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Express drop off ( caution )
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A warning about express drop off! CGC does not ship them in the safest way! The video that they put up that tells you how to ship to them they do not follow. It also takes twice as long for turnaround under any submission grade! It’s better to submit them yourself! All CGC onsite submissions are only good signature submissions!

Edited by Badass Magic
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How would you know how CGC ships the books dropped off at conventions back to CGC? The advantages of dropping books off at a convention are you avoid the hassle and cost of shipping your books to CGC which can be very costly. For turnaround time, you have to factor in that the clock doesn't start until the books are at CGC, unpacked, and entered into the system. If you shipped them yourself you wouldn't start the clock the day you shipped them; it starts when they're received at the facility. There are pros and cons to every option. A suggestion, if you're going to make accusations regarding safe shipping you should actually give facts rather than unsupported conclusions.

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15 minutes ago, Red84 said:

How would you know how CGC ships the books dropped off at conventions back to CGC? The advantages of dropping books off at a convention are you avoid the hassle and cost of shipping your books to CGC which can be very costly. For turnaround time, you have to factor in that the clock doesn't start until the books are at CGC, unpacked, and entered into the system. If you shipped them yourself you wouldn't start the clock the day you shipped them; it starts when they're received at the facility. There are pros and cons to every option. A suggestion, if you're going to make accusations regarding safe shipping you should actually give facts rather than unsupported conclusions.

Especially on your first post.  :facepalm:

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Red it’s apparent you don’t ask questions or look at cgc’s youtube videos. Before you give your input do your homework.  Have you ever used express drop off? Did you watch how they treated your comics?...I did! I watched cgc take all my comics out of my shipping box then out of the the cardboard protectors and then watched as they shoved all 22 of my comics into one small bubble wrap bag. Then they put them in a comic storage box stacked vertically on top of other people’s submissions. Not safe!!!  Crushing mine in other people’s books! You think they would follow their own instructions on how to ship comics. I ASKED how long is the shipping time. They said 3 days. I submitted them at a convention on May 19. The comics were entered in the system 10 days later. It either took longer to get there or it sat in their warehouse before being open. And in the time of sitting there or travel the turnaround time Extended from 27 days to 37 days.... Like I said in the first post. Its safer and faster if you ship them your self! They will get there faster and they will open them up sooner.

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5 hours ago, Badass Magic said:

Red it’s apparent you don’t ask questions or look at cgc’s youtube videos. Before you give your input do your homework.  Have you ever used express drop off? Did you watch how they treated your comics?...I did! I watched cgc take all my comics out of my shipping box then out of the the cardboard protectors and then watched as they shoved all 22 of my comics into one small bubble wrap bag. Then they put them in a comic storage box stacked vertically on top of other people’s submissions. Not safe!!!  Crushing mine in other people’s books! You think they would follow their own instructions on how to ship comics. I ASKED how long is the shipping time. They said 3 days. I submitted them at a convention on May 19. The comics were entered in the system 10 days later. It either took longer to get there or it sat in their warehouse before being open. And in the time of sitting there or travel the turnaround time Extended from 27 days to 37 days.... Like I said in the first post. Its safer and faster if you ship them your self! They will get there faster and they will open them up sooner.

You submitted them on a Saturday.  So, at best, you are looking at the following Wednesday for them to get back to their facility.  Then you have to realize that they have a lot of books to ship back, plus all the ones they get in the mail.  That might be why it took a few days longer to get entered into the system.  

I've sent books in that tracking shows as delivered, but, still took a few days to show up on the submission tracking page.  Quit sweating the small stuff and relax, you'll live longer.

Edited by aszumilo
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7 hours ago, Badass Magic said:

Red it’s apparent you don’t ask questions or look at cgc’s youtube videos. Before you give your input do your homework.  Have you ever used express drop off? Did you watch how they treated your comics?...I did! I watched cgc take all my comics out of my shipping box then out of the the cardboard protectors and then watched as they shoved all 22 of my comics into one small bubble wrap bag. Then they put them in a comic storage box stacked vertically on top of other people’s submissions. Not safe!!!  Crushing mine in other people’s books! You think they would follow their own instructions on how to ship comics. I ASKED how long is the shipping time. They said 3 days. I submitted them at a convention on May 19. The comics were entered in the system 10 days later. It either took longer to get there or it sat in their warehouse before being open. And in the time of sitting there or travel the turnaround time Extended from 27 days to 37 days.... Like I said in the first post. Its safer and faster if you ship them your self! They will get there faster and they will open them up sooner.

I’m going to assume that your entire rant is because the grades you got back were lower than what you wanted and you’re taking out your frustration on CGC rather than your poor grading. 

