CGC’s OFFICIAL Mechanical Errors / Returns Policy 11 11

[CGC Mike]

I will be (actually have already sent the first e-mail) discussing all of these issues that everyone is bringing up with upper management.  Please be patient a while longer.

[Bird]

On 5/17/2023 at 4:21 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

Am I the only one here who feels that participation on this forum is fast becoming a nose-holding exercise? Why do we give CGC our time and patronage?

I decided this a while ago. I read now, far less than before though, but rarely offer my thoughts as I see all business and no community behind it. Keep the sheep quiet and placated.

anyone up for a grading contest?

[theCapraAegagrus]

When are you people going to stop submitting, instead of just whining that you have to return 80% of your slabs every time anyways?

[SpineTic]

On 5/17/2023 at 8:05 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

When are you people going to stop submitting, instead of just whining that you have to return 80% of your slabs every time anyways?

My Alex Ross submission is going to be my last. Hopefully i can see his signature through the Newton Rings.

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 5/17/2023 at 4:21 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

Am I the only one here who feels that participation on this forum is fast becoming a nose-holding exercise? Why do we give CGC our time and patronage? Do they deserve it?

The forums have been dying slower than business, but it'll be dead in a few years if everything keeps up.

[Ryan.]

On 5/16/2023 at 9:32 PM, AJD said:

To steal a joke from The Onion...

"Newton rings unavoidable says only company for which they are a problem"

[ADAMANTIUM]

[skypinkblu]

On 5/17/2023 at 4:21 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

This is the exact position I find myself in this morning. I have an AF15 set up on the system - my first ever submission - and it's going to cost me £1,215 to have it graded via the UK office if I decide to press send. That is a lot of money even with my grading contest credit reduction. Now I see that CGC have 'clarified' their terms and conditions. The timing of that action in itself speaks volumes as to how lucky I am and if my submission comes back with issues, as my luck suggests it will, the scope for successful, cost-free resolution appears to have narrowed somewhat for most ME scenarios and has been removed completely for Newton Rings (if I'm reading it all correctly). 

Even with all that has gone before, and my word hasn't there been a lot of it, I'm scratching my head here wondering how even CGC's management team can think this is an acceptable policy announcement. Has the time finally come for us to stop giving them the benefit of the doubt and accept that their business practices intentionally fall some way short of what would be considered acceptable in any other industry? Am I the only one here who feels that participation on this forum is fast becoming a nose-holding exercise? Why do we give CGC our time and patronage? Do they deserve it? Why do we submit and why do we keep this forum running through our participation, often posting freely the type of information that draws in new members and which others would likely charge for? In all other walks of life, if you disagree strongly with how a private company does its business you steer clear of them. There are good people in the CGC operation, but this is not a company that I feel I want to support anymore, if this latest announcement stands and is as it seems.

Seven years I've been here and the first time I go to submit a comic they redefine Newton Rings as acceptable in all cases. That's quite comical given the poll I posted all those years ago. It almost feels like payback. So if my book comes back covered in them, I'm reading that I will have to pay to give CGC a second go at it but with no guarantee that the end product will be any better. Dear, oh dear. Werner - you hit the nail on the head: it is indeed incredible. Incredible and indefensible.

 

Congrats on winning the grading contest, that was awesome.

As for the community, it's still stronger than I even imagined, take a look in G/S/B, we've had a fantastic response from people who are helping the widow and children of a board member who just passed away. 
Many of us have become friends over the years...it's the community that I hope will convince the company, which is still very important in the hobby, to rethink a few not so brilliant ideas.

Ideas obviously decided by new people only interested in the bottom line, who aren't all that familiar with the hobby.

The cases were supposed to protect the books, guarantee a grade for those who were getting scammed, and display collectibles in a holder that you'd be proud to show off.

So...perhaps the powers that be, should think about the basic ideas that got this company rolling. 

[Tcarroll17]

On 5/17/2023 at 9:28 AM, skypinkblu said:

The cases were supposed to protect the books, guarantee a grade for those who were getting scammed, and display collectibles in a holder that you'd be proud to show off.

It really is that simple, perfect summation of the expectation.  The TAT running long, minor issues in a rare instance, prices going up with inflation, policy updates that make sense, no problem.  At the end of the day, if they just do what you outlined, I keep coming back again and again.  But now they fail at that most basic premise, what's the point? 

[Tcarroll17]

On 5/16/2023 at 11:50 PM, Stefan_W said:

I haven't had an order without an ME in ages, and now that a lot of issues are no longer covered I feel less confident sending books in.

I have lots that come back okay still, that's what is so annoying!  I'll get a perfect, crystal clear case, book centered well and I beam with pride.  Then the next one in the box makes me cringe.

On 5/16/2023 at 11:50 PM, Stefan_W said:

This is frustrating because they never list these defects in the listing. I can see people who get books with newton rings and other things just dumping them at CL in the future knowing full well that people will bid as if those flaws did not exist, and although I do not own a crystal ball I anticipate that percentage of flawed slabs in their auctions will grow. This means I am less likely to buy comics from sites like that (caveat that prior to bidding you can check the slab number to see if it was slabbed before or after May 16 2023 but I am really not doing to do that). 

Yes.  I am very hesitant now to buy even on secondary market.  Sent one back from eBay last month because the scuffing inside was so bad.  I have not had any issues with slabs from Heritage, yet.  But these issues are out there, and will grow.  I have trouble getting good pictures myself, so I know how easy it is to conceal in a listing.  It's very evident the second you open it, though.  You can't not see these issues, no way QC can be missing them.  It's simply a policy to send them anyway and dare the customer.  

