No Steve, no Mark, no West...who's grading Golden Age books these days?

[tth2]

Well, we all knew this day was coming. It was just a matter of when, not if.

 

I submitted a few GA books at Phila Wizard for onsite grading.

 

I had graded this book a 2.5:

 

 

This is what it came back:

 

I'm happy to take the bump up but .... why do I feel dirty about it?

Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case.

 

Where's the bowing graemlin?

[esquirecomics]

Well, we all knew this day was coming. It was just a matter of when, not if.

 

I submitted a few GA books at Phila Wizard for onsite grading.

 

I had graded this book a 2.5:

 

 

This is what it came back:

 

I'm happy to take the bump up but .... why do I feel dirty about it?

 

It looks like the cover was completely detached from your first pic. Is that right?

 

If so, how that came back a 4.0 is a miracle.

 

I don't believe it was detached Mark, at least not when I purchased it.

[VintageComics]

Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case.

 

Where's the bowing graemlin?

 

Like I said, I have a stack of books that are getting resubbed and would overturn your jury.

 

 

[Bronty]

eek that is not a very good looking vg. I thought the 2.5 pregrade was best case

[Mark 1]

Well, we all knew this day was coming. It was just a matter of when, not if.

 

I submitted a few GA books at Phila Wizard for onsite grading.

 

I had graded this book a 2.5:

 

 

This is what it came back:

 

I'm happy to take the bump up but .... why do I feel dirty about it?

 

It looks like the cover was completely detached from your first pic. Is that right?

 

If so, how that came back a 4.0 is a miracle.

 

I don't believe it was detached Mark, at least not when I purchased it.

 

My only reason for asking is in the first picture the cover appears to be slipped up past the pages (see the flap on top and the pages of the book on the bottom...)

 

But, in the slab everything is back to even. It led me to believe the cover was loose or detached.

 

Alternatively, I thought it could have been a spine roll that would flare the pages on the bottom but again the slab looks straight.

 

Does anyone else see that? What could that be?

 

 

[Transplant]

My only reason for asking is in the first picture the cover appears to be slipped up past the pages (see the flap on top and the pages of the book on the bottom...)

 

But, in the slab everything is back to even. It led me to believe the cover was loose or detached.

 

Alternatively, I thought it could have been a spine roll that would flare the pages on the bottom but again the slab looks straight.

 

Does anyone else see that? What could that be?

 

The cover is loose on the staple. See it raw and the cover is pushed to the top of the openings around the staple. In the slab, it's pushed to the bottom of the openings. Cover is loose but not detached around the staple.

[G.A.tor]

I can say that the last 4 books I submitted to cgc last week I felt were graded more tightly than any I have subbed in the past year...so, maybe a movement to tighten up

[innocuous]

So plitch is probably grading golden age, but there are supposed to be three graders on each book, one of whom is the head grader. Even if plitch is the head grader, who are the other two?

 

To tell you the honest truth, my concern would extend beyond the issue of consistency of grading which CGC has been known to have problems with.

 

I would also be worried about pedigree verification which was both Haspel's and West's area of expertise. I wonder who they have assigned this task to for now?

 

Good point.

 

Just to add a little perspective, Borock, Mark and West all learned their areas of expertise over time. There are a few graders who have been with CGC for a long time and Litch has been there for a decade with Mark and Steve and West.

 

It takes interest in your job, time and experience and a good teacher to pass that stuff down. I'd think that it's not unlike any job where over time, your skill set grows and is expanded as you mature.

 

Plus, CGC did say that Haspel would remain as consultant even during his leave of absence.

 

I would think that the higher ups at CGC or the Collector's Society would understand how to run a business and keep things on track. They're running a highly successful multi-million dollar company through one of the worst economic downturns that modern times have seen. They must be doing something right.

 

Like I said earlier, employee turnover happens in every corporate setting. The larger the company, the more often it happens. It's a numbers game and should be part of a business model.

 

Anybody worth their salt in running a business would expect this to happen and plan for it ahead of time.

