CGC DESTROYED MY AMAZING SPIDER-MAN  

... I dont send my books to get graded because I get worried that shady people might switch it with a lower graded copy.

Personally if that happened to me I wouldn’t submit another book ever ! All confidence GONE . And their policy of no accountability is ridiculous. 🤦🏻‍♂️ I can feel your pain !

CBCS has figured out a way to get around this problem!! Is CGC so sure in their hold on the comic grading market that they are not even gonna try to fix this problem??

There needs to be an Association of CGC graders and services all over the country where you can take your books to a certifier in a LCS and have it graded right in front of you. Sort of like certified Notary Publics.

Sorry to hear this-the books we buy as collectors mean so much to us-cgc is so big now that cases like yours seem to happen way too frequently-hope it all works out for the best

when people are paying for a service, companies should willingly accept responsibility for damages they caused.

It always boggled my mind the concept of a "permanent grade". Be it oxidation, humidity or blunted ends/corners while encapsulated... Sellers will still default to the graded price. The same way you know one of your books is mint condition raw.. You will still get ripped off for insane money because it isn't slabbed. It's a catch 22 because you also do not want to have it graded over and over subjecting it to wear.

CGC does not have the standards they use to have. That sucks they ruined your book. Ever since they were sold, I have noticed more content creators have issues with them.

Wow, sorry about your book. Was this an older slab? I was under the impression that the newer slabs did not have the issue of books moving in them. I must say although I don't always agree with your takes I do respect your knowledge and thoughts. That being said I have to agree with you in this case, as this is a situation where CGC needs to be accountable and they should have some type of remediation process for when things like this happen. I think it's important to have people like yourself and others call out CGC and the other grading companies when they have clearly made a mistake. If we are entrusting our dollars to them and they are profiting from us they have not just an obligation but a duty to improve their processes and take accountability when necessary. Thanks for your video.

I think that writing in the book (even a signature) should effect it more, it kind of shows how little people value a comic beyond it’s cover.

I also had a damaged cgc book. I crack out most of my books unless they're a really big key. I had an avengers #51 in 8.5 and when I tried to remove it from the inner sleeve, it was stuck like it had been glued along the spine to the sleeve. The only way to remove it without damaging it was to cut the inner sleeve and leave it stuck to the cover.

I have a set of CBCS graded, and I have a set currently at CGC, but I knew I would need to decide on a primary company. This is helping back away from CGC and go with CBCS. Yes, CGC has a better resale price, but CBCS seems to have a better slab.

That happens more than you think. The book moves in the case. If it's too tight in one area of the book, when it moves it pinches the area thats tight to the book causing it to rip. Usually it's the spine that gets pinched causing the staples to pull detaching the cover. Can't really put the same pressure all over the book because it's not the same thickness all over. CGC tried something to improve it years ago, but it caused alot of damage to books. I had a 9.8 asm 298 signed by MacFarlane get it's cover completely detached in the case. I now store all my CGCs laying down. So no chance of them moving in the case.

Did u show us the newton rings? That tear on the back bottom didnt happen when your graded comic fell from the wall or during shipping back to you or shaking since inside sleeve could be tighter on outside edges? Did you take pics of the comic before you sent it away? That sucks if the back page got torn when the book was moved in maybe different directions. I dont know anything about comic book gradings.

i have an ff1 that has that oil, i dont know if i should return it to get it fix. or crack it open then sent it

Sorry to hear about that. I really appreciate your honesty here.

Yeah, they damaged my ASM #129 9.0 as well. Pinched it in the encapsulation process

DOES CGC have a QC department? It sure doesn't seem like it to me. I did a 36-book prescreen earlier this year, and 28 books got slabbed. Of the 28, 7 came back in damaged cases (received in boxes with 0 damage). 7 of 28, that's 25%! I sent the 7 back as mechanical errors, but when I got those back, 2 showed damage yet again!! (And again, in a box with 0 damage.) 2 of 7, that's 28.6%! I don't believe that they HAVE a QC department, or if they do, they're doing an abhorrent job of it.

