skybolt

On 4/11/2022 at 9:02 AM, Poekaymon said:

Could be they are tougher now, though I haven’t seen that in my own submissions. It could also just be regression to the mean and bandwagoning. If you flip a coin long enough, at some point you’ll get tails 20 times in a row. It’s not necessarily a conspiracy—it’ll still be very close to 50-50 in the long run. You might just be flipping tails at the moment. 

I think this is true for books that are borderline. With the 6 submissions I mentioned, I would say 75% of the borderline books came back with a lower grade (which is understandable), but I was still batting around 90-95% on books I was sure would come back as 9.8. With the 2 other submissions, even the slam dunk 9.8 candidates were coming back as 9.6. 

On 4/9/2022 at 1:30 PM, jjfversion1 said:

Just got grades back on 50 slow track modern books that were received on 12/7

Out of 50 books, 35 of them I thought were either slam dunk 9.8s or were coin flip 9.6/9.8.

Based on my track record with previous subs, my accuracy is around 2/3 or 66% on books like this coming back 9.8.

I was sad to see that this time around, my accuracy was closer to 33% as I only received 10 9.8 copies total.

I wonder if the stricter grading on modern books is to deter more of them being sent in a time where CGC is drowning in submissions? If that is the case, I won’t be sending in any more books until I notice that grading eases up a bit.

 

I was talking to my local comic store owner and mentioned the same the thing to him. He said he submits books for many customers and wishes the change in grades was due to tightened grading across the board. Unfortunately, his customers are seeing the same thing we're seeing here, which is one submission graded consistently with how CGC has been doing it for years, while the other one gets hammered.

For example, I've gotten 8 submissions graded over the past 2 months. I'm batting between 50-60% for 9.8 graded books with 6 submissions and around 7% with the other 2.

On 4/7/2022 at 7:22 PM, AGGIEZ said:

Mine went from GEI to G/QC to Shipped in the matter of a few hours today. You should be close…expect a bunch of 9.8s graded as 9.6s…

Yeah, I've learned from previous submissions is that when books move from SFG (after sitting at CGC for months) to Shipped in a matter of hours, it's never a good sign. Same thing happened to me last time.

On 4/7/2022 at 3:16 PM, dikran1 said:

Value grades were very fair. Within a grade up or down as expected for most. A couple 2-3 grades higher than expected 👍

Modern was utterly baffling…

Was the modern grading completely off from what you expected?

CGC just replied to an inquiry regarding my 4/11 received CCS submission. Apparently the books are currently being pressed with only a couple remaining. We'll see.

On 4/6/2022 at 3:40 PM, skybolt said:

The other 12/6 submission went to G/E/I. The first one is now in Grading Quality Control.

One of the two slow modern 12/6 submissions just shipped.

Best case scenario was 23 - 9.8's and 2 - 9.6's. Got back 14 - 9.8's, 5 - 9.6's, 5 - 9.4's and 1 - 9.2. No grader notes.

Honestly, after only getting 3 of 43 books graded as 9.8's with my last 2 submissions, I'll take these results.

On 4/6/2022 at 9:20 AM, skybolt said:

I'm really sorry to hear that.

On a side note, one of my two 12/6 slow modern submissions just went to G/E/I. In the past, having only half the books come back as 9.8's would be a major disappointment. These days I would take that in a heartbeat.

The other 12/6 submission went to G/E/I. The first one is now in Grading Quality Control.

On 4/5/2022 at 7:56 PM, Tnexus said:

9.4. These are moderns I've submitted before (same comic, different copies) and got 9.8s pretty much across the board.

I'm really sorry to hear that.

On a side note, one of my two 12/6 slow modern submissions just went to G/E/I. In the past, having only half the books come back as 9.8's would be a major disappointment. These days I would take that in a heartbeat.

On 4/5/2022 at 1:16 PM, Tnexus said:

Well I'm terrified of my books coming back. I just got the bill finally for a Modern Pre-screen from Nov 11th. 10 Pre-screen rejects out of 39. Books were submitted long enough ago that I have specific grades for each book, and I was very generous for the pre-screen grades just so they wouldn't grade anything they damaged. All pressed by Joeypost and hand delivered. They've been stuck in Grading/QC for 12 days now. Hoping they ship by tomorrow finally.

What was you minimum grade requirement?

I see that CCS TAT's have gone down from 281 business days to 247. On of my 4/11 received submissions is currently sitting at 255 business days from day delivered. Just wondering if anyone else is still in the same boat.

On 4/1/2022 at 9:23 AM, J RANDALL said:

Just got back a 44 pre-screen with 16 rejects.  Never have I had so many not pass.  I can't even see why they were rejected, they look perfect and I usually only get 1 or 2, and then it's pretty obvious why.  I also noticed the return of the Newton Rings, which I thought they had taken care of but almost every single book had one.