 

(thumbs u

 

Roy, best intentions and the reality of running a business are completely separate. CGC could still be categorized as a small business. The time to train and/or recruit similar experience for golden age, as back-up these past few years, goes against the flow of grading a million books and staying cash positive.

[Mark 1]

My only reason for asking is in the first picture the cover appears to be slipped up past the pages (see the flap on top and the pages of the book on the bottom...)

 

But, in the slab everything is back to even. It led me to believe the cover was loose or detached.

 

Alternatively, I thought it could have been a spine roll that would flare the pages on the bottom but again the slab looks straight.

 

Does anyone else see that? What could that be?

 

The cover is loose on the staple. See it raw and the cover is pushed to the top of the openings around the staple. In the slab, it's pushed to the bottom of the openings. Cover is loose but not detached around the staple.

 

Got it. Thanks!

[TheWatcher]

I can say that the last 4 books I submitted to cgc last week I felt were graded more tightly than any I have subbed in the past year...so, maybe a movement to tighten up

 

Why couldn't they tighten their grading standards after they grade my books

[VintageComics]

I can say that the last 4 books I submitted to cgc last week I felt were graded more tightly than any I have subbed in the past year...so, maybe a movement to tighten up

 

It's very difficult to make a case by looking at isolated scans here and there.

 

Obviously, I'm going by my own experience but I've subbed about 200 books this year and like I said earlier, in my opinion some are tight, some are loose and some are bang on but this has been par for the course for as long as I have been having books graded.

 

 

 

[esquirecomics]

My only reason for asking is in the first picture the cover appears to be slipped up past the pages (see the flap on top and the pages of the book on the bottom...)

 

But, in the slab everything is back to even. It led me to believe the cover was loose or detached.

 

Alternatively, I thought it could have been a spine roll that would flare the pages on the bottom but again the slab looks straight.

 

Does anyone else see that? What could that be?

 

The cover is loose on the staple. See it raw and the cover is pushed to the top of the openings around the staple. In the slab, it's pushed to the bottom of the openings. Cover is loose but not detached around the staple.

 

I think this is probably a correct explanation. (thumbs u

 

I didn't really care what grade it was as it is simply a place holder for me for this particular issue which I was having trouble finding.

[cheetah]

So plitch is probably grading golden age, but there are supposed to be three graders on each book, one of whom is the head grader. Even if plitch is the head grader, who are the other two?

 

To tell you the honest truth, my concern would extend beyond the issue of consistency of grading which CGC has been known to have problems with.

 

I would also be worried about pedigree verification which was both Haspel's and West's area of expertise. I wonder who they have assigned this task to for now?

 

Good point.

 

Just to add a little perspective, Borock, Mark and West all learned their areas of expertise over time. There are a few graders who have been with CGC for a long time and Litch has been there for a decade with Mark and Steve and West.

 

It takes interest in your job, time and experience and a good teacher to pass that stuff down. I'd think that it's not unlike any job where over time, your skill set grows and is expanded as you mature.

 

Plus, CGC did say that Haspel would remain as consultant even during his leave of absence.

 

I would think that the higher ups at CGC or the Collector's Society would understand how to run a business and keep things on track. They're running a highly successful multi-million dollar company through one of the worst economic downturns that modern times have seen. They must be doing something right.

 

Like I said earlier, employee turnover happens in every corporate setting. The larger the company, the more often it happens. It's a numbers game and should be part of a business model.

 

Anybody worth their salt in running a business would expect this to happen and plan for it ahead of time.

 

(thumbs u

 

Roy, best intentions and the reality of running a business are completely separate. CGC could still be categorized as a small business. The time to train and/or recruit similar experience for golden age, as back-up these past few years, goes against the flow of grading a million books and staying cash positive.

 

CGC is no different than any other small, technically demanding small business. Making up for the loss of valuable, well-trained employees is critical but is also absurdly difficult. A two-week notice in a job like this is the industry standard but there is no way you can replace a valuable and rare employee in a short time. Six months is more likely. Having a backup plan that allows someone to fit in seamlessly is a huge expense and can be the difference between being profitable and losing money. There are no easy choices in situations like this. I've struggled with the same issue on more than one occasion.