Love the honesty sticky. I too would be angry about the poor handling of this book. If they had put the book down to the bottom there is a good chance it would not have happened

So sorry to hear about your experience stickygoose, absolutely devastating. I have a few boxes of pristine bronze age books that I bought off the racks that I don't think I will ever send in for grading. I'd rather sell them raw at a lower price than watch a book I've cherished and preserved for 40 years get battered beyond repair due to a faulty encapsulation design. I remember when I first learned about shaken comic syndrome (SCS) a few years ago, what a blow to the gut. I was convinced the CGC design was foolproof. After reading various threads, I immediately reviewed my books and sure enough roughly 5% have SCS damage. All of my graded books are 9.4 or higher so there's just no way those folded corners, edges, etc. factored into the grade. Buyers, beware books with low quality images or with no back-cover images. Pay close attention to all edges, especially the top and bottom right sides (but the top and the bottom edge, as in this video, are also susceptible). Torn staples, on the other hand, are almost impossible to detect unless you're actually holding the book in your hands. IMO the fees CGC charges are already border-line scandalous and if their product isn't either fully guaranteed or iron-clad, they're never going to put their hands on any of my books. Here's a CGC board thread (ruined Giant Size X-men in 9.8): boards.cgccomics.com/topic/466876-shaken-comic-syndrome-warn-buyers/#comment-11266423

Thank you for your video about CGC damaging your ASM. I took have a damage book. The book is Fantastic 4 #1 Clayton Crain cover. I have those newton rings on the book right in the middle.😢

Was the damage caused during shipping from CGC or from just handling the slab? I am not a fan of slabs as I prefer my comics RAW, however I do "Slab to Sell".....

I have some cracked cases that I would love to get reholdered but after going on the CGG forums and seeing the horror show some people experience I decided it's just not worth the risk. Especially on high value books. Hopefully CGC will help you since there is no damage to the case.

Question, so if this book was already signed (7:52), why would the slab label be blue? I thought any type of signature would make this book be a green label if it's not a verified/witnessed signature, correct? I have been snubbed by CGC a couple of times as well recently. Both times were from sending flawless raw 9.8 copies of books in for a CGC SS only to get them back with a 9.6! I was extremely disappointed as well, and I'm sure the books were mishandled on their end. I tried pleading my case to CGC w close-up photos of the books taken and recorded before sending them in, but they "weren't able to do anything about it." Their service has been such a disgrace since 2019 from my xp and what I've been hearing as well.

I applaud your integrity of you truly couldn't sell this book as a 9.6. From my conversations online, there are MANY who have zero issues with selling it as a 9.6 and would likely have just one picture to show the front and the grade.

I've had a Hulk 180, 181 and Spider-Man 101 all damaged while with CBCS or the outside company that they recommended for cleaning and pressing. Now they have inhouse pressing services but it might well be the same service. I mention the cleaning and pressing service because my Hulk 181 came back with foxing on the back cover in a grid pattern from a humidity chamber . I stopped using CBCS and haven't submitted anything to CGC in over 2 years. The last batch of books I submitted for cleaning and pressing before grading came back looking like they were never touched . Whether the books reverted back to pre-pressed condition before they were graded, or if they were never pressed, I'll never know.

The book itself is not going to slide down till it starts to tear. Definitely some shaking helped that.

the "g" in "cgc" used to stand for "guaranty". What does it stand for now?

This happened to me a few weeks back. I sent in my FF48 for a simple Re-encapsulation. Cgc returns my book with a severely damaged case. I sent it back and they game me a new case but This time they returned the book to me without the custom FF label that i initially sent It in. Finally after the 3rd try they returned the book back to me but this time a chunk was missing in the book! They are now asking me to return the book to be “looked at”. By their claim team. I’ve never handled the book since owning it. Any and all reencapsulation of this book was performed by cgc. It remains unclear what CGCs claim team need to “look at”when they are the one who actually handled the book! What I am expecting is they will now regrade it and reduce the existing grade due to the new damages (caused by cgc). The problem with all of this is that this was acquired at the current grade for more than the current FMV. Cgc will ultimately send me a much lower graded book And refund me the difference between the initial grade and the new grade based on current fmv(and not what i paid for it)Ultimately I will loose! Matt Nelson and the people at cgc simply do Not care! Like you I WAS a cgc fan and was reslabbing this book to ensure it continued to preserve nicely. I am highly upset about all of this and not sure what to do. Sorry this happened to you but this seems to be a serious problem at cgc that is affecting us. Matt Nelson take action!

