Frustrated with QC Lately - GSX 1 1 1

[Tcarroll17]

Has anyone else had issues with scuffing on the inner plastic of slab / mylar?  Have had a few come back lately like that.

Was super pumped to get my GSX 1 back today!  Overall, still psyched about it.  Rolled the dice on CCS, first time trying them.  Honestly, happy with the service.  Took it from a 5.0 to 7.0.  knew the color breaking bend on the top right wasn't going away, but other than that it just had some mild denting and minor creasing, which they almost completely pressed out.  Page quality OW/W stayed OW/W.

Having said that, I was a little disappointed when I examined the slab closely.  There is a lot of what looks like scuffing inside the slab and/or on the mylar.  Specifically, almost completely covering "Giant-Size," and several large scuffs over wolverine and colossus' face.  On the back, there are what looks like little pieces of plastic inside the mylar on the book, not psyched to see that.  The top in is like an uncooked rice grain size, but it's clearly inside the sealed bag and pressing down into the comic. 

Just very frustrating.  Not that it should happen to anyone's collectible, regardless of value, but I just really disappointed to see these issues when it came back.  Spent a lot of money getting it pressed and cleaned, and regraded.  This is one of the beloved books of my collection though, so I sprang for it.  I guess I can ask them to reslab it?  Just worried about more handling and who knows how long until I get it back.  The front cover is the money shot, and though it's hard to picture well, the scuffing is really distracting in person.

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Tcarroll17

[Sigur Ros]

Sent 3 in, 2 had it.  2 went back.

1 came back ok, one still had it.

I had to weigh the risk of it being problematic vs CGC's ability to damage the book on its 3rd time slabbing it.

Some of mine looked like scuffing.  Some looked like residue.

 

[Tcarroll17]

Thanks for the reply, Sigur Ros!

So not just me.  First of all, awesome books, thanks for sharing!  It's very frustrating.  Right, I'm torn what to do.  The scuffing, annoying, but clearly on the case/mylar.  The plastic pieces inside on my comic?? I genuinely worry about the damage it could cause to it.  Feel like I can't leave it in there.  

I've had minor scuffing, or newton rings, in the past, I can live with that.  This was egregious.  So much scuffing all over, you can't NOT notice it.  And then the plastic shards worry me.  

Ugh. 

[Sigur Ros]

On 3/31/2023 at 10:01 PM, Tcarroll17 said:

Thanks for the reply, Sigur Ros!

So not just me.  First of all, awesome books, thanks for sharing!  It's very frustrating.  Right, I'm torn what to do.  The scuffing, annoying, but clearly on the case/mylar.  The plastic pieces inside on my comic?? I genuinely worry about the damage it could cause to it.  Feel like I can't leave it in there.  

I've had minor scuffing, or newton rings, in the past, I can live with that.  This was egregious.  So much scuffing all over, you can't NOT notice it.  And then the plastic shards worry me.  

Ugh. 

I think it's worth sending back, especially because of the plastic.  Take a Sharpie, make circles on the case, like I did.  So they see what's going on.  The debris is a deal breaker for most people if you try to sell it.  That and the scuffing are just careless, poor quality.  Get it all fixed.

Edited April 1, 2023 by Sigur Ros

[Still Only 20¢]

@Tcarroll17, You Are NOT Alone!!  At getting slabs back with scuffs inside OR being frustrated by this!!  I've gotten a number of such slabs back since Summer '22, and I've sent the vast majority back as MEs.

[Dick Pontoon]

 

[Tcarroll17]

On 4/1/2023 at 6:36 AM, Sigur Ros said:

I think it's worth sending back, especially because of the plastic.  Take a Sharpie, make circles on the case, like I did.  So they see what's going on.  The debris is a deal breaker for most people if you try to sell it.  That and the scuffing are just careless, poor quality.  Get it all fixed.

 I appreciate the advice.  I would tend to agree with you.  The plastic debris is unsettling.  I'm just going to constantly stress over it, so I guess should send it back.

In your experience, how long did it take for them to reslab it?  Hate the idea of sending this book back out into space for however long.  

[Tcarroll17]

On 4/1/2023 at 8:09 AM, Still Only 20¢ said:

@Tcarroll17, You Are NOT Alone!!  At getting slabs back with scuffs inside OR being frustrated by this!!  I've gotten a number of such slabs back since Summer '22, and I've sent the vast majority back as MEs.

Is that a relatively smooth process sending back as ME?  Do they usually fix the issues?  How long typically to get it back 

[Timmay]

Send it back.

Use the online submission form and select mechanical error.

You have 14 days to do it and then you're paying for it (again).

[Still Only 20¢]

On 4/1/2023 at 2:25 PM, Timmay said:

Send it back.