They took them out of your cardboard boxes because they had to check them off against your invoice. They likely pack the boxes tight enough so that the books don’t move while in transit. Turnaround times are also always estimates, not guarantees. Also turnaround times are business days only not all days. 

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So, I'm pretty new to the CGC scene (yes, I know, another noob posting things, but it's the only way to get my post ticker up to lose noob status), and I'll volunteer my experience. I dropped off several books at my local con in late May (my first time submitting to CGC) while I was getting some SS stuff done. The comic shop running it on behalf of CGC was very nice and mostly helpful. So far as I noticed, they took great care with the books. The problem lies in the fact that, as of today, they are still not listed on the CGC website under my status checker, after over a month. I have been in touch with both the shop and CGC. Both have been very helpful. CGC's customer service people are great and the comic shop has responded to all of my emails. I also get that both are extremely busy right now. On that note, however, in the future I will likely be submitting all of my non-SS books myself due to this (quite nerve-racking for a noob) experience.

Also, as an aside for other noobs lurking on the boards, there is definitely a way to post a complaint with decorum, the above is not an example of that. If you are angry or upset, people here will understand it even without you calling something/place/one a joke (or other name), using multiple exclamation points, using all caps, etc. Listing the things that did go well is always a decent start. Things go wrong, it happens and it stinks, but the people on these boards are mostly decent folks who like to help. Try to be kind, even if you are upset.

Sorry, that went much longer than expected. Bad noob.

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3 hours ago, Bkd Reader said:

So, I'm pretty new to the CGC scene (yes, I know, another noob posting things, but it's the only way to get my post ticker up to lose noob status), and I'll volunteer my experience. I dropped off several books at my local con in late May (my first time submitting to CGC) while I was getting some SS stuff done. The comic shop running it on behalf of CGC was very nice and mostly helpful. So far as I noticed, they took great care with the books. The problem lies in the fact that, as of today, they are still not listed on the CGC website under my status checker, after over a month. I have been in touch with both the shop and CGC. Both have been very helpful. CGC's customer service people are great and the comic shop has responded to all of my emails. I also get that both are extremely busy right now. On that note, however, in the future I will likely be submitting all of my non-SS books myself due to this (quite nerve-racking for a noob) experience.

Also, as an aside for other noobs lurking on the boards, there is definitely a way to post a complaint with decorum, the above is not an example of that. If you are angry or upset, people here will understand it even without you calling something/place/one a joke (or other name), using multiple exclamation points, using all caps, etc. Listing the things that did go well is always a decent start. Things go wrong, it happens and it stinks, but the people on these boards are mostly decent folks who like to help. Try to be kind, even if you are upset.

Sorry, that went much longer than expected. Bad noob.

Can you explain your experience further? My understanding is that CGC represents itself at all locations where it is accepting submissions. What you're describing sounds more like using a comic shop as an authorized dealer to submit on your behalf. If that's the case then only the comic shop is going to have the tracking information and you are at their mercy to pack, ship, and mail your books.

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29 minutes ago, Red84 said:

Can you explain your experience further? My understanding is that CGC represents itself at all locations where it is accepting submissions. What you're describing sounds more like using a comic shop as an authorized dealer to submit on your behalf. If that's the case then only the comic shop is going to have the tracking information and you are at their mercy to pack, ship, and mail your books.

I am not wholly sure of how CGC handles shops acting as witnesses/submission locations at cons (it was at the same time as 2 other cons closer to CGC headquarters, so no official CGC rep was sent --still a bit bitter about that, but such is the way of things). The shop witnessed a few signings and I had other books to submit, so I had the shop ship them for me with the others (figured I would save a bit on shipping, plus I was brand new to this and they were/are being helpful).

But that aside, yes, I know I am at the mercy of the shop, and as I mentioned, have been in contact and they are being as helpful as possible. No one's fault but mine and I am hopeful the issue will be resolved soon. In the future though, I will likely be sending in anything that's not SS on my own and not through someone else, even at a con.

Just figured it was kinda relevant to this thread at any rate. :foryou:

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4 hours ago, Bkd Reader said:

I am not wholly sure of how CGC handles shops acting as witnesses/submission locations at cons (it was at the same time as 2 other cons closer to CGC headquarters, so no official CGC rep was sent --still a bit bitter about that, but such is the way of things). The shop witnessed a few signings and I had other books to submit, so I had the shop ship them for me with the others (figured I would save a bit on shipping, plus I was brand new to this and they were/are being helpful).

But that aside, yes, I know I am at the mercy of the shop, and as I mentioned, have been in contact and they are being as helpful as possible. No one's fault but mine and I am hopeful the issue will be resolved soon. In the future though, I will likely be sending in anything that's not SS on my own and not through someone else, even at a con.

