Comics Damaged By CGC 4 4

[Gawells1980]

I am a loyal CGC fan.  I dont use any other grading service, but i also have never heard of this happening.  I submittion 7 comics at once.  The one on the top of the stack was Spawn #1.  I knew it jave a very very light stress line on the spine and decided to submit it anyways.  The book otherwise was perfect!!!  I was expecting a 9.4 maybe a 9.6. (Seriously even with the very light spine wear, the book was that good)  I got a 6.5.  Grader notes mention the light stress on the spine and that the comic cover is sliced down the center!!!  WHAT!?? How on earth did this happen? If anyone else has ever experienced something like this please comment and offer some advise.  CGC litterally RUINED my copy of Spawn #1. Its not the most expensive book out there but it was mine and it was in amazing condition even with the "Light Spine Stress Iine" that is there graders exact words. I a honestly at a loss.  Currently waiting for CGC support to message me back.  This has to be fixed.

[ramrodcar]

welcome to the boards......

[Kramerica]

On 5/25/2022 at 7:47 PM, Gawells1980 said:

I am a loyal CGC fan.  I dont use any other grading service, but i also have never heard of this happening.  I submittion 7 comics at once.  The one on the top of the stack was Spawn #1.  I knew it jave a very very light stress line on the spine and decided to submit it anyways.  The book otherwise was perfect!!!  I was expecting a 9.4 maybe a 9.6. (Seriously even with the very light spine wear, the book was that good)  I got a 6.5.  Grader notes mention the light stress on the spine and that the comic cover is sliced down the center!!!  WHAT!?? How on earth did this happen? If anyone else has ever experienced something like this please comment and offer some advise.  CGC litterally RUINED my copy of Spawn #1. Its not the most expensive book out there but it was mine and it was in amazing condition even with the "Light Spine Stress Iine" that is there graders exact words. I a honestly at a loss.  Currently waiting for CGC support to message me back.  This has to be fixed.

Just a thought but USPS has the right to open and inspect any package they wish for any reason. Perhaps that's what happened.

[Bluemedgroup]

On 5/26/2022 at 9:56 AM, Kramerica said:

Just a thought but USPS has the right to open and inspect any package they wish for any reason. Perhaps that's what happened.

That's a pretty decent lead there, good detective instinct.  

Gawells, how did you ship the books to CGC?  Did you properly sandwich with cardboard?  

 

[masterlogan2000]

On 5/26/2022 at 9:56 AM, Kramerica said:

Just a thought but USPS has the right to open and inspect any package they wish for any reason. Perhaps that's what happened.

This is not a true statement.

[Kramerica]

On 5/26/2022 at 8:28 AM, masterlogan2000 said:

This is not a true statement.

Okay. Since 9/11 they changed the laws and can open anything they deem suspicious. But since you claim to know the truth please enlighten me.

[Stefan_W]

On 5/26/2022 at 10:56 AM, Kramerica said:

Just a thought but USPS has the right to open and inspect any package they wish for any reason. Perhaps that's what happened.

Not sure if the OP is from outside of the USA, but the package can also be opened when it goes through international customs. 

[masterlogan2000]

On 5/26/2022 at 10:54 AM, Kramerica said:

Okay. Since 9/11 they changed the laws and can open anything they deem suspicious. But since you claim to know the truth please enlighten me.

This statement is more correct.

USPS does not have a blanket authority to open any and all packages.  Packages need to be deemed suspicious (I won't debate what merits something as a "suspicious" package).  In some cases (particularly First Class), USPS must also obtain a warrant before they can open a package.

Your original post, which lacks of other possible causes of the damage, suggests that the blame for said damage should default to a misrepresentation of USPS's package opening policy.  USPS has their faults, but this reasoning is not the conclusion I would jump to.

[masterlogan2000]

As a side note, books shipped via the Media Mail service can be inspected for no reason.  This is laid out in the terms for shipping Media Mail, as only certain types of media may be shipped in this manner.  Comic books do not qualify, though that is a discussion for another thread.

Lastly, to the OP, what were the results on the other 6 books that were submitted at the same time?  Were those also damaged or come back with lower grades than expected?

[Sigur Ros]

On 5/26/2022 at 12:24 PM, masterlogan2000 said:

This statement is more correct.

USPS does not have a blanket authority to open any and all packages.  Packages need to be deemed suspicious (I won't debate what merits something as a "suspicious" package).  In some cases (particularly First Class), USPS must also obtain a warrant before they can open a package.

Your original post, which lacks of other possible causes of the damage, suggests that the blame for said damage should default to a misrepresentation of USPS's package opening policy.  USPS has their faults, but this reasoning is not the conclusion I would jump to.

Plus, if they had opened it there would be a notice on it and CGC would (read: should) contact the submitter about the damage they would have seen. 

[Math Teacher]

That would be my question. Did you ship using Priority Mail or Media Mail?

[Sigur Ros]

On 5/25/2022 at 10:47 PM, Gawells1980 said:

I am a loyal CGC fan.  I dont use any other grading service, but i also have never heard of this happening.  I submittion 7 comics at once.  The one on the top of the stack was Spawn #1.  I knew it jave a very very light stress line on the spine and decided to submit it anyways.  The book otherwise was perfect!!!  I was expecting a 9.4 maybe a 9.6. (Seriously even with the very light spine wear, the book was that good)  I got a 6.5.  Grader notes mention the light stress on the spine and that the comic cover is sliced down the center!!!  WHAT!?? How on earth did this happen? If anyone else has ever experienced something like this please comment and offer some advise.  CGC litterally RUINED my copy of Spawn #1. Its not the most expensive book out there but it was mine and it was in amazing condition even with the "Light Spine Stress Iine" that is there graders exact words. I a honestly at a loss.  Currently waiting for CGC support to message me back.  This has to be fixed.

