Signature verification at Monster-Mania 8/24 1 1

[K.C.3]

CGC is going to be present at Monster-Mania in Cherry Hill, NJ but they will not have SS witnesses.

 

I inquired about this with the SS team and was told in response message:

“CGC will be present at Monster-Mania, however the SIgnature Series team will not be in attendance. If you would like items signed at the show, there will be several Signature Series Authorized Facilitators in attendance who can serve as a witness for you.”

Question:  Will I have to pay additional fees to other “authorized facilitators” to get signatures authenticated for yellow SS card grading on comics I’d like to get signed on?

My gut feeling is that this is going to be a major cash grab with me having to pay per signature for witness authentication.

Does anyone have info. to share from past experience?

I paid at NYCC for Jim Lee to sign seven of my books, only to find after the signing that I then needed to pay some company working with Jim Lee I believe $25 per book to literally walk it ten feet to CGC’s submission table, so that the signatures “would still be authenticated.”

It was disgusting they hit me for almost $200 just to carry my books 10 feet to CGC table.

[DougC]

Facilitator fee's are now an industry standard as CGC outsourced their Signature Verification to "authorized facilitators" years ago. You will be charged; I would advise to find a facilitator you trust and build a relationship with them to handle your books. Some facilitators charge a premium, some have a standard fee it just depends on their business practices and something how much they can get away with.

[seanfingh]

On 4/17/2024 at 11:40 AM, K.C.3 said:

CGC is going to be present at Monster-Mania in Cherry Hill, NJ but they will not have SS witnesses.

 

I inquired about this with the SS team and was told in response message:

“CGC will be present at Monster-Mania, however the SIgnature Series team will not be in attendance. If you would like items signed at the show, there will be several Signature Series Authorized Facilitators in attendance who can serve as a witness for you.”

Question:  Will I have to pay additional fees to other “authorized facilitators” to get signatures authenticated for yellow SS card grading on comics I’d like to get signed on?

My gut feeling is that this is going to be a major cash grab with me having to pay per signature for witness authentication.

Does anyone have info. to share from past experience?

I paid at NYCC for Jim Lee to sign seven of my books, only to find after the signing that I then needed to pay some company working with Jim Lee I believe $25 per book to literally walk it ten feet to CGC’s submission table, so that the signatures “would still be authenticated.”

It was disgusting they hit me for almost $200 just to carry my books 10 feet to CGC table.

I want to respond to this, and I will try to be 100% non-snarky, which will be a challenge for me.  First and foremost, I understand that everyone wants to get their books put together for the best price possible, because stuff is just expensive. But for the presence of the facilitators at shows without witnesses, however, there would be no SS.  Those facilitators have travel expenses, booth fees, wages for their agents and all the other expenses involved in being there.  If they can't charge for their attendance and their service, then, again, there is no SS.  So if you don't want to pay their fees, then don't. If you want to negotiate a bulk discount, go for it.  But it is not fair to say they should eat all those expenses just so you can get your SS books done without "disgusting" "cash grab" fees.

[Skippeydoo]

On 4/19/2024 at 1:01 PM, seanfingh said:

I want to respond to this, and I will try to be 100% non-snarky, which will be a challenge for me.  First and foremost, I understand that everyone wants to get their books put together for the best price possible, because stuff is just expensive. But for the presence of the facilitators at shows without witnesses, however, there would be no SS.  Those facilitators have travel expenses, booth fees, wages for their agents and all the other expenses involved in being there.  If they can't charge for their attendance and their service, then, again, there is no SS.  So if you don't want to pay their fees, then don't. If you want to negotiate a bulk discount, go for it.  But it is not fair to say they should eat all those expenses just so you can get your SS books done without "disgusting" "cash grab" fees.

There was a second post that involved this topic, and I don't think his issue was with the fees, I feel like his issue was with the fact that he was given no advance warning of, or discussion of, the facilitator terms. The person waited til they got their books signed, then got to the CGC table and slapped him with the $25 per book fee. I can understand the frustration in that situation, as I am sure he wouldn't have spent to get 7 books witnessed if he had known the cost upfront. Which, dealing with many different facilitator's, the more reputable ones will explain terms to you before, not after it's too late to change your mind. In that other discussion I gave him a range that the ones I have dealt with charged, so he would have an idea of the cost in advance. And encouraged him to talk to them and get the terms in advance. That seemed to be all he wanted was, a general idea, so he'd have a better idea in advance of what sigs he could and couldn't afford if he wanted them witnessed as well. And I can understand the frustration as I have also had some poor dealings with facilitators who made you submit under their account so they could add mystery fees to the pre discussed charges. But, that has been few and far between, and a high percentage of the ones I've used I have no issue giving a little kickback to for their time and service.  

[revat]

I hate it when restaurants charge me more than the actual cost of the food ingredients. It’s unfair, a shameless money grab

 

that being said, get the terms straight beforehand 

 

Edited April 20 by revat