Just figured it was kinda relevant to this thread at any rate. :foryou:

I am still confused. What is your shop telling you and what is CGC telling you ? Did the books make it to CGC ? Please explain your situation more clearly, be specific. I've read about so many bad experiences here with submitting via comic shops that I would never even consider it.

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I’ve submitted around 200 comics to CGC and all have been in person at cons. I’ve never shipped a comic to CGC. I always watch how they’re  handeled and have never had any complaints . Never had any issues with post drop off damage either. To me, hand delivering them is the safest and cheapest.

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10 hours ago, Bomber-Bob said:

I am still confused. What is your shop telling you and what is CGC telling you ? Did the books make it to CGC ? Please explain your situation more clearly, be specific. I've read about so many bad experiences here with submitting via comic shops that I would never even consider it.

I emailed the shop after 3ish weeks of the books not appearing on the CGC site (which, looking back, seems optimistic), inquiring as to the reason. They let me know that they are just OCD about making sure invoices match books, etc. That seems reasonable, I am perfectly fine with OCD on this kind of thing. Anyway, they told me they just shipped them and to give it about a week. Emailed them again a bit over 2 weeks later, they stated the tracking confirmed it was at CGC and they should be in the system by next Friday at the latest (which is today). Somewhere around week 5, before I had received the 2nd response from the shop, I called CGC customer service just to make sure I was operating the website correctly. Spoke with someone (Jennifer? (Jessica?), sorry, I'm bad with names and didn't write it down) and she was incredibly helpful about both the website and what to ask the shop, and she definitely deserves tons of praise. Awesome customer service on CGCs part.

Anyway, I'll probably email the shop again Tuesday if they still aren't in the system by Monday and request the tracking info. The CGC rep stated they could see if it arrived and is actually in house with that info. As mentioned, everyone has been responsive and great. I am optimistic everything will be resolved soon. Just not an experience I care to repeat. 

(Also, to be fair, if not for this issue I likely wouldn't have been on the boards to see the grading contest thread a few hours before it closed. Entered it and it was the most fun I've had online in some years. Assuming my books do eventually show at CGC, this was all probably worth it for the grading contest experience alone.) 

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21 minutes ago, Bkd Reader said:

I emailed the shop after 3ish weeks of the books not appearing on the CGC site (which, looking back, seems optimistic), inquiring as to the reason. They let me know that they are just OCD about making sure invoices match books, etc. That seems reasonable, I am perfectly fine with OCD on this kind of thing. Anyway, they told me they just shipped them and to give it about a week. Emailed them again a bit over 2 weeks later, they stated the tracking confirmed it was at CGC and they should be in the system by next Friday at the latest (which is today). Somewhere around week 5, before I had received the 2nd response from the shop, I called CGC customer service just to make sure I was operating the website correctly. Spoke with someone (Jennifer? (Jessica?), sorry, I'm bad with names and didn't write it down) and she was incredibly helpful about both the website and what to ask the shop, and she definitely deserves tons of praise. Awesome customer service on CGCs part.

Anyway, I'll probably email the shop again Tuesday if they still aren't in the system by Monday and request the tracking info. The CGC rep stated they could see if it arrived and is actually in house with that info. As mentioned, everyone has been responsive and great. I am optimistic everything will be resolved soon. Just not an experience I care to repeat. 

(Also, to be fair, if not for this issue I likely wouldn't have been on the boards to see the grading contest thread a few hours before it closed. Entered it and it was the most fun I've had online in some years. Assuming my books do eventually show at CGC, this was all probably worth it for the grading contest experience alone.) 

Yes, that grading contest was great!

Just to clarify, when the shop sent it in, did they use your own CGC membership?  I've only used the LCS once (and I was happy with how they did it -shipped out the next day, good packing, etc), but since it was through the LCS account, any statuses will only show up under their account.  I had to call them to check the "My Submissions" for status updates. Once it is delivered to CGC, it can take a few days to show up as 'Verified' on the system (not sure about it taking weeks,though).

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1 hour ago, Bkd Reader said:

I emailed the shop after 3ish weeks of the books not appearing on the CGC site (which, looking back, seems optimistic), inquiring as to the reason. They let me know that they are just OCD about making sure invoices match books, etc. That seems reasonable, I am perfectly fine with OCD on this kind of thing. Anyway, they told me they just shipped them and to give it about a week. Emailed them again a bit over 2 weeks later, they stated the tracking confirmed it was at CGC and they should be in the system by next Friday at the latest (which is today). Somewhere around week 5, before I had received the 2nd response from the shop, I called CGC customer service just to make sure I was operating the website correctly. Spoke with someone (Jennifer? (Jessica?), sorry, I'm bad with names and didn't write it down) and she was incredibly helpful about both the website and what to ask the shop, and she definitely deserves tons of praise. Awesome customer service on CGCs part.

