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"we" & "they"

50 posts in this topic

Good link to the CU press release announcing imminent delisting. Even though the company is not real good as a public company, I think that it will do alright in the long run.

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I hope both services continue to grow and innovate. Personally I would like to see them develop a certifying process that does not require the plastic holder. I want to hold the actual coins and look at them without the restrictions caused by the plastic.Certainly with the photographic industry undergoing such fast-paced technological innovation there must be a way to "tag" a coin.

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There really isn't a we & they in this hobby. As collectors we all benefit from the competition amongst the grading companies. I have preferences generally speaking for one grading company over another in one particular series. Even then I have collected this series in anacs, ngc, segs and the majority in pcgs. In the major series I collect there is a small premium and a copper guarantee with pcgs. If I played the crack out crossing game I believe the coins would cross between holders, to me it doesn't matter, I just enjoy viewing and owning them. In fact I am on my second raw set in this series.

 

What bothers me when I read posts or listen to people is the defense of one company based on no factual presentation or emotional diatribes, which add nothing to the hobby. Also I tend to do business with companies that appreciate it and respond to me when I have a problem, need or question. This is 100% a service industry, loyatly counts for everything.

 

Analyzing companies financial information is a part of what I have done for a living since 1971 and I didn't imply or suggest that PCGS was going out of business. What has been said is true, they are struggling to make a decent return for their shareholders, versus maintaining high quality service. A lot of their current financial dilemma can be traced to credit out to dealers and the decline in the card business.These things happen to companies.

 

It serves us well as collectors that all three of the major grading companies remain healthy and competitive. I like to remind myself, they are a sidelight to the business, they serve collectors and it shouldn't be the other way around. It behooves us as collectors to point out where we think they can improve their level of service and critique them when they don't. To those of you who don't like to hear thoughtful criticism of a particular company, I say TS. wink.gif And if anyones criticism is off base, be big enough to accept others comments and learn something. One last thought, don't ya love it when a Florida football team loses (ducking). ooo.gif

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Mike:

 

Yes I Love It.

 

You guys at ND really got a Excellent Coach. While he was in the Pac10 I always admired his Side Line Deameanor and Absolute Coolness. One of the Best IMO and it is Showing Up with ND this Year.

 

I know Off Topic but had to make the comment. grin.gif

 

Ken

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Well, you can always emphasize (ie: market) that NGC gives the fair grade...not the grade you'd love to have or the grade that you hate to get, but the grade that's in tune with the market. NGC won't intentionally overgrade to get business and won't undergrade to be perceived as the toughest grader. NGC consistently gets it right the first time...not the second, third or twentieth time thru, but the first time!

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  • Administrator

Heh, that's not a marketing opportunity. That's a service change. Not that we're not interested in all kinds of feedback. I just wondered more specifically what these vast opportunities for marketing were...

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I just wondered more specifically what these vast opportunities for marketing were...

 

Well, just a thought here, but maybe some national television advertising. NGC's exposure is currently limited to people who actively seek Numismatic information. How about the person who is sitting on their couch all day, and has Granddads coins sitting in a cigar box. This guy needs a quick lesson on the encapsulation of coins for preservation. The current state of ALL grading services exposure is too narrowly targeted IMO.

 

Phil

 

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Service change?? isn't that what you do, provide a service? So you market the change. C'mon Arch let's not get picky or technical. Copper collectors like the added assurance they receive from PCGS. So you add a G or some other designation to the slab as a guarantee. Great marketing ploy. wink.gif

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  • Administrator

 

Well, like I said - all feedback is good feedback. That having been said, however, the process for say developing new ads or sending out mailings or whatever is quite different from the process of making an actual service change. i.e. I'm more in a position to influence marketing recommendations than actual service changes. Thus, I'm more curious about pure market issues.

 

Arch

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Arch,

 

There is a market perception that NGC graded coins are inferior to their PCGS counterparts, especially in the area of modern coins. Although that perception is slowly changing, and more and more people are recognizing that this is not necessarily the case, NGC needs to be able to address that perception.

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NGC will never be able to change that perception. PCGS just changes their standards to keep that perception going. What you have to go after is the perception that NGC coins are not worth full list value.

 

Quite frankly, I don't know how to price a PCGS coin any more. If it's undergraded so severely that a few years ago it would have been a grade higher, then what's it worth? Half again bid? Next higher grade bid? I can't say and neither can most collectors. Focus on the fact that NGC sets the market standards for grading and is consistent. Promote the fact that NGC coins are worth full market value. They aren't overgraded, they aren't undergraded. When you want to know what they are worth, you look up the list price. You don't need a degree in nuclear engineering to price them, unlike their competitors!

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I think one way to dispel the false notion of PCGS superiority is to try to dispel the notion that a GRADING service makes the coins themselves better. (A grading service provides a useful function within the industry, but changing the physical properties of the actual coin is NOT one of them.)

 

I think a Showdown (or just a display) sponsored by NGC would be great. The participants would have a mixed set of PCGS and NGC slabs, and viewers would then have to focus on the coins.

 

Once NGC dispels the stupid notion that a coin in a PCGS slab is somehow better (and thus worth more), people will recognize the true value that NGC brings to our hobby.

 

Pick a couple of HOT non-modern series: classical commems and Early Dollars, for example. How about the Trade Dollars -- to see who comes in 2nd place! (There's a great un-registered set of Trades ALL IN NGC SLABS!) How about showing off Sunnywood's Shield Nicks? I can also put together a great set of Seated keys in various denominations (if my friends are willing!).

 

This is marketing, right Arch? If you really like this idea, feel free to PM or email me (to my real email addr).

 

EVP

 

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Good points from each of you.

 

EVP -- I like the NGC Showdown idea. Best series maybe, classic commems. Highlight Gregg Bingham's toned set (95%+ NGC) versus other complete sets that are mostly PCGS and I don't think that anyone would deny that Gregg's pieces are equal to any other commem out there.

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Arch - One distinction that can be used as a marketing tact is that niether NGC nor PCGS, nor ... make coins. There is no such thing as an NGC coin, PCGS coin, etc. Promote the grading, attribution, and authentication aspects of the service that you are. Promote them as the choice of serious collectors due to the attributes of consistency and accuracy from the most knowledgable bunch of peopled assembled in one grading house. (Perhaps also promote the individuals of your staff to make the flavor more personal). Make service of all kinds your ultimate mantra. Get away from the lines of PCGS and ANACS (these two especially) that coins graded by them are PCGS coins or ANACS coins.

 

Hoot

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