More CGC Grading Fun

[Darthdiesel]

Hey, at least you've stopped urging me to hold my breath 'til I keeled over!

And believe me, I knew when I posted those questions originally that the 'tact score' for that post would be rather low... but that doesn't invalidate the questions.

 

 

Nothing wrong with your questions...it is the timing. It's attending a dinner and questioning the integrity of your host's business while he pays for your meal. But I guess I was just not raised that way...

 

And to your point, I also realized that the likelihood of my, or any other 'tough' questions, being asked of Steve or other CGC reps at the board dinner, was slim to none. It's kinda sad, actually, the lack of backbone that many board members exhibit when it comes to really posing the tough questions that need to be asked.

 

WTF? These questions are not tough to ask. If I gave a flying F about this, I would ask Steve face to face, but not at a dinner CGC was co-hosting. I doubt it's backbone these members lack. It's just a matter of respect. Time and aplace for all things...

 

I didn't think that many of us could be bought off with hors d'ouvres and some soup.

 

 

Had I known which board members would be at the dinner, I would have sent the questions directly to one or more of 'us.'

 

It's been at the top of the General board, pinned there all month long? "Megacon is coming"

 

and this one came up right before with the final info on dinner attendees. Try again, sir...

 

But I also thought that posing the questions in this thread, at a time when this thread was very high on the boards, would accomplish the same thing? Seems like an excuse to say "well, you didn't send them to ME or I would have asked them!" (Not YOU per se, Darth, but anyone on the boards who saw them.)

 

If you had asked me to and I was at Megacon, I would have asked for you but not at the dinner. Maybe at the booth or aside from prying ears who like political pundits want to twist and turn everything stated into something that fit their own agenda.

 

And you know what? [!@#%^&^] tact. What does tact have to do with this? Since when do only the tactful questions get answered? Do you really think that ratcheting up the tact on my post would have resulted in answers to those questions? Get real.

 

If you don't know what the value of tact is in this world... I'm 10 - 15 years your junior and I know it value all too well... I was questioning your suggestion that these questions be resolved over dinner. Dinner is for fun conversation and getting together with family or friends, having a good time, not hashing out controversies.

 

 

BTW, I'll be at the CGC forum dinner at WonderCon, and I will be asking tough questions. No amount of clam chowder can buy my silence

 

Hope there's a used rubber in your clam chowder...seems to be the San Francisco treat lately...

 

Frankly, I'm really tired of the "hey, CGC's been good to this hobby, and therefore good to all of us - show some damned respect!" That's just bull!$#*%.

CGC's footing the bill, why not handle this before at the con? Or maybe you are worried you won't be invited to the dinner after your questions u r a freak...

 

good luck getting these questions answered. keep the drama off the boards and just call Steve up... here 1-800-NM-Comic - ask for Steve and tell him Darth sent you

[Darthdiesel]

Apologies if I'm being dense... are you suggesting I call Steve with these questions?

 

didn't read banner;s answers to; now, but yes, reach out and touch someone..

 

Would anyone believe the answers I conveyed to this board if in fact I got answers?

 

I would believe you. I never had any reason to doubt your integrity. Wait until we go for dinner somewhere and then I'll give you the business, call you a lying sack of sheit and stiff you with the bill...

 

Should any one of us have to be the liaison between CGC and these boards?

 

Greggy volunteers

 

Or are my questions bad questions that no one else wants answers to ? You can't hurt my feelings - I'm a comic book collector

 

I would like them answered now that you got into it with me over 'em. didn't care before but now I'm thinking this could be a "meaning=of=life" caliber revelation

[greggy]

Greggy volunteers

[mr_highgrade]

[Dr_Neff]

[Aces]

What this thread suppose to be about anyway?

[Darthdiesel]

What this thread suppose to be about anyway?

 

Borock's new book, "100 ways to Seduce Women with Your Pony-Tail"

[mr_highgrade]

[greggy]

[Aces]

[garthgantu]

I was taking dramatic license with "*$#& tact" ... what I meant was, there's a time and a place for tact, and as I recall, Steve invited questions on this very subject - the trimming of the Bats 11 and its being awarded a Blue label, and the resulting "make good" by CGC, which I again acknowledge as admirable (but somewhat nebulous as a customer service policy - I mean, wouldn't you like to know in advance the parameters of any such guarantee on the part of any business?).

 

But no one on these boards thought to bring up anything related to this at all? It's just a total shmooze-fest? No bad or potentially negative information of any kind can be exchanged, even in the name of educating the masses? I don't get it.

 

But I will send Steve the same questions I've posed in this thread, tomorrow.

[Darthdiesel]

It's just a total shmooze-fest?

 

We just all sit in awe of the ponytailed God that is Borock and marvel at how he keeps it so split-end free

[Illiterati-migration]

It's just a total shmooze-fest?

 

We just all sit in awe of the ponytailed God that is Borock and marvel at how he keeps it so split-end free

 

So, it's just like an afternoon on the boards?

[garthgantu]

CGC's footing the bill, why not handle this before at the con? Or maybe you are worried you won't be invited to the dinner after your questions u r a freak...

