JDubeCT

I started playing around with heat pressing - the price I have won't go lower than 200F (not a clamshell press) ... so using a bunch of fillers I did some testing; all the books I have worked with were 79's - early 90's (pre-glossy inside pages; haven't done testing on those yet.) - 20m hot w/6h cold = good results BUT it reverted and/or created waving - 20m hot w/12h cold = good no reversion but I got waiving - 10m hot w/24h cold = good all around so far ... haven't had any reversion or waiving ... edit: forgot, my stack (top to bottom): - top of press - magazine backer - parchment paper - cover - parchment paper - regular backer - parchment paper - book to middle (staples) - parchment paper - regular backer - parchment paper - book to back over - parchment paper - magazine backer - bottom of press This was one of my more recent ones (not a tester, live run I plan to submit) - i circled the defects in the pre-press pirctures

I have been pressing books only a short time but this isn’t about that- I just pressed this book and noticed a date on it - thoughts about grading? I put this around a 7.5 i added some pics of the post press cover for thoughts also

I recent got a moon knight, a spider unlimited #1 and a Batman 500 all signed and COA by Dynamic Forces was considering those

Think you missed what I was asking - green vs yellow label aside; if I get a 9.8 green w/COA for colectors sake is it worth it? I was thinking it would be good to protect the issues I have with COA signatures - so grading makes sense - but not sure if it is worth CBCS verifying it or just going CGC and holding onto the COA (well hold COA either way but hopefully you follow.)

I have several issues which are signed and I have the COAs (Dynamic Forces, etc...) - it is worth sending these in to get the book graded and taking the green label? If I am correct this would grade the book excluding a hit for the signature since they can't verify it BUT I have the COA so I can

I had an Amazing Spider-man 300 I sent in (was 7.5) for pressing + signing; been 'received at CCS' for months just wondering if anyone is waiting too. I know they are busy so not complaining just trying to gauge it.

I have several pending orders: - slow modern; recv'd 5/3, opened 6/22, been in GEI for a couple months now - 140+ days and counting - slow value (economy now); recv'd 5/3, opened 6/22, scheduled for grading - 140+ days and counting - fast modern; recv'd 5/3, opened 6/22, shipped 8/23 - 80ish days - fast modern; recv'd 5/3, opened 6/22, shipped 8/23 - 80ish days - fast value; recv'd 5/3, opened 6/22, shipped 9/16 - 95ish days ** cant find my tracking but I know it was after the JDF CGC SS announcement since I something in for it, so let's call it 9/20 ** - slow economy; recv'd 9/20, opened 10/14, SFG - 40+ days and counting - slow magazine (TMNT Last Ronin's); recv'd 9/20, opened 10/14, SFG, 40+ days and counting - slow modern; recv'd 9/20, opened 10/14, shipped 10/18 - 20ish days - CGC SS JDF; recv'd 9/20, opened 10/5, SFG - 40+ days and counting I'll try to update this as time goes by

You know what, I am not here to debate semantics with you ... long story short its crappy customer service, its an ongoing issue, and as a paying customer i am not OK with it. That better?

No. If a client of mine calls me and asks "Hey, this has been like this for a while now do you know when it will be done?" and I reply "yeah 2-3 weeks" and then 4 weeks later they ask again and i say another 3-4 weeks I am likely to lose that client. Estimates are one thing. Moving the goal post over and over is another.

I do understand that - and if you read the whole thing i was more mad that I was told they would be done in a couple of weeks and here we are 4+ weeks later and i am again being told 'in a few weeks' ....

oh no i get that ... if we're at 131/140 as of today that would put my MODERN's at 27 weeks since they got the package ... so thats about 135 days ... take out holidays probably more like 125-130 ... so they should be done and in the mail in 24 hours ... not likely

Not true - on MULTIPLE occassions I have been told the clock starts when someone at their office gets the package, not when they open it. That is why there was such a jump in time around June because people were expected deliveries of their items based on the turnaround times but those times were based on them opening them the same day as they arrived ... since they were back logged they changed the estimates to reflect time idling, opened, graded. So estimate is OK. What is NOT ok is being told one date repeatedly and having that date pushed out. What is NOT ok is having my books sitting in grading for over 1 month. What is NOT ok is being ignored when I followed up to their own timeline. This is terrible customer service and let's face it we don't have much choice. You can go to PGC or CBCS but we all know they sell lower than CGC does. I've said this before and i will say it again, transparency is key.

