Noob question about grading and return shipping 1 1

[bj6524]

2 questions here, hope they both haven't been touched on. I sent in some books legit last year to be graded and they are finally being shipped back today!!! Very happy, but i was looking at the grades for some (and I'm no grader), but i did pay to get them pressed there also and there were a very things that perplexed me. To begin with i sent in a Black panther and Ms Marvel #1 I didn't expect either to get that great of a grade so not too much of a gripe on the grade than it is pressing and cleaning. Well i guess that's my first question, does cleaning not come with it? My Black Panther came back with a graders note of "very light finger prints on back cover".....like, that's not something they clean off and get rid of during the pressing? And the Ms Marvel said "moderate spine stress lines to cover" I'm guess it just couldn't be pressed out? (obviously) lol.

Last question involves shipping back, I just checked my submission tracking today and it says "status: shipped" do they not email you with a tracking number or anything like that? Anywho thanks for your time and responses. 

[StillOnly25Cents]

CCS does not clean, only press

if you click on shipped under status, it is a hyperlink and will take you directly to the tracking

[StillOnly25Cents]

since you posted that ^ I'll be more specific

if you want someone who will really attempt to clean imperfections CCS should not be your first choice 

then again most would say that about pressing as well 

[bj6524]

Why would they not strive to do the best job they can at a service they offer? Especially with how long it takes to go through CCS. Like, why offer a service at all if there’s not much attention to it? Finger prints just seem like such a petty thing to be put on it lol. I mean the book got a 7.0 so I know without the finger prints I doubt it would bump it up any so not complaining about the grade…..just seems petty is all.

[theCapraAegagrus]

Dry cleaning does not remove all sorts of fingerprints.

[revat]

On 3/25/2022 at 7:22 PM, bj6524 said:

Why would they not strive to do the best job they can at a service they offer? Especially with how long it takes to go through CCS. Like, why offer a service at all if there’s not much attention to it? Finger prints just seem like such a petty thing to be put on it lol. I mean the book got a 7.0 so I know without the finger prints I doubt it would bump it up any so not complaining about the grade…..just seems petty is all.

It sounds like your concerns are more...personal.  Which is not to say they shouldn't strive for the best possible service at every possible opportunity, in theory, everyone doing every job should.  Of course if you haven't done a ton of submissions your sample size is small and it feels to you like a large percentage of your submission was jacked up.  But in practice?  

They press/clean/restore/grade hundreds of the thousands (millions?) of books each year.  All of the books handled by various humans at various points in the process.  These humans aren't perfect to begin with, and have varied levels of training, experience, skills, and pay, and are subject to moods, illnesses, lapses of concentration, interruptions, accidents (preventable and unpreventable), and a million other variables which could potentially result in a less favorable outcome for the customer.  And that's without mentioning the all the instruments and machines that are used throughout the process, which even though they are much more likely to be precise or consistent than humans, they all have failure rates too, and at high volume some unfortunate customers will get the shorter end of the stick.

In a larger picture, that means CGC (like just about any business) knows they have to live with a certain amount of mistakes they make, whether it be damage to the comic, misgrading, mislabeling, bad packing for shipping, clerical errors, bad pressing/resto, loss/theft, slabbing errors (newton rings), all of which lead to customer issues (of which a large percentage of those aren't even reported).  And also having to deal with unhappy customers who blame CGC for mistakes that weren't theirs (or at least it really isn't conclusive).  And some of those issues can get worse or improve with scaling up or scaling down.  But like most companies, they have an acceptable error rate which they are willing to live with, even if they also in theory want to improve.

Again, not a defense of CGC or me saying you shouldn't try to get CGC to make things right.  If you have a case, present it to CGC in a clear and concise manner as if you were going to court, escalate as needed.  Even if you aren't seeking restitution, you can let them know you're disatisfied, perhaps they can identify a part of the process or specific employee that keeps getting complaints, and they can make improvements.  Or they can clarify their explanations of services provided so customer expectations are clearer.

But in doing so, I'd say to at least consider things from their perspective.

 

 

Edited March 28, 2022 by revat

[William-James88]

On 3/25/2022 at 4:17 PM, bj6524 said:

2 questions here, hope they both haven't been touched on. I sent in some books legit last year to be graded and they are finally being shipped back today!!! Very happy, but i was looking at the grades for some (and I'm no grader), but i did pay to get them pressed there also and there were a very things that perplexed me. To begin with i sent in a Black panther and Ms Marvel #1 I didn't expect either to get that great of a grade so not too much of a gripe on the grade than it is pressing and cleaning. Well i guess that's my first question, does cleaning not come with it? My Black Panther came back with a graders note of "very light finger prints on back cover".....like, that's not something they clean off and get rid of during the pressing? And the Ms Marvel said "moderate spine stress lines to cover" I'm guess it just couldn't be pressed out? (obviously) lol.

Last question involves shipping back, I just checked my submission tracking today and it says "status: shipped" do they not email you with a tracking number or anything like that? Anywho thanks for your time and responses. 

Cleaning comes with it. As for your other questions, I have realized that pressing is not the be all end all service to make your comics nicer. It really mainly fixes 2 things: Spine roll and non colour breaking creases.

Neither of the issues you mentioned are guaranteed to be removed with a press/clean. Especially that spine stress. Stress lines cannot be removed, only creases. So what happened is the press removed the creases but kept the crease lines, which don't go away. So you get a flatter book but the grade is the same since the non pressable lines will make you lose points just the same.

[Sigur Ros]

On 3/25/2022 at 8:52 PM, StillOnly25Cents said:

CCS does not clean, only press

if you click on shipped under status, it is a hyperlink and will take you directly to the tracking

I can vouch, they don't always press either. 

But, both are stated as services included for the price. 

[KCOComics]

In my experience, CCS uses a very light touch when it comes to cleaning and pressing.  

I've submitted books with light pencil marks I would have expected to dry clean that weren't and I've had books with creases I would have expected to press out that didn't. You could tell there was some improvement, but not what I would have expected. 

I stopped using CCS last year and went to a well known third party presser... The results?? Well, I gave my books to the presser in February of 2021 and they aren't scheduled to be graded until June/July of 2022..... So hopefully I can let you know some time before 2023. 

[djzombi]

Fingerprint marks can come from skin oils removing/marking the cover ink.  There is no way a dry clean can replace the removed ink.  I have several books where fingerprint marks are from this, not from soiled hands having touched the book.