POSITIVE Feedback Thread for CGC... (let's try again)... key word: Positive

[aardvark88]

1. Cgc has allowed me to liquidate my silver & bronze Marvels so I can buy other paper collectibles: orig. comic art.

2. Cgc forum & has allowed erudite posters to debate their opinions about almost any comic related topic & to have emoticon wars.

3. Subdividing the topics into general, GA, SA, BA, MA, marketplace & contest was a stroke of genius.

4. My comic book family has grown by meeting international forumites in person in San Diego.

5. Now able to nag greggy incessantly to NOT wear short shorts to San Diego as not everyone wants to see his Manthing.

[SilverAgeGuy]

I am certainly a fan of CGC. Here is how they have impacted my comic collecting:

 

1. No more ebay bidding F+ prices for books the seller says are NM, because I know when the book arrives, it could be anywhere from VG to NM, and is most likely VF... and all I wanted was a NM and would be happy to pay NM price

 

2. No more walking away froim a great looking book because I have a feeling it may be restored, but can't be sure

 

3. Census numbers, Yay!

 

4. This forum, which I only recently discovered, but consider to be a great resource.

 

5. Collectors Society Registry... kinda fun

[BronzeBruce13]

Awesome post Bruce! 5 stars...

 

Thanks Mike...

CGC certainly deserves a pat on the back once in a while too... especially since everyone is free to exercise their right to criticize them at anytime.

 

I think forumites need to be aware that to be fair and tell the whole story, there should be at least a little "balance" in the threads/comments overall even if the majority are questioning CGC in some way. Voice your suggestions and constructive criticism by all means, but also give credit, offer praise and point out what you are in favor of too... once in a while.

 

Newcomers visiting the boards should realize there is much that many of us are in favor of too, even if we oppose some things, lobby for policy change, and/or passionately challenge CGC on certain issues (like I do too). If you take in the volume of posts of that nature, some could mistakenly conclude that there is a general negativity being expressed about CGC... and that's not true or the whole story. There are plenty of "watchers" and "lurkers" and they should absorb the whole big picture, not just our gripes.

 

Do you have any postive feedback?

[justiceleaguer]

CGC is awesome. Because of their state of the art comic capsules, silverfish and earwigs no longer have access to my books.

[jonnydouble]

CGC is awesome. Because of their state of the art comic capsules, silverfish and earwigs no longer have access to my books.

 

 

What's an earwig??..are they like those creatures in Star Trek that burrow into your brain through your ear??

 

J.D.

[joe_collector]

CGC has made it far easier for the casual collector to sell his/her NM books without having to accept 10% from a dealer.

[mr_highgrade]

Amen!

[THE_BEYONDER]

CGC has made collecting HG books " possible ".....

[BronzeBruce13]

CGC has made it far easier for the casual collector to sell his/her NM books without having to accept 10% from a dealer.

 

Good one... another positive byproduct of CGC entering the marketplace. Collectors with well-handled/stored high-grade books in particular can now get a higher percentage of guide (if not guide or over) when selling. There's more intense competition for these well-kept collections too which is a nice, just reward for those that took care of their books.

 

More on point to your comment... anyone has the option to CGC the books themselves, circumvent (the middleman) dealers, and cash in directly... if they have the time.

 

(thanks for honoring the spirirt of the thread)

 

 

[BronzeBruce13]

CGC has made collecting HG books tolerable.....

 

Tolerable? it wasn't before?, or wasn't very easy to do?

 

How about just... CGC has made collecting HG books "Possible" without raising your blood pressure to unsafe levels due to repetitious disappointment

 

I thought you were going to say something like...

"CGC has contributed to my new obsession with "QP" (Quality of Production)"

[THE_BEYONDER]

CGC has made collecting HG books " possible ".....

 

Better?

[Bugaboo-migration]

I think that CGC does a great job and they are definitely the reason I'm collecting comics again after a 15 year hiatus. I got the idea a few years ago to try collect the first comics I had as a child in high grade since they meant so much to me while I was growing up. Since they are all non-key, silver and bronze books, and my comic stores around here are pretty weak, I turned to eBay. This is where I first discovered CGC books. I didn't really know anything about them at the time and was a little leery, so I started out trying to buy the books I was looking for unslabbed from eBay. It was discouraging, to say the least.

