skybolt

Were you happy with the pressing service / grades?

Looks like I'm about 1 month away from by 4 submissions going into G/E/I

My OCD is different. I'll usually create a new submission form if the books are not in alphabetical order or I forgot to put collector's edition. Like I noted above, 50% of the submission forms I create do not get submitted.

It's hard to say how many people actually stopped using CCS after end of April (after the price change), since they're still pressing books received in late March / early April. I'm sure that once the large number of submissions received before the price change are completed (which could take over 6 months), we won't know how their business was impacted. I know I stopped using them after the price change. I'm sure they're still getting business for more expedited service (in-house signings, walkthru's, etc.), and still have enough inventory of lower tier books to keep them busy for a long time.

I would venture to say that at least half the orders created are either not sent or revised after the fact. For example, I'll create an order and then realize I forgot to include a couple of books. A couple of days later I'll go to the comic store and then recreate the same order again.

Exactly. I think a lot of us complaining about boxes taking 2 to 3 months to open were hoping that once this was corrected the total TAT's would go down as well.

Over the past 3 weeks, CCS TAT's for slow modern books have quietly gone up from 196 days to 229 days, and we haven't even reached submissions delivered during the price change back in early May. 1.5 years of wait time is right around the corner folks.

Hahaha..............this is good news for me, since I'm still waiting for my 4/11 received to transfer over to CGC. Were you satisfied with the pressing/grades for the first submission? Just curious. Edit: Sorry, I didn't notice the first one hasn't been graded either.

I think we're all just having some fun waiting for our books. I certainly have a bunch of books sitting to be graded, clogging the system.

I get it to some degree. We all had to start at some point, and I know I made plenty of mistakes early on. The difference being A.) I only sent a small sample when I was learning the ropes and B.) I didn't have the audacity to start my own YouTube channel and blame CGC for me being green.

Personally, I think NewWorldOrder should create his own Youtube channel bashing submitters who can't grade, but send in a million books to clog the system. I'd be a subscriber.

I think most people have already realized that there are other alternatives to CCS pressing than having to wait that long for future slow boat submissions. I still have 9 submissions with CCS, but my last 24 went somewhere else. Also, CGC does take into consideration CCS delays when grading books. Most of my older submissions got fast-tracked on the grading side once they left CCS.

With CCS turnaround times constantly increasing, I get the feeling they'll hit 300 business days for slow moderns once they start going through packages received in early May (after the price hike). My 5 submissions delivered in early May (received in late June) will probably not see the light of day until 2023. I'm bracing myself for that

My gut tells me they want to avoid storing new stuff on top of old stuff as much as possible. Sort of like grabbing the recently purchased milk carton from the front of the fridge instead of the smelly week old one sitting way in the back.

Mine dropped off the status page one month ago and still no movement.

They always seem to pile up after the holidays.

CCS slow modern pressing up from 197 days to 209. It makes sense since my books are now sitting at 197 days.

Thanks!

If you don't mind me asking, what grade did you get?

Wow, I can't believe it. CCS just charged my credit card for the four 4/11 received slow modern submissions. Edit to note that I was only charged $8 per book for quick press, CCS also provided a $16 refund on 2 books that apparently couldn't be pressed about 8 months ago. I guess I had some credit in there.

Excellent post. One quick thing to add. If you do have relatively key books like Longshot #1, it's always a good idea to get them graded just in case. For instance, back in 2016 or 2017 I sent my original owner copy to CGC and it came back a 9.2. At the time it was only worth $35 so I just sat on it. Fast forward to 2021, and I was able to sell it for $100. First appearances of somewhat key characters can sell decently on certain rainy days if you wait long enough.

I don't know, but the percentage has to have gone up over the past year.

I was in the same boat about 3 to 4 years ago. I had about 3,000 books that were purchased back in the late 80's / early 90's, but only 300 or so were worth getting graded. I basically took the approach of sending 25 books every 3 months, which was still a relatively low cost / effort for a marginal profit. If you're talking about thousands of books you should not just look at the initial cost to purchase these books, but the ultimate cost after pressing/grading. For example, I purchased a Longshot No.2 back in the day for $.75. After pressing/grading, the book now cost me $35. After it came back a 9.6, I had it sitting on Ebay for a couple of years until I sold for a mere $15 profit. Just not worth it.

Agreed. In the past I would hit the $1 to $3 bins and purchase 50 books at a time. Even if half of them were worth getting graded, I would justify it since I could still turn a minimum $600 to $700 profit with a relatively low initial cost. However, you still have to factor in the large grading/pressing fees, which dwarf the initial cost to purchase these books (not to mention the leg work required to scan, store, list and sell each book for lesser profits). By transitioning to higher valued raw books, I've definitely become more selective with what I purchase. For instance, I find myself waiting and taking advantage of 25% to 50% back issue sales at my local comic shops to build my inventory.

I'm starting to come around to your way of thinking. For example, if a $100 book does not grade out at 9.8, then you're basically stuck with a 9.4 or 9.6 that will basically just sit on Ebay for months until you sell it at cost. When I visit the local comic shops these days, it makes more sense to spend $10 to $15 (on average) on each raw book that has a $200-$300 value potential in 9.8 (but is still valued over $100 if coming back as a 9.6), than go to the dollar bins and find raw books that are selling in the $60 to $65 range in 9.8.I still make mistakes with some of the higher valued raw books, but the profit margins are better.