Really sorry to hear that. I just feel like some of these new graders are grading 9.8 books as borderline 9.9's.  In the past, I would have about 70% of my books pressed (with the rest going straight to grading). Moving forward I may just go 90% pressed. I don't want to take any chances with a new grader downgrading a 30-40 year old book because the spine is not perfectly flat like recent modern books.

On 4/1/2022 at 6:48 AM, Petroman said:

Out of curiosity were they all the same tier/speed?  My last MODERN SLOW got horrible grades.  My last MODERN FAST got expected grades.  Wondering if they are maybe giving the books you pay more to grade to the experienced graders and the cheap stuff to the newbies...

The last 2 submissions that received extremely low grades were slow modern. As soon as they went from SFG to G/E/I to Grading/QC to shipped in a matter of 2 hours, I had a bad feeling. 

In all honesty I would understand it more if CGC tightened their grading across the board, than sitting on pins and needles hoping for an experienced person to grade your books. 

On 3/31/2022 at 8:13 AM, irishcritic said:

Value Tier

Shipped to CGC 5/17/2021

Received 7/18/2021

Got them back in the mail yesterday 5/30/2022. I know this isn't the place for grading issues just TAT, but after my last 2 subs I believe I'm done for the foreseeable future. Seems like TAT is the least of the concerns..... Light creasing to cover light finger bend to cover 6.5 Light creasing to cover, light spine stress lines to cover 7.0 no color breaking..... WTF??????? complete waste of money and a year..........

It's definitely a case by case basis. Over the past 2 months I've gotten back 7 submissions. The first 2 were pressed and graded to perfection. The next 3 submissions were graded somewhat harshly, but consistent with how CGC has graded books in the past when they tighten the screws a bit. However, my last 2 submissions were likely graded by someone using a completely different criteria than all the previous submissions. For example, on average, 75-80% of books are graded to match or exceed what I was expecting. Worst case scenario, I'm about 50% correct. The last 2 submissions came back with only 3 out of 43 books graded as 9.8. I inspected all the books and still can't figure out how most of them didn't get a 9.8 grade. 

On 3/30/2022 at 3:00 PM, dikran1 said:

25 Modern slow

Received and SFG 12-9-2021

GEI 03-30-2022 

That's good news for my two 12/6 received submissions.

On 3/22/2022 at 1:43 PM, Jaywalker0 said:

At this point you can discuss your books like a wine vintage....

"Ah, 2021 submission. A wetter harvest that led to a piquant finish."

Honestly, after getting obliterated with the grading for the last couple of submissions, CGC has finally managed to keep me from becoming too antsy about receiving my books back. At this point I'm all on board with the no news is good news mentality.

Wow, CCS pressing for slow modern is now at 281 business days, and they still haven't reached the late April / early May price change submission period. I may have to change my prediction from 300 to 400 business days.

On 3/17/2022 at 3:00 PM, NewWorldOrder said:

However their fries are sub-par.

If you combine McDonalds fries with them you have perfection! 

Burger King fries are the worst.

On 3/16/2022 at 3:08 PM, NewWorldOrder said:

 

I assume CGC will keep raising their prices every year now till they see a slow down in CGC submissions

Which I have to admit I would raise my prices as well every year if the demand is there. 

The goal of every single for profit business = make as much profit as you can without losing business. 

I agree that if the submissions keep coming, the market will adjust for the higher grading fees, just like it did when EBay started charging sales tax. Heck, I remember the old days when grading cost $12 per book (after a 20% dealer discount), but still had a hard time moving some of the run of the mill 9.8 books for more than $30. Nowadays I can easily get $50 for those types of books.

The only thing that could impact higher prices is inconsistent grading. If CGC's approach moving forward is to keep accepting more submissions (while hiring and training new inexperienced staff), the quality could suffer, which would result in lower returns for sellers. 

On 3/16/2022 at 6:05 PM, Tnexus said:

It's possible some of the books got creased on or at the way to CGC. One of my submissions in the past came back with about five books with a crease all in the exact spot.

I honestly like the old days where a CGC representative would call and ask if I still wanted to grade some books that were damaged during shipping. Nowadays it's just like an assembly line. Just keep everything moving along the conveyor.

On 3/13/2022 at 9:05 PM, optimal_max said:

My feelings exactly.  It wasn't long ago I was spot on with grades, and now I can't believe what I get back.  We are paying more now, for lower quality grading.  I'm seeing grader notes "light spine stress" and looking at a spine that is smoother than smooth. I have another book with no spine stresses noted and there are multiple obvious stresses (which by the way were NOT there when I sent the book in) and it's a 9.6.   I also bought a CGC 9.8 book recently that shouldn't have graded a 6.0.  3 corners were all sorts of bent (no damage to case which means they let it slide). <--- Stuff like this makes me think bigger retailers get preferential grades.

