Legitimate Grading Competition On The Way? posted by bagofleas

[Jeffro.]

I said it in the CG thread. Why people want to slab treasuries baffles me. Just the weight and storage issues would be a nightmare. I guess a few wouldn't be bad in that regard but what if you have 10 or 20, or more? No thanks

Plus, slabs that size would probably more fragile than comic sized slabs.

[Jaws1965]

Great thread. Coming up on 200 CGC books, I also have a bit of inertia to overcome to switch outright, but I would welcome some much-needed improvements, led by:

 

1) Shorter turn times;

2) Modernized website and registry

[Logan510]

I said it in the CG thread. Why people want to slab treasuries baffles me. Just the weight and storage issues would be a nightmare. I guess a few wouldn't be bad in that regard but what if you have 10 or 20, or more? No thanks

Plus, slabs that size would probably more fragile than comic sized slabs.

 

If there was enough money to be made doing them, I'm sure they would find a way. My best guess is that they feel it's not worth it.

[Triskelion]

I said it in the CG thread. Why people want to slab treasuries baffles me. Just the weight and storage issues would be a nightmare. I guess a few wouldn't be bad in that regard but what if you have 10 or 20, or more? No thanks

Plus, slabs that size would probably more fragile than comic sized slabs.

 

If there was enough money to be made doing them, I'm sure they would find a way. My best guess is that they feel it's not worth it.

 

This goes service offerings which CGC to date hasn't jumped on. Slabbing Treasury sized books. Shortening turnaround times. Etcetera.

 

I totally agree too that they're not offering this because they feel its not worth it. Their response to CBCS will be interesting to see through time. As a collector I really would like to see an improvement in service delivery (ie CGC hires more graders, extends service lines etc). The reality is that if the market is stable or worse shrinking, and margins tighten for them, a possible outcome would be for them to stay as is, or worse case cut back on operating costs which might actually worsen service levels. Again, as a dominant market leader and with so many collectors invested in CGC, they can in theory adopt any of these approaches.

[X-ray Spexx]

1). Faster turnaround times

2). Free grader notes

3). Transparent grading criteria ( what are you afraid of? Won't ruin business )

4). Cheaper prices ( grading can now cost more than the collectible itself )

5). Improved website ( I have graded books that aren't counted in registry yet )

6). Grades available as soon as they're available ( no more waiting to ship )

[Jaws1965]

X-Ray ---- re. your #6 above ---

 

I don't think that the primary reason CGC holds the grades until comics are shipped/safe is due to an archaic website.

 

I recall reading somewhere -- perhaps elsewhere on this board -- that CGC simply doesn't want to weather salvos of criticisms and demands for "another opinion" while the comics are still in-house (i.e., still undergoing encapsulation/QC). Or there may be some other aspect of increased liability. Simpler for them to say "sorry, books are on their way, you're welcome to resubmit."

 

Maybe someone can back me up here or refute. Has CGC stated the reason for not posting grades until books "ship" is due to their online invoice data system?

[meshuggah]

X-Ray ---- re. your #6 above ---

 

I don't think that the primary reason CGC holds the grades until comics are shipped/safe is due to an archaic website.

 

I recall reading somewhere -- perhaps elsewhere on this board -- that CGC simply doesn't want to weather salvos of criticisms and demands for "another opinion" while the comics are still in-house (i.e., still undergoing encapsulation/QC). Or there may be some other aspect of increased liability. Simpler for them to say "sorry, books are on their way, you're welcome to resubmit."

 

Maybe someone can back me up here or refute. Has CGC stated the reason for not posting grades until books "ship" is due to their online invoice data system?

 

I've seen this mentioned on the boards before about being the reasoning they don't post grades until they're shipped. I don't think X-Ray was saying the grades aren't posted because of the website though. I believe his gripe with the site is the slow archaic way they have to create new sets/custom sets. I still have graded books I can't add to my registry. This is not a big deal for me but I understand it can be for others.

[Jaws1965]

I completely agree on that point --- the very slow speed of adding new titles to the registry is frustrating. I get the impression that CGC has thrown the one person who goes by "Gemma" at the problem, and they are averse to resourcing her with a faster system and/or assistants. Until then, he/she toils away with that massive request list.

 

I know my requests eventually got done, took about a year though.

[Garlanda]

This to me seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen. My guess is CGC will sue Steve Borock and serve him with a cease and desist letter. You can't be apart of company steal all their secrets and start your own company.

 

Why do you keep posting this garbage?

 

Because no one ever in the history of business ever left one company to open a competing company, or if they did, they were sued into oblivion by the original company.

 

Yeah, that's what happened.

 

I fully admit that I don't know all the details of this situation, but the most recent third party grader has this on their website: "Comic Book Grading Company has received a letter from the lawyers of Comic Guaranty Company, LLC (cgccomics.com)

We are suspending new orders pending the settlement of their alleged disputes with Comic Book Grading Company."

 

Comic Book Grading Company

 

This may be due to the similarity in initials, CGC vs CBGC, or something else. CBGC used a mostly blue label with a 10 point scale on the left, so it's possible that CGC could claim the design infringes on their trademark. Sell a cola in a red can with a white swoosh and see if Coke doesn't tell you to knock it off. Don't forget that some judge in 1952 decided Captain Marvel was a knockoff of Superman because he had super-strength, super-speed, invulnerability, a skin-tight costume with a cape, and a news reporter alter ego.

 

Will CGC take legal action to block Steve Borock? Maybe. Even if they don't win, they may be able to cause enough delays and expenses to torpedo it (just like Marvel did to Defiant in 1995. Defiant won the lawsuit, but had lost $300,000 in legal fees and went bankrupt).

 

Legal action happens.

[BlowUpTheMoon]

Comics General thread was locked. Is this now the place to be?

[Jeffro.]

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