SCS: my troubles continue

[VintageComics]

I've got a few points to chime in with.

 

A) how were the CGC books packaged? Every single time I've gotten an SCS book it is because of poor packaging. I've talked to CGC about the way they package their books, and I email sellers with specific packaging requests for books I have bought. Over the years I have learned (sometimes from my own mistakes) and come up with a formula for an almost perfect packaging system. I'll go into it below...

 

B) If in fact the books were not packaged well (lots of bubblewrap and a big box does not constitute good packaging in my mind) then it is unfair to blame CGC. I have spoken to several guys at CGC about their slabs. They have literally spent $1000's and $1000's of engineering dollers in finding the best possible solution. I am sure if someone has a better idea, they would galdly pay for it. Anyone have a suggestion isntead of a complaint?

 

3) Sellers could be resonsible for at least some of the damage and it may not be shipping related. I've dropped books. We probably all have.

 

Not saying it doesn't happen. Just saying that the design of the slab is not always to blame.

 

The best packaging method I have come up with:

 

i) Cardboard sandwich on either side of the CGC slab.

ii)Small amount of bubblewrap around slab sandwich to keep it together.

iii)Fair sized box to allow Slab to sit in box with plenty of packaging peanuts around the edges.

iv) The styrophoam packaging peanuts are the key to the safety of the book . They allow subtle movement of the book which is a good thing. The peanuts are able to shift, bend and absorb impact much more efficiently than any other material. Consider them to be almost like a sponge. If you have JUST bubblewrap, or bubblewrap and then that scrunched brown paper that CGC uses, I find that impact is more directly transferred to whatever is inside at the core (in this case the book) because these materials are too stiff.

I am curious to hear about the actual packaging methods used when SCS happens.

R.

[october]

i) Cardboard sandwich on either side of the CGC slab.

ii)Small amount of bubblewrap around slab sandwich to keep it together.

iii)Fair sized box to allow Slab to sit in box with plenty of packaging peanuts around the edges.

iv) The styrophoam packaging peanuts are the key to the safety of the book . They allow subtle movement of the book which is a good thing. The peanuts are able to shift, bend and absorb impact much more efficiently than any other material. Consider them to be almost like a sponge. If you have JUST bubblewrap, or bubblewrap and then that scrunched brown paper that CGC uses, I find that impact is more directly transferred to whatever is inside at the core (in this case the book) because these materials are too stiff.

 

With all due respect, there is no way in hell someone should have to go through all that in order to avoid SCS. If bubble wrap and a box aren't enough to prevent damage to the book, the well is flawed. Period. The burden should be on CGC to create a holder that doesn't require NASA to pack it safely, NOT on the sellers.

[SuperBird]

2 mil mylites with full backs WROCK!111!!

[SuperBird]

i) Cardboard sandwich on either side of the CGC slab.

ii)Small amount of bubblewrap around slab sandwich to keep it together.

iii)Fair sized box to allow Slab to sit in box with plenty of packaging peanuts around the edges.

iv) The styrophoam packaging peanuts are the key to the safety of the book . They allow subtle movement of the book which is a good thing. The peanuts are able to shift, bend and absorb impact much more efficiently than any other material. Consider them to be almost like a sponge. If you have JUST bubblewrap, or bubblewrap and then that scrunched brown paper that CGC uses, I find that impact is more directly transferred to whatever is inside at the core (in this case the book) because these materials are too stiff.

 

With all due respect, there is no way in hell someone should have to go through all that in order to avoid SCS. If bubble wrap and a box aren't enough to prevent damage to the book, the well is flawed. Period. The burden should be on CGC to create a holder that doesn't require NASA to pack it safely, NOT on the sellers.

 

If got a request like that to package an item I was selling, I would just refund the money and find another buyer.

[DeeDee-migration]

i) Cardboard sandwich on either side of the CGC slab.

ii)Small amount of bubblewrap around slab sandwich to keep it together.

iii)Fair sized box to allow Slab to sit in box with plenty of packaging peanuts around the edges.

iv) The styrophoam packaging peanuts are the key to the safety of the book . They allow subtle movement of the book which is a good thing. The peanuts are able to shift, bend and absorb impact much more efficiently than any other material. Consider them to be almost like a sponge. If you have JUST bubblewrap, or bubblewrap and then that scrunched brown paper that CGC uses, I find that impact is more directly transferred to whatever is inside at the core (in this case the book) because these materials are too stiff.

 

With all due respect, there is no way in hell someone should have to go through all that in order to avoid SCS. If bubble wrap and a box aren't enough to prevent damage to the book, the well is flawed. Period. The burden should be on CGC to create a holder that doesn't require NASA to pack it safely, NOT on the sellers.