I have a lot of very high grade Bronze Age books in my collection and am fearful of the same thing happening to me. The one and only time I used CGC was after I purchased a lower grade copy of FF 5 from my Comic Book shop. He agreed to send it to CGC using his account for grading. We both knew it was probably a 2.5 to 3.5 copy with some staining on the back cover. The interior is OW/W and presents well. To my dismay it came back with a detached cover and was graded 2.5. My comic shop guy and I both knew the cover was attached when we sent it and while it wasn’t attached as tight as a new book, it also wasn’t just hanging by a thread. So someone at CGC must have given it the rough treatment when opening the book. So I have a FF 5 now in a blue label at 2.5 that clearly says detached cover on the label! Since then I have not sent any books from my PC to get graded. The only graded books I have are from eBay purchases that are already graded.

Sorry that happened. Can ypu show the damage up close? It might be able to be fixed.

I have some key books I would love to get graded, but can't risk the possible shenanigans that could possibly occur. The only way I would allow my books to be graded is if I was standing right there in foot to a$$ range.

We the collectors have given CGC way to much power we have to be open to competition. IMO. Thanks for sharing.

I too am a CGC fan. The presentation alone makes me love the product. With that said, I use CGC to protect my Comics not damaged him. When I hear that comics are being damaged while in the slab, it makes me second-guess if that is the route that I want to go.

Yes I’ve had the same problem my 9.8 spider man #1 signed & sketch by Mike Mayhew the A variant has a been bent in the case and has the Newton rings it’s very frustrating that my comic had been damaged inside the cgc case especially something as valuable as this cgc needs to figure something out to where nothing can happen to the comic after grading

I had a 1 inch tear on a book along the spine that I sent into the Mcfarlane singing, when I saw it came at a 3.5 I knew something was really off. That tear went from 1 inch to about 6 or more.

Thats too bad, thats a nice key too. I had sent 10 issues in to CGC last summer and soon as I sent them I got senders remorse. I thought they were all 9.6 -9.8's, they came back and the scores were any where from an 8.5 and higher. IDK if I can keep sending my books to CGC, they just seem off their game this year. (Yes I know they hired a whole new staff). Great Video, sry about that damaged book.

how do you get comics graded without sending them out?

CGC did the same thing to one of my Captain Marvel Adventures. I have a series about it. They reholdered the book and gave the same grade.

Sent an absolutely perfect venom lethal protector #1 Newsstand edition in for the Bagley SS event. When I finally got my submission back they sent me a 9.0 direct edition.... CGC told me they dont differentiate between editions.. long story short I fought with them and still never got my book back.😒

Regardless of anything they have that says that aren't responsible, by law they still are responsible. Speak with your lawyer and he'll tell you this.

I feel for you. I sent my 9.6 Amazing Spider-Man 300 to CGC for the Toddy signing, and got it back a 9.2! I was so disappointed. I cant help but think they 'man handled' the book and regraded it. OR the book's cleaning & pressing reverted after a few years. I dont know. I'm debating if i should send it back to get pressed & cleaned and reholdered. I know my story doesnt compare to yours, but they def need to rethink their slabbing technology. Otherwise CBCS is going to be getting new customers. thank you for the transparency.

Yeah I'll buy a comic already graded if the price isn't that much higher than raw but I wouldn't send any raw books in until things get a little cleaned up

They F’d that book up bad. I bought an X-Men 129 graded. Noticed the inside of the comic was slightly askew from the cover once it was delivered. Had a hunch… cracked it and the cover was indeed detached. Clearly damaged during encapsulation.

I’m sorry that happened, I’d be furious if it were mine. But also, signed on the inside and still got a 9.6 blue label? How does that work? At best it should get a green label or the writing would be a significant hit to the grade. What do the graders notes say?

I bought two book soff eBay ( two different sellers) that did the same thing. In the original photos there’s clearly no damage but when it arrived it had the same type of damage. There was no damage to the packaging or to the slab itself. Thankfully they were not expensive books and both sellers issued refunds but this is more common than people think.

Facsimile is coming out in August.

I had the same exact thing happen to a golden age Submariner in 9.0

CBCS time?

After reading all the comments here, I don't think I'll ever send any of my comics to be graded. Raw for life!

That sucks man, are you sure there is even an inner well? Because that is pretty crazy amount of damage after encapsulation. I have definitely seen books damaged after encapsulation. The books move around inside I have seen staples get detached because the cover is stationary and the spine has pressure on it which slowly pushes the pages out. I have seen books sealed into the inner well. I've seen corners get rounded but never seen tears and damage like that.

They popped the staples on my ff49 which hurt

Where did u get your t-shirt

I sent in a SUPER clean copy of ASM #55 (the Gleason cover) and it came back a 9.0 with bends to the cover. I've considered sending it in for a press and reholder, but I've just had it sitting around. Kinda disheartening to think of it coming back a 9.4 or 9.6

There’s a reason they don’t take certain forms of payment (PayPal etc)

This begs the question - why take the risk to grade books?!

