Startin' to understand PCGS better!

[TonerGuy]

Jadecoin's post -- more then 280 replies, not one from PCGS, except for Carol to tell forum members to behave themselves and stop the personal insults.

 

Here's a thread that in a little over 2 hours got a response from the Vice President of PCGS.

 

Money is NO object in regards to submission fees.

 

Hmmmm...

 

Michael

[BillJones]

I had some trouble with PCGS giving me body bags for no good reason or lower than expected grades. I was submitting the coins though a deal who does a lot of business with them. I mentioned this to a third dealer, and he told me, "You are not paying them enough. If you pay $50 or more a coin, you'll get faster service and better grades."

 

It may be coincidence, but when I paid the $50 fee for some special coins I got higher grades than I expected. A couple of those coins also had some problems like rim nicks and such, which I thought might have gotten me some body bags. I did not get any.

 

My experience is that slabbing is about 30 to 40 percent merit and 60 to 70 percent marketing. Buy the coin, not the plastic. An yes maybe the fee you pay does more than lower the turnaround time.

 

[IrishMike]

FrattLaw, I mean nothing personal by this comment but I hate to see this forum disintegrate into a PCGS bashing forum. These threads are getting tiresome and sure to elicit negative responses resulting in another round of mudslinging and name calling. Please give some thought to rising above all of this.

 

Thanks, Mike

[braddick]

Mike makes a solid point. Couple that with the argument that could take the party line it is appropriate for PCGS to allow its members to hash it out withOUT comment from PCGS themselves even if the end result is to give the appearance of a damaged reputation of PCGS.

[gmarguli]

I had some trouble with PCGS giving me body bags for no good reason or lower than expected grades. I was submitting the coins though a deal who does a lot of business with them. I mentioned this to a third dealer, and he told me, "You are not paying them enough. If you pay $50 or more a coin, you'll get faster service and better grades."

 

It may be coincidence, but when I paid the $50 fee for some special coins I got higher grades than I expected. A couple of those coins also had some problems like rim nicks and such, which I thought might have gotten me some body bags. I did not get any.

 

 

While I think that if you send a coin thru using on of the expensive tiers the coin might be given a few more seconds to be viewed, I don't know if it will end up with a higher grade. Perhaps just the proper grade the first time since the grader took more time to look at the coin.

 

I've had most of my biggest winners graded using the cheap service. Borderline coins that hit the major money grades.

 

I've also had walk-thrus bodybagged. One was a coin that later ended up in a slab after it was bodybagged for me.

[TonerGuy]

Mike -- While I won't pull my original post, your thoughts are well noted. And I wasn't really meaning to bash PCGS so to speak or cause additional name calling and mudslinging between forum members. I will refrain from any additional posts of threads such as this so as not to denigrate this forum.

 

Sorry,

Michael

[291fifth]

Let's keep legal matters out of the forum. The pedigree question was a business matter that should have been settled privately between the parties involved.

[BillJones]

Let's keep legal matters out of the forum. The pedigree question was a business matter that should have been settled privately between the parties involved.

 

I totally disagree with this statement.

 

In the past it seems that PCGS has been slow to fix things unless they were made public. Some months ago a board member from across the street got stuck with a rare date St. Gaudens $20 gold coin (worth about $15,000) that had been puddied. (scratches filled in with a body plastic material and then covered over with gold coloring.) When the coin went bad PCGS would not make good on it despite the fact this is precisely the kind of thing that a first grading service should pick up upon (and blody bag the coin) and make good if they miss it.

 

The collector in question contacted PCGS privately and got nowhere. Finally she posted a picture of the coin and her problem on the PCGS board and that forced them to do something about it.

 

This pedigree problem should disturb those who pay premiums for pedigress. To spot the problem one must look for very subtle marks and chraracteristics on the plates of pedigreed coins and match them up. That's not always easy, and if companies are going to mark pedigrees on coins that have a significant affect on the value of the piece they should (1) make a major effort to get it right and (2) back it up without question if they don't.

 

The same applies to die variety attributions. I've seen MAJOR attribution mistakes on PCGS holder for things as obvious as Red Book varieties. It's been my experience than NGC and ANACS do a much better job in that regard.

 

If some think that I'm a PCGS basher for wrrting that then so be it. PCGS needs to tighten up in that area in the name of consumer protection.

[coinman1794]

PCGS needs to tighten up in the area in the name of consumer protection.

 

Especially if they aren't going to honor their guarantee!

[SilverEagleCoins]

Reputation is as important to protect as marketshare and profits