I sometimes send books that I've never taken out of the bag and board. Is there any chance this happened and you just didn't notice the slice? 

 

[Kramerica]

On 5/26/2022 at 9:24 AM, masterlogan2000 said:

This statement is more correct.

USPS does not have a blanket authority to open any and all packages.  Packages need to be deemed suspicious (I won't debate what merits something as a "suspicious" package).  In some cases (particularly First Class), USPS must also obtain a warrant before they can open a package.

Your original post, which lacks of other possible causes of the damage, suggests that the blame for said damage should default to a misrepresentation of USPS's package opening policy.  USPS has their faults, but this reasoning is not the conclusion I would jump to.

"My Original Post" began with "Just a thought" and pointed to USPS opening the packlage as a possibility. I didn't offer up "other possible causes of damage" because I was only offering up a thought. Not a whole discourse. That being said I've had packages opened and comics damaged. So maybe I WOULD jump to that conclusion. Someone took a blade to the package. That's obvious.

[masterlogan2000]

On 5/26/2022 at 11:34 AM, Kramerica said:

"My Original Post" began with "Just a thought" and pointed to USPS opening the packlage as a possibility. I didn't offer up "other possible causes of damage" because I was only offering up a thought. Not a whole discourse. That being said I've had packages opened and comics damaged. So maybe I WOULD jump to that conclusion. Someone took a blade to the package. That's obvious.

I'm not trying to pick a fight here, and I apologize if my words have come across that way.

My point is moreso that damage could have occurred for two dozen other reasons, a dozen of which could place the blame squarely on CGC themselves.  Just look at Comics General and how many threads have been opened about Quality Control... allegations of books shipped to the wrong person, books seemingly swapped out, damage caused at the grading facility, mislabels, lack of grader notes, etc...

That's not to say that CGC is at fault here either.  It could very well have been shipping damage (which CGC should probably reach out and report before grading).  Maybe the OP missed a large defect or didn't secure the package properly for shipment.  Maybe this was shipped via UPS or FedEx and it got run over by a truck.  Again, we can go on and on about possible causes.

Every month there is another post claiming to have books that have been damaged, misgraded, mislabeled.  Some of these are legit.  Some of these maybe not so much.  As a collector, it's frustrating nevertheless.  It would be nice if we had a full checklist of items or a process to offer those people to help them get to the bottom of their problem.

[Dr. Balls]

“Sliced down the center” sounds like USPS inspected a Media Mail package.

I don’t have firsthand knowledge, but I can’t imagine CGC just haphazardly takes a box knife to their submission boxes. However, if the book is packed improperly (like right on top with no cardboard covering it and it’s close to the flap seam of the box - even a gentle knife opening would cut the cover. 
 

It sucks regardless and unfortunate that subby wasn’t made aware of the damage. I mean, who at CGC would think someone wants to grade a Spawn 1 sliced in half without maybe following up with the customer. Yes, they are busy but c’mon - a little attention to customer service would be nice.

[JollyComics]

Welcome to the Boards but......

[ExNihilo]

On 5/26/2022 at 9:50 AM, Dr. Balls said:

I mean, who at CGC would think someone wants to grade a Spawn 1 sliced in half without maybe following up with the customer. Yes, they are busy but c’mon - a little attention to customer service would be nice.

Where do you draw the line?  "Oh, this book has touch up, do you want it graded?"  "This book has a subscription crease".

It'll be interesting to see what type of shipping was used because my initial inclination was also Media Mail.  Which then begs the question, who submits books for grading using Media Mail?

[alexanderjk]

On 5/26/2022 at 10:00 AM, ExNihilo said:

Where do you draw the line?  "Oh, this book has touch up, do you want it graded?"  "This book has a subscription crease".

It'll be interesting to see what type of shipping was used because my initial inclination was also Media Mail.  Which then begs the question, who submits books for grading using Media Mail?

The same ones who sell comics worth a few hundred dollars and ship via Media Mail. (Happens A LOT.)

[zzutak]

On 5/25/2022 at 7:47 PM, Gawells1980 said:

The one on the top of the stack was Spawn #1.  I got a 6.5.  Grader notes mention the light stress on the spine and that the comic cover is sliced down the center!

WTF?  CGC awarded a 6.5 FN+ to a book that's been sliced down the center?  Would you mind providing a pic that clearly shows the label and certificate #? 

[Dr. Balls]

On 5/26/2022 at 11:00 AM, ExNihilo said:

Where do you draw the line?  "Oh, this book has touch up, do you want it graded?"  "This book has a subscription crease".

It'll be interesting to see what type of shipping was used because my initial inclination was also Media Mail.  Which then begs the question, who submits books for grading using Media Mail?

Agree on both parts about Media Mail. I'm getting read to sub and it's going Priority. Honestly, with all the costs associated with grading, is another $10 to ship all your books really that much of a stretch?

And yeah, it's a slippery slope. And I know CGC has the pre-screen option. But even with all the obvious variables a person can think of - one that sticks out would be a slice through the cover of a modern book. This book passed through numerous hands with that, and no one cared (or are required to care). It's just unfortunate that a little attentiveness can be squashed by corporate apathy.

The flipside is that the customer is notified, they get mad, blame CGC or post office, now it becomes all balled up and CGC has to waste time helping the customer deal with it. So I get that once you cross that line, it gets messy and time-wasting. So yeah, you're probably right about that - once you point out one flaw, what other flaws do employees have to look for, etc, etc.

Edited May 26, 2022 by Dr. Balls