I'd say it's fun starting these new threads calling out CGC's quality control, but it really isn't. CGC claims no liability on book they improperly encased to begin with. 0

[Lazyboy]

21 hours ago, Bird said:

we get 3 graders on each book

Two.

[Phill the Governor]

7 hours ago, Number 6 said:

Setting aside the option of simply wanting a new generation case/special label, it seems that, generally speaking, there would be 3 reasons to seek a reholder:  damage to the case from external factors 2) cosmetic blemishes such as scuffs, scratches and “Newton Rings” and 3) a defective case.  
 

On the first two, I can see why CGC would only offer a free reholder to the actual submitter.   But the 3rd option, a case that is clearly defective to the point of actually damaging the book inside (not just an aesthetic scruple) I would think would something they should take responsibility for regardless of who the current owner of the book is. 

That's a Bingo.

[The Lions Den]

20 hours ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

Let's not resort to ad hominem, Phill.

That's one you don't hear very often. I applaud your use of the English language, sir...  

[The Lions Den]

17 hours ago, Lazyboy said:

Two.

And sometimes four...it evens out.  

[William-James88]

20 hours ago, Number 6 said:

On the first two, I can see why CGC would only offer a free reholder to the actual submitter.   But the 3rd option, a case that is clearly defective to the point of actually damaging the book inside (not just an aesthetic scruple) I would think would something they should take responsibility for regardless of who the current owner of the book is. 

Just to add to this, CGC does already do it for straight up errors in labels. Like, for instance, whoever owns those blue label restored books is asked to send to CGC so that they can change the label for free. I have a different error book that I purchased from Metropolis that CGC will be paying to be sent to them for a free reholder.

It wouldnt be so much of a stretch to also own up to faulty slabs, no matter the owner. 

[Bob Troub]

On 5/28/2021 at 10:35 AM, Phill the Governor said:

I disagree, and it's even worse coming from a company that is taking 6 weeks just to open packages and start processing orders. They either stand behind their product or they choose to hide behind a legal disclaimer with a tiny window. They chose the latter, and I am calling them out because it's disgusting, greedy behavior.

 

Then don't use them...

[Math Teacher]

7 hours ago, Bob Troub said:

Then don't use them...

That's easy to say, but hard to put into practice. If a person is slabbing a book, it is to 1) sell it or make it easier to sell it in the future, 2) encapsulate it to provide better protection (?), or 3) the person likes how a book looks in a slab. Myself, I fall into category 1 and 3.

We are all aware of the perceived notion that a CGC graded book is worth more than a comparable **** book. Yes, I have seen examples where this is not true, but anecdotal evidence says otherwise.

There are only two real games in town, CGC and ****. You're suggesting that this person use a company that could cause his/her book to be 10% - 15% less than a comparable CGC book, just for a quicker turnaround time. Based on the several "Save 5% on grading" specials that **** has ran, it wouldn't surprise me if the turnaround times were soon the same.

Can you imagine Ford saying, "We can only make 15,000 cars per day. We don't care about demand."? Of course not. If Ford believed that increased production would lead to higher profits, they would take steps to increase their output. I believe that CGC should be pursuing this with all due haste.

I can agree that constantly complaining about turnaround times is pointless. We all agree that CGC should hire more employees, but finding experienced graders has to be difficult. And, if you work in the warehouse or some other menial job, I can't imagine that you would be living "high on the hog."

I just sent in my copy for FF #6 to CSS for restoration removal and pressing, and then to CGC for grading. If the restoration can't be removed, the book will just be returned to me. I'm hoping on getting this book back in January, and I would consider myself lucky if that happened. A more likely scenario is February or March. I would like to have it back sooner, but I am willing to wait because that books sits in a box 99.9% of the time. I'm not going to lose sleep over the fact that my FF box has one less issue in it for the time being, just like I don't lose sleep over the fact that my FF #9 is a pence copy.

To me, complaints about turnaround times and the lack of quality control seem to be the two biggest issues for CGC. I don't think you can just hire another 100 proficient graders in a short period of time. However, the lack of quality control sorely needs to be addressed. I'm not up on how you increase quality control, as I was a lowly math teacher. My first guess would be to identify where the majority of errors are occurring, and try to fix that before proceeding into other areas of quality control. My first suggestion to CGC is to admit mistakes have been made, and then do what is necessary to make things right. If that involves buying a replacement copy for $5,000 or more, so be it.

