What's your CGC hang-up?

[THE_BEYONDER]

can you go into more detail as to how you came to this stance?

 

Tune in tomorrow. Same bat channel....same bat time.....

[Red Hook]

You know what really pees me off? Undisclosed professional pr........pr..........p.....p.....p.....

 

 

 

GODDAM IT! I CAN'T EVEN SAY IT ANYMORE!!

 

YOU DIE! YOU DIE! AND YOU GO TO HELL!

 

MR. HAT WILL BE TAKING OVER MY POSTS FROM ME FROM NOW ON!

[blowout]

but I want the CGC grade to reflect structure, and structure alone.

 

WTF does that mean?

[RushComics]

 

You know what I hate? When I want a book to come back with Near Mint 9.6 and it comes back with a purple label 4.0.

 

Just kidding. :-)

 

I'll go with "Turn Around Times."

 

 

Charlie

[blowout]

You know what I hate? When I want a book to come back with Near Mint 9.6 and it comes back with a purple label 4.0.

 

Maybe a copy of the Overstreet Grading Guide would be a good next purchase for you.

[Clark Khaos-migration]

The irony? You can't read a slabbed book.

 

Yes you can--you break open the slab, open the cover, and there you have it.

 

You're going to start a firestorm if you keep up this stance...I can already smell Khaos sharpening up his "you CGC guys are anal-retentive, brainless automatons who have forgotten why you even started collecting comics in the first place" sword.

 

I'll sheathe the sword when you start cracking slabs.

[PovertyRow]

You know what really pees me off? Undisclosed professional pr........pr..........p.....p.....p.....

 

Well Mister Twig says "Are you trying to say professional pressing?"

[nearmint]

I STILL hate crooked labels!!

[dolphinsrwj]

my biggest hang up other than the turnaround times is when they do not put a wedge inside the slab and the comic moves around.i notice this on some of the 9.8s that the bottom right corner hits up against the inner well and bends the bottom corner down.

[minutekev@50]

So I can assume Minkev, that a Red/brown label 9.2 is even worse?

 

 

I am also in the camp of give me your tired, give me your poor, give me all your 9.2's

 

 

I have no problem with them, slabbed, or cracked open , a 9.2 is a darn darn fine specimen, and would have a place in my collection anyday.

 

I understand when you see a 9.2 you cant help but think about a 9.4, but cmon, dont be a hater.. give a 9.2 some love , it wanted to be a 9.4---- but fell short.

Dont 9.2's need love too?

 

A red/brown in 9.2 would make me puke. And a 9.2 seems to get enough love from the people in this forum...it needs no love from me...

[magelsa]

Two things really get to me about CGC. First, the tiny pieces of broken plastic (how they get there is anybody's guess) that hang around between the plastic holder and the inner well - they are a pain to dislodge. Secondly, as a collect of magazines, I've noticed that the spines on these are often arched (i.e. the mag looks slightly bowed from top to bottom). I often wonder if this causes any of the spine stress marks that some 9.4 books come with. Also, does anyone know if the mags will be permanently affected by this if they ever get released from their slabs? One other thing, for all those who feel sorry for 9.2s, I think CGC feels the same way - 9.2s nearly always (especially with mags that I've purchased) look far worse than 9.4s (and usually 9.0s for that matter).

[RS]

Off the top of my head, things I would like CGC to improve upon:

 

Please note date stamps again on label

Bring back the letter grade

Need to watch the overgrading on Golden Age books

More detailed graders notes

Quicker turn-around times

Need to better address pressing

(possibly noting within the grading notes when detected or creating a new label)

Need more consistancy on page quality

Re-vamp the PLOD (possibly create a new point system for degree of restoration)

 

 

I like this idea Re-vamp the PLOD (possibly create a new point system for degree of restoration)

 

They should have never taken out the Letter grades.

 

Turn around times

[RS]

The prescreens They should not do this anymore. Learn to grade your own books preescreen them youself. Then send in only the best not just 100 books you just unpacked form Diamond Then turn around times will be alot better

[Ze-man]

Well since no one has brought it up yet.

 

I dont like it when the top skinny label pulls up from the case on older CGC slabs

(I know the new ones work better now)

 

I agree with others , I think a comic with QP issues, I.E.. a severe miswrap, or was cut wrong etc.. has no place being givin a 9.4, 9.6 even if it is in all other respects fitting of the grade.

 

I dont like the fact that many board members say they store their CGC comics on the side, and there is no lable on the side to identify it when stored this way, how does CGC reccommend we store their slabbed comics?, flat? upright? on its side?

 

I really dont like the fact that a case can be so easilly cracked or split /damaged.

With todays plastics available, I know for a fact there is a more shatter resistant product available.

 

 

I wish my CGC comics were UV protected ( or are they?, I might be mistaken)

 

I dont like the fact that my gradeing slip/label is just floating around loose in the slab, if for some reason my case becomes damaged, or wet or whatever, and I open it, the comic is still sealed untill cut out, therefore the grading slip should also be sealed in with comic.