It was more than likely damaged during the process of encapsulation. I've had books come back 9.8 with damage like bad bends on a card stock foil cover almost 6 inches across the book. No way that happens after encapsulating, and no way it hits a 9.8 with those bends either. They have too many people handling these books that have no clue what they're doing and do not care.

there goes CGC as a reliable indicator of grade.

that's the anniversary one

Funny how he resembles sigourney when he speaks

Cgc should put each comic they grade in the Blockchain to track authenticity

Best case scenario is to crack it out, get it pressed and sell it raw

I’m so sorry about your book. CGC has gotten really bad with QA. I just had a Daredevil 158 in a 9.6 go to the Frank Miller signing and it’s coming back a 7.5. Clearly something happened to the book while in CGC’s possession.

Check out gator gaurds?

This is why my collection doesn’t get graded! I will buy graded books but just can’t send my books away and I believe I have a 9.8 ASM 300 as well.

Well this is an opportunity for another grading company to step up and give better grading procedures and an insurance policy.

I'm sorry to hear about this man. That's rough.

CGC and other grading companies need to understand, while there is a chance of damage to what ever it is they are grading. We pay so much for the trust, expertise and care that these companies advertise to create this whole aura of why we grade items. We grade items to maintain/preserve the condition and value and to ensure the authenticity of a specific item. They need to be accountable for this, if not...they should not be in business. I understand mistakes happen, but to have a blanket agreement that when under their care they are not liable. Makes no sense

Uh oh, dont tell Comic Man Andy. He wont want to hear it

my 2c: send it to CBCS. I think their quality (holder, case, grading standards etc) is just far superior.

What I prefer to do is to crack my own cases and then I double mylar the book and i stuff it full of microchamber paper cut the same size as the book it looks better that way and you don't have that inner poly that is bad for the comic book

I have a spawn number 1 cgc 9.8 same thing happened to me there's no way it's a 9.8 anymore the book is trashed inside the case same thing the book slide down and actually ripped the cover

My heart goes out to you goose.

Shame on CGC, they did me wrong several times in a signature series and normal grading encapsulation. They don't give a craop and never admited their mistake. They are a bad company !

I do feel for you I'm very sorry that you're amazing Spider-Man got damaged maybe you should start trying other graders cgc for quite some time now is just what the quality slip away what they're doing there's a lot of new grading companies out there and the only reason they don't have cgc clout how it would take his people like you to give them a chance if everybody would send half their books out to different graders then cgc the market will even out and equality would go up

Are you sure that maybe you didn't overlook the damage when you got it in? I've never seen that happen later down the line. And did CGC not notate "Todd McFarlane" written on 1st page?? I don't see it on the Label. I'm sorry to hear that's happened. My Team-Up 141 (tied with ASM 252 / Spectacular Spider-Man 90 for 1st Black Suit appearance) CGC 9.4 has a similar issue, but on the right side of the book opposite spine. I've seen the issue with quite a few Slabs of books from the 80's and 90's. Part of the cover edge has been creased down for about 1.5 inches. It looks mostly pressable, but I'm afraid there's a 1/16" tear also from it (it's hard to tell cuz of the angle and it being Encapsulated).

I just submitted an ASM 238 Newstand WITH Tattoo, and it was returned with a green label. I emailed CGC about it with photos I took before submission…are they stealing tattoos!? Really hope they make it right…This happen to anyone else?

Man, how the book can get a blue label instead of green if it's signed by Todd McFarlane? You really might get a green label in case of another reholder.

Hopefully they see this video and reach out to you

Their updated policy for Rings and mechanical errors are absurd rings don’t fall under error even though CBCS doesn’t have that issue And it’s 14 day return and it must be sent back by original submitter not sure how that works if you sent it to a 3rd party for a signing But it feels like CGC is trying to make the process so complicated that you’ll just give up and they don’t have to fix what quality control should’ve never approved before shipping out I have one book with them nothing expensive but I’m absolutely worried about how they’ve stored it for 2 months for the signing Being put in their vault sounds fancy and safe but what if that just means it’s just thrown in a box in a room they call the vault I love the idea of protecting old books and grading them so you don’t have to guess and possibly over pay i even like the idea that they’ll slab signed Sketches I definitely don’t like the idea though about paying for a service and when something goes wrong they wash their hand of acceptability and it’s wild that they get away with it Any other place like if someone sells you a bad car there’s lemon laws to protect the buyer from a dealership’s failing upkeep or if that car was damaged in a flood and they didn’t disclose that to you That’s definitely a tough situation cause you could sell as long as you disclose the damage but you’ll definitely be taking a hit on both what you paid and what someone is willing to spend regardless of damage

That's heartbreaking. Especially how a supposed legit business denies any accountability even when a product is literally damaged while in their possession and during handling. Who does that? What did you end up doing with this asm 300? You ever address it with cgc?

