ....well...you know...