 

I would like to see letter grades return to label too, I know sellers had a hard time selling letter graded comics in the increments available, but I liked the sound of VF+, or NM instead of 8.5 or 9.0, why cant both still be on label?

 

I think PLOD needs to be revamped also, my PLOD 9.0 JIM Annual #1 with 2 small specs of color touch on spine, is lumped into the same catagory as other PLOD's with major color touch, edges trimmed, and pressed.. etc.. doesnt seem fair to just lump all with a PLOD. so the number system declaring the degree of restoration seems like a decent idea to pursue .... a point off for each trasngression a comic is found to have?

.. albiet the current "Slight A" does address this somewhat.

 

 

Graders notes need to be included/returned with each submission.

 

And lastly, a newer more easily readable ink used to print the labels, especially the larger number grade., It looks faded and light as it is now, not much of a "wow" factor.

 

Zeman

[goldust40]

My main concern with CGC is that they have come to dominate and become so rigidly entrenched in this market in such a brief space of time. What one has to remember is that CGC is corporate and has ties to other corporations or interests. This situation of course is a fertile breeding ground for conspiracists - not only that but far too large a portion of the market depends on this one company.

 

They weren't elected as arbiters, after all, and yet they are now standard bearers for grading, resto detection, resto definition, signature authentication and, along with their cohorts at GPA and Heritage, market evaluators. Granted, a lot of money and research went into the project prior to its' inception, which is basically the difference between them and the pretenders. Despite the presence of this competition, CGC still comes across as a monopoly - which is a bad thing for the marketplace, especially the grass roots collectorship, as it does allow the people at CGC to rest on their laurels. The longer this continues, the harder (and less expedient) it will be for the rules regarding resto and grading to be changed or amended.

 

If only the competition wasn't so pisspoor.

[Red Hook]

Well it's hard to blame CGC if currently they are in fact a monopoly of sorts. CGG proved that it isn't just a matter of slapping together a website, a price list and a simulacrum of the holder. It's not like Microsoft who actively discouraged competition. CGC is just doing what they do. And doing it well enough right now.

 

Eventually there will be more legitimate competition for CGC, remember, this whole world of comic grading is in it's infancy. It will be interesting to see what happens over time.

 

In a way, CGC came along and filled a vacuum. Being first on the block, and doing a pretty good job, does make them the arbiters for now by default. And figure, every time you buy a slab or get a book graded by CGC, you are casting a YES vote.

 

And by the way, I have no proof of this, but seeing how smartly they went about preparing the ground before they launched, I would be surprised if they were really resting on their laurels. The turnaround time is a big challenge right now. They are going to have to correct that soon. But I think it would be fair to say that CGC got it 80 to 90% right first time around. And I do believe they pay attention to the boards, for feedback, which is like having an ongoing focus group for your product.

[goldust40]

Good points Red - although my post came across as one sided, I would agree that they have done considerably better than expected, considering that this was a new and untested area for the hobby/industry. As it stands, I submit books to CGC, so therefore I tacitly support them.

 

I was addressing the hang-ups rather than the positives. As I mentioned, corporate money was required to develop the business properly (and anticipate marketplace resistance) - such funding, research and strategies are absent in the competition (not to mention the enlisting of highly respected figures in the industry like SB to spearhead expansion).

 

That said, and I am aware that CGC are only human, things could be better - the laissez-faire attitude towards professional pressing (there, I said it) allows for market gray areas which can easily be exploited. As you correctly pointed out, the business of third party grading is still in its' infancy. Yet despite the considerable changes brought on by the arrival of CGC in such a short time (the new numeric grading system, grading standards and perception, and the mercurial rise of companies trading almost exclusively in CGC graded items) certain issues are seemingly being set in stone, or being left to stagnate.

 

The longer said issues (grading, the lack of graders' notes, non-disclosure of pressing, etc.) are left on the back- burner, the less will be done about them.

[Ze-man]

simulacrum?

 

laissez-faire ?

 

, I be needs to brakes outs me dikshonary...

you un yur gosh durn book lernins... howz a comik collekter posed to read theze pozts if you keep on wit dem big wordz!

 

 

[goldust40]

simulacrum?

 

laissez-faire ?

 

, I be needs to brakes outs me dikshonary...

you un yur gosh durn book lernins... howz a comik collekter posed to read theze pozts if you keep on wit dem big wordz!

 

 

 

But I like them fancy twenty dollar words!!

[thecomicsheet]

simulacrum?

 

laissez-faire ?

 

, I be needs to brakes outs me dikshonary...

you un yur gosh durn book lernins... howz a comik collekter posed to read theze pozts if you keep on wit dem big wordz!

 

 

 

But I like them fancy twenty dollar words!!

 

Ok, how many of us could spell 'laissez-faire' without a dictionary or spell checker? Hmmm.