I grade to preserve my comics and not resell. I will never use CGC again after multiple quality control failures such as: receiving wrong books back, poor quality return of cases. Im now useing EGS. I gotta say EGS has way more sturdier cases and ive never had an issue with my books from them.

It’s also why I didn’t send anything already slabbed to the signing i don’t like the idea that if it’s damaged and gets a lower grade they’re not at fault makes me feel like they’re not professional or careful enough to be opening your comic Which is odd because I’ve seen ordinary collectors on RU-vid open a slab without issues or damage but certified experts need liability protections 🤨

What’s up with your FF 48 getting such a low score, I was on another comic channel and his FF 48 was basically the same grade. I guess no one showed Galactus any love back in the day.😓

That would be my last submission.

i don't get why people ship their comics to them... especially expensive ones just to have it shipped back to you and it moving around everywhere like just take it yourself or don't get it graded

Cgc should meet you halfway with a credit $1k

I’ll tell you this about my experiences with CGC recently. I also submitted an ASM 300. I was hoping for somewhere in the 9s. 9.0 minimum…. Got 8.5, was kinda sad…. Shoulda sucked it up. I resubmitted the book and it came back this time 7.5. So I’ve already spent 100$. I’m gonna try a third time. And I bet you dollars to donuts it’ll probably come back 8.0 and I’ll just leave it. Wishing I stuck with the 8.5 Your book in comparison would come back 6.5 if the same grader did our books…. I’ve gotten 2.0 on some nice silver age books recently that I was expecting probably 4.0? Maybe 4.5. And I’m looking at my books at 2.0 and then I go to eBay and I’m seeing books that are 2.5 that are missing huge chunks out of the cover. Are they trying to create a business out of resubmitting books?

Seems like grading is for sellers, sell it quick. Keep it raw unless you like people that don't care about your book to mishandle them

Nope never had anything damaged. Just stick it on the wall.

Dang, this is why I am against grading for the most part. Also, add on to everything the fact that they are owned by a shitty hedge fund only makes it harder to support

I bought a Ashkam from Ebay that was in a cgc case and a broke the holder and it was sticking out of the holder inside if that explains it well. I told the seller trying to be fair I'm willing to keep the book but I need you to give me a discount to send it into cgc he said no I'm just going to mail you a label for you to mail it back to them. I said no I don't want to wait either you can give me a discount and I do it myself or I can send it back to you for a full refund. So he didn't want to give me a discount so I send it back for full refund 🤷‍♂️ But that book that I got was the worst I have ever seen

The way that damage looks, it seems impossible for that to have occurred while being in the case. It appears like someone got a screwdriver and tried to slip it through the outer slab and pushed up on the cover of the book. But there should be an obvious scratch on the inner plastic protector if that was the case. I've never seen anything like that... weird.

Damn Bro.... 9.6 ASM 300 newsstand ! Smmfh they need to do better quality control. I do it for a living and I take real pride in my work. Cgc should to. Sorry Bro. I has my 9.6 Simpsons newsstand have outrageous Newton rings. Smmfh

Yo Goose, have you ever heard of any former CGC employees discussing their work candidly - especially foolish, shady or flat-out dishonest practices? I’ve gotta think the company receives insightful feedback from customers that the company basically ignores on the grounds that it’d reduce profits.

The grading scale is awful, books that are obvious 7.5 are getting up too 9.0. Books getting damaged are on the rise and so are the layoffs. As CGC moves into automation things will continue to get worse. Like most companies the only true thing that will hurt them is the damage to there bottom line.

The poor encapsulation of the comic inside the inner well is called Shaken Comic Syndrome (SCS) and has several threads in the CGC forums. Give it a look.

#RAW

Cbcs comics is the way to go.Cgc is not the standard they used to be

If you had taken your book to CBCS, you would’ve had a yellow label certified by Beckett. And no Newton rings. I hate that this happens to you. But you might give CBCS a try. I have both and I think they’re slabs are higher quality.