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CGC restricted and then blocked my account on Instagram.
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62 posts in this topic

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to bring this to the attention of the community, for what ever it is worth.

A few weeks ago, before the most recent price hike, in conjunction with the immense number of quality control issues with books that clients are getting back, I became fed up. I left this comment on CGC's, then, most recent post about (another) signature event signing. I took a screen shot (I am "phantomrestoration":

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_460b.thumb.jpg.61e09c59cf3e61c8324626d08d4721c9.jpg

About 20 minutes later, after talking with other's, it was brought to my attention that the comment could not be seen. I went back to CGC's profile page and found that they had "Restricted" my account. This is done when they want to block my comments, but I wouldn't be aware the comments are blocked. I promptly posted this on my story calling them out for "hiding/removing undesirable comments instead of communicating". This was seen by somewhere between 450-500 people including collectors and dealers, including CGC. Within a 12 hour period, my account was blocked by CGC:

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_461f.thumb.jpg.9961de3e7daf8306980ab0383ab4e8c7.jpg

 

For those unaware of the nuances of instagram, "User not found" = you've been blocked by the user.

So just to clear the air, as per above, the comment that CGC found was valid to block my account was the following:

"you should focus more on consistency than signature events, or you will lose even more business to the competition- more than you already have and are continuing to use".

Not once was the name of a competitor used. In fact, if you go to my IG account you will find posts like the one below, that only contain CGC graded books. Because aside from everything, they are still my preferred grading company.

 

IMG_1324.thumb.jpg.a91fbe11deeb29b1473a0518245f219a.jpg

 

Now that I am blocked, I can't tag them, as I have in the past, which gives them more (unpaid) exposure. This is a shame. Whoever controls CGC's Instagram is, in my opinion, causing more harm to their reputation by engaging in behavior like this. If the boards were moderated like this, there wouldn't be any users left.  Of the 450-500 people that saw my story calling them out for blocking me, I received dozens and dozens of distasteful messages towards CGC, which I'm sure is exactly the opposite reaction that CGC wants from it's customers.

 

 

 

Edited by Phill the Governor
spelling to clarify w/o sarcasm
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That is a bad move by CGC that lacks integrity and accountability.  The comment you left was polite, fair and accurate.  Having said that, I'm not surprised at the level most brands will go to in order to scrub and polish their social media presence so that only their message is being put forth instead of the full truth.

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On 1/6/2022 at 3:21 PM, Oreos said:

Playing devils advocate here; maybe they are fine with getting constructive criticism, but don't want it under a post about a celebrity signing. :shiftyeyes:

Except that my comment was specifically referring to their time spent on endless signings having some affect on consistency (grading, tats, not damaging books, etc...).

Whether I'm right or wrong, an appropriate response would have been a reply comment to the extent of

"we're sorry you feel that way! Please contact us at xxx-xxx-xxxx and we can talk to you in person about any problems you are having. It appears from your account that you use CGC for all your grading purposes. We appreciate the support! BTW, did you happen to have a favorite Tony S. Daniel remarked book above? :) "

Maybe that's too long, perhaps it's overkill. That's not my decision because I do not work for CGC. But as a customer, who submits books for clients/works on books for clients who have books submitted to CGC regularly, getting straight up blocked because of this comment is not reassuring.

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On 1/6/2022 at 2:35 PM, The Lions Den said:

When you're playing in someone else's ballpark you have to follow their rules...  :foryou:

I have to agree with this.

While unfortunate the OP's account was banned on instagram, many companies do it to prevent the flood of "why did you do this" and "help help I'm being repressed" comments on their stuff.  There are avenues you can take to properly vent your frustrations.  Trying to threadjack a post publicly is not the best way to go about it.

Just my 2c

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On 1/6/2022 at 1:17 PM, Phill the Governor said:

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to bring this to the attention of the community, for what ever it is worth.

A few weeks ago, before the most recent price hike, in conjunction with the immense number of quality control issues with books that clients are getting back, I became fed up. I left this comment on CGC's, then, most recent post about (another) signature event signing. I took a screen shot (I am "phantomrestoration":

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_460b.thumb.jpg.61e09c59cf3e61c8324626d08d4721c9.jpg

About 20 minutes later, after talking with other's, it was brought to my attention that the comment could not be seen. I went back to CGC's profile page and found that they had "Restricted" my account. This is done when they want to block my comments, but I wouldn't be aware the comments are blocked. I promptly posted this on my story calling them out for "hiding/removing undesirable comments instead of communicating". This was seen by somewhere between 450-500 people including collectors and dealers, including CGC. Within a 12 hour period, my account was blocked by CGC:

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_461f.thumb.jpg.9961de3e7daf8306980ab0383ab4e8c7.jpg

 

For those unaware of the nuances of instagram, "User not found" = you've been blocked by the user.

So just to clear the air, as per above, the comment that CGC found was valid to block my account was the following:

"you should focus more on consistency than signature events, or you will lose even more business to the competition- more than you already have and are continuing to use".

Not once was the name of a competitor used. In fact, if you go to my IG account you will find posts like the one below, that only contain CGC graded books. Because aside from everything, they are still my preferred grading company.

 

IMG_1324.thumb.jpg.a91fbe11deeb29b1473a0518245f219a.jpg

 

Now that I am blocked, I can't tag them, as I have in the past, which gives them more (unpaid) exposure. This is a shame. Whoever controls CGC's Instagram is, in my opinion, causing more harm to their reputation by engaging in behavior like this. If the boards were moderated like this, there wouldn't be any users left.  Of the 450-500 people that saw my story calling them out for blocking me, I received dozens and dozens of distasteful messages towards CGC, which I'm sure is exactly the opposite reaction that CGC wants from it's customers.

 

 

 

Weird, I can't see any of your posts now!

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On 1/6/2022 at 3:50 PM, Crops068 said:

I have to agree with this.

While unfortunate the OP's account was banned on instagram, many companies do it to prevent the flood of "why did you do this" and "help help I'm being repressed" comments on their stuff.  There are avenues you can take to properly vent your frustrations.  Trying to threadjack a post publicly is not the best way to go about it.

Just my 2c

I would normally agree with this myself.

But given the context, it's still an objectively bad public relations move.

 

Edited by Phill the Governor
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On 1/6/2022 at 5:01 PM, StillOnly25Cents said:

well they are hiring a social media coordinator

https://recruitingbypaycor.com/career/JobIntroduction.action?clientId=8a7882525c3d7d8e015c6b03a47c11dc&id=8a78879e7da68eff017db5c0f2993b5b&source=&code=&fromAggregate=false

 

maybe if you apply and get the job you can get your account reinstated

Thankfully my relationship with CGC's instagram account is not what's at stake. But it would be helpful if whoever is working the position right now took notice of their specific responsiblities, including but not limited to:

  • Professional and positive community management.
  • Engage with CCG’s social followers by answering all questions and comments on all social channels

Funny enough, if you even read my initial comment on their post, it is a warning, not even a threat. I'm coming from the perspective of someone who likes CGC overall, uses them, and wants the company to succeed.

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CGC has shown that they are fairly open to criticism on this message board if done in a relatively respectful manner (otherwise the quality control threads would have been scrubbed long ago). Why should Instagram have a different approach? Perhaps Instagram can do more damage than anything done here on the forums? In that sense… I guess different approaches for this message board and Instagram is fairly reasonable? 

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