JJ-4

Astute observation, it's not often someone blames the customer for wanting the service provided.

If you were the manager of a restaurant that saw an uptick in business would you tell your regular cliental that wait times for a table are now 4 hours and watch customers walk away?  Or would you try and add some cooks/waiters and provide a good experience for all (new/old customers as well as your employees) while simultaneously adding profit to your bottom line?

Yeah, it's the customers fault.

On 2/28/2022 at 2:27 PM, Wheresmymarvelvaluestamp said:

That would cost millions for them to do. I highly doubt this investment company that recently bought them out will go for that. I think the only thing that currently makes sense is to pause signing events until they catch up. However, that is a cash cow for them so another no to the solution. I don't see things getting better before they get worse. Unless people stop submitting and they see their bottom lines decrease significantly I do not see them doing anything. I am praying something good happens but until I see it things will probably get worse. Say hello to 1 year TAT's on modern slow.

Agreed, a company in growth mode run by someone that is personally invested in business operates much differently than one that has been acquired as a "cash cow".  Once that buy out happens and the owners walk away the parent company is ONLY going to be concerned with profits and reducing operating costs over time.  No surprise that folks are getting billed sooner in the grading process, this will allow them to pull forward any sales they need to hit bigger quarterly earnings estimates.  No need to make customers happy, no need to hire new folks, etc.  So don't look for anything to change.  Unless they get the ok from corporate to add FTE's dramatically.  I hear that they are hiring (or have hired) new people.  But, with the current backlog, turnover with people retiring of choosing to work somewhere (with less stress or more pay), the need for current employees to train new hires (which slows down the actual work), and the learning curve, they have mismanaged the business (as seen by 1 year wait times) and this will take a long time to correct.  Or the apologists might be right and they'll turn this ship around in no time.  Anyone want to place bets? 

On 2/28/2022 at 11:20 AM, thunsicker said:

All my comics are worth $10 million dollars each.

Same!

On 2/28/2022 at 10:52 AM, VG+ said:

Bye Felicia.

Work at CGC or just an investor in the the Blackstone Inc.?

I agree with you to a degree.

They are running at capacity but had they hired more staff they would be able to have happier customers, more business (more profit from a volume standpoint), and greater efficiency (more profit per book).

Full disclosure, with these issues and all the problems they have with re-work (wrong holders, damaged books, etc.) I've been sitting on the sidelines for months.  Came on here hoping to learn about getting some of my collection graded but I've still never submitted a book to date and probably never will. 

First, transactions in the real world are getting faster, I have my car's windshield replaced tomorrow while it sits in my driveway, heck I can buy a car and have it delivered to me in a few days.  I can plan a wedding and get married, have a multiple reconstructive surgeries, travel around the world in a boat, and do a million things in the time it takes them to grade a book a comic book and place it in a plastic container.

Second, the administrative nightmare CGC must being dealing with by getting this far behind must being causing a huge impact on their profits.  I'm sure the price hikes are directly related to how inefficient they are.  Imagine trying to do that job not with a streamlined process but with the complexity of multiple tiers, price points, and signings and seeing a literally a million books piled up around you and 4 thousand more (1M / 250 business days) showing up every day!  The staff need just to keep it all strait and to answer all the email and calls from all their clients must be staggering.

And I'm new around here but it sounds like this has been going on not for weeks but for at least decade.

They don't know how to run a business or don't care (or likely both).

Hard pass.

On 2/23/2022 at 12:07 PM, Petroman said:

The problem is there aren't really many options if you want to switch.  From everything I've read on the CBCS boards they are in even worse shape with TATs.  That only leaves PGX as far as I'm aware.  I've never submitted to them and I've seen some bad press on them in the past.  But still, if you're submitted relatively recent, limited edition books for grading, it may make sense to go with PGX.  Their fee's are lower and they advertise a 35 day TAT.  Heck, most new books (last 10 years or so) that are submitted anywhere expect a 9.6+ grade, so getting a 9.8+ PGX should be on par with a 9.6+ CGC/CGCS .  When it comes to older or key books, I definitely will stick to CGC as resale price seems to be quite a bit lower with PGX (and somewhat lower with CGCS, but the gap is narrowing).  In a perfect world I'd send everything to CGC and expect books back within a few months.  But at upwards of a year for MODERN SLOW its hard to justify.

Let me fix that last sentence for you.

"But at upwards of a year for MODERN SLOW its IMPOSIBLE to justify.

Real Genius

In the scene where Chris and Mitch dive out of the way of the flying drone looking thing onto the floor (about 15 minutes in) there are some comics laying on the floor and it looks like the New Teen Titans #4 (second series) issue is on top.  That issue is cover dated Jan 1985 and the movie was released in Aug of the same year so the kids in the dorm were very current on their comics reading!

