Disagreement with grade 3 3

[SteveI]

I submitted 3 sets of comics in various tiers. The first I got back and thought  that they were graded tight but generally wouldn't disagree with the grade. The second batch just shipped an I don't know who graded these, but they are not close to right if the first set was. There are comics in the second set that I know are in better condition than the first set but they have worse grades, On of the comics is rated an 8.5 merely because of a suposed fingerprint but it was a comic I bought new 20 years ago and put in a bag and was never opened again. Is there a way to check this guys accuracy? I know what condition these comis were in and had a pretty good idea of grades before I sent them in and this guy is dead wrong.

[Jennifer F.]

Good morning,

Thank you for your message. I am sorry that you are disappointed with the grades your books received.  Multiple graders examine each book and it is the consensus of all of the graders opinions that go into the final grade.  So, it is not just one graders opinion that determines the outcome.  You are always welcome to send the books back for a regrade but there is no guarantee that the grades will change and regular grading fees would apply. 

If you have any other questions, please let us know. Thank you!

[SteveI]

I will see where the grades are at on the last set I sent in but if they are as off as this set then I will send them off again and have some of them graded by another independent company and see what the difference in grade is like. I sincerely hope that the people you have grading know what they're doing and are tested before you let them do this for real and not just insufficiently_thoughtful_persons you are pulling off the street because of short staffing during the pandemic.

[Gaard]

@Jennifer F.

Hypothetical -

Let's say that Steve sends back a book for a regrade. He originally received it with an 8.5 grade, and with the regrade it comes back as a 9.8. What, if anything, happens?

[OJ Pimpson]

On 1/21/2022 at 2:44 AM, Gaard said:

@Jennifer F.

Hypothetical -

Let's say that Steve sends back a book for a regrade. He originally received it with an 8.5 grade, and with the regrade it comes back as a 9.8. What, if anything, happens?

First grader is executed 

[Kevin76]

They don't give out too many 9.8s anymore. Just got grades on 25 books that have never even been opened, not a single 9.8.  They must have found a spec of dust on some of them.  CGC would just tell me to send them back and spend more money and have them graded to continue the $$$ cycle

Edited January 22, 2022 by Kevin76

[FoggyNelson]

I think cgc will give out 9.8 if the book not worth much in that grade but if it a valuable book in 9.8 they won’t give the grade

[Holku]

New books generally are wavy and that still counts against the grade so I’ve been having to have even new books get pressed just so they aren’t wavy and the grade doesn’t suffer as a result.  Doesn’t matter that the books weren’t touched if that’s how they come out.

[Ryan.]

On 1/22/2022 at 10:29 AM, FoggyNelson said:

I think cgc will give out 9.8 if the book not worth much in that grade but if it a valuable book in 9.8 they won’t give the grade

Definitely. Do you have a newsletter by chance? 

[lou_fine]

On 1/21/2022 at 2:09 PM, Dimez said:

First grader is executed 

From your response here, it's pretty obvious you don't understand how the whole CPR grading game is played.  

The correct answer is the first grader looks good to get his year end bonus, while the second grader is due to be sent back for remedial training.  

[lou_fine]

On 1/22/2022 at 11:52 AM, Holku said:

New books generally are wavy and that still counts against the grade so I’ve been having to have even new books get pressed just so they aren’t wavy and the grade doesn’t suffer as a result.

Now you are talking and it's clear that you understand how the grading game is to be played out.  

None of that brand new look with the natural curve to the books as we want only the squished squashed flat as a pancake look to the books to confirm that you have indeed paid your just full dues to the Blackstone/CCG ownership cartel.  

[Dean McDowell]

So, very new to grading, as in, this was my first time submitting, and will probably be my last. Sent off 5 books, all of which were new, un-opened yet still pressed. Thankfully I took hi-res images of the books before sending. One book I expected at the very least a 9.8, I have physically seen a worse copy than mine score a 10. Needless to say, not one 9.8, in fact, the worst book, the only book I thought would score under a 9.8 and was hoping for a 9.2 got a 9.4? It was in nowhere near as good condition as the others. Totally mystified by this whole process, can ANYONE shed some light on the CGC grading process because at this present moment, it very much feels like these grades have been plucked from the sky.

Attached is a low res image of one of the said books, not one single discrepancy. Guys, feedback really appreciated.

Edited May 17, 2022 by Dean McDowell
Image included.

[Kevin76]

On 5/17/2022 at 2:12 PM, Dean McDowell said:

So, very new to grading, as in, this was my first time submitting, and will probably be my last. Sent off 5 books, all of which were new, un-opened yet still pressed. Thankfully I took hi-res images of the books before sending. One book I expected at the very least a 9.8, I have physically seen a worse copy than mine score a 10. Needless to say, not one 9.8, in fact, the worst book, the only book I thought would score under a 9.8 and was hoping for a 9.2 got a 9.4? It was in nowhere near as good condition as the others. Totally mystified by this whole process, can ANYONE shed some light on the CGC grading process because at this present moment, it very much feels like these grades have been plucked from the sky.

Attached is a low res image of one of the said books, not one single discrepancy. Guys, feedback really appreciated.

It's most likely something you can't see in a scan, could be a finger dent, fingerprint, a small crease or multiple small spine creases that can be seen under the right light 

[Dean McDowell]

On 5/18/2022 at 4:18 AM, Kevin76 said:

It's most likely something you can't see in a scan, could be a finger dent, fingerprint, a small crease or multiple small spine creases that can be seen under the right light 

Thanks for replying buddy, yep all checked, not one spine crease, tick, dent or fingerprint. Book never opened and placed in storage upon collection on first day it was released. Thankfully I took numerus high res shots of each area before submitting. Honestly, this has mystified me and put me off the whole process. Having worked in the graphics industry for numerous years, having to be meticulous about physical imagery, I truly am at a loss. Anyways, expensive lesson learnt, time to take it on the chin and move on lol... 

