"Walk Thru" tier -- who opens the "holy grail" mail? 3 3

[Pantodude]

Hi folks.  I'm mostly a slab guy, but I've had a few pricey raws in my day.  I still have 5 or 6 walk-thru -worthy raws.   But with the backlog and all the new hires, has the walk-thru experience suffered?   My concern is, when you do as CGC asks and label the package "WK" as a walk-thru submission, who opens the mail?  Of course, you expect the package to be opened sooner (that's what you pay for!).  But who opens it?  Due to the presumption of expensive books, does the package get opened by more seasoned staff at CGC or will it get opened by the same CGC staff (with presumably random experience/training) who also open value tier submissions?   I ask b/c books could be destroyed upon opening the package or handling its contents, or lost if thrown out by accident as part of the packing material, for example.  

I guess I'm also wondering how it worked before the backlog/pandemic--were the CGC staff tasked with opening WK packages ever expected to have more training/experience than the CGC staff tasked with opening the "regular" submissions, including value tier?  

Edited August 8, 2021 by Pantodude

[Paul © ® ⚽️💙™]

On 8/8/2021 at 2:08 PM, Pantodude said:

Hi folks.  I'm mostly a slab guy, but I've had a few pricey raws in my day.  I still have 5 or 6 walk-thru -worthy raws.   But with the backlog and all the new hires, has the walk-thru experience suffered?   My concern is, when you do as CGC asks and label the package "WK" as a walk-thru submission, who opens the mail?  Of course, you expect the package to be opened sooner (that's what you pay for!).  But who opens it?  Due to the presumption of expensive books, does the package get opened by more seasoned staff at CGC or will it get opened by the same CGC staff (with presumably random experience/training) who also open value tier submissions?   I ask b/c books could be destroyed upon opening the package or handling its contents, or lost if thrown out by accident as part of the packing material, for example.  

I guess I'm also wondering how it worked before the backlog/pandemic--were the CGC staff tasked with opening WK packages ever expected to have more training/experience than the CGC staff tasked with opening the "regular" submissions, including value tier?  

I can't answer your question per se, however I'll offer my own humble perspective:

I very seriously doubt, in fact I'm 99.9% sure I will never submit another book again for grading to CGC. I'll still continue to buy graded slabs and occasionally sell one or two...but the whole enchilada now is just too damn risky. There are so many variables now, so much doubt, so much uncertainty about what's actually going on in the process from a book going in, to when it eventually comes out the other end.

There are numerous threads detailing one nightmare story after another.

Your post is even another angle I hadn't thought of.

If I get a raw now...it stays raw until maybe I sell it. Then someone else can embrace the headache of it all.

[Pantodude]

On 8/8/2021 at 10:11 AM, G G ® ™ said:

If I get a raw now...it stays raw until maybe I sell it. Then someone else can embrace the headache of it all.

When it involves a book that you consider (for good reason) to be irreplaceable, financial compensation only goes so far.  Because my experience with CGC has otherwise been fine (pre-backlog), I would submit these raws now if I knew that the walk-thru submissions.are opened by the more experienced CGC staff.  I'm not concerned about how these books  will grade because of how long I've had them and my confidence that they are straightfoward blue-label candidates, i.e., no difficult grading issues.  If new staff are allowed to open/handle walk-thru submissions, I may sit on these raws for a while until even the new staff hired during this backlog become "experienced" enough to allay my concerns.  

[KCOComics]

@The Lions Den

Any input on how this process use to be handled?

It's an interesting question I hadn't thought about.  

I imagine if you send a big book, it's going to get allot of attention and CGC will take time to handle with care....or maybe they've seen so many big books, they are unphased by "another" AF15... 

 

[Pantodude]

On 8/8/2021 at 11:26 AM, JZQX said:

No it's actually a dumb question and an even dumber reason not to send a book.

I'm just going to assume you are a noob and/or an unpleasant person.  The former is fine, BTW.  Some raws are quite expensive, you know?  Or maybe you just don't.  Either way, let's all be civil.  

Edited August 8, 2021 by Pantodude

[Pantodude]

On 8/8/2021 at 11:09 AM, KCOComics said:

@The Lions Den

Any input on how this process use to be handled?

It's an interesting question I hadn't thought about.  

I imagine if you send a big book, it's going to get allot of attention and CGC will take time to handle with care....or maybe they've seen so many big books, they are unphased by "another" AF15... 

 

I just wish there could be some confirmation of the former or denial of the latter.  Either works for me!  

Edited August 8, 2021 by Pantodude

[Pantodude]

No, no, we are taking about reasonable concerns.  I know of certain very recent horror stories, like a book that was individually wrapped in cardboard.  That cardboard (with the book still in it!) was thrown out despite being labeled as having a book  b/c it was thought to have just been part of the packing material, when all the CGC employee had to do was double-check the submission form for all books before throwing out the packing material.   Ugh.  And raw books that were bagged in those self-sealing bags, and the "opener" at CGC allowed the bag to get stuck to the covers of a couple of books that were  removed from the bags, resulting in mega-tape pulls that rendered the books ungradable.  I kid you not.   At least for me, that (and any number of similar potential careless events) is what I am worried about, as I am not aware of them happening before the backlog.    

Edited August 8, 2021 by Pantodude

[KCOComics]

On 8/8/2021 at 11:34 AM, Pantodude said:

I'm just going to assume you are a noob and/or an unpleasant person.  The former is fine, BTW.  Some raws are quite expensive, you know?  Or maybe you just don't.  Either way, let's all be civil.  

I suspect it's worse.  A former cast away with nothing better to do than to create burner accounts and try to get a rise out of people. 

