current turn around rates at CGC 80 80

[mschmidt]

There's no question CGC doesn't excel at communicating changes

Really? That's your takeaway? They're not good at communicating? Ok. Never mind then.

 

What else would it be? That CGC changes things just to *spoon* with their customers? That they're a monopoly, know it and don't care what anyone thinks? I'm sorry, but I just don't believe that.

 

What I do know is that they're a business and some of their decisions will be based on profitability. And, yeah, sometimes those decisions mean that you're going to be paying more for less.

 

If CGC had actually posted on the board, saying "we will no longer give out grades until books are marked shipped/safe", do you honestly think the people who are pissed off about this change would be any less pissed? I don't.

[P Keel]

[A-DONIS]

The Cuban in me would of responded with some less than educated phrases...

 

My belief is that the moment you change a business pratice that has beein implemented for over 10 years now, is ridiculous. You can't constantly keep making changes without giving an excuse.

 

For example:

 

We are now going to charge everyone $5 per invoice submitted because we are completely overwhelmed with submissions NOT TO MAKE A PROFIT for a service already provided.

We are no longer giving out grades during the GRADED stage of the grading process due to the possibilaty that the book could get damaged during encapsulation - Something that was never said.

 

This is how you address issues in a business that has no competition. Keep the customers happy and informed.

 

 

[mschmidt]

For example:

 

We are now going to charge everyone $5 per invoice submitted because we are completely overwhelmed with submissions NOT TO MAKE A PROFIT for a service already provided.

We are no longer giving out grades during the GRADED stage of the grading process due to the possibilaty that the book could get damaged during encapsulation - Something that was never said.

 

This is how you address issues in a business that has no competition. Keep the customers happy and informed.

 

How about "we're going to charge $5 pr. invoice because we want to get paid for trying to decipher your crappy- handwriting"?

[A-DONIS]

I have hand-writing skills.

 

[aszumilo]

9/12/12 regular modern submission just went to "scheduled for grading" today ...

 

Cool. Getting close to my 9/15 and 9/17

 

My 8/23 submission has been "Scheduled for grading" since 12/10.

[gadzukes]

Just got my Express Submission back.

 

I shipped it 12/21 got them back 1/7

 

Waiting on an Economy that I sent in on 11/14

Waiting on my 4 free submissions (coupon) that I sent in on 12/7

Waiting on my Standard submission that I sent on 12/21

Waiting on an Economy fast track that I sent on 12/21

 

[lonetree]

My Modern submission from 9/6 just went to Graded!

[Pirate]

9/12/12 regular modern submission just went to "scheduled for grading" today ...

 

good luck. my 8/21 are still scheduled for grading.

[Transplant]

There's no question CGC doesn't excel at communicating changes

Really? That's your takeaway? They're not good at communicating? Ok. Never mind then.

 

What else would it be? That CGC changes things just to *spoon* with their customers? That they're a monopoly, know it and don't care what anyone thinks? I'm sorry, but I just don't believe that.

 

You and I will have to disagree then. Whether they care or not, they act like they don't care. But I don't need them to.

 

On the one hand, people expect CGC to be treated with more deference and forgiveness because it's our hobby and hey, we're all in this together. On the other hand, please name me another business where the actual product has suffered so much and people just line up for more. Prices have gone up. Quality is variable. Service has gone down. Communication is terrible. The ONLY reason they continue to enjoy the success that they do is b/c of their monopoly status.

[joeypost]

You're missing my point. Allowing people access to the grade prior to the grade being finalized has always been a bad idea - removing that option was a smart business move from CGC's side and should have been done years ago.

 

So when is the grade "finalized" and "final" and not subject to change? The way I read the following 2 sections together, a book is graded after the final grader examines it and, only then, it will head to be encapsulated. Further, being graded is a precursor to being marked "shipped/safe" according to the website.

 

After being examined by a restoration detection professional, the comic books are placed in barcoded mylar sleeves, and separated from their original invoice. This step is taken to ensure that graders do not know whose books they are grading, as a further guarantee of impartiality.