 

It has very little to do with packaging or shipping... just having a slab in a cgc box can cause damage to the bottom edge of the book. I've had it happen to a corner just from turning a slab around to look at the back of the book... the book was literally sliding around in there, hitting the edges of the well... With the newer sealed well... nothing. I've tried shaking one of my modern 9.8s on purpose and nothing happened.

[VintageComics]

i) Cardboard sandwich on either side of the CGC slab.

ii)Small amount of bubblewrap around slab sandwich to keep it together.

iii)Fair sized box to allow Slab to sit in box with plenty of packaging peanuts around the edges.

iv) The styrophoam packaging peanuts are the key to the safety of the book . They allow subtle movement of the book which is a good thing. The peanuts are able to shift, bend and absorb impact much more efficiently than any other material. Consider them to be almost like a sponge. If you have JUST bubblewrap, or bubblewrap and then that scrunched brown paper that CGC uses, I find that impact is more directly transferred to whatever is inside at the core (in this case the book) because these materials are too stiff.

 

With all due respect, there is no way in hell someone should have to go through all that in order to avoid SCS. If bubble wrap and a box aren't enough to prevent damage to the book, the well is flawed. Period. The burden should be on CGC to create a holder that doesn't require NASA to pack it safely, NOT on the sellers.

 

Andy that's like saying that it's the car's fault that it hit something. There are limitations to everything and a slab was not designed to be ok after being dropped off a Postal truck

It's not a lot of trouble. Especially for a book worth $100's or $1000's. The only diff is that the bubblewrap that everyone uses to pack the boxes full is replaced by the styrophoam peanuts.

To each his own.

[VintageComics]

i) Cardboard sandwich on either side of the CGC slab.

ii)Small amount of bubblewrap around slab sandwich to keep it together.

iii)Fair sized box to allow Slab to sit in box with plenty of packaging peanuts around the edges.

iv) The styrophoam packaging peanuts are the key to the safety of the book . They allow subtle movement of the book which is a good thing. The peanuts are able to shift, bend and absorb impact much more efficiently than any other material. Consider them to be almost like a sponge. If you have JUST bubblewrap, or bubblewrap and then that scrunched brown paper that CGC uses, I find that impact is more directly transferred to whatever is inside at the core (in this case the book) because these materials are too stiff.

 

With all due respect, there is no way in hell someone should have to go through all that in order to avoid SCS. If bubble wrap and a box aren't enough to prevent damage to the book, the well is flawed. Period. The burden should be on CGC to create a holder that doesn't require NASA to pack it safely, NOT on the sellers.

 

If got a request like that to package an item I was selling, I would just refund the money and find another buyer.

 

Depends on the book I guess but seriously dude, how do you package a slabbed book? Especially one worth $1000's.

What is the diff if a guy wants bubblewrap or packaging peanuts? Both are readily available.

Seems like everyone is all gung ho about "providing customer service" as long as they don't have to make any changes themselves.

Yes I stand behind my statements.

[VintageComics]

i) Cardboard sandwich on either side of the CGC slab.

ii)Small amount of bubblewrap around slab sandwich to keep it together.

iii)Fair sized box to allow Slab to sit in box with plenty of packaging peanuts around the edges.

iv) The styrophoam packaging peanuts are the key to the safety of the book . They allow subtle movement of the book which is a good thing. The peanuts are able to shift, bend and absorb impact much more efficiently than any other material. Consider them to be almost like a sponge. If you have JUST bubblewrap, or bubblewrap and then that scrunched brown paper that CGC uses, I find that impact is more directly transferred to whatever is inside at the core (in this case the book) because these materials are too stiff.

 

With all due respect, there is no way in hell someone should have to go through all that in order to avoid SCS. If bubble wrap and a box aren't enough to prevent damage to the book, the well is flawed. Period. The burden should be on CGC to create a holder that doesn't require NASA to pack it safely, NOT on the sellers.

 

It has very little to do with packaging or shipping... just having a slab in a cgc box can cause damage to the bottom edge of the book. I've had it happen to a corner just from turning a slab around to look at the back of the book... the book was literally sliding around in there, hitting the edges of the well... With the newer sealed well... nothing. I've tried shaking one of my modern 9.8s on purpose and nothing happened.

 

This has been discussed as well and a lot of people store their slabs on the spine or on their backs.

[DeeDee-migration]

i) Cardboard sandwich on either side of the CGC slab.

ii)Small amount of bubblewrap around slab sandwich to keep it together.

iii)Fair sized box to allow Slab to sit in box with plenty of packaging peanuts around the edges.

iv) The styrophoam packaging peanuts are the key to the safety of the book . They allow subtle movement of the book which is a good thing. The peanuts are able to shift, bend and absorb impact much more efficiently than any other material. Consider them to be almost like a sponge. If you have JUST bubblewrap, or bubblewrap and then that scrunched brown paper that CGC uses, I find that impact is more directly transferred to whatever is inside at the core (in this case the book) because these materials are too stiff.

