irishcritic

Current TAT time. I know it is disheartening, but as the current TAT shifts farther out so does yours.

It's definitely not a loss in your ability to grade. Somehow the bar has shifted without any notice. I have been submitting for a LONG time as well and haven't sent in one book this year for fear of inconsistent grading and bad quality control. TAT is a separate issue, but the other two are inexcusable. I thought it was me as well. I've cracked 8.5 to 9.2 books that have been professionally cleaned and pressed by a VERY reputable presser and ones I've done myself. Issues like "light bend to cover" which are completely nonexistent when inspecting the book....... That bend isn't there!!!!! it's maddening to pay for a service without any rhyme or reason. I just cant justify the cost until something gives. TAT has always been an issue especially when looking to sell the submissions. But some of these 1 year plus TAT's are way out of control. I'm really concerned that I don't see CGC doing anything about the problems.........

100% true! The inconsistency is ridiculous and unnerving.

I thought this myself; however, I had a standard submission which I paid dearly for that was terrible.

Yea it is a bit of a mystery how light cover creasing got a 6.5......... I've been grading since CGC opened, and I've never seen anything like this. I received a modern, standard, and value tier back and all 3 were unbelievable. All 3 were pressed as well. Don't get me started on the one they ripped................. it's an interesting one but not for this forum. I think i am finally at the point where i cant see the justification for the expense from a flipping or collecting perspective. Paying for inconsistency, long waits, and horrible QC just don't make sense to me. I'm glad to see they seem to be speeding up a little, but for me it isn't enough to justify the expense.

Ive got absolutely no argument against that unfortunately.............

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..........

Well as someone who has worked in logistics for years it is fairly common for a ton of packages, but you just see it more with registered mail cause of the scanning process every time the package is touched given the security. Basically say you live in Mississippi, and are expecting a shipment from Tampa. Well they look at the number of packages from that hub going to Miss, and there are only a few; however, there are a ton going from say Memphis. Instead of routing a driver from Florida to Miss. they route them to a "drop and hook" location in Memphis to pick up their packages going to Miss. Sometimes its hard to make sense of when it seems they go right by you with your box to a completely different place; however, when you are talking tons of bulk it makes more sense to centralize shipment from one location to another. Fuel consumption, weight, weather, etc etc go into the equation and usually its more cost effective to send everything to one location and drop and hook to another.

WOW! Congrats, but it sure has me worried about my 7/18/21 value tier still at SFG..........

5/17 Received 7/18 SFG......... still crickets for me. I'm starting to think they are lost.

Those were the days……

I honestly cannot see the logic in blaming the customer for the shortcomings of the company. Furthermore it does seem quite elitist to say "people should only submit the books I deem as worthy". LOL I'm not trying to start an argument or anything, but you are leaving out a very important point in your logic. The comic customer and comic community as a whole. People wouldn't be submitting Spawn 1 by the truckload if someone wasn't buying them. I see tons of lower grade modern books sale on a daily basis, and frankly from a business perspective it makes perfect sense. If I can submit 100 Spawn 1's and make $5-$20 after fees, shipping, etc why not? There is a far bigger market for a cheap graded modern book than an "acceptable" gold or silverage book. I know its a heck of alot easier to sell a cheap modern for a small profit than a $20,000 silverage Spiderman key. I'd never blame a customer for what they want. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect reasonable TAT, decent customer service, and exceptional QC of the "Leading industry grading company". Just my 2 cents.

Yea. I actually submitted this particular order through a presser so i called about a week or so ago to get the status. Honestly calling is hit or miss sometimes, and its all a guess anyway.

I'm right there with you and there is apparently no end in sight. Sent in value tier first of May been in SFG since 7/30. Last time I called I was given the random time of another 2-4 months. I'm betting they will be over a year from when CGC got the box.............

I guess time will tell. I remember collecting pre-CGC, and it was a lot of fun guessing at grades and finding amazing deals on key books. It doesn't matter to me either way. As long as Ive been reading comics I'm in either way it goes.

I suspect we will. I know I am seeing less and less slabs on the various online groups and more raw books. Ive also noticed a drastic increase in raw books at someone the bigger online retailers. It makes me wonder if CGC is creating an industry shift in collecting where people go to top loaders, mylites, and full backs as opposed to graded books. As insane as things have been in the collecting world for the last year or 2 I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see slabs relegated to the back burner and raw books coming front and center again. I think graded will still be the preference on some things, but with a year or so turn around time hot moderns are almost dead in the water. And to be honest that also kills a ton of pre75 books with the exception of a few. I suppose time will tell.......

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I never considered the fact I could actually create a human quicker than having a modern Batman book graded, but its 100% true.......... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Nope no pressing. Just regular value tier before the price increase. Its ridiculous.

5/17/21 Value tier still sitting scheduled for grading with no end in sight.......... It really is going to take a year to get back 9 books........... almost unbelievable.

grades in

Grades are in.

I know they have all been asked and answered, but I still see questions on the board and figured I'd add what they said. I fully agree with your assessment, but I'm still a little perplexed as to why CGC doesn't make announcements to address the issues. I'm accustomed to the wait. I've been doing it for years, and can remember years ago when it was almost a year wait. I've been a CGC fan since the company opened and have no intention of going anywhere else, but I don't see how the current MO of grading is sustainable for continued growth. I think you hit the nail on the head with #2, and from the posts i see here and other places that is exactly what tons of people have done. I just hope they can fix and address the issues and not terribly hurt the brand or industry in the mean time.

OK, I just got off the phone with customer service regarding a value tier submission that was signed for on 5/17/2021. It is still in scheduled for grading, and according to customer service is probably at least another 21 days out. Here are the questions i asked (I made notes for clarity..LOL) 1. When does the TAT start? When the box is signed for. 2. Is the estimated TAT at the time its signed for or does it change? It changes daily as more books are received depending on their tier and fast track. Also There is a delay in the encapsulation phase. (He didn't elaborate beyond that) 3. Could a submission continually get pushed further and further out due to other submissions with no apparent end date in sight? Well technically yes! As more books of higher and faster tiers arrive the ones before could potentially get pushed farther and farther out. So in conclusion. Lets use Modern as an example for ease. 1 Book modern signed for today with a TAT of 2 days. In 1 day its bumped to 5. on day 4 its bumped to 10. on day 9 its bumped to 20. on day 19 its bumped to 25..... ETC, ETC, ETC, ETC....... I believe the TAT on submission for the order was 121 days. I'm sitting at 187 business days from when the books were signed for initially. 260 days total. It seems to me the system is broken. I'm not flipping and don't mind waiting, but how long seems to be a mystery. My main concern is how and where are these books sitting for 260 days? Climate controlled, boxed, stacked? I would say that matters in terms of how the final grades shake out. I understand everyone's frustration and I think sometime it is misplaced and everyone needs a bit of patience at times, but the lack of transparency is a bit ridiculous. If stated TAT changes daily whats the point of even posting it to begin with? It seemingly has absolutely no bearing on when to expect the books. There has to be a better way and surely CGC has to be trying something...... Thus far I'm not so sure but I hope....................... A simple explanation would go a long way in easing peoples fear and frustration. I was always under the assumption it was first in first out but apparently that isn't the case. I think fixing the bottleneck is one thing, but providing a little transparency is another matter that needs to be addressed as well.

I’m in!

I’m in!