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Well, CGC is raising prices for their services, and...
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Started by djpinkpanther67,

553 posts in this topic

Bird

Bird

Posted
Posted
16 minutes ago, thunsicker said:

@joeypost Just wondering if you have an estimate on when my February 6th pressing would make it to CGC?  What's your backlog looking like right now?

yeah, I sent joey some stuff a few weeks and am wondering if I will make the cut (it will be close I think, but I am optimistic)

 

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BS Damutantman

BS Damutantman

Posted
Posted
44 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

I know I'm talking to myself here but maybe it'll help someone

I have good news

The grace period for when the new affect of prices goes into effect is a month from April 28th

So the rep said mine is set to auto renew may 25th which should put me before the May 28th deadline and I will get the current premium benefits

Mine expires May 30th B|.

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ADAMANTIUM

ADAMANTIUM

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, BS Damutantman said:

Mine expires May 30th B|.

Thank God hopefully that call to cgc was worth it then, and hope the representative knew his stuff, we shall see!

Doesnt look like I can go and and renew now lol

I should have asked that haha

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skybolt

skybolt

Posted
Posted
19 minutes ago, greggy said:

Like with all the changes, I'll adapt and thrive even stronger in the end.

xoxo

greggy

At this point we all have to adapt. My CGC premium benefits renewed late last month, so I'm good there for a while. I currently have about 160 books in the pipe line with CGC and CCS and will be sending another 125 this weekend. Moving forward, the 2 changes I'll likely make are a.) switch to the $300 membership tier, since it will result in a slight cost savings with the number of books I submit per year, and b.) be a little more selective with books I send in to be pressed into potential 9.8's. With the $7 increase from quick press to regular press (as well as the $4 increase in modern grading), I will probably stick with submitting books that sell in the $65-$70 minimum range on Ebay.

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Qalyar

Qalyar

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, RedGiant said:

Price bumps are expected.  But can someone clarify pre-screen on moderns.  It seems it's going away at CGC, others say that is only CCS.  If it's going away I need to get serious about sending in some pre-screens ASAP.

"Pre-screening", the thing where you tell them not to slab stuff less than a desired grade, is not going away, although the reject fee is increasing from $5 to $8.

"Screening" is the CCS service where they determine whether a book is suitable for pressing; that is going away for Modern comics, all of which are assumed to be suitable for pressing.

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William-James88

William-James88

Posted
Posted (edited)
20 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

Good.

Maybe some of them will just quit their yapping and go away. 

PREACH brother!

20 hours ago, 1Cool said:

Why the rush?  The changes don’t do into effect until your membership is up- correct? If that is the case I see a big rush in people signing up for memberships before the 28th.  I’ve not subbed in over a year so I let my membership lapse but this has me considering signing up for a year and getting the short box of definitely grade books out of the house.  

Changes to the price for services themselves will change for everyone the 28th, it's just the discounts from your member ship that are grandfathered

19 hours ago, evilskip said:

I've never sent in a book to be graded.But let's say I wanted to send in an Iron Man 1 that would grade out at 6.0, it would cost me $75 for that service, not counting the shipping back and forth and a membership fee?

membership fee is 25$ for people who have no interest in sending tons of books but what I do is send my comics to a presser/dealer who then send it to CGC for me.

18 hours ago, RedGiant said:

Price bumps are expected.  But can someone clarify pre-screen on moderns.  It seems it's going away at CGC, others say that is only CCS.  If it's going away I need to get serious about sending in some pre-screens ASAP.

pre screens for moderns are the reason most people use CGC, it's a big money maker for them. They are staying but the fee for rejects is 8$ instead of 5$

Edited by William-James88
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Eric Perry

Eric Perry

Posted
  • Popular Post
Posted (edited)

I'm mainly a "card guy" and that will color my opinion; however, here's my take:

Over the past year, many people have sought to supplement their income through the use of third party grading companies.  A popular method revolved around the purchase of new releases at the retail level.  The dealer would then submit choice examples (condition-wise) of generally low-value items.  This was often done in high-volume quantities.