I sent in comics and CGC got them in May ... in Sept they were grading/encapsulating and have been that way since then ... beginning of October i emailed in and was told they would be done this month... STILL not done so I emailed again, no answer .. emailed again 1+ weeks later and this is what I got .. "Your Modern invoice will probably be at least two or three more weeks and the Value invoice will be at least another 45-60 days." So, on May 2nd the site said turn arounds were 55 days for modern 79 days for Value ... a month later it was 101 and 141 ... by the end of July it was 105 / 150 ... right now it is 126 / 146 ... clock starts WHEN THEY RECEIVE IT not when they open it - this was their own admission and is why times jumped so much so that people could get a better estimate ... they opened these May 5th ... so let's do some math ... that is about 26 weeks. In business days that is roughly 120-130 ... So its spot on for getting back the ones which have been in grading/encapsulation for OVER ONE MONTH but since they haven't hit QC that is OBVIOUSLY not happening soon .... what REALLY pisses me off is this - This is what I got from them on Oct 5th: "Thank you for your email, we received your submission on 6/22/21 and the Modern tier of service is running an approximate 106 business days, this submission is currently in the grading room being graded currently." to which I replied "Understood.. to correct you though you recieved them in May and opened them in June, by that count it has been 22 weeks or about 110 business days. I should have had them back last week and they haven’t even been qc’d" and they came back with: "That is correct, the submission will not be completed until the middle of October. 106 business days is 22 business weeks minus holidays and weekend." So, there were being graded on 10/04-05 .. but now I am being told that it's another AT LEAST 2-3 weeks or 10-15 business days .... on an order that their own sites says I should have in my hands in less than one week .... and an order I should have had in my hands 4 weeks later will now be arriving 7-12 WEEKS later?!?!? WTF! This is NOT OK! That will LITERALLY be nearly 1 year for the Value issue ... and in terms of days - when I sent them in it was 55 / 79 .... 140-145 / 160-190 ... or roughly 3x as long ... I am sorry I am beating this dead horse but I am hoping someone at CGC will see this and realize how screwed up this is to charge what they do -- I had plans to sell issues which now I can't because it's taking too long.

Does anyone know if you can submit a comic for signing and in the same package comings for regular grading?

Anyone else having issues viewing orders or status?

So, update - I am now 19 weeks (95 business days roughly) into my submission being received ... there was 9 books received in one package. 4 fast track modern, 1 fast track value, 3 modern, 1 value. Of those, the 4 fast track moderns are in Grading/QC ... and have been for at least a week... none of the others are even being graded they are all scheduled... when I sent the books in the turn around times were lower than they are now. But it's 81 days right now for Modern Fast Track - so i already missed that time line and in fact I am about to hit the NON fast track timeline... and those books havent even been started grading. Since we are still within the timelines for Economy (Value) I will wait that out ... but I am sorry, when you are going to charge me an extra 60$ for this service and you are not even CLOSE to your own timelines? Thats not right. When I sent the books in the times on the website (and the reason I even picked fast track) was to get those 4 books prior to the end of June... here we are mid August and nothing. I will be calling in requested that they honor the fast track but not charge me for it. I have literally paid for a service I did not even CLOSE to get. Yes, they are estimates. But you could not provide an estimate for work to be done on a car, have someone agree to it, then change it by 2-3x and have it be OK. Sorry i know this is beating a dead horse but its COMPLETELY unfair to us. And I am understanding. I am not asking for a free grading but I am asking for a refund for a service that I was not given. I fthis was 1-2 weeks or even 1 month off OK ... but we are now nearly 2 months off my original time line and the books havent even finished grading/qc let alone been shipped.