 

The book’s pages are then counted and any peculiarities or flaws that may affect a book’s grade are entered into the computer. Some examples of this would be “a tear on third page,” “a corner crease – does not break color,” “a ¼” inch spine split,” and so forth. When the grader examines the comic, he is not able to see a previously assigned grade, so as to not influence his own evaluation. After determining his own grade for the comic, he can then view the Grader Notes entered by a previous grader, and he may add to this commentary if he believes more remarks are in order.

 

Another restoration check is performed before assigning a grade. If all grades are in agreement or are very close, the book will be assigned a final grade. If there is disagreement among the graders, there will be a discussion with other graders until a final determination is made. The book is then forwarded to the Encapsulation Department for sealing.

 

Graded

Books have been graded and are currently going through the encapsulation process. This is when the appropriate holder size is selected and each book is carefully encased. Once this is complete, each comic will enter into the quality control process before it will be shipped.

The quality control process is when graded and encapsulated comics are re-examined by a grader to make certain that their labels are correct for both the grade and its accompanying descriptive information. He also inspects each comic for any major flaws on its holder.

 

Shipped/Safe

Comics have been inspected and approved in Quality Control, photographed in our imaging department if applicable and carefully packaged and shipped via your chosen method of delivery (or are being held for additional shipments). Grades are now available for viewing online, and the package is on its way back to you. Grades are available online once the books are marked with the status "Shipped".

 

It used to be that you could see your grades once a book was marked graded. The way I read the above, nothing should change from when something is marked "Graded" b/c the books have been graded and are headed to be slabbed.

 

This is just another example of decreasing any transparency. Did they do it b/c it was a hassle? B/c they are training new graders? B/c they were worried about showing when damage happened? Who knows. There's no information coming out of Sarasota and it's just another in a long line of "changes" about which no CGC rep speaks or answers questions.

 

Read the text you quoted:

 

"Grades are available online once the books are marked with the status "Shipped"."

 

Nowhere does it say that the grades are supposed to be available when the books are marked "scheduled for grading" or "graded" - and as the QC process happens after the books have been graded, it makes zero sense to hand out the grades till the books have actually been finalized (which doesn't happen till they hit shipped/safe).

 

What I don't understand is why you, instead of posting the same speculations again & again in thread after thread, didn't just pick up the phone, call CGC and ask them directly about this latest change? I did ... they said it was a mistake to ever have allowed people access to grades prior to the books being finalized. That it created confusion amongst new submitters and that it had gotten to be an even bigger headache ever since they started training new graders.

 

My experience with CGC is that every time there's been a problem with a book where it was obvious that something went wrong whilst it was in the hands of CGC, CGC took care of it & made me right. If you choose to believe otherwise, that's your prerogative, but I have to say that I'm not really a fan of the tinfoil-hat-wearing Transplant that sees a giant conspiracy in every single decision made by CGC.

 

Mike, I don't see it as tinfoil hat wearing. Joey makes an excellent post which provides real insight into why I post the things I do. I won't rehash it here except to say that CGC just keeps taking away things, with no communication.

 

And this is the way CGC has been doing business since this board started up 10 years ago. How many of CGC's new policies were first reported here by a hobbyist b/c they called up and accidentally found out about it? How many things had to be "discovered" by hobbyists first before CGC would even admit they knew what we were talking about? Probably be easier/quicker to list the things CGC did report proactively than not.

How long does something have to go on before it's no longer a nutty conspiracy theory?

 

I think the point had more to do with bad business practices compared to conspiracy theories. At least that was the intent of my posting.

 

There's no question CGC doesn't excel at communicating changes, but if I look at your list, Joey, a lot of those items were posted about both here and on CGC's own site prior to them taking effect - the price increases, the changes to the SS program, the charging for graders' notes, the $5 invoice fee, etc.

 

One may not like CGC increasing their prices, but you can't say that they didn't give us notice that they were going to do so.

 

And it's not all bad either - the changes to the SS program made it much more of a level playing field for anybody who enjoys SS books. And whilst I don't personally care one way or the other about them acquiring Classics Inc and offering up pressing as a service, it is an addition that wasn't available previously.

