Questionable ccs pressing? 1 1

[CJH2]

I've had books graded before, can't complain about cgc, but ccs on the other hand. First time trying them out. Sent four books that looked pretty damn sharp. 1. Every book in the group came back with grader notes of moderate creasing in cover. Which ok I'll eat that because I didn't take pix and I'm not a pro grader. I honestly think they either did a half job and tweaked the press or didn't even press them. Which brings me to the worst part. 375 days later books are finally on their way home. Boy if the two other companies were smart now would be the time to step their game up. Just complaining I guess, but curious has anyone else got a gripe with ccs,?

[KCOComics]

 

In my experience, CCS uses a light touch.  They were the first company I ever used to press and after learning more, I was surprised by some of the defects they didn't remove. 

I've been using CFP pressing the last few years and have been very happy.  My word of caution is, quality, trusted pressers are in demand and don't expect quick TATs. 

[DougC]

I think almost everyone that has used CCS has a similar story. I am sure at one point they were a respected company that provided a value added service but once they were purchased and folded into CGC that stopped. CGC has a quality problem and so does any company they umbrella, at this point it is a management issue from the top down based on what they believe the market will bear while maximizing revenue.

Be careful with whom you trust your books to and do not reward those who are careless because they can get away with it.

[WDBill]

I don't have a gripe with ccs just because last year was my first year to submit any for pressing and grading. I sent in 30, 15 to be pressed and 15 just graded. Five a month and all were what I thought to be similar condition. The 15 I selected to be pressed I thought would be higher dollar comics so I wanted the best grade I could get. 7 out of the 15 non-pressed were 9.8 and 1 out of 10 of the pressed is a 9.8, 5 are currently being pressed. All the pressed took more than a year. I actually think 5 of the ones to be pressed may have not have been pressed at all because I remember my card being charged by CCS and then they showed in grading within a day or two. My card for the 5 being pressed now was charged by CCS 2 months ago. So, if and a BIG IF I ever get any pressed again I will take high def pictures and document eveything a lot better.

[CHASEnBLUE]

Don't get me going on this topic again... 

[Gaard]

On 10/15/2022 at 12:03 AM, CHASEnBLUE said:

Don't get me going on this topic again... 

remind me

[mephistopheles]

Suspect CCS is rushing the process due to sheer volume. Most pressers recommend leaving the book in press for 12-24 hrs to cool down otherwise ripppling can set in. 

[CJH2]

I appreciate the feed back. I want to hulk smash myself for not taking pictures prior to sending them off. They are due back today. 380 days later. The cover of one with grader marks moderate creasing on cover is raising a red flag because it looked mint. Especially with 3 out of the 4 (1 had no grader remarks) all having the same comment. But with no proof kinda hard to argue. Cgc again probably. Ccs never. At this point I wish cbcs and or pbx would step their game up. Guess battling for 2nd and 3rd best I'd better than going for the crown. 

[CJH2]

On 10/14/2022 at 9:03 PM, CHASEnBLUE said:

Don't get me going on this topic again... 

Please do. Being a first time ccs user were my expectations to great or am I hitting bullseye? Please rant

[Kevin76]

On 10/15/2022 at 10:46 AM, mephistopheles said:

Suspect CCS is rushing the process due to sheer volume. Most pressers recommend leaving the book in press for 12-24 hrs to cool down otherwise ripppling can set in. 

You've been lied to if you think it takes 12-24 hours to press a book.   

[seanlinc]

Got my first ccs submission back a month or so ago the grades came back a mixed bag but I was mostly happy. But I really didn't see that ccs did much considering the couple with grader notes mentioned creasing. One submission basically pays for a press so I bought one and am currently boning up on the process to learn how to do it myself. 

[CHASEnBLUE]

On 10/18/2022 at 1:52 PM, CJH2 said:

Please do. Being a first time ccs user were my expectations to great or am I hitting bullseye? Please rant

 

On 10/1/2022 at 12:01 AM, CHASEnBLUE said:

I had several books in one batch this year which came back 9.0 to 9.2 and 80% of them had the same front cover lower left corner damage that they did not have when I pre-screened them and shipped them off. I would not ever waste my time to send damaged comics that I expect 9.8 to worst case 9.6 comics in, other than some older comics which I already have a solid projection of a lower grade. I have had CGC grade more than 500 comics in recent years so this was no doubt an anomaly. Short version, same issues as the OP to some degree with the back and forth about did I have pics taken ahead of time, yada yada.

Never needed to do that with successful pre-screens on my end which were 90%+ accurate when CGC's grading was done. They finally agreed to a C&P and re-grade in this case, but the comics came back with the same grade. Long story and very frustrating to say the least. Honestly, and not gaslighting, I truly do not believe they re-pressed my books.

I mention this because from the start with them I was automatically assumed to be in the wrong as I did not have pics of my raw submissions (which I have never needed to do) - unreal. It does happen folks and I am normally a very positive supporter of CGC and their grading services, to include fantastic pressing work in the past. However, this previous experience was no doubt eye-opening and concerning. 

Will I take pics going forward of every book submitted now? No. Too time consuming. Do I pack bullet-proof? No doubt and always have. Part of the risk factor I guess - though I expected more consideration in light of the amount of money I have spent with them over the years. 

At some point in the few months of constant back-and-forth, I asked if they looked at my history of submissions to see the grades usually obtained. No of course. NEVER for modern comics especially was this pattern of grading received. Just sayin'...yes they are the expert graders in the end, but many of us know what we are sending them ahead of time and that should be taken seriously and have at least SOME merit. Call me clueless, I deserve it maybe  but if a grader has a stack in front of them to grade, and 10 of 14 or so all had the same exact damage to some degree, as a customer I would think that common sense would prevail and one would wonder if there was an issue - obviously not though in my case, such as asking if this submitter has a history of submitting damaged comics. Too much to ask?

Lastly, for those wondering about how the damage could have been done, I was ADAMENT about them checking their cameras etc., but no luck there I was told. 

It is what it is, so I guess going forward just cover yourself by taking the extra time to photograph and save/store your submission files. Not sure if that will make a difference other than proving to some degree that the damage was not caused by you the submitter.

To be continued, I'm sure.  

Finally, I have had great success with @Tony S with amazing results from his C&P work - truly talented and exceptional work!!! Looks like a few of these (though not all) can be saved so he will work his magic for me - though more $$$ is being put into what is in my opinion a mishandling of my submissions on CGC's end.

 

[CJH2]

Nothing like having to save pictures of comics for a year till you see them again

[lostboys]

You know...I was on here complaining about books not laying flat in the slab. This was probably over a year ago.

I suspected it was due to bad pressing but -what do I know?

 

On the plus side, its easier now to figure out which books have been pressed by CCS.

 

If I see ripples...I'll pass on that book and if a seller takes pics so that I cant see them, Ill return it.