Not for nothing but when I sent in my books my fast track should have been back to me by mid June… current stats is mid sept… really not acceptable… and it keeps getting pushed back… really unfair. And yet they keep doing signings.

I am just more upset at the idea that when I shipped my books it was mid June for the fast tracks and August for the regulars - now it's mid-sept for the fast tracks and nov for the regulars... turn around times may not be guaranteed but when they increase 3-4 fold thats unacceptable. People pay based on what they expect reasonably in return ...

So earlier this week I had all my items in the scheduled for grading… now they are all gone and the site says it hasn’t had any submissions from me… anyone else getting this??

Last I knew you were right. But it may have changed since they revised the listing times

I know I have been vocal on the boards already - and I have been peaceful about it I would say. To be honest when I sent my books in at the end of April I expected that the ones I fast tracked would be in any day now. Additionally there was a 20+ day game between fast track and non. Now, I look and its a 14 day gap and my package which was received May 3rd isn't even open yet... 30 business days later. Again, the turn around time on a fast track was 20+ days LESS and that should be now. I am a little aggravated that now the price has gone up, the turn around is closer to the standard time, and my books haven't even been opened. I may only do a few hundred a year but still... I would really like someone from CGC to chime in with more than talking points. I think those of us who requested fast track at this point should be getting a partial or full refund of that cost while still being fast-tracked. We are not getting what we paid for.

Based on what they keep saying correct. You would start counting from the day the post office stated it was delivered not the day they open it. So if it was 42 business days since they received it then you would count another 12 business days I mean 32 business days. If you fast tracked it. Sorry using voice to text on this one LOL. What pisses me off is that the fast track numbers keep increasing exponentially. First it was 29 days, then 30 Something, then 40 than 50 and we are already up to 74. It was 66 last week I think. It’s very irritating as a person sending in the items. Before the difference between fast track and regular was easily a month of time now it is just a few days so what is the point.

Today marks business day 25 since delivery. I had an additional thought (and would love someone from cgc to respond to these comments...) - If you have items that are fast tracked you should be able to mark on the box accordingly and when those items are received they should be pooled differently. Fast tracked items are opened based on a ratio of 2:1 for standard orders. When an item labelled fast track is received it is open, the invoice INSIDE the box is verified (the reason I say this is I chose to fast track some issues prior to mailing but after the order was placed and was told by customer service to just note the invoice which items should be fast tracked) - if no fast track found on invoice then it is put with standard items otherwise it is resealed and goes to the fast track allocation. For every 1 package in regular grading 2 are reviewed in fast track. I say this since the hold up really seems to be in large part the review of packages as well as grading. If I understand correctly you already separate items once opened based on fast track, so why not the packages too? This would allow folks who are paying for the faster grading to get the package earlier. Here's the reality ... under the new standards a modern package $22 to grade and take 82 days once received to be received, opened, graded and sent back; if you want to pay $15 more you can get that done in 66 days. Now, let's compare cost:benefiet. Standard grading comes out to about $0.27 a day cost for the customer. If I pay 68% more ($15/$22 = 0.68xxx or 68% rounded) I can get my order 19% faster (66/82 = 0.8048 or 81% rounded)... my cost per day is $0.56 a day. What this means is I am paying over 50% to get the item 20% faster... that really seems unfair. And given the rate increase combined with the removal of discounts for members it becomes even worse. Membership really becomes useful at the Elite tier but again let's break that down. Let's assume the average person sends in $300 a year in grading at normal price if they were Elite prior they would have a $150 credit and 15% off. So if they spent $300 for the tier, $300 in grading ($600) they would see $45 off the grading they spend and would have $150 to spend against that so they would pay $405 a year including membership + grading. Now, they spend $420. And that's not including incraesed fees

