Steven Valdez

On 12/23/2023 at 12:12 PM, mjoeyoung said:

There already seem to be plenty of book scanners that automatically flip the pages to digitize them.  I don't think it would take too much to make them "safe" for the majority of books.  You don't need to create a human-like robotic finger to flip the pages, you can use a wheel or suction.

 

Oh, GOOD LORD!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! This allays the fears I expressed earlier.

On 12/23/2023 at 11:31 AM, Bo1983 said:

The buyer of the hulk 181 needs to come forward and have there book cracked open to see if the marvel stamp is missing problem solved!

Well, it would be better to have CGC do that for a more trustworthy result....

On 12/23/2023 at 11:18 AM, Prince Namor said:

It's not beyond the possibility that there are people who submit a lot of books to CGC who KNOW a grader. And in knowing a grader or two, or someone who works in an important position at CGC... someone they could possibly even influence. Someone like that would HATE the idea of AI doing most of the grading, because they wouldn't be able to get that edge.

The truth of the matter is... the people who handle and make decisions on books that sell for anywhere between $7-8,000 and into the MILLIONS, are sometimes not really paid in a way that could keep them from being influenced by outside money. They become targets for unethical sellers, looking to game the system.

(And it;'s not about - THESE DAYS and things are terrible now - worse than ever nonsense - This hobby has ALWAYS attracted people like this)

IT just makes sense that because of the HIGH DOLLAR value of what CGC does, there are people who are going to find ways to manipulate the system. We've all already seen how it's been done before. 

 

Whenever people are struggling to get by on minimum wage (and remember, these graders don't get tips), there's the potential for crime. Especially where it's so easy to get away with.

On 12/23/2023 at 10:37 AM, Kripsys99 said:

December 22, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CGC is aware of a situation involving a limited number of online auctions featuring suspicious slabbed comic books....

 

'Limited number'... oh, thank goodness for THAT!

On 12/23/2023 at 6:57 AM, Superman2006 said:

Yes, but at least it would add another level of security. Of course, no matter what CGC does scammers can try to find a way to get around it (I don't like to explain possible ways, lest the scammers get any ideas). If they put all that work into an honest days work, they'd still make money and not have to look over their shoulder for when it all falls apart : (

As I mentioned earlier, strongly adhesive hologram stickers on every edge of the case would mitigate opportunities for fraud.

On 12/23/2023 at 5:59 AM, Sigur Ros said:

I predict...

CGC's eventual statement will be that there was an inside man. That way they can act as if the problem slabs are isolated and people think there aren't that many out there and it will blow over sooner.

I think they'll say that no matter what the reality is.

Also, it won't be there 1st or 2nd statement.  The usual revisions will occur first.

 

 

I can't envisage them admitting to it being an inside job, as that would make them look pathetically lax and incompetent.

More likely we'll get a generic, 'The problem has been dealt with and we are taking steps to ensure this will never happen again.'

Of course what they should do is a mass recall of every book they've ever graded for a re-grade and re-slab, covering all expenses to everyone and swiftly going bankrupt... oh, wait.

On 12/23/2023 at 5:34 AM, Iconic1s said:

If I were the 9.9newsstand guy that first blew the lid off of this I might be a little worried about potential legal action. Sure, I’m convinced they are different books, but we’re talking about a half a billion dollar company that just potentially lost ALL credibility because you have a good eye… if they can’t completely suppress this, they are not going down easy.  Imagine GM having a recall on every car they made in the last 20 years??

People have certainly gone missing for far lesser sums.... hey, I ain't sayin' nothin', don't get me wrong here.

Has Jerno uploaded his take on this yet?? That'll be the last word on the subject.

On 12/23/2023 at 5:22 AM, skybolt said:

You mean like send a couple of CGC slabs to a factory in China to see if they can replicate it in bulk?

They do. They've been available on Alibaba for a few years. Most of the 'fakes' that come out of China are produced by the same companies that make the legit versions. They just keep the assembly line going off the clock. This is also true for gold clubs, shoes, handbags, etc etc.

On 12/23/2023 at 12:46 PM, jcjames said:

I don't understand how one could NOT tell if an MJ is present just looking at the edge of the book??

 

That's true. From that perspective, if CGC is being told they've missed something as significant as an MJ insert, they should at least be verifying its presence or lack thereof.

On 12/23/2023 at 3:32 AM, uncannyjames said:

There is a certain level of failure that is acceptable. For instance, I can accept that CGC might miss a married cover a small fraction of the time.

Then again, if a married cover is truly undetectable... does it really matter? Just putting this out there -- not that I ever could or would try to do such a thing.

On 12/23/2023 at 3:53 AM, Mijael.Levy said:

Problem is that when CGC gets a reholder order they don't open the plastic sleeve so they can't really see the book from inside to verify its complete , if it has MJ insert or whatever. They will  probably solve this issue by adding something in the plastic sleeve.

That's interesting. In way it's understandable, as they're assuming they've already graded the book. But that's where the potential substitution scams can happen (via the submitter, not CGC).

On 12/23/2023 at 3:47 AM, mephistopheles said:

 So I am 95% sure they are not thoroughly examining re-holders.

They most likely just assume that they've already graded it and it hasn't been tampered with since.

UNLESS.....!!!

On 12/23/2023 at 3:20 AM, skybolt said:

However, having someone in that position does help this seller launder some books.

Hmmmm.... 'book laundering'. That's really what this is all about.

On 12/23/2023 at 3:12 AM, VintageComics said:

Some people are always sour about CGC and want them to fail.

You're on a CGC message board. Of course you're mostly going to hear about CGC problems.

The only time you're going to hear about non-CGC problems is if someone posts about them here, and since the raw side of the hobby is probably many times bigger than the certified side of the hobby, you're getting an unequal representation. 

People need to learn to scale their perspective to reality. 

I usually hear about these brouhahas on YouTube, such as that acetate debacle and the Hero Restoration travesty. I only came over here today because I heard of this latest drama on YT.

On 12/23/2023 at 3:10 AM, Dr. Balls said:

Judging from some of my recent grades, I'm thinking the human graders are spending the same amount of time looking at books.

At first I chuckled, but on reflection it's really no laughing matter.

On 12/23/2023 at 3:09 AM, Dr. Balls said:

CLICK BEEP WHIRRRRR THIS. IS. A. BOOP 9.8. WHIRRRRR BEEP

Yes, how apt!

On 12/23/2023 at 3:05 AM, comicginger1789 said:

Honestly though, if a thing came out about PGX or CBCS where an employee who worked for them was ripping out a page in every book they graded, I don't think that would move the needle compared to this. When you are on top, the world watches and always waits to feast when you stumble. No one like a winner who wins and is good all the time, every time. We should but we don't..

Indeed. I'm not necessarily implying that CGC is at fault in all of these situations, just that they somehow always happen to be a party to them; whether knowingly or otherwise.

On 12/23/2023 at 2:59 AM, MatterEaterLad said:

The largest CGC group on FB, which has 37k members, has been deleting posts about this. 

It seems people desperately don't want CGC to suck.

I note with interest that whenever there's some major drama/scandal in the comics community, CGC is at the centre of it.

I mean, there's LiDAR that can uncover lost Mayan cities under dense rainforest, surely there must be some app for accurately grading comics by now.

On 12/23/2023 at 2:23 AM, drotto said:

 

We have facial recognition, book "recognition" should in theory be no issue. 

I'd be worried about those clawed robot arms tearing the heck out of my comics.

Another YouTube video has just popped up on this subject: