I am done with CGC, completely fed up! Major slab holder issue. 7 7

[VintageComics]

On 10/23/2023 at 11:10 AM, shadroch said:

Sometimes, crossing the street is easier than continuing a pointless confrontation. Rather than defend you, I'll advise you to move on. Life is too short to waste on petty arguments.  Take a deep breath, ask yourself who you are arguing with and why. Then go do something worthwhile.

Yes, this is always the way of the successful. Confuse everyone, when they ask for clarification keep them confused and leave them alone. Good call!

On 10/23/2023 at 10:13 AM, Domo Arigato said:

On 10/22/2023 at 9:47 AM, BigLeagueCHEW said:

Here is a prime example of how the holder should keep the comic intact via a hard impact. As you can see there is no staple tear with this one because it is secured in the holder.

 

Ebay Link

 

Adding photos in case the listing is archived/removed/deleted in the eBay system.

 

Staple and cover are fine:

Expand  

The staple area looks like it might be ok.

But that book definitely suffered damage to the bottom right edge on the back cover.

And this impact would likely NOT have happened if the books were shipped vertically. 

You reduce the chances of this type of damage by a significant percentage by simply packaging the books so that they spend most of their time horizontally. 

[Yorick]

On 10/22/2023 at 3:27 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Everyone goes quiet. No one comes forward to defend me, as I would them.

I very much appreciate your posts.  Thank you for everything that you do here.  You've been a tremendous help to me.

I don't know some of these other characters around here, but YOU have fans. 

[BigLeagueCHEW]

On 10/23/2023 at 12:56 PM, Yorick said:

I very much appreciate your posts.  Thank you for everything that you do here.  You've been a tremendous help to me.

I don't know some of these other characters around here, but YOU have fans. 

[Lightning55]

Sorry this happened to you @BigLeagueCHEW.

The vertical stacking during shipping, and the rigid honeycomb "pads" (which are the opposite of pads), are causing thousands of dollars worth of damage every year. And the "beat" goes on. 

[Tom789]

Is CGC a major account with FedEx?  If so, you'd think they'd have some pull to tell FedEx to actually treat their boxes marked Fragile, as ... Fragile.

[BigLeagueCHEW]

It’s not about shipping, it’s more of the lack of care when it comes to encapsulation and QA. CGC knows this. Moving from caring to not caring about collectibles and just getting them out the door.

Here is the care vs. the lack of care on mine, the tab inserts are there for a reason, even on the new holder:

eBay Link

 

[VintageComics]

On 10/24/2023 at 9:18 PM, Tom789 said:

Is CGC a major account with FedEx?  If so, you'd think they'd have some pull to tell FedEx to actually treat their boxes marked Fragile, as ... Fragile.

They are, but it's impossible to treat a package carefully when there's 100,000 of them on a conveyor belt or in the back of a truck. 

On 10/24/2023 at 11:24 PM, BigLeagueCHEW said:

It’s not about shipping, it’s more of the lack of care when it comes to encapsulation and QA. CGC knows this. Moving from caring to not caring about collectibles and just getting them out the door.

Here is the care vs. the lack of care on mine, the tab inserts are there for a reason, even on the new holder:

eBay Link

 

I think if CGC could provide a better holder they would. 

I think after 20 years the game is maxed out.

The #1 thing is the packaging and shipping. 

And just thinking about this, but the #2 thing is probably Encapsulation and Quality Control at CGC. If the slabbers are rushing because they're backlogged, they WILL make more errors like either choosing the wrong inner well shells for the book or in assembly, etc. 

I would bet my bottom dollar that if books are packaged the way we discussed (the Comiclink way) that you wouldn't see NEARLY as many damaged books anymore. 

[justafan]

On 10/25/2023 at 4:26 AM, VintageComics said:

They are, but it's impossible to treat a package carefully when there's 100,000 of them on a conveyor belt or in the back of a truck. 

I think if CGC could provide a better holder they would. 

I think after 20 years the game is maxed out.

The #1 thing is the packaging and shipping. 

And just thinking about this, but the #2 thing is probably Encapsulation and Quality Control at CGC. If the slabbers are rushing because they're backlogged, they WILL make more errors like either choosing the wrong inner well shells for the book or in assembly, etc. 

I would bet my bottom dollar that if books are packaged the way we discussed (the Comiclink way) that you wouldn't see NEARLY as many damaged books anymore. 

It is a sad day indeed when this happens.  My 2 cents:

1. Really sad this happened to you.  That book had a nearly perfect alignment of the 0's along the RFC.  Beautiful book. I hate it when this happens to great books.

2. This is a shipping/packing issue as others have stated not a slabbing issue.  The CGC holder was never intended to protect the book from extreme shipping issues.  It won't protect the book from extreme temperature/humidity swings just as it can't protect from drops/tosses beyond certain heights or forces.  It also can't help if the box is crushed under larger heavier boxes.

3. Could the extra plastic tabs have helped in this case, maybe, maybe not.  Should CGC be consistent with it's slabbing types and materials across all books of a specific size/type: YES.

4. This is now an insurance claim with CGC and FEDEX to make you whole but, of course, that money won't really make you whole.  The biggest sting for us collectors is in the difficulty in trying to replace a copy that we can be satisfied with.  That money won't replace the time, effort, emotional tax, and additional expense in obtaining an equally presenting copy in grade let alone any sentimental attachment to a specific copy.

5. Can CGC take additional steps to prevent this damage in the future beyond modifications to the slab? YES.  Here's my recommendations based on what others have said and my own experiences:

a. They can negotiate with the shipper for a lower defect rate with incentives or higher fees for more secure shipping services (cost passed on to us of course)

b. They can change the packaging for large shipments:

-use boxes that allow for the slabs to be oriented on their sides with staples down by moving the closing flaps from the top of the box to the larger side of the box and placing the label on closing flaps. 

-box side indicators showing which side should be UP.

-Use larger boxes that allow for additional padding/cushioning around corners, edges, and even in between slabs.

c. OR break the shipments up into smaller separate shipments for more expensive items (again, cost passed on to us)

d. If it is determined that most damages occur in the last mile of the delivery OR via specific transport method (air vs ground) have the shipping service changed to the transport with least damages and require packages to be picked up from the nearest distribution center vs dropped off at home where carelessness in handling is less visible.

6. I do feel a more snug fit may prevent this type of damage BUT, it would be far more expensive to us as it will require a custom mold for each books since every book is trimmed/cut to slightly different sizes even among the same print run and yet not completely eliminate the risk for damage.  My guess is that in this case, if the tabs or a more snug fit was used in the case, there may not have been staple pull from the cover but instead you'd have cover bends and curl to the bottom right front and bottom left back covers as the impact would have forced the cover edges to impact the side of the side of the slab with sufficient force to cause bends and possible crease with color break. 

 

 

[alexgross.com]

the number of pinched corners i've seen in the last decade, like this tragic one, upcoming on CL, is too high to count. i'm not an engineer and do not know how best to solve this. but i will never buy a book like this, a former 9.4 now brought down to maybe an 8.5 on a good day. 

Edited November 1, 2023 by alexgross.com