Running CGC (old CSG) Order Tracker

[YeahBuddy]

A lot would also depend on where these slabs are made. If in China where their has been tons of lockdowns over the past couple months then it can create a big supply shortage of the slab itself.

[DetroitTN]

They're increasing the prices.. Damn. Maybe it won't backfire on them, but it certainly won't help them I don't believe

[KhalDrogo]

They gave a month lead time to get your cards in before the hike. WAG, but CSG probably got wind that PSA was bringing a $25-35 service level back by July. The price hike is to drive submissions this month before that happens. No reason to submit to CSG at $15 if PSA does $25 unless it’s for your PC.

[TSonn]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

They gave a month lead time to get your cards in before the hike. WAG, but CSG probably got wind that PSA was bringing a $25-35 service level back by July. The price hike is to drive submissions this month before that happens. No reason to submit to CSG at $15 if PSA does $25 unless it’s for your PC.

Agree, unless the $30-level PSA service is an expected 6+ month turnaround time. CSG has been cranking out bulks in 2 weeks.

[CheapThief]

Originally Posted by TSonn

Agree, unless the $30-level PSA service is an expected 6+ month turnaround time. CSG has been cranking out bulks in 2 weeks.

I believe Nat's on the record as saying that the plan is to regulate inflow such that nothing will ever be at PSA for longer than three months.

[grade]

People are willing to wait , pay more for a better product in life. This goes for many things we buy. Cheap is not always the best way to go.

[TSonn]

Originally Posted by CheapThief

I believe Nat's on the record as saying that the plan is to regulate inflow such that nothing will ever be at PSA for longer than three months.

Interesting. Economy orders are 3 months now so I'm not sure how they'll open a lower entry point. Unless they go to an "every sub takes 3 months, but you pay for the value of the card" model?

Originally Posted by grade

People are willing to wait , pay more for a better product in life. This goes for many things we buy. Cheap is not always the best way to go.

PSA slabs are objectively cheaper than CSG.

[zdawgs]

Originally Posted by grade

People are willing to wait , pay more for a better product in life. This goes for many things we buy. Cheap is not always the best way to go.

I'm not willing to wait another 15 + months. And there is not a "better" product. Maybe ROI, but product is definitely not better.

[discodanman45]

Originally Posted by TSonn

Interesting. Economy orders are 3 months now so I'm not sure how they'll open a lower entry point. Unless they go to an "every sub takes 3 months, but you pay for the value of the card" model?

They have been taking around 6 weeks to complete recently. PSA is going to be completely different in 3/4 months. If economy right now is 3 months, it might be 1/2 months stated when the backlog is done. Only 15% of their grading capacity is going towards new cards. Once they have the ability to have 100% of their capacity towards grading incoming submissions, they will handle things much differently.

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by TSonn

Interesting. Economy orders are 3 months now so I'm not sure how they'll open a lower entry point. Unless they go to an "every sub takes 3 months, but you pay for the value of the card" model?

Only dual is taking three months. Don’t think anyone is waiting 3 months for a plain Economy order. As the backlog decreases, the capability to grade more new cards increases. I trust Nat when he says 3 months. Because promising 3 months and taking longer would be a huge mistake.

[zdawgs]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

Only dual is taking three months. Don’t think anyone is waiting 3 months for a plain Economy order. As the backlog decreases, the capability to grade more new cards increases. I trust Nat when he says 3 months. Because promising 3 months and taking longer would be a huge mistake.

Lots of trust in Nat it seems. What has he done to earn it?

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by zdawgs

Lots of trust in Nat it seems. What has he done to earn it?

He’s put PSA in a much better position to deliver a quality service to the customer.

[zdawgs]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

He’s put PSA in a much better position to deliver a quality service to the customer.

Just words...expand

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by zdawgs

Just words...expand

Structured approach to tackling the backlog
Tiered return to service
Reasonable pricing
Approachable customer service
Building the Registry
Attending more shows
Removed Joe

[zdawgs]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

Structured approach to tackling the backlog
Tiered return to service
Reasonable pricing
Approachable customer service
Building the Registry
Attending more shows
Removed Joe

I'd say we are still waiting on #3 which is the biggest obstacle for them

[discodanman45]

Originally Posted by zdawgs

I'd say we are still waiting on #3 which is the biggest obstacle for them

Is SGC at $30 reasonable? To accomplish clearing out the backlog and to have decent turnaround times, you need to use pricing to moderate demand. CSG can charge cheaper rates because of the lower demand.

3/4 months from now things will be completely different at PSA and the rest of the grading companies better be prepared to lay people off or drop prices to ridiculously low levels. If the market keeps on going down, PSA might not be able to get enough submissions at $25 and will open up bulk this year. Get ready for a crazy 6 months everyone!

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by zdawgs

I'd say we are still waiting on #3 which is the biggest obstacle for them

At a 90/10 split, they graded more new subs last month than BGS, CSG, and CGC graded total subs. So the market seems to believe the current available pricing is affordable.

[zdawgs]

Originally Posted by discodanman45

Is SGC at $30 reasonable? To accomplish clearing out the backlog and to have decent turnaround times, you need to use pricing to moderate demand. CSG can charge cheaper rates because of the lower demand.

3/4 months from now things will be completely different at PSA and the rest of the grading companies better be prepared to lay people off or drop prices to ridiculously low levels. If the market keeps on going down, PSA might not be able to get enough submissions at $25 and will open up bulk this year. Get ready for a crazy 6 months everyone!

Agree that the next 3-6 months will be interesting. Lot tougher profit margins for flippers with grading since the market downturn.

[CheapThief]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

Only dual is taking three months. Don’t think anyone is waiting 3 months for a plain Economy order. As the backlog decreases, the capability to grade more new cards increases. I trust Nat when he says 3 months. Because promising 3 months and taking longer would be a huge mistake.