The strategy worked for the individual, so long as their percentage of 9.8 grades (or PSA Gem Mint 10, etc.) was sufficiently high.  Across the hobby, though, this had some unintended consequences.

  • Grading companies became flooded with submissions
  • Naturally, the number of slabbed books increased
  • Otherwise low-value items were changing hands at greatly increased prices (a not-insignificant percentage of these books would sell at cover price or slightly above, if not for the 9.8 label)
  • The increased prices caught the attention of people outside the hobby.  People saw "easy money" to be made
  • A massive influx of money into comics caused a significant shift in the demand curve, resulting in higher prices for everyone

I won't begrudge anybody for trying to make an honest buck, and that includes the grading companies.  CGC is justified in raising their prices.  Why shouldn't they?  The strength of their brand has made it possible for many people to make a business out of buying and selling comics.

Their price increases are not that severe.  The CGC grade is still the gold standard within the market.  If this move keeps down the number of submissions to a manageable level, I'm all for it.

Better to pay a bit more than deal with one-year-plus turnaround times, suspension of everything except the $300-per-item tier, etc.  Remember, I'm a "card guy."  Believe me, the stuff going on over there is 10 times worse.

Edited by Eric Perry
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RedGiant

RedGiant

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, Qalyar said:

"Pre-screening", the thing where you tell them not to slab stuff less than a desired grade, is not going away, although the reject fee is increasing from $5 to $8.

"Screening" is the CCS service where they determine whether a book is suitable for pressing; that is going away for Modern comics, all of which are assumed to be suitable for pressing.

super helpful, thank you for clarifying

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Tnexus

Tnexus

Posted
Posted
50 minutes ago, Bird said:

yeah, I sent joey some stuff a few weeks and am wondering if I will make the cut (it will be close I think, but I am optimistic)

 

His website says he's on November books, so I wouldn't hold your breath

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awakeintheashes

awakeintheashes

Posted
Posted
13 minutes ago, Eric Perry said:

I'm mainly a "card guy" and that will color my opinion; however, here's my take:

Over the past year, many people have sought to supplement their income through the use of third party grading companies.  A popular method revolved around the purchase of new releases at the retail level.  The dealer would then submit choice examples (condition-wise) of generally low-value items.  This was often done in high-volume quantities.

The strategy worked for the individual, so long as their percentage of 9.8 grades (or PSA Gem Mint 10, etc.) was sufficiently high.  Across the hobby, though, this had some unintended consequences.

  • Grading companies became flooded with submissions
  • Naturally, the number of slabbed books increased
  • Otherwise low-value items were changing hands at greatly increased prices (a not-insignificant percentage of these books would sell at cover price or slightly above, if not for the 9.8 label)
  • The increased prices caught the attention of people outside the hobby.  People saw "easy money" to be made
  • A massive influx of money into comics caused a significant shift in the demand curve, resulting in higher prices for everyone

I won't begrudge anybody for trying to make an honest buck, and that includes the grading companies.  CGC is justified in raising their prices.  Why shouldn't they?  The strength of their brand has made it possible for many people to make a business out of buying and selling comics.

Their price increases are not that severe.  The CGC grade is still the gold standard within the market.  If this move keeps down the number of submissions to a manageable level, I'm all for it.

Better to pay a bit more than deal with one-year-plus turnaround times, suspension of everything except the $300-per-item tier, etc.  Remember, I'm a "card guy."  Believe me, the stuff going on over there is 10 times worse.

What your describing has been happening with moderns books for a very long time. It’s nothing new. 

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CatskillMike

CatskillMike

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, miraclemet said:

Keep raising prices until submissions drop enough to get those TAK times down. 

Or keep raising prices until it generates the cashflow to hire more people. 

I've been sitting on a submission pile and I'm not sending it until I see turnaround times improve.

(of course if it gets all the way to Baltimore time, I'll just sub them at the show for onsite grading)

I said this three years ago and finally gave up and sent in last week.

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