I was thinking about this - my biggest complaint with businesses has always been communication and available information. I completely understand life is fluid and you can't always get what you want when you want, but when there is a change, especially when I am paying for something, I expect to be notified and/or have the ability to get detailed status updates. For example, when you order something online and you get a tracking number through some third party shipper and can't really get any info on where your item is ... that bothers me. So, to CGC, I offer this suggestion ... improve the order status on your website. I am going to make certain assumptions that seem perfectly logical and reasonable. I will assume that you cross reference an order number with a certification number... IE, when an order is placed a table is populated inside the database with the customer info, order info and entered comic book info. As an item is graded there would be the ability to add / update information for a given item. Searching can be accomplished via the order number or certification number. As an order / item moves through the process the database is updated. Possible outputs based on order number (no items reviewed yet): - Order not received - Order received - Order in process (see below for more info on this) - Order complete - Order shipped - Order delivered RE: 'Order in process' - here the system would give a detailed output of the items in the order and its' status: - Scheduled for grading - Grading in progress - Grading complete, certification xxxxxx (make xxxx a clickable link to search your system for the grading information) Your website - add a Order Status Update page in lieu of the one you have now... Customer enters their order number and the results below (they would have to be category based outputs assuming each category of item is graded by different folks): - Total CGC comic orders received: <total orders marked as received> - Currently processing orders received the week of: mm/dd/yyyy - Total CGC comics scheduled / being graded: <total comics flagged as scheduled or in progress grading> Your order status: <output from the list of possible order statuses above, if order is in process a further detailed output below> Your order is currently being processed by our staff, below you will find the details for each item listed in your order: - Amazing Spider-man issue 300: Grading in progress - Amazing Spider-man issue 316: Grading complete, certification ABC123 - Amazing Spider-man issue 361: Scheduled for grading This is a highly simplified concept and i know it may not match your system but if we, as customers (speaking for myself of course here but I assume others would like this too), could see this kind of detailed information it would go a long way for use figuring out where we are in the process and getting a real number of what you guys are dealing with volume. Right now all we see is talking points which is the default way most companies handle their customers ... "We're aware times are longer and we are working hard, we're sorry", "Due to an increase in volume we are behind our schedule and we are sorry", etc... its like getting a call from a telemarketer and you just want to hang up in anger. When I call for info I feel like I am detracting someone from answering more important calls and would rather get the info online myself. Take it for what it's worth, just my $0.02. Given that I work in IT unless your database is a mess this should be doable.

With all due respect ... you have been on April 12th for at least 1+ weeks now... my package was also delivered 5/3. Prior to mailing in I called in to ask about modifying the order to fast track some issues as I will be leaving for vacation for a week end of June / beginning on July and I was told just to write it next to the issues on the invoice, which I did ... fast track was 29 days at that time. Here I am over 29 days and my package hasn't even been opened yet. I know you guys are crazy busy but in all fairness I feel a bit cheated in that you raised the rates but we are now getting lesser service in a sense then we were prior to raising the rates... I work in IT, I do not think it would be too hard to make some changes to your system to better let folks know where their package is in the process. each step of the way someone could update it.... Search by order number - possible results: - Not Received - Received / Pending Review - In Process - Quality Control - Return Mailed - Return Delivered Taken in via post/fexed etc... update status Package opened... update status Actually grading of issue started... update status Received by QC... update status Package sent... update status then i would imagine an API that checks tracking numbers could update when it is delivered. Again, I don't want to be 'that guy' but when you mail the item with a given expected return date to work around a time when you will be away (29 days +/- 2 weeks for shipping etc...) and that changes to 59 days +/- 2 weeks for shipping etc you can see how this puts you in a crappy spot and why folks could be frustrated. If 59 days is the current time including the delay in opening packages that would give me a return ship date of July 23rd instead of the original anticipated June 11th, and that's IF you opened it today. The reality is based on your current increases and delays I could expect a mid-August is more likely .. ON A FAST TRACK which if I get the original rate is about $50 more (or an additional 25% cost to my order) or under the new rate $75.. mid-August is when I expected to have the non-fast track items but based on what I just said now I can probably expect them mid/late Sept. I did expect some kind of delay given the recent surge, but I certainly did not expect the times to double inside of 30 days.