 

Instead of just giving up, I decided to try the CGC graded books and I've never looked back since. The hobby was desperately in need of this kind of service and CGC has helped me put together a beautiful and accurately graded collection of many of the comics from my childhood. And the rigid archival holders are great and allow me to store them easily without worrying constantly about damaging them. Plus, whenever I do get a chance to upgrade one of my books, the added liquidity of CGC books makes it easier for me to get a decent price for the extra copy.

 

As far as I'm concerned, CGC is just what the doctor ordered.

[drbanner]

I second the following motions:

 

"CGC has given me the opportunity to buy with confidence via online and mail order..."

- Resto-check and accurate grading, 'nuff said!

 

"CGC made the market more liquid...they made selling and trading high grade books for the "little guys" much easier..."

- While ebay helped, CGC provided the means to sell the best of the best directly from collector to collector at a price commensurate with the quality of the book. Pre-CGC, NM books on ebay brought "ebay NM, otherwise known as somewhere between F and NM" prices. Post-CGC, CGC 9.4 NM books brought the true multiples that NM (and better) books had been bringing at auction houses, conventions, from the large/established dealers, and via other venues where collectors were able to inspect the books in person.

 

"Providing this forum to enjoy comic conversation and meet/network with passionate collectors, and "fanboy" dealers also."

- Long overdue, this was the first succesful internet forum regarding collecting gold/silver/bronze age comics. The RACM newsgroup, AOL (and other service provider) boards, ebay boards, several failed "egroups/Yahoo groups", and various other site boards never really caught on, or never covered the wide spectrum of topics these boards cover. I've personally learned lots about the hobby here, and in turn I enjoy sharing what I know with others with similar interests.

 

"The CGC staff is great, more than willing to answer questions and help out any way they can."

- Steve's input on these boards speaks for itself, but I've also had excellent response from CGC with regards to customer service. All businesses have problems/snafus, and CGC is no different. On 3 different occasions when problems arose, I was able to talk to a real-live person (Harshen, Steve) and sort it out:

 

1) I had a book slabbed in a case that was too small. Eventually, the slab cracked and I resubbed the book for "re-holdering". CGC called me on the phone and told me the re-holder was going to be done gratis.

 

2) CGC "lost" one of my subs!! I called around the time I thought I'd be getting the books back, and learned that the order had been logged in, but then apparently nothing had been done with them. Turns out the books were mistakenly placed in their land-of-misfit-submissions (they have another name for it, but it's where they hold submittals that don't match the invoice, no invoice, etc.,.). Anyhow, they turned the books around within a week, including a shweet Ghost Rider 1 9.6 White...still owned by a board member?!?!

 

3) Long story...but the short of this one was that CGC damaged one of my books while it was in their possession, and compensated me for the difference in the market value of the book at the "undamaged" grade vs. the "final" grade of the book I got back.

[musicmeta]

I would add that all the points that Bruce brought up ring true for me as well, especially this CGC forum. It's the greatest! I have learned so mush on this forum from so many different forum members that's it just unbelievable. This forum is just jammed packed with fantastic information. I learn something new just about everyday here.

[dam60]

Sorry I am late to the party, but there are a few obvious things that do deserve highlighting:

1 - no surprises on resto

2 - books tightly and accurately graded

3 - these message boards rock! I spend so much time here!

 

Special thanks to Steve for his amazing accessability and letting me talk through some comic art bid prices, etc.

 

Keep up the good work CGC!

 

DAM

 

[Darthdiesel]

"CGC has contributed to my new obsession with "QP" (Quality of Production)"

 

More like "DP"....

 

I don't know what can be said that hasn't been.

 

CGC has benefits to the industry as returning the focus on responsible grading and raising the bar when selling truly High Grade material.

 

In terms of liquidity, CGC's "guaranty' being seen as "good enough to go by" has made transactions over the internet much easier.

 

It is easier to file, display, store prize collections in a "one-shot" slab that does this all, instead of hunting down the right mylar, frame, box, lightproof container, etc. to show off/store your collection properly and safely.