Edited June 4, 2021 by Math Teacher

[The Lions Den]

On 6/4/2021 at 5:52 PM, Math Teacher said:

I'm not up on how you increase quality control, as I was a lowly math teacher. My first guess would be to identify where the majority of errors are occurring, and try to fix that before proceeding into other areas of quality control.

My suggestion would be to hire more quality control people. The main reason these things happen is because they're not caught in-house where the problems can quickly and easily be taken care of...

[joeypost]

4 hours ago, The Lions Den said:

My suggestion would be to hire more quality control people. The main reason these things happen is because they're not caught in-house where the problems can quickly and easily be taken care of...

I want to add one more “quality”. They need to hire “qualified” quality control people. Throwing warm bodies at a problem never fixes it, unless you are just looking to fill a stadium. 
 

These need to be individuals who understand each step of the process, and maybe have to do one last visual check against what a properly graded and labeled copy of that book should look like before the book gets released. 

[The Lions Den]

17 minutes ago, joeypost said:

I want to add one more “quality”. They need to hire “qualified” quality control people. Throwing warm bodies at a problem never fixes it, unless you are just looking to fill a stadium. 
 

These need to be individuals who understand each step of the process, and maybe have to do one last visual check against what a properly graded and labeled copy of that book should look like before the book gets released. 

Spot on. They need people like us!    

[joeypost]

22 minutes ago, The Lions Den said:

Spot on. They need people like us!    

You, for sure. Me, I am a pariah. 
 

Unfortunately for CGC it is difficult to keep people once they have been educated in the way of the comic force. 
 

You hire someone to do a service and learn about the processes only to lose many of them as they now go on their own, buying and selling comics. Who wants to work a full time job when you can make the same or more, part time, and never have to answer to anyone but yourself. 

[The Lions Den]

54 minutes ago, joeypost said:

You hire someone to do a service and learn about the processes only to lose many of them as they now go on their own, buying and selling comics. Who wants to work a full time job when you can make the same or more, part time, and never have to answer to anyone but yourself. 

You've really hit the nail on the head with this statement. As a friend of mine used to say: "Exactly..." 

[Phill the Governor]

On 6/4/2021 at 10:03 AM, Bob Troub said:

Then don't use them...

Comments like this, or liking comments like this, do not help the conversation move forward.

If you go back and re-read my posts, I stated that despite everything wrong CGC remains the best grading company out there (in my opinion). I won't be silent in the face of confusion and dissatisfaction as a customer. 

2 hours ago, joeypost said:

Unfortunately for CGC it is difficult to keep people once they have been educated in the way of the comic force. 
 

You hire someone to do a service and learn about the processes only to lose many of them as they now go on their own, buying and selling comics. Who wants to work a full time job when you can make the same or more, part time, and never have to answer to anyone but yourself. 

This is a fair point.

 

But it doesn't change the alarming number of new issues across the board now vs several years ago when everything was clearly tighter.

Maybe they ran the cost benefit analysis of paying employees a higher wage to incentivise them to stay and work well against the number of issues involving damaged books/slabs/etc and figured whatever, easy come easy go? 

Edited June 6, 2021 by Phill the Governor

[Gaard]

Taking into account the number of 'mistakes', I'm thinking there is minimal, if any, employee accountability at CGC.

[joeypost]

1 hour ago, Gaard said:

Taking into account the number of 'mistakes', I'm thinking there is minimal, if any, employee accountability at CGC.

It may seem that way, but they have to care at some level. Things happen. They always will happen. With  the sudden astronomical surge in submissions CGC is likely being crushed by the weight of their own success. It’s times like this you either adapt and make the necessary changes, or at least communicate what will be happening for the foreseeable future. They are trying by hiring and training new ones and adding additional package tracking to the website. That creates its own churn, and until that churn subsides, things will appear worse before they actually get better. 

 

 

[The Lions Den]

39 minutes ago, joeypost said:

With  the sudden astronomical surge in submissions CGC is likely being crushed by the weight of their own success.

"Boy, you're gonna carry that weight, carry that weight a long time..."