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CGC not allowing local pickup of orders
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57 posts in this topic

"cost and logistics".  I don't really get this part, but then again, I don't really understand how much space these books are taking up.  Are THAT many people really using the pickup method?  Is it THAT much of an inconvenience to hold books for a week for pick-up, otherwise books will be shipped?  I don't pick-up books, but I feel for those who suddenly have to pay $30 to have books shipped a few miles.

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maybe they only have one room available and they need it for the drop offs. You would think they would have some intermediate step like notifying you they are ready and you get one day to come get'em but I guess they think that would be more hassle than this blanket decision.

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16 minutes ago, Bird said:

maybe they only have one room available and they need it for the drop offs. You would think they would have some intermediate step like notifying you they are ready and you get one day to come get'em but I guess they think that would be more hassle than this blanket decision.

I can definitely see this as being the reason.

There are only so many resources (time / space / employees) and CGC is much more busy now than they were when they moved into that location.

It's one of the reasons they started charging for grading notes. Giving it away free was too time consuming to do it for free.

 

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It's utter nonsense that they're moving away from pickups/drop-offs. I personally have never picked-up or dropped off books to CGC but if there was a grading company near my home and I could save $50 by picking up the package, I'd be pretty upset that I didn't have that option. The truth is, if they don't have enough room for pickups/dropoffs, they should make room. After all, these are collectibles. In addition to saving money on the cost of shipping, some people are not comfortable shipping books worth some money (i.e., who would want an AF 15 shipped if they had the option to pick it up?).

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45 minutes ago, VintageComics said:

I can definitely see this as being the reason.

There are only so many resources (time / space / employees) and CGC is much more busy now than they were when they moved into that location.

It's one of the reasons they started charging for grading notes. Giving it away free was too time consuming to do it for free.

 

I still feel the grading notes should be provided to the owner of the book.

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1 hour ago, kuddy said:

It's utter nonsense that they're moving away from pickups/drop-offs. I personally have never picked-up or dropped off books to CGC but if there was a grading company near my home and I could save $50 by picking up the package, I'd be pretty upset that I didn't have that option. The truth is, if they don't have enough room for pickups/dropoffs, they should make room. After all, these are collectibles. In addition to saving money on the cost of shipping, some people are not comfortable shipping books worth some money (i.e., who would want an AF 15 shipped if they had the option to pick it up?).

Only pickups are being discontinued.

Drop-offs will still be allowed.

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So let me see if I have this right...For those local to CGC, they can no longer pick up books at the facility and must have them shipped. And when they are shipped, the customer also doesn't have the option to redirect them to a carrier facility for pickup. Sounds logical.

Maybe CGC would have more room to store books for pickup if their ridiculous shipping restriction policy wasn't forcing so many packages to be returned to them.

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The claim that they're cancelling pickups/drop-offs is because of "costs and logistics" can be used for nearly every, single function beyond actual grading. They could use the same excuse about maintaining the CGC Boards, the Registry, the Census, etc. When you're running a business and charging for your service, it's assumed you get some basic level of service which goes includes pickups and drop-offs and more. Why not say customer service won't be offered any more because of costs and logistics? Or paper invoices (we'll only email them)? Or why not charge another 3% for all credit transactions because it costs money? The list goes on and on.

I'm really not a fan of these "nickle and diming" business decisions. I recently received a box of books that out of the 25 shipped, 12 were cracked/broken/damaged. I noticed that CGC started using the smaller, cheaper boxes so they could save on shipping (but customers pay the same amount -- if not more -- for shipping). Now I have to pack up and ship the damaged books to have the reholdered. Of course, the costs are covered but it's a big pain and hassle. I mean seriously. You're not shipping paper towels. They're collectibles. Every, single person who sends books in for grading wants their books returned in good shape so use the more expensive boxes. Stop cutting corners. It's not like you're afraid to raise prices. You've done that already.  

You're the largest comic book grading company by far, you charge a fair amount of money for grading. 

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Maybe I misread but it looks like you can still pick up (shrug)

CGC will continue to allow dealers to pick up collectibles there, but CGC will now notify dealers by email that collectibles are ready for pick-up, and dealers must contact CGC within 5 business days from when the email was sent. The pick-up appointment must be scheduled for sometime within 10 business days of the notification email.

If the collectibles are still at CGC headquarters after 10 business days, they will be shipped back, with the appropriate charges. No further communication will be attempted after the initial email from CGC. This is why it is important for dealers to enter their preferred shipping information in their online submission form.  (CGC also recommends dealers adjust their email settings and check their spam folder.)
If no preferred method is indicated, collectibles will be sent via USPS Registered Insured so that the collectibles are insured by USPS in transit. CGC will authorize the USPS to insure collectibles for the declared value on the submission form, up to the maximum allowed by the USPS. CGC is not responsible for collectibles while they are in transit.
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6 minutes ago, jsilverjanet said:

Maybe I misread but it looks like you can still pick up (shrug)

CGC will continue to allow dealers to pick up collectibles there, but CGC will now notify dealers by email that collectibles are ready for pick-up, and dealers must contact CGC within 5 business days from when the email was sent. The pick-up appointment must be scheduled for sometime within 10 business days of the notification email.

If the collectibles are still at CGC headquarters after 10 business days, they will be shipped back, with the appropriate charges. No further communication will be attempted after the initial email from CGC. This is why it is important for dealers to enter their preferred shipping information in their online submission form.  (CGC also recommends dealers adjust their email settings and check their spam folder.)
If no preferred method is indicated, collectibles will be sent via USPS Registered Insured so that the collectibles are insured by USPS in transit. CGC will authorize the USPS to insure collectibles for the declared value on the submission form, up to the maximum allowed by the USPS. CGC is not responsible for collectibles while they are in transit.

Maybe that is just for dealers ?

The email I received only had the following information:

As CGC continues to increase the number of comic books and other collectibles it grades, it is no longer able to allow Collectors Society members to pick up their collectibles at the CGC headquarters in Sarasota, Florida. This change is effective for all submissions dropped off, postmarked or made at a show after September 10, 2018.

This change is due to costs and logistics, including space limitations at CGC headquarters. Members should ensure that their shipping information is included on the online submission form so that collectibles can be shipped back, as the overwhelming majority of submissions already are.

Collectors Society members can continue to drop off their submissions at the CGC headquarters, as well as the dozens of shows that CGC staff attend annually. 

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4 hours ago, VintageComics said:

It's one of the reasons they started charging for grading notes. Giving it away free was too time consuming to do it for free.

 

Time consuming? This is basic database with a simple query level stuff. They could build it and never have to maintain it. Similar to what CBCS does. It's just another revenue generator.

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4 minutes ago, Howling Mad said:
5 hours ago, VintageComics said:

It's one of the reasons they started charging for grading notes. Giving it away free was too time consuming to do it for free.

 

Time consuming? This is basic database with a simple query level stuff. They could build it and never have to maintain it. Similar to what CBCS does. It's just another revenue generator.

The grading notes were originally never meant to be shared with the public and were meant for internal use by graders, so many old notes were shorthand.

When you ask for notes to get populated (and they have not yet been done so) a grader populates them.

Since about 2014 all notes are populated automatically when a book is graded but notes before that were not.

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