My advice? Don't feed the troll or he'll just keep coming back. 

[707comics]

On 8/8/2021 at 8:09 AM, KCOComics said:

@The Lions Den

Any input on how this process use to be handled?

It's an interesting question I hadn't thought about.  

I imagine if you send a big book, it's going to get allot of attention and CGC will take time to handle with care....or maybe they've seen so many big books, they are unphased by "another" AF15... 

 

Your comments make me think of this video (which is no longer on the CGC facebook page?). 

 

[Pantodude]

On 8/8/2021 at 12:19 PM, 707comics said:

Your comments make me think of this video (which is no longer on the CGC facebook page?). 

 

I remember this and similar vids!   I cringed through every one.  But it is the  initial package opening/handling/cataloging phase that I am most worried about now.  

Edited August 8, 2021 by Pantodude

[The Lions Den]

On 8/8/2021 at 12:32 PM, Pantodude said:

I remember this and similar vids!   I cringed through every one.  But it is the  initial package opening/handling/cataloging phase that I am most worried about now.  

Well, this is an interesting question, and a valid one.

Some of this did depend on how the item was delivered to the CGC offices. If the book or books were sent by mail (probably 99% of all submissions) the folks in Receiving were most likely the ones to unpack the submission and get it ready to be graded. Of course, marking the mailing box with some type of warning label (I prefer to think of it as a heads-up) isn't ever a bad idea, and packing the book or books very carefully is a must. Some of the horror stories you've seen and heard are undoubtedly true, but I'm reasonably sure most of them could have been avoided with a little more care taken by both parties. 

In my mind, personal delivery of the item or items would be the best way to avoid a disheartening situation, but with the Covid variants still floating around, mailing the books is still probably the best option (and I'm not sure if CGC is accepting any personal deliveries at this time). 

My only question would be why anyone would feel it's absolutely necessary to submit their most treasured books at what I consider to be one of the most inopportune times in CGC's history. As they say, timing is everything... 

[Pantodude]

On 8/8/2021 at 4:07 PM, The Lions Den said:

why anyone would feel it's absolutely necessary to submit their most treasured books at what I consider to be one of the most inopportune times in CGC's history.

That's kinda where I'm leaning.  Honestly, i'm a bit weary from everything that happened in the hobby the past 18 months.  Taking some time off with submissions might be just what i need.  Sit back and enjoy the PC as it is, whether slabbed or raw, and hit pause.  I might do that.      

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

All the talk of adding AI/cutting edge tech just makes you worry that this will be the future of opening packages. 

[The Lions Den]

On 8/8/2021 at 5:16 PM, JZQX said:

No it's not, it's as ridiculous as the guy who asked if anyone at CGC would be able to sign for his Fed Ex package.  

Opinions vary...    

[theCapraAegagrus]

If you package securely, it doesn't matter who opens it.

[Pantodude]

On 8/9/2021 at 7:10 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

If you package securely, it doesn't matter who opens it.

Well, actually no.  I'm talking about right after opening when the contents are supposed to be isolated, identified/reconciled before CGC updates the submission tracking page to say X books received.   I know of an instance in which a presumably inexperienced person at CGC threw out cardboard containing a securely-packed individual comic (because it was a different tier) as part of the packing material without first double-checking that ALL the books on the submission form had been accounted for. An hr or two later, whenever it was that CGC informed that X minus 1 comics were received, it was too late to find the book after the sender complained.   Another instance involved unsalvagable tape pulls of the cover b/c the books were placed on top of self-sealing bags (w/ long sticky strips).  True, the sender should avoid using self-sealing bags, but an experienced person at CGC would have known to isolate the bags from the books (or at least close the bags!).  

Edited August 9, 2021 by Pantodude

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 8/9/2021 at 9:19 AM, Pantodude said:

...Another instance involved unsalvagable tape pulls of the cover b/c the books were placed on top of self-sealing bags (w/ long sticky strips).  True, the sender should avoid using self-sealing bags, but an experienced person at CGC would have known to isolate the bags from the books (or at least close the bags!).  

[Pantodude]

On 8/9/2021 at 9:22 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

Okay, maybe that self-sealing bag tragedy was a bit less sympathetic?    I dunno...that was a horror story.  But the first one--throwing out contents before checking for a missing book!   That was bad.  

Edited August 9, 2021 by Pantodude

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 8/9/2021 at 9:23 AM, Pantodude said:

Okay, maybe that self-sealing bag tragedy was a bit less sympathetic.    But the first one--throwing out contents before checking for a missing book!   That was bad.  

Well, CGC does hire humans, and human error is always a possibility.

All I can really say is, if you aren't willing to live with a possible accident, then don't submit. It's unlikely to occur, but not impossible.

[Pantodude]

On 8/9/2021 at 9:24 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

Well, CGC does hire humans, and human error is always a possibility.

All I can really say is, if you aren't willing to live with a possible accident, then don't submit. It's unlikely to occur, but not impossible.

Right.  But proper handling of comic books, both before and after packaging, is a like a science in the hobby, with many dos and don'ts and best practices.  This thread is about whether the seemingly more frequent instances of this human error are due to how CGC is staffing that frontline (since I didn't hear about such things happening to the same person on two separate submissions one month apart).  If THAT is the reason (having newly hired, inexperienced people open and then handle packages with expensive books), then I'm staying on the fence until experience or another remedy is to be had. If it was just a fluke, I am okay with dealing with what (pre-backlog) was a very unlikely risk of damage before any services are even performed.   

Edited August 9, 2021 by Pantodude