Same here. Like I mentioned in a previous post, these new graders seem to be grading 80's and 90's books like they were printed yesterday. I have plenty of 80's and 90's 9.8 books in my collection that don't have perfectly flat spines and have one slightly rounded corner. Also, I've gotten some 8.0's recently for scuff marks along the spine. In the past CGC would grade these as 9.6's or 9.8's, taking into consideration edge wear when books were shipped to dealers in boxes.

On 3/10/2022 at 11:48 AM, Wheresmymarvelvaluestamp said:

100% Agree. However, for most people there is just too big of a gap between CGC and CBCS. They just take the bad customer service and continue submitting. I started sending books to CBCS but the wait times are just as bad for slow submissions. To be honest I just do not see a better option. I think if there was a truly better option people would start to move. This is the perfect time for a competitor to gain market share but apparently everybody has problems getting books out in a reasonable amount of time. My personal belief is that books should be graded within 3 months no matter the tier. Until a company can promise that then they are all similar in my opinion.

I honestly would prefer it more if CGC stopped accepting new submissions for a certain period of time (until they were close to catching up) over hiring new graders and having to train them on the fly. At the end of the day I prefer consistency over anything else.

On 3/9/2022 at 5:03 PM, Petroman said:

Exactly what I was thinking!  I was pretty spot on with my modern (1990+) book grading estimates for many years, 90% accurate anyway.  Until 2021 came along.  Then that dropped to maybe 50-60%%, and normally in the wrong direction.  This has made submitting modern books much riskier, so I'm taking a break for awhile.  I'll let someone else's books be the training fodder for the new CGC graders.

It's super inconsistent. I understand if CGC got stricter across the board, but the last 7 submissions I received (mostly 80's and 90's books) are all over the board with the level of grading. Same goes with CCS pressing. Some lots are pressed to perfection, while others leave a lot to be desired.

In a round about way, I do agree with NewWorldOrder. If CGC feels compelled to hire and train new staff because everyone and their grand mother is submitting books (this includes me), then we have to prepare ourselves for inconsistent grading. I still don't understand how this could happen if 3 people are grading the books. The last grader should always be someone with experience.

On 3/8/2022 at 11:56 AM, Petroman said:

This is the crux of it.  Its unlikely that the the submitter's expected grades have gotten that much looser as many have posted on this forum that they have seen lower grades.  Much more likely that the new graders at CGC are still learning the ropes and seem to err on the side of caution.  What this means for many people such as you (and myself) is that it may not be the best time to submit books that you are expecting 9.8's on as there is a much higher chance that you will see many 9.6's and 9.4's.  As you state, this makes the book both harder to sell and/or less desirable for your collection.  And if you do sell it, you will likely sell it at or close to cost.  I've effectively paused my submissions over the last 9 months in the hopes that TATs will decrease and that grading will normalize.  In the meantime I see many good opportunities to buy books graded 9.4 or 9.6 at very reasonable prices.

Great points. I would even extend this issue to CCS as well. Some submissions come back with almost a perfect quick press job, while other submissions come back with some noticeable bends still present.

The one lesson I learned during this whole process is to not send everything in for pressing/grading all at once, even If the current TAT's are high.

One additional note I wanted to make. With recent submissions, it appears that the graders are looking for perfectly flat spines for 80's and 90's books, before handing out a 9.8 grade. In the past I've received many 9.8 grades if the book was not perfectly flat at the spine. Moving forward I'll either get these books pressed or not submit at all if the price margins are not worth it.

On 3/7/2022 at 7:13 PM, NewWorldOrder said:

I agree, just saying again if more people took the time to really understand what they are submitting they probably would submit a lot of less and help us all out. 

 

I honestly get both sides of the argument. On the one hand, everyone has to start somewhere. Some of the best graders/sellers out there today probably went through a learning period at some point.

For instance, I would consider myself a 20% collector and 80% seller. When on average 70-75% of books submitted meet my expectations after getting graded, it makes the whole process worth it.  However, if my grading starts getting looser and/or CGC grading gets tighter, and only 25 to 30% of the books meet the grade expectations (which happened with my last couple of submissions), then I have to reevaluate everything.  Getting mostly 9.8's meets 2 goals. 1.) the books sell well and fairly quickly and 2.) I don't mind having them in my collection if they don't. On the other hand, if 75% of the books come back as 9.4's and 9.6's, then a.) they are hard to sell and b.) I don't want them in my collection.

Right now I'm going through a reevaluation period where a.) I'm waiting for additional submissions to come back to gage the results, and b.) will need to reevaluate every single one of the 300 books I mentioned to make sure they align with the current CGC grading standards.  

On 3/4/2022 at 12:07 PM, NewWorldOrder said:

Went from GEI to shipped in 2 days.   Just luck of the draw at this point after GEI whether they sit for a couple more weeks or shipped the next day.

Were the grades as expected?