[jsilverjanet]

"we are losing too much money due to these Mechanical Errors"

"we tried hiring a QA manager, introduced new processes to track accountability"

"not working, costs and errors keep increasing"

"how about we stop accepting them"

[Get Marwood & I]

On 5/17/2023 at 2:28 PM, skypinkblu said:

Congrats on winning the grading contest, that was awesome.

Thanks - no one was more surprised than me Sharon!

On 5/17/2023 at 2:28 PM, skypinkblu said:

As for the community, it's still stronger than I even imagined, take a look in G/S/B, we've had a fantastic response from people who are helping the widow and children of a board member who just passed away. 

I assume you mean DJPinkpanther - I contributed to the Go Fund Me directly a few weeks back. It's great to see everyone pulling together on that - though I didn't know him, he was the same age as me and it struck a chord.

On 5/17/2023 at 2:28 PM, skypinkblu said:

Ideas obviously decided by new people only interested in the bottom line, who aren't all that familiar with the hobby.

The cases were supposed to protect the books, guarantee a grade for those who were getting scammed, and display collectibles in a holder that you'd be proud to show off.

So...perhaps the powers that be, should think about the basic ideas that got this company rolling. 

Yes, let's hope so 

[jcjames]

Is it not fully crystal clear to everyone now? 

CGC doesn't care about you or your stupid books. Period. 

They don't care about your "precious" collectibles.

They don't give a schitt about your petty puny belly-aching and whining about mixed-up labels, scuffed or cracked cases, shards or hairs, and they sure as hell don't care about your stupid book looking like it's got an oil stain in their "crystal clear" cases. 

They just don't care about you or your stupid books. 

All they care about is the Benjamins. 

And they will now openly rig their own system to ensure that you get screwed waiting months for your stupid book to come back in a scratched case or the wrong label or debris in the case - and then they give you two weeks to ship it BACK to them including the time it sits on their floors waiting for them to open your package and log your stupid book into their system - so they can MAYBE decide if the f-ed up case they sent you is worthy of them trying to fix, and if not - more Benjamins for them!

You go on vacation this summer and don't open your CGC box of damaged slabs until you get back - FU, pay-up. 

You buy a slab from a dealer or auction house and see it has debris or a label problem - FU, pay-up. 

You send in your slab you just got back with cracks or debris but they sit on it a few extra days before "receiving" it - FU, pay-up. 

You send in your slab you just got back with scuffs and they decide the scuffs are "acceptable" - FU, pay-up. 

They. 

Don't. 

Care. 

 

 

 

Edited May 18, 2023 by jcjames

[Get Marwood & I]

On 5/17/2023 at 5:00 PM, jcjames said:

Is it not fully crystal clear to everyone now? 

Not with all those Newton Rings on them, no. 

[CGC Mike]

On 5/16/2023 at 5:50 PM, Stefan_W said:

Question about all of this that maybe @CGC Mike can look into - The new policy clearly says that MEs now have to arrive at CGC within two weeks, but I have to have an international label made since I am sending from Canada. The international label takes days to process before it is sent to me, and I can't control how long it takes FedEx to get the package back (usually 2 days but sometimes 3). I feel as though people in Canada should get an extra week. 

I inquired about this.  The reply didn't really seem to answer the question.

This is the answer I got:

It’s 14 calendar window from the time the customer receives the collectible back until the time the customer ships back the collectible. So all customers get the same 14 day window, whether they are US or international.

This is what I believe to be true:

  From the time customers receive their submission, they have 14 days to complete the submission form with the mechanical error option.  After that, the system will not allow you to do so.  Thus, making it equal times for US and international customers.

[CGC Mike]

I have been told the team is going to update the social media posts with more information.   I asked for a copy of that info, but was told I won't be getting a copy.  So, I guess you will have to check social for the added info.

[jcjames]

On 5/17/2023 at 9:44 AM, CGC Mike said:

I have been told the team is going to update the social media posts with more information.   I asked for a copy of that info, but was told I won't be getting a copy.  So, I guess you will have to check social for the added info.

There is only ONE person who consistently cares about customers and the hobby, and that is this guy right here. 

Without him, CGC would have zero credibility at any level anywhere. 

Mike, you are the ONLY consistently respectable aspect that CGC has - and I hope they are aware of that! 

 

[CGC Mike]

On 5/17/2023 at 12:48 PM, jcjames said:

There is only ONE person who consistently cares about customers and the hobby, and that is this guy right here. 

Without him, CGC would have zero credibility at any level anywhere. 

Mike, you are the ONLY consistently respectable aspect that CGC has - and I hope they are aware of that! 

 

Thanks for the kind words.  

[jcjames]

On 5/17/2023 at 9:34 AM, CGC Mike said:

I inquired about this.  The reply didn't really seem to answer the question.

This is the answer I got:

It’s 14 calendar window from the time the customer receives the collectible back until the time the customer ships back the collectible. So all customers get the same 14 day window, whether they are US or international.

This is what I believe to be true:

  From the time customers receive their submission, they have 14 days to complete the submission form with the mechanical error option.  After that, the system will not allow you to do so.  Thus, making it equal times for US and international customers.

Yet from CGC's post: 

"All Mechanical Error submissions, regardless of error, must be received by CGC within 14 days of the submitter’s receipt of the collectible."

 

 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 5/17/2023 at 5:44 PM, CGC Mike said:

I asked for a copy of that info, but was told I won't be getting a copy.  

You're only the Community Liaison Officer, Mike - what do you expect!