 

And without CGC and these forums, I wouldn't have met so many contacts, trustworthy sellers, loyal buyers and casual comic connossieurs that have both contributed to and helped spread the Darthdiesel Empire beyond its humble Top Cow peddling origins

[Bugaboo-migration]

Reading these responses reminded me that I completely forgot about a couple of things. CGC's restoration check is invaluable to me as well, especially when buying online or via mail order. It just takes a lot of the worry out of it for me.

 

And this forum is great. I've met a lot of new friends and obviously have a good time kidding around, but I've also learned a lot about the hobby itself. Steve's participation in here to address questions and concerns speaks volumes, and it's a big plus to know that excellent customer support is just a phone call away.

[BronzeBruce13]

...."The CGC staff is great, more than willing to answer questions and help out any way they can."

- Steve's input on these boards speaks for itself, but I've also had excellent response from CGC with regards to customer service. All businesses have problems/snafus, and CGC is no different. On 3 different occasions when problems arose, I was able to talk to a real-live person (Harshen, Steve) and sort it out:

 

1) I had a book slabbed in a case that was too small. Eventually, the slab cracked and I resubbed the book for "re-holdering". CGC called me on the phone and told me the re-holder was going to be done gratis.

 

2) CGC "lost" one of my subs!! I called around the time I thought I'd be getting the books back, and learned that the order had been logged in, but then apparently nothing had been done with them. Turns out the books were mistakenly placed in their land-of-misfit-submissions (they have another name for it, but it's where they hold submittals that don't match the invoice, no invoice, etc.,.). Anyhow, they turned the books around within a week, including a shweet Ghost Rider 1 9.6 White...still owned by a board member?!?!

 

3) Long story...but the short of this one was that CGC damaged one of my books while it was in their possession, and compensated me for the difference in the market value of the book at the "undamaged" grade vs. the "final" grade of the book I got back.

 

 

More than a few have complimented CGC's "Customer Service" and that may be something we take for granted a bit. Knowing you can reach someone that gives a crud, will give you personalized assistance, and will also go out of there way to makes things right... is simply invaluable. Businesses that have staff that perform at that level, consistently, are generally successful companies.

 

.. and you KNOW I still have that GR 1... until (IF) I find a better 9.6 (won't be easy) or stumble upon a stunningly flawless 9.8

[chrisco37]

To echo what everyone else has said, CGC has provided a safe (although sometimes expensive) way to buy comics on eBay. Got killed a few times buying raw, so I very rarely bid on HG items that are not CGC'd.

 

Best thing, for me, has been the forums! I've met a bunch of great people b/c of the forum. Learned so much about comics, grading, buying/selling due to forum members. It's great to have a place to talk w/ others w/ similarr interests and concerns regarding the hobby. It's great to have access to the wealth of knowledge that is out there. I especially like that CGC employees (in particular, Steve and Paul) often contribute and lend their insight into many of our discussions.

 

Chris

[BronzeBruce13]

...Got killed a few times buying raw, so I very rarely bid on HG items that are not CGC'd.

 

Join the club... even though I've had a few successes (a raw 180 that I paid $200 that came back 9.6 being the best)... its so frustrating going that route unless you are a very patient person who doesn't mind overpaying for his "readers" in a worst case scenario.

 

This brings up another point... Did you (anyone) ever get a book that was "touched up" and noticed it due to a little education learned here at the forum? I was lucky to have caught someone before it was too late. I bought a raw DD 131 almost 2 years ago or so and while inspecting it I noticed it had a slight "purple/red reflection" in some black areas. Having already picked Chris Friesen's brain on the phone concerning common resto... it was obvious the guy used a black "ball point" pen to fill in some spots (but the reflection gives that away). Needless to say, an angry, but non accusatory email suggesting the guy he got the book from whenever was a crook (leaving him an opp to save face) I obtained a full refund with shipping paid too. He settled that quick (too quick, never reacted to the resto comments, just paid up)... I hope he never did it again.

 

Point being... I imagine we've all become just a wee bit better at spotting "some" Resto. I also bet some of the amateurs out there are far less likely to try now too.