 

Mike, my post had more to do with what has been taken away. CGC has let uus know about the price increases and oher items you have mentioned. What I ask is what have we gotten back regarding customer service in comparison to what we have lost? This is not a complaint but a simple question of facts.

[Turtle]

anyone got a ship date for Modern tier? Mine are 8/21 and have been scheduled for grading since before the holidays.

 

I'm in the same boat. I've got some moderns that were scheduled for grading on 12/11 and they haven't changed yet.

 

These moderns changed to "Graded" on 1/7. With the holidays, that makes it 16 business days between "Scheduled for grading" and "Graded".

[Topnotchman]

9/12/12 regular modern submission just went to "scheduled for grading" today ...

 

good luck. my 8/21 are still scheduled for grading.

 

I have pre screen modern invoiced 7/23, says graded but not shipped. So I do not know the grades.

[Pirate]

Mine just went to graded, only 3 more weeks!

[Spidey-fan73]

So, Modern "20 day" turn around is actually 20 weeks? Wow. Was going to send some in, was dissuaded by the "registered rate" for shippng ($44 for 6 modern books, really?) and now further dissuaded by the turnaround time. WOW.

Edited January 8, 2013 by Spideymanfan73

[revat]

So, Modern "20 day" turn around is actually 20 weeks? Wow. Was going to send some in, was dissuaded by the "registered rate" for shippng ($44 for 6 modern books, really?) and now further dissuaded by the turnaround time. WOW.

 

i think you're confusing 'modern' for 'fast track'

[mschmidt]

So, Modern "20 day" turn around is actually 20 weeks? Wow. Was going to send some in, was dissuaded by the "registered rate" for shippng ($44 for 6 modern books, really?) and now further dissuaded by the turnaround time. WOW.

 

The turnaround times are what they are, but the USPS registered shipping cost that CGC charges is fairly close to actual shipping cost - it's the safest way to mail things through the USPS, but it's also rather pricey.

 

CGC will also ship you back your books UPS for $10 for the first book and $2 for each additional - the books are only insured up to $100 if they go UPS, though.

[Transplant]

I asked this in the Ask CGC forum the other day. I'll let you know when I get a response:

 

There seems to be confusion lately as to when a book is considered finally graded. Can you please describe at what point in the process a book's grade is considered final? Is it before or after being encapsulated? This is not a question as to why/whether grades are disclosed before the book is shipped. Rather, it's an attempt to understand when a customer should expect a book's grade not to change.

 

Also, are books being examined by: 1) 2 or 3 2) graders or professionals? What is the difference between a "grader" and a "professional"?

[NewWorldOrder]

There's no question CGC doesn't excel at communicating changes

Really? That's your takeaway? They're not good at communicating? Ok. Never mind then.

 

What else would it be? That CGC changes things just to *spoon* with their customers? That they're a monopoly, know it and don't care what anyone thinks? I'm sorry, but I just don't believe that.

 

You and I will have to disagree then. Whether they care or not, they act like they don't care. But I don't need them to.

 

On the one hand, people expect CGC to be treated with more deference and forgiveness because it's our hobby and hey, we're all in this together. On the other hand, please name me another business where the actual product has suffered so much and people just line up for more. Prices have gone up. Quality is variable. Service has gone down. Communication is terrible. The ONLY reason they continue to enjoy the success that they do is b/c of their monopoly status.

 

eBay

[Dr Chaos]

My 8/31/12 submission included six invoices (78 books in total). So far 3 of the 6 invoices (all moderns so far) have been graded. None of them have been shipped yet but I did get the grades.

 

So far the 9.8s include:

 

Chew 1

Walking Dead 10, 12, 25, 27, 28, 29, 33

Chew 2 (x2)

New Mutants 98

Thief of Thieves 1 & 2

Kick 1 Sketch Cover Variant

Chew 3

Uncanny X-Men 133

Secret Wars 8

Hit Girl 1 Sketch Cover Variant

Incredible Hulk 340 (x2)

Fatale 1

 

Still no 9.9s or 10.0s for me yet.