[nearmint]

I should have the results of my two GA books in 4-5 days. I predict 8.5 and 9.4. We'll see how they do.

 

Here are the results, which I'm happy with. I hope all that smudging is a problem with their scanner rather than on the holder, as it certainly isn't on the books.

 

 

 

 

 

[Ze-man]

Superman #32...

 

Looks like CGC needs more Lemon Pledge Windex.

[VintageComics]

Superman #32...

 

Looks like CGC needs more Lemon Pledge Windex.

 

Yup, both books exhibit the same smears.

 

(thumbs u

[VintageComics]

So plitch is probably grading golden age, but there are supposed to be three graders on each book, one of whom is the head grader. Even if plitch is the head grader, who are the other two?

 

To tell you the honest truth, my concern would extend beyond the issue of consistency of grading which CGC has been known to have problems with.

 

I would also be worried about pedigree verification which was both Haspel's and West's area of expertise. I wonder who they have assigned this task to for now?

 

Good point.

 

Just to add a little perspective, Borock, Mark and West all learned their areas of expertise over time. There are a few graders who have been with CGC for a long time and Litch has been there for a decade with Mark and Steve and West.

 

It takes interest in your job, time and experience and a good teacher to pass that stuff down. I'd think that it's not unlike any job where over time, your skill set grows and is expanded as you mature.

 

Plus, CGC did say that Haspel would remain as consultant even during his leave of absence.

 

I would think that the higher ups at CGC or the Collector's Society would understand how to run a business and keep things on track. They're running a highly successful multi-million dollar company through one of the worst economic downturns that modern times have seen. They must be doing something right.

 

Like I said earlier, employee turnover happens in every corporate setting. The larger the company, the more often it happens. It's a numbers game and should be part of a business model.

 

Anybody worth their salt in running a business would expect this to happen and plan for it ahead of time.

 

(thumbs u

 

Roy, best intentions and the reality of running a business are completely separate. CGC could still be categorized as a small business. The time to train and/or recruit similar experience for golden age, as back-up these past few years, goes against the flow of grading a million books and staying cash positive.

 

CGC is no different than any other small, technically demanding small business. Making up for the loss of valuable, well-trained employees is critical but is also absurdly difficult. A two-week notice in a job like this is the industry standard but there is no way you can replace a valuable and rare employee in a short time. Six months is more likely. Having a backup plan that allows someone to fit in seamlessly is a huge expense and can be the difference between being profitable and losing money. There are no easy choices in situations like this. I've struggled with the same issue on more than one occasion.

 

Jeff, no doubt. We faced the same problems in the automotive dealership industry, but most competitive technical industries have large well educated employee pools to choose from whereas CGC doesn't have that luxury because they are the only employer in town.

 

Something to keep in mind though is that a lot of these people have been working for CGC for a decade, so guys like Litch, Sean and the rest have been steadily groomed and moving up through the ranks over the past 10 years.

 

Have you ever seen those old pictures of Shawn and Litch? They look like jail bait.

 

 

It's going to be interesting to see how CGC evolves through this.

[Ze-man]

fwiw, Litch did call me awhile ago and ask if I was interested in a position with CGC.

 

I told him at this point in my life I am not in a position to yank the kids from school and move. That, and I am really happy doing resto work.

 

So my grading career was nipped in the bud before it ever began.

 

But it was nice to be asked, and Paul was of course brilliant to think of me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TheWatcher]

fwiw, Litch did call me awhile ago and ask if I was interested in a position with CGC.

 

I told him at this point in my life I am not in a position to yank the kids from school and move. That, and I am really happy doing resto work.

 

So my grading career was nipped in the bud before it ever began.

 

But it was nice to be asked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CGC called and asked me, too. Surprisingly, the call came from Canada and the voice said "FU, greek" Guess they read my reusme

[Ze-man]

 

Greggy said Plitch is a poopyhead. fwiw.