Maybe someone can capture a screen grab?  

On 2/27/2022 at 2:30 PM, namisgr said:

Not very cheap at all.  At least to their top executive:

(Bloomberg) -- Blackstone Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Schwarzman took home $1.1 billion in dividends and compensation in 2021, in what amounts to one of Wall Street’s biggest annual payouts on record.

Nothing to see here.  Please keep submitting books and we will surely get to you as soon as humanly possible.

On 2/27/2022 at 3:29 PM, The Meta said:

Record so far for a 1st is $4200 I believe

Wow, I really should dig my copy out (and see what printing I have) and get it graded.

just looked on eBay and found a 9.8 1st print that sold for $2,700 in Jan, you weren't kidding about costly.

On 2/25/2022 at 11:09 AM, Parabellum said:

Boom!  One more down, 7 more to go.

Great looking book!  Is it poor from to ask how much this is going for these days?

Big time respect!  (I threw up in my mouth a little when I started this thread)

To big a risk, leave it as is.

On 2/23/2022 at 11:32 AM, jimbo_7071 said:

I bet it would, but not necessarily immediately.

This, 100%

On 2/17/2022 at 5:38 PM, littledoom said:

It’s still a show. Everything is planned to some degree. That guy selling the collection did a good job of setting up his garage and dressing decent 

Totally agree, I know I guy in the business and anything that is not live TV is planned out and written in advance.  For example for the house hunters show they used to come in after a couple has moved in and work backwards.  They take them to look at a few listings and then stage their own home (by be decluttering a few rooms for the "before" shots).  The next day they can tape the show where they show the house the "chose" with them all moved in (supposedly 3 months later).

Saves quite a bit of money because they can shoot an episode very quickly. 

Thanks for pics all the great ideas!

On 2/17/2022 at 5:10 PM, 10centcomics said:

I crack open all the books in my personal collection. When I found out this wasn't the norm in the hobby, I was quite shocked! I can understand keeping books in their slabs if you plan to sell it at some point in the future. Or if you had a very high-grade that you wanted to preserve (a 9.8 modern, or a VF/NM vintage book). But for books in my permanent collection, I keep them raw for a variety of reasons:

• No newton rings. Books look great in Mylar sleeves and archives.
• No numerical grade to draw attention away from the book itself. I always thought the CGC label should be unobtrusive and on the back of the book. 
• Slabs take up a lot of space!
• Most importantly, I want to read the story and see all the interior art! Reading a reprint just isn't the same. And slabbing a comic isn't quite the same as a coin or baseball card, you miss out on ~95% of your collectible when you slab a comic. 

That being said, I appreciate having 3rd party grading services when buying a book, especially the restoration check. But when it arrives in my PC, I crack it open and enjoy it! And no shade to slab collectors, people can have their own collecting habits and motivations.

With the exception of the MF54 which I bought raw, these were once-graded books I cracked out because I know they are never leaving my collection. 

 

 

Beautiful books!  And I agree with many of the comments above.  I would not crack a signature slab but I would want to open a golden or silver age book that had been graded unless it was worth more than car.  As for more moderns if you were lucky enough to get a 9.8 I would probably leave it slabbed.  Probably.        

On 2/17/2022 at 2:57 PM, sckao said:

That's interesting. I use these because I think those 5/8 x 7/8" are a bit too small. I put these on at an angle. These are 1" x 3/4 which is just a tiny bit larger.

Could you guys post a pic or two, I'd love to see how these look in a real life.

On 2/16/2022 at 1:17 PM, F For Fake said:

That's really great that Marvel and DC were able to come to terms to make this happen while George is still here.

I am terribly sad that this illness has befallen Mr. Perez, but I am so glad that he is getting this opportunity of a "victory lap", for all of his fans and peers to let him know how much he is loved. I wish we celebrated our heroes while they're alive much more often, instead of waiting to eulogize them when they can no longer hear the words.

Well said.  I couldn't agree more about celebrating the creators we love while they are still with us to be able to receive our thanks.

I keep thinking about what a huge impact George had on the industry and all the great things people have said that have met him in person.  

On 2/14/2022 at 6:51 AM, Mr. Zipper said:

My kids are teenagers and they like the Marvel movies and videogames, however they no interest in the old comics. (Although my daughter does read manga) 

I am a little concerned that once the 30-somethings work their way through the system, there will not be sufficient demand from the following generations. 

Regarding baseball/sports cards... that hobby is hotter than ever after being pronounced dead many times. Hopefully that is good news for comics! 

100%

20% less than cover price (10% discount for Indy titles)

On 7/7/2020 at 11:32 AM, iexx said:

Wally Wood

 

Dave Stevens?

Terribly sad news, RIP.