skybolt

I think this is true for books that are borderline. With the 6 submissions I mentioned, I would say 75% of the borderline books came back with a lower grade (which is understandable), but I was still batting around 90-95% on books I was sure would come back as 9.8. With the 2 other submissions, even the slam dunk 9.8 candidates were coming back as 9.6.

I was talking to my local comic store owner and mentioned the same the thing to him. He said he submits books for many customers and wishes the change in grades was due to tightened grading across the board. Unfortunately, his customers are seeing the same thing we're seeing here, which is one submission graded consistently with how CGC has been doing it for years, while the other one gets hammered. For example, I've gotten 8 submissions graded over the past 2 months. I'm batting between 50-60% for 9.8 graded books with 6 submissions and around 7% with the other 2.

Yeah, I've learned from previous submissions is that when books move from SFG (after sitting at CGC for months) to Shipped in a matter of hours, it's never a good sign. Same thing happened to me last time.

Was the modern grading completely off from what you expected?

CGC just replied to an inquiry regarding my 4/11 received CCS submission. Apparently the books are currently being pressed with only a couple remaining. We'll see.

One of the two slow modern 12/6 submissions just shipped. Best case scenario was 23 - 9.8's and 2 - 9.6's. Got back 14 - 9.8's, 5 - 9.6's, 5 - 9.4's and 1 - 9.2. No grader notes. Honestly, after only getting 3 of 43 books graded as 9.8's with my last 2 submissions, I'll take these results.

The other 12/6 submission went to G/E/I. The first one is now in Grading Quality Control.

I'm really sorry to hear that. On a side note, one of my two 12/6 slow modern submissions just went to G/E/I. In the past, having only half the books come back as 9.8's would be a major disappointment. These days I would take that in a heartbeat.

What was you minimum grade requirement?

I see that CCS TAT's have gone down from 281 business days to 247. On of my 4/11 received submissions is currently sitting at 255 business days from day delivered. Just wondering if anyone else is still in the same boat.

Really sorry to hear that. I just feel like some of these new graders are grading 9.8 books as borderline 9.9's. In the past, I would have about 70% of my books pressed (with the rest going straight to grading). Moving forward I may just go 90% pressed. I don't want to take any chances with a new grader downgrading a 30-40 year old book because the spine is not perfectly flat like recent modern books.

The last 2 submissions that received extremely low grades were slow modern. As soon as they went from SFG to G/E/I to Grading/QC to shipped in a matter of 2 hours, I had a bad feeling. In all honesty I would understand it more if CGC tightened their grading across the board, than sitting on pins and needles hoping for an experienced person to grade your books.

It's definitely a case by case basis. Over the past 2 months I've gotten back 7 submissions. The first 2 were pressed and graded to perfection. The next 3 submissions were graded somewhat harshly, but consistent with how CGC has graded books in the past when they tighten the screws a bit. However, my last 2 submissions were likely graded by someone using a completely different criteria than all the previous submissions. For example, on average, 75-80% of books are graded to match or exceed what I was expecting. Worst case scenario, I'm about 50% correct. The last 2 submissions came back with only 3 out of 43 books graded as 9.8. I inspected all the books and still can't figure out how most of them didn't get a 9.8 grade.

That's good news for my two 12/6 received submissions.

Honestly, after getting obliterated with the grading for the last couple of submissions, CGC has finally managed to keep me from becoming too antsy about receiving my books back. At this point I'm all on board with the no news is good news mentality.

Wow, CCS pressing for slow modern is now at 281 business days, and they still haven't reached the late April / early May price change submission period. I may have to change my prediction from 300 to 400 business days.

Burger King fries are the worst.

I agree that if the submissions keep coming, the market will adjust for the higher grading fees, just like it did when EBay started charging sales tax. Heck, I remember the old days when grading cost $12 per book (after a 20% dealer discount), but still had a hard time moving some of the run of the mill 9.8 books for more than $30. Nowadays I can easily get $50 for those types of books. The only thing that could impact higher prices is inconsistent grading. If CGC's approach moving forward is to keep accepting more submissions (while hiring and training new inexperienced staff), the quality could suffer, which would result in lower returns for sellers.

I honestly like the old days where a CGC representative would call and ask if I still wanted to grade some books that were damaged during shipping. Nowadays it's just like an assembly line. Just keep everything moving along the conveyor.

Same here. Like I mentioned in a previous post, these new graders seem to be grading 80's and 90's books like they were printed yesterday. I have plenty of 80's and 90's 9.8 books in my collection that don't have perfectly flat spines and have one slightly rounded corner. Also, I've gotten some 8.0's recently for scuff marks along the spine. In the past CGC would grade these as 9.6's or 9.8's, taking into consideration edge wear when books were shipped to dealers in boxes.

I honestly would prefer it more if CGC stopped accepting new submissions for a certain period of time (until they were close to catching up) over hiring new graders and having to train them on the fly. At the end of the day I prefer consistency over anything else.

It's super inconsistent. I understand if CGC got stricter across the board, but the last 7 submissions I received (mostly 80's and 90's books) are all over the board with the level of grading. Same goes with CCS pressing. Some lots are pressed to perfection, while others leave a lot to be desired. In a round about way, I do agree with NewWorldOrder. If CGC feels compelled to hire and train new staff because everyone and their grand mother is submitting books (this includes me), then we have to prepare ourselves for inconsistent grading. I still don't understand how this could happen if 3 people are grading the books. The last grader should always be someone with experience.

Great points. I would even extend this issue to CCS as well. Some submissions come back with almost a perfect quick press job, while other submissions come back with some noticeable bends still present. The one lesson I learned during this whole process is to not send everything in for pressing/grading all at once, even If the current TAT's are high. One additional note I wanted to make. With recent submissions, it appears that the graders are looking for perfectly flat spines for 80's and 90's books, before handing out a 9.8 grade. In the past I've received many 9.8 grades if the book was not perfectly flat at the spine. Moving forward I'll either get these books pressed or not submit at all if the price margins are not worth it.

I honestly get both sides of the argument. On the one hand, everyone has to start somewhere. Some of the best graders/sellers out there today probably went through a learning period at some point. For instance, I would consider myself a 20% collector and 80% seller. When on average 70-75% of books submitted meet my expectations after getting graded, it makes the whole process worth it. However, if my grading starts getting looser and/or CGC grading gets tighter, and only 25 to 30% of the books meet the grade expectations (which happened with my last couple of submissions), then I have to reevaluate everything. Getting mostly 9.8's meets 2 goals. 1.) the books sell well and fairly quickly and 2.) I don't mind having them in my collection if they don't. On the other hand, if 75% of the books come back as 9.4's and 9.6's, then a.) they are hard to sell and b.) I don't want them in my collection. Right now I'm going through a reevaluation period where a.) I'm waiting for additional submissions to come back to gage the results, and b.) will need to reevaluate every single one of the 300 books I mentioned to make sure they align with the current CGC grading standards.

Were the grades as expected?