This. Of the 40-50 econ orders I've sent in since February only one has taken longer than six weeks door-to-door.

[The_Reverend]

Originally Posted by TSonn

Agree, unless the $30-level PSA service is an expected 6+ month turnaround time. CSG has been cranking out bulks in 2 weeks.

People are hooked on the PSA crack and by my calculation, $15 is at least 50% less than what PSA will charge. Their turnaround time is approaching 2 months at their current price point, yes I have cards there. I think 6 month plus will be in the future, but hey they are grading 250K cards per week! Let that sink in! Do you think they are really examining cards that closely, save the potential high volume cards? CSG is smart to raise their prices because the bulk Prizm stuff will be coming. I am mailing off my bulk submissions today.

[The_Reverend]

Originally Posted by TSonn

Interesting. Economy orders are 3 months now so I'm not sure how they'll open a lower entry point. Unless they go to an "every sub takes 3 months, but you pay for the value of the card" model?



PSA slabs are objectively cheaper than CSG.

Absolutely! PSA probably has the worse slabs and save the register and roi, most would say the same. I was just looking at some back in the day PSA slabs in my collection and only the label has really changed. Oops! Isn’t that what CSG just did?

[discodanman45]

Originally Posted by The_Reverend

People are hooked on the PSA crack and by my calculation, $15 is at least 50% less than what PSA will charge. Their turnaround time is approaching 2 months at their current price point, yes I have cards there. I think 6 month plus will be in the future, but hey they are grading 250K cards per week! Let that sink in! Do you think they are really examining cards that closely, save the potential high volume cards? CSG is smart to raise their prices because the bulk Prizm stuff will be coming. I am mailing off my bulk submissions today.

Lots of hypotheticals here. How do you know that CSG spends more time on a card than PSA? That 250,000 cards a week is high, but they also have a much larger grading team than CSG. CSG may be spending the same exact time on a card than PSA does. The amount of cards going through is not evidence of spending less time. You need to know the process, technology, number of graders, etc... Do you think CSG is examining cards that closely? Do you think SGC is examining cards that closely? The answer is probably no for every grading company. If you are grading 250,000 cards a week with a 150 grading team and 30,000 cards a week with a 20 person grading team, there isn't much of a difference. However, the consistency could be argued to be better with a smaller team since there is more control and less turnover.

The turnaround time is getting higher because they just opened up $50 without a queue. This was to be expected. I am sending in a bulk order to CSG, but I am doing it strictly for the price. I own CSG/PSA slabs and while the CSG is slightly nicer plastic, the bigger label is unnecessary. It is better than what it was, but for my PC I prefer the PSA label. CSG will grade my cards like PSA/SGC and I don't expect anything better/worse.

[jjcan]

I have about 150 cards, I will submit before July 5th deadline. I have 100 cards at CSG now, and they are moving Fast.

Total since I renewed my member ship 2 months ago 350 cards to CSG- either completed in process or future. For this Spring/Summer.

I have 2 main shows to go through July, so if PSA is back by Fall, even if TAT is 6 months for Bulk I probably will wait depending on pricing. I am guessing the $25/$20 they had before they stopped, which is reasonable.

To make the most use of my CSG membership i will probably submit some lower grade HOF vintage and GOAT cards at the minimum 50 card order once a month after my July shows. Or send some newer pokemon to CGC (I really do not like their slabs) or maybe not.

At 13.50 a card after 10% discount it does affect my choice enough to wait on some of the cards and hope PSA comes back earlier by Fall/late summer for Bulk.

I do wish they trimmed down their minimum to how PSA did with a price raise at the end, like to 30/40 cards instead of 50 card , that would of helped. For some reason more psychologically than monetarily.

Currently have 2 Economy orders at $50 at PSA and that stack is small, but in my opinion still worth it for the Flipping aspect. Not PCing those cards. Also still waiting for 200 PSA bulk cards from 2021, so those will fill in Gaps for show inventory.

[zdawgs]

Originally Posted by discodanman45

Lots of hypotheticals here. How do you know that CSG spends more time on a card than PSA? That 250,000 cards a week is high, but they also have a much larger grading team than CSG. CSG may be spending the same exact time on a card than PSA does. The amount of cards going through is not evidence of spending less time. You need to know the process, technology, number of graders, etc... Do you think CSG is examining cards that closely? Do you think SGC is examining cards that closely? The answer is probably no for every grading company. If you are grading 250,000 cards a week with a 150 grading team and 30,000 cards a week with a 20 person grading team, there isn't much of a difference. However, the consistency could be argued to be better with a smaller team since there is more control and less turnover.

The turnaround time is getting higher because they just opened up $50 without a queue. This was to be expected. I am sending in a bulk order to CSG, but I am doing it strictly for the price. I own CSG/PSA slabs and while the CSG is slightly nicer plastic, the bigger label is unnecessary. It is better than what it was, but for my PC I prefer the PSA label. CSG will grade my cards like PSA/SGC and I don't expect anything better/worse.

It would be so nice to see the process of grading for all the companies. I can't imagine it being much different between the companies. However, the companies do like keeping their process "secret".

[discodanman45]

Originally Posted by jjcan

To make the most use of my CSG membership i will probably submit some lower grade HOF vintage and GOAT cards at the minimum 50 card order once a month after my July shows. Or send some newer pokemon to CGC (I really do not like their slabs) or maybe not.

This is probably the way to go. All the new people that have gotten into vintage are scared out of their mind about faked and altered vintage. They won't buy a nice raw 1963 Koufax for $50, but will pay $50 for a crappy version in a CSG 2/3 case. Might as well capitalize on people's fears that all vintage is trimmed, altered, and fake.