Use the online submission form and select mechanical error.

You have 14 days to do it and then you're paying for it (again).

+1.  CGC has made it clear they want these types of defects declared via entering an ME order within 14 days of receipt by you. 

On 4/1/2023 at 9:53 AM, Tcarroll17 said:

Is that a relatively smooth process sending back as ME?  Do they usually fix the issues?  How long typically to get it back 

It is a relatively smooth process.  You'll create a CGC order as a mechanical error and you'll enter the barcode # of the slab(s) in the entry process. CGC will remove it from the current slab and place it in a new slab.  The new slab may or may not be defective (including more of the scuffing you and Sigur Ros have been discussing).  I've sent slabs back up to 3 times until I felt the slab was acceptable. 

Make sure you declare the value of the book based on the new 7.0 grade.  I like to take images of the book and the defects (you have good images of the defects) in case the book gets damaged in re-encapsulation (as mentioned, this is a risk) or there are questions about whether the slab is defective enough.

"How long...", well it typically seems to happen a bit quicken than the reholder process.  The last 2 ME orders I've gotten back took about a month round-trip.  However, I have 2 others that are still outstanding which were received by CGC on 2/7 and 3/17 so they seem to be somewhat backed up at the moment.

CGC seems to have made a decision to err on the side of shipping slabbed books with noticeable defects and dealing with the MEs that come back as opposed to intense screening for noticeable slab defects during the QC process.  This requires you as the customer to be prepared to QC your books and to be prepared to send back defective slabs as MEs.  If you plan on dealing with CGC on an ongoing basis, you should get used to creating and shipping ME orders.

[joeday17821]

This thread has put my mind at ease a bit. I don't grade comics often but found a few silver surfer key issues in my father in laws office after he passed away. We sent them in to be pressed and graded and they came back pretty quickly. We looked at the grades and were pleased but I never took them out of the bags they came in from cgc. A couple of months later we decided to display them in our office and I got some superior fit bags to put them in. I didn't really look at them until after I put them in the bags and I noticed very small scuff marks. I was worried it may have been from the bags I used but considering the bag doesnt actually touch the front of the slab (since it is indented) that couldnt/shouldnt be the case. From the looks of it, CGC slabs sometimes just come with those small scratches/scuffs?

[Artboy99]

unfortunately 14 days is an issue if it takes 3+ months to receive the book for some shipping issue.

My Promise Collection Planet Comics #51 has the same crud inside the case. While it bothers me I do not want to risk sending the book or add even more months to encapsulating it.

They just sometimes are not cleaning the inside of the case properly is all this is.

Not noticeable in the Heritage scan but very visible in hand.

Edited April 6, 2023 by Artboy99

[Cat]

On 4/6/2023 at 11:13 AM, Artboy99 said:

unfortunately 14 days is an issue if it takes 3+ months to receive the book for some shipping issue.

My Promise Collection Planet Comics #51 has the same crud inside the case. While it bothers me I do not want to risk sending the book or add even more months to encapsulating it.

They just sometimes are not cleaning the inside of the case properly is all this is.

Not noticeable in the Heritage scan but very visible in hand.

Nice Planet Comics you've got there. 

[Still Only 20¢]

On 4/5/2023 at 4:23 PM, joeday17821 said:

This thread has put my mind at ease a bit. I don't grade comics often but found a few silver surfer key issues in my father in laws office after he passed away. We sent them in to be pressed and graded and they came back pretty quickly. We looked at the grades and were pleased but I never took them out of the bags they came in from cgc. A couple of months later we decided to display them in our office and I got some superior fit bags to put them in. I didn't really look at them until after I put them in the bags and I noticed very small scuff marks. I was worried it may have been from the bags I used but considering the bag doesnt actually touch the front of the slab (since it is indented) that couldnt/shouldnt be the case. From the looks of it, CGC slabs sometimes just come with those small scratches/scuffs?

Unfortunately this is correct.  Some people have more of a tolerance for these scuff marks than others.  As I was led to believe I was buying a "state-of-the-art" archival comic holder that offered "crystal­-clear plastic’s superior optics" I have a somewhat low tolerance for them.  I inspect my submissions pretty thoroughly upon receipt and prefer to resolve holder issues as quickly as possible, particularly since CGC will only do so as a ME for 14 days after receipt of a submission.

You might try rubbing the spots with a microfiber cloth.  If the scuffs don't change and you don't seem to feel anything on the outside of the slab, it's a pretty good indication the scuffs are on the inside of the slab.

[spideyfan68]

I just sent a book back for this very reason. All these blemishes were in the under side near the inner well.

. 

Edited April 7, 2023 by spideyfan68