Anyway, I'll probably email the shop again Tuesday if they still aren't in the system by Monday and request the tracking info. The CGC rep stated they could see if it arrived and is actually in house with that info. As mentioned, everyone has been responsive and great. I am optimistic everything will be resolved soon. Just not an experience I care to repeat. 

(Also, to be fair, if not for this issue I likely wouldn't have been on the boards to see the grading contest thread a few hours before it closed. Entered it and it was the most fun I've had online in some years. Assuming my books do eventually show at CGC, this was all probably worth it for the grading contest experience alone.) 

Okay, now I understand. From your first post, it was ambiguous as to where the fail was, CGC or the LCS. This is all on your LCS. Those first few weeks, while you thought they were in CGC's hands, the LCS was sitting on them, didn't even ship them out. This is not a new story, it seems to happen frequently with LCS submissions. I think that often the LCS wants to take in the largest batch possible to save on shipping. I don't know if the LCS passes along the shipping charges to you, but assuming they do, you may have been better often shipping yourself.  Minimally, the LCS should have either explained the plan to you or given you more status alerts. It sounds like you learned your lesson anyway so I won't preach. Let's just root for some good grades with the submission !

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7 hours ago, loganparker said:

I’ve submitted around 200 comics to CGC and all have been in person at cons. I’ve never shipped a comic to CGC. I always watch how they’re  handeled and have never had any complaints . Never had any issues with post drop off damage either. To me, hand delivering them is the safest and cheapest.

Brilliant.

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On 7/3/2018 at 11:04 AM, Badass Magic said:

A warning about express drop off! CGC does not ship them in the safest way! The video that they put up that tells you how to ship to them they do not follow. It also takes twice as long for turnaround under any submission grade! In all its a joke! It’s better to submit them yourself! All CGC onsite submissions are only good  signature submissions!

You need more experience.

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1 hour ago, Cozmo-One said:

Yes, that grading contest was great!

Just to clarify, when the shop sent it in, did they use your own CGC membership?  I've only used the LCS once (and I was happy with how they did it -shipped out the next day, good packing, etc), but since it was through the LCS account, any statuses will only show up under their account.  I had to call them to check the "My Submissions" for status updates. Once it is delivered to CGC, it can take a few days to show up as 'Verified' on the system (not sure about it taking weeks,though).

I had put my account number on all of the forms, so hopefully it goes on mine opposed to the shop's. 

(Seriously though, when is the next event on the boards? Note to any experienced boardies who have too much free time: more fun events please. I promise to always donate a prize.)

32 minutes ago, Bomber-Bob said:

Okay, now I understand. From your first post, it was ambiguous as to where the fail was, CGC or the LCS. This is all on your LCS. Those first few weeks, while you thought they were in CGC's hands, the LCS was sitting on them, didn't even ship them out. This is not a new story, it seems to happen frequently with LCS submissions. I think that often the LCS wants to take in the largest batch possible to save on shipping. I don't know if the LCS passes along the shipping charges to you, but assuming they do, you may have been better often shipping yourself.  Minimally, the LCS should have either explained the plan to you or given you more status alerts. It sounds like you learned your lesson anyway so I won't preach. Let's just root for some good grades with the submission !

It's unfortunate that this is a common problem, I was hoping it was a one-off issue and that I was special (Murphy and I have an arrangement, he frequently employs his eponymous law my way, and I mostly smile and nod). Definitely did learn a lesson, though.

Very much looking forward to see the grades that come out of them. Sent a couple to CCS first (:wishluck:) and the rest without pressing. Excited to see how each turns out. 

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7 hours ago, loganparker said:

I’ve submitted around 200 comics to CGC and all have been in person at cons. I’ve never shipped a comic to CGC. I always watch how they’re  handeled and have never had any complaints . Never had any issues with post drop off damage either. To me, hand delivering them is the safest and cheapest.

That is a great option when CGC deigns your con to be important enough to attend. Unfortunately, despite attending a con in one of the 15 largest media markets in the US, CGC did not consider it significant enough to send a rep. By that logic CGC is at least very slightly responsible for my current predicament. 

(Yes, I'm a bit bitter they ignored our con. Also, don't @ me or whatever the board equivalent is. I like CGC, see my above posts proclaiming their awesomeness, and the CGC boards are fantastic. And yes, I fully understand the reasons CGC did not attend. But, please, allow me my small and petty grudges, it's how I make it through this life as a miserable nihilist.)

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