 

With all due respect, there is no way in hell someone should have to go through all that in order to avoid SCS. If bubble wrap and a box aren't enough to prevent damage to the book, the well is flawed. Period. The burden should be on CGC to create a holder that doesn't require NASA to pack it safely, NOT on the sellers.

 

It has very little to do with packaging or shipping... just having a slab in a cgc box can cause damage to the bottom edge of the book. I've had it happen to a corner just from turning a slab around to look at the back of the book... the book was literally sliding around in there, hitting the edges of the well... With the newer sealed well... nothing. I've tried shaking one of my modern 9.8s on purpose and nothing happened.

 

This has been discussed as well and a lot of people store their slabs on the spine or on their backs.

 

Yes, but thats not the method of storage designed by CGC...after all, they put a label on the top edge of the book for easy access, correct?

That obviously means they suppose the book will be stored upright

[SuperBird]

i) Cardboard sandwich on either side of the CGC slab.

ii)Small amount of bubblewrap around slab sandwich to keep it together.

iii)Fair sized box to allow Slab to sit in box with plenty of packaging peanuts around the edges.

iv) The styrophoam packaging peanuts are the key to the safety of the book . They allow subtle movement of the book which is a good thing. The peanuts are able to shift, bend and absorb impact much more efficiently than any other material. Consider them to be almost like a sponge. If you have JUST bubblewrap, or bubblewrap and then that scrunched brown paper that CGC uses, I find that impact is more directly transferred to whatever is inside at the core (in this case the book) because these materials are too stiff.

 

With all due respect, there is no way in hell someone should have to go through all that in order to avoid SCS. If bubble wrap and a box aren't enough to prevent damage to the book, the well is flawed. Period. The burden should be on CGC to create a holder that doesn't require NASA to pack it safely, NOT on the sellers.

 

If got a request like that to package an item I was selling, I would just refund the money and find another buyer.

 

Depends on the book I guess but seriously dude, how do you package a slabbed book? Especially one worth $1000's.

What is the diff if a guy wants bubblewrap or packaging peanuts? Both are readily available.

Seems like everyone is all gung ho about "providing customer service" as long as they don't have to make any changes themselves.

Yes I stand behind my statements.

 

If a book is thousand$, yeah, I would do all that. Or if I was really happy to sell it. But for less- assuming I did not have all that packing material on hand- it is not worth the trouble of going the extra yard. I have too much else to do in my free time, and frankly, I'd assume the buyer would be looking to find fault with the purchase already.

 

meanwhile, I write all this as I await for a CGC book in the mail, now fearing what it will look like...

[october]

a slab was not designed to be ok after being dropped off a Postal truck

 

It wasn't? That doesn't make a lot of sense considering they have to be shipped from CGC to the owners. You would think safety during shipping would have been a primary concern.

[ArAich]

I've got a few points to chime in with.

 

A) how were the CGC books packaged? Every single time I've gotten an SCS book it is because of poor packaging. I've talked to CGC about the way they package their books, and I email sellers with specific packaging requests for books I have bought. Over the years I have learned (sometimes from my own mistakes) and come up with a formula for an almost perfect packaging system. I'll go into it below...

 

B) If in fact the books were not packaged well (lots of bubblewrap and a big box does not constitute good packaging in my mind) then it is unfair to blame CGC. I have spoken to several guys at CGC about their slabs. They have literally spent $1000's and $1000's of engineering dollers in finding the best possible solution. I am sure if someone has a better idea, they would galdly pay for it. Anyone have a suggestion isntead of a complaint?

 

3) Sellers could be resonsible for at least some of the damage and it may not be shipping related. I've dropped books. We probably all have.

 

Not saying it doesn't happen. Just saying that the design of the slab is not always to blame.

 

The best packaging method I have come up with:

 

i) Cardboard sandwich on either side of the CGC slab.

ii)Plastic bag around slab sandwich with priority tape to keep it together.(Prevents water damage (*spoon* happens)

iii)Fair sized box to allow Slab to sit in box with plenty of packaging peanuts around the edges.

iv) The styrophoam packaging peanuts are the key to the safety of the book . They allow subtle movement of the book which is a good thing. The peanuts are able to shift, bend and absorb impact much more efficiently than any other material. Consider them to be almost like a sponge. If you have JUST bubblewrap, or bubblewrap and then that scrunched brown paper that CGC uses, I find that impact is more directly transferred to whatever is inside at the core (in this case the book) because these materials are too stiff.

I am curious to hear about the actual packaging methods used when SCS happens.

R.

 

 

 

Wowzer...I thought I was the only one that packed that way (with one minor exception)...

 

BTW...I agree with you...

[VintageComics]

a slab was not designed to be ok after being dropped off a Postal truck

 

It wasn't? That doesn't make a lot of sense considering they have to be shipped from CGC to the owners. You would think safety during shipping would have been a primary concern.