 

So, Darth, first you imply that asking such questions would be inappropriate and without tact when the target of the questions is paying for dinner, then you imply that I'm afraid to ask the questions because I might not get invited to the dinner? And you're saying I'm the one with no tact? Since when did you learn to read minds?

 

Stop putting words in my mouth, I'm saving room for the hors d'ouvres!

 

Here is the PM I sent to Steve B. today:

Hi, Steve: I was planning to pose these questions at the CGC forum dinner around WonderCon here in SF, but some of the board regulars indicated it might be more appropriate to submit them via PM... First let me say that, I know you view me as a [!@#%^&^] disturber on the boards - and I don't deny that, to an extent. As I've stated on boards, I am a fan of CGC, and want it to succeed, but feel compelled to voice concerns and criticisms for a number of reasons, the most significant being my feeling that CGC is in many ways the leading bellwether of the back issue market and therefore of great interest and importance to all of us who are serious collectors.

Here are the questions I'm hoping you will find time to field:

- Re: the Batman 11 with trimming, how does CGC's policy of "making good" on such (admittedly rare) oversights? Is there any way you can quantify this policy, even somewhat? What would the owner of a CGCed book need in order to receive compensation for a book that he or she believes to be graded incorrectly? If the book in question is deemed to be in fact incorrectly graded, what portion of the books "perceived value" should the owner expect to receive?

- In your post to the thread re: the Bats 11 ("more CGC grading fun" is the title of that thread), you stated "...there will always be creeps like Dupcek trying new techniques to screw up the books..."

...is it the case then that the Bats 11 was submitted by Danny D?

...can one infer from your statement that DannyD is also behind some of the "clean, press and re-submit" jobs that we've been seeing on Heritage?

...further, you say "...I feel worse than you can imagine about not catching this guy sooner" - this statement suggests either that:

1) there are more examples like the Bats 11 out there, meaning Blue-label CGC books that in fact should be in PLODs

2) or that Danny D. or whoever the culprit is has done other work that CGC is now aware of, in which case can you clarify what it is we should be "on the lookout for" ?

- On that last note, does CGC have an 'official stance' on "clean, press, and re-submit" jobs? Is this something CGC is working to thwart in future? Or is this viewed as being acceptable restoration within the guidelines of CGC?

Thanks in advance for your response - as you no doubt know, there's a considerable amount of concern and alarm among many board members regarding both the Bats 11 and the large number of "clean, press and resubmit" examples that have been popping up recently.

Garthgantu

[drbanner]

Here is the PM I sent to Steve B. today:

Hi, Steve: I was planning to pose these questions at the CGC forum dinner around WonderCon here in SF, but some of the board regulars indicated it might be more appropriate to submit them via PM...

 

Who suggested you PM Steve?

 

Why didn't you call him as Darth and I suggested?

 

Is this demonstrating the "backbone" you chastized the rest of the board for not having?

 

(I know...I know...maybe I should CALL you and ask these questions!! )

[garthgantu]

Dr. B, I don't know if you're serious or not, about anything in that previous post. I'm sorry I didn't follow your instructions to the letter. I've always understood Steve B. to be equally accessible via email, PM, phone, etc. He's PMed me before, outta the blue, so I figured it was equally appropriate. I'm tired of defending everything I do and say on the boards. I don't really feel I need to ?

[THE_BEYONDER]

. I'm tired of defending everything I do and say on the boards. I don't really feel I need to ?

 

 

If it matters....you don't have to defend your words or actions to me.

[RS]

It's just a total shmooze-fest?

 

We just all sit in awe of the ponytailed God that is Borock and marvel at how he keeps it so split-end free

 

[drbanner]

I'm tired of defending everything I do and say on the boards. I don't really feel I need to?

 

So I imagine you feel like all the forum members you called out for not having the "backbone" to ask the "questions that need to be answered" at Megacon?

 

Anyhowser, I'm more than curious to hear Steve's response to your PM's, and as Darth said...we have no reason to believe you're going to pass along anything other than what Steve tells you. I'm afraid though that you're not going to get the hard-and-fast answers your questions were structured to solicit, but we'll see...

[garthgantu]

Hey, I didn't single anyone out - remember, I didn't know who was attending.

 

Here's the initial response I got from Steve B:

Thanks for the PM. I don't mind answering these and any other questions at the dinners, it is one of the reasons we host them. I am a very slow typist and would rather answer the questions in person and also, sometimes one answer leads to another question . I would also rather grade than spend a lot of time answering questions during the day. I will, however, try and answer these questions for you over the weekend after my daughter goes to bed.

Best,

Steve

 

And my response:

 

Hi, Steve: Apologies - I seem to recall you noting the slow typing thing once before, on the boards. If it's more convenient or appropriate to answer these questions at the dinner, that's of course fine by me. One thought: It was suggested to me that asking such questions at a CGC dinner, paid for by CGC would be in poor taste - in a word, tactless. It might be constructive to arrange with whoever from the boards is organizing the dinner, to collect questions from other board members, both those who plan to attend and those who cannot, in advance of the dinner, such that you have the questions in time to formulate answers, prioritize the questions, etc., and board members can feel they are able to pose questions anonymously if that somehow suits them better....

 

Just an idea, and thanks again for the quick response,

 

Garth