That's unacceptable. How is that not caught? How does someone let that go out the door? There can't be any quality control, given that is not uncommon. If that were the exception, it could be marked down as isolated human error. But, with virtually everyone getting submissions back with issues, there can't be any type of quality process.
If it were isolated, they wouldn't be coming out with a policy like they have here. They are hemorrhaging money (errrrr...gluttonous profit) on ME (paying shipping, materials, etc.). They are trying to stop the bleeding and have no other ideas on how to make that happen.
Having studied organizations and run operations for a very long time at a very high-level with a terminal degree for the same on the horizon, I'll say this as fact. These inconsistencies and quality issues are just what we see, but there are others. There are serious breakdowns in process happening at CGC (which comes from poor leadership). Heck, just look at the way they track cycle-time. Cycle-time starts from the point when they open the package? Serious? How is that my experience as a customer? The cycle-time of a firm should represent the experience of the consumer when you publish it to convey to the customer how long something should take, not your internal garbage processes. How do they not see this? No one cares about how long it takes Johnny from the point at which he opens the package. They care about it from the point you got the package until when you sent it out. That's a firm more concerned about themselves than their consumers. Period.
My next batch of books are going someplace else. If anyone thinks that the grading, book storage and protection, or anything else at CGC is being run effectively and consistently, you are delusional. You don't wet the bed this consistently on quality of cases and nail everything else. It just doesn't work that way with organizations. I remember the old days when we used to joke on these forums about the grading company that was being paid for grades or swapping books out. Well, how far we have come. I no longer trust CGC.