 

I pretty sure it was a primary concern but becuase of the delicate nature of the books, I think it takes some common sense to help protect them and nothing will ever be perfect. Like CGC said to me, if someone can come up with a better design (and there are some smart and wealthy people on here) then bring it on. I'm trying to come up with a system that I could sell to them.

Kind of like driving a Benz...most of our cars have technology coming out the wazoo to keep you from getting into an accident and to protect you in one...brake systems that will recognize a panic stop and hit the pedal faster than the driver, traction control that will stabilize the car in case of a loss of control, passive safety systems that will actually move passengers into the safest postion possible before impact...but all of this is out the window if the most basic safety concerns are not met: Common sense.

Just my two cents.

 

If I could get CGC to do one thing, it would be to go back to using the styrophoam filler that they used a few years ago.

[october]

a slab was not designed to be ok after being dropped off a Postal truck

 

It wasn't? That doesn't make a lot of sense considering they have to be shipped from CGC to the owners. You would think safety during shipping would have been a primary concern.

 

I pretty sure it was a primary concern but becuase of the delicate nature of the books, I think it takes some common sense to help protect them and nothing will ever be perfect. Like CGC said to me, if someone can come up with a better design (and there are some smart and wealthy people on here) then bring it on. I'm trying to come up with a system that I could sell to them.

Kind of like driving a Benz...most of our cars have technology coming out the wazoo to keep you from getting into an accident and to protect you in one...brake systems that will recognize a panic stop and hit the pedal faster than the driver, traction control that will stabilize the car in case of a loss of control, passive safety systems that will actually move passengers into the safest postion possible before impact...but all of this is out the window if the most basic safety concerns are not met: Common sense.

Just my two cents.

 

If I could get CGC to do one thing, it would be to go back to using the styrophoam filler that they used a few years ago.

 

True enough, but I don't it's fair to say that using bubble wrap and a box defies common sense. Maybe it's just me, but having to go through that whole ritual just to protect a book from it's own holder seems anything but obvious.

[Red Hook]

Now that is a book I'd get spot-pressed to get the damage corrected.

[ArAich]

If I could get CGC to do one thing, it would be to go back to using the styrophoam filler that they used a few years ago.

 

 

Those were the dayz....

 

 

Alas...the beancounters must've decided that crumpled up paper was better for their bottom line...

[VintageComics]

a slab was not designed to be ok after being dropped off a Postal truck

 

It wasn't? That doesn't make a lot of sense considering they have to be shipped from CGC to the owners. You would think safety during shipping would have been a primary concern.

 

I pretty sure it was a primary concern but becuase of the delicate nature of the books, I think it takes some common sense to help protect them and nothing will ever be perfect. Like CGC said to me, if someone can come up with a better design (and there are some smart and wealthy people on here) then bring it on. I'm trying to come up with a system that I could sell to them.

Kind of like driving a Benz...most of our cars have technology coming out the wazoo to keep you from getting into an accident and to protect you in one...brake systems that will recognize a panic stop and hit the pedal faster than the driver, traction control that will stabilize the car in case of a loss of control, passive safety systems that will actually move passengers into the safest postion possible before impact...but all of this is out the window if the most basic safety concerns are not met: Common sense.

Just my two cents.

 

If I could get CGC to do one thing, it would be to go back to using the styrophoam filler that they used a few years ago.

 

True enough, but I don't it's fair to say that using bubble wrap and a box defies common sense.

 

 

Fair statement. I apologize that rushing out my typing may get across the wrong tone. I used to use bbwrlp, now prefer peanuts for big books especially. Again, bubble wrap is good. I've had people send me expensive books (make that VERY expensive books) banging around in a box with a few crinkled newspapers around it. I was just trying to make an improvement to reduce the cause of SCS and since CGC has done their best, I am taking up some slack by doing mine.

[Davenport]

Like CGC said to me, if someone can come up with a better design (and there are some smart and wealthy people on here) then bring it on.

What stops them from just reverse engineering a PGX holder? There've been alot of comments about it being a "better" and "more solid" slab design.

[ArAich]

Maybe it's just me, but having to go through that whole ritual just to protect a book from it's own holder seems anything but obvious.

 

Well...that's just silly... ..until CGC comes up with an unbreakable anti-inertia holder, slabbed books should be wrapped with absolute care to prevent damage whether it's a $15 book or a $1,500 book...

[rjpb]

Some of this might be caught by demanding detailed scans, but the whole point is that

one shouldn't have to scrutinize books that are encapsulated.

 

 

While encapsulated books may need less scrutinizing than books from dealer X, when buying grades in which a .2 shift can mean

2-5 fold increase or decrease in value, I would want to see what I was getting even if SCS was not a problem.