[Kevin76]

On 5/18/2022 at 4:27 AM, Dean McDowell said:

Thanks for replying buddy, yep all checked, not one spine crease, tick, dent or fingerprint. Book never opened and placed in storage upon collection on first day it was released. Thankfully I took numerus high res shots of each area before submitting. Honestly, this has mystified me and put me off the whole process. Having worked in the graphics industry for numerous years, having to be meticulous about physical imagery, I truly am at a loss. Anyways, expensive lesson learnt, time to take it on the chin and move on lol... 

They want you to send it back and pay another $20 to try again  haha 

[Kamika007z]

CGC used to be a truly pleasant experience. While they always had long lead times, that was a great problem for them to have since that meant business was doing well and thriving, it was totally understandable. I never once worried about how they would handle a pre-existing book that was graded by them.

Now, it’s like waiting for a report card you have no control over, filled with anxiety and then heartache.

To be fair, yes, things can happen, we're all human, but as of late it has been happening consistently to a point where more and more followers are no longer re-submitting their books again to CGC for things such as signing events, etc.

Which brings me to two questions: Are they actually damaging our books?? Or are they just inconsistent with their grading?

I truly hope it’s the latter because they can recover from that.

While we are seeing that there is an inherent issue with their re-grading of books consistently coming back with a lower grade than before with no notes or nothing wrong with them since users who invest in these books have been taking hi-res images BEFORE they were re-submitted, then what about the ones that do come back with flaws that were NOT present before? Are they then consistently ruining our books??

A close friend of mine submitted a rare book not too long ago, only to receive an email months later stating and showing that the front cover was ripped from the bottom up (a few inches) till the middle of the page, asking him if he still wanted to grade it because they though he missed this flaw – implying that they had nothing to do with it... Seriously??

They have a disclaimer when going through the submission process which, with every passing, seems to get stronger and stronger with their explanation and wording, but let's be honest: This is their profession. We are entrusting our investments with professionals who are taught and trained to handle things CAREFULLY and METICULOUSLY.

During this pandemic, their pivot and the incredible growth and the acquisition that followed thereafter, have made them flounder on the core level of service that they had always stood by. Also, regarding that their impenetrable cases that are so great, do not justify the price nor supposed protection that they offer; especially when they do not have things such as air tight seals, UV protection, etc.. We even have had a bunch of them come back with issues with seals and imperfections that need to be sent back to have re-cased again.

Going even further, what if I only wanted to resubmit a book for a case (as mentioned above) or a label change? They have to "crack" it again. Does that then not mess up our books but not change the grade but does so for any future re-submission possibilities? It's all ludicrous.

I could go on, but there are too many contradictions between what was done before that made them, versus what is said now and how it’s all being handled (#acetategate etc..).

I wish they would go back to their roots of a trustworthy grading company and rebuild that faith and trust that we had in them again, letting us know that they are going to do better as they had done before.

At the end of the day, no company would exist without their clients and followers if that trust is lost, then everything else is downhill from there. Either a competitor will come up or raise the bar from another company’s shortcomings and that’s the end of that.

That being said, it has been a while since I personally have re-submitted so I will be giving them one more shot and sending in a few books in to see what happens – I'll be sure to update you all on it once they arrive back to see how it all pans out.
 

Edited September 9, 2022 by Kamika007z

[TraciHall]

All I want to add is to suggest not to send for re-evaluation as I have done it twice and both times my grades dropped. As a solution, I recommend you do like me and submit your papers to the writing experts at https://edubirdie.com/essay-grader because they grade my papers first and then I already know what grade I would get. I also access this essay grader for my academic assignments. Therefore, there are many alternatives.

Edited November 12, 2022 by TraciHall

[Gaard]

On 11/9/2022 at 1:31 PM, TraciHall said:

All I want to add is to suggest not sending for regrading as I have done it twice and both times my grades dropped….

My experiences with sending books back are different.

[Skwerl]

On 1/22/2022 at 7:29 AM, FoggyNelson said:

I think cgc will give out 9.8 if the book not worth much in that grade but if it a valuable book in 9.8 they won’t give the grade

Nah, not true in my experience. Almost all of my 2010s+ moderns come back 9.8 these days, with some 9.6s and an occasional 9.4. All that's really changed over the past few years is I've gotten better at grading. And I've got a great presser. I regularly get $1k+ books back at 9.8. Just got 9.8s on my nicest Edge of Spider-Verse #2 and Marvel Super-Heroes #8. Books I submit from 2020-2022 I hardly even doubt will get a 9.8 anymore. I just don't send in the ones that I can tell will grade lower, now that my eyes are trained. No bribery or backdoor deals involved. Also, keep in mind that CGC can and will charge you more if a valuable book grades so high as to bust out of the pricing tier you selected and paid for originally. So they literally have less than zero incentive to withhold the grade.

Not saying CGC doesn't occasionally make mistakes, nor that they haven't been known to overgrade certain plastic double-stapled abominations, but they definitely give plenty of 9.8s to 9.8 books. Even valuable ones.

[Bonlee]

When they say multiple graders check the book it’s absolute BS, they said in the notes this book has a large bend to back cover please tell me if you see one!!! I’m almost certain they just have a couple people sign off on notes without checking the books. Before and after pic below