Glad to see that nothing has changed at NGC posted by THE HONEY BADGER

[MarkFeld]

Hi Mark, I didn't mean to offend you or put words in your mouth.

 

Thank you and no offense taken.

[brg5658]

I think that if Mark Feld says that wait times have never been a problem for him, then it is just proving the OP's point. Perhaps commercial clients do not experience the same wait times as the OP.

 

BRG, I doubt you would patiently stand in a bank line-up as other patrons walked past you and straight up to the teller? All the meantime the person behind you whispering in your ear that you are entitled, and what is your big hurry, and if you don't like it then stop coming to the bank.

 

I don't see how that analogy is valid to anything in this thread. Do you have proof that NGC is grading someone else's coins before yours, even though those coins were submitted at the same time as yours and at the same tier level? If so, you didn't make that clear anywhere in your post. Otherwise, those patrons going in front of you are the ones who paid for that privilege.

 

You guys are all taking things a little too seriously here IMO. MY OVER-ARCHING POINT is that, in the long run, it doesn't really matter how long it takes for your coins to be graded, be it 24 vs. 36 vs. 45 days...so long as you are a collector and plan to keep those coins in your collection for the foreseeable future.

 

I guess keep complaining if it makes you feel better.

[Nutmeg Coin]

It looks like the wait times are getting worse:

 

PCGS:

 

Service Estimated Turnaround Time

Express 9 business days

Regular 29 business days

Economy 40 business days

Modern 22 business days

http://www.pcgs.com/Statistics/

 

NGC appears to be more on time: https://www.ngccoin.com/submit/services-fees/

 

 

 

[coinsbygary]

All I can do is relate my recent experience. Not long ago I submitted a large number of medals to be graded under the economy tier. When I noticed that a month had passed and they were still scheduled for grading I sent an e-mail to customer service. Lisa replied with an apology and promised that the medals would be finalized and shipped in a week, and indeed they were. I was very pleased with this response that made me forget NGC had the medals a long time.

 

On another note, I am thrilled that NGC is grading medals that a few years ago they wouldn't of touched. I also read that they had one grader who sees all the medals that pass by NGC. Given these, and that my medals are turning up on the population report, I can put up with a little inconvenience. Kudos to NGC for growing their business in a matter that is more inclusive to numismatics. This goes for the registry also.

Gary

[Lucky One]

Maybe you should send your coins to PCGS -- where the wait times are 2 - 3 times longer?

 

What's your big rush? I never understand why people are in such a big hurry...are you planning to flip these coins? Are you a dealer?

 

Patience, grasshopper, patience.

 

what kind of reply is this? Why is it any of your business what his motives are? I sometimes wonder what makes people out here in the forums so rude...

[World Colonial]

Most of the complaints over the years on SLOW grading is usually on FOREIGN coins.

We all send our coins to Fla. of the U.S,A, --- even though that is not due to the FACT that there is an adequate grader for a British, English, or other foreign specialty in your series in N.G.C. of Sarasota, Florida.

I would imagine that the coins are then sent overseas to the specialist that can give the proper grade for such rarities that otherwise would be misplaced in U.S. grading. Remember that N.G.C. is world based ---- not just Fla, U.S. and there are other graders for specific coins overseas that work for N.G.C. that are better certifiable for such rare coins. That would greatly add to timing on grading.

Proper grading is more important than timing of grading!!

 

Think about it.

 

I have never heard that NGC sends world coins anywhere for grading. It's something that I understood might have been true for PCGS (at least in the past) but have no direct knowledge of it.

 

As for the quality of the grading, I expect NGC (and PCGS) to grade world coins according to US standards, not those in effect or in use in the country of origin or where it is primarily collected. And to my knowledge, this is exactly what is done because collectors elsewhere don't use the Sheldon scale (except maybe in isolation) and standards of "market acceptability" either don't exist at all or it they do, presumably differ from those here.

[Scott A]

Well I have read this entire thread. I will say first and foremost that I am a collector. I have dealt with NGC and PCGS countless times. PCGS used to have some pretty terrible customer service, but it has improved quite a bit. NGC has always had very good customer service from my experiences. And I have called and emailed them many times, often for problems I used to have with the Registry in it's earlier days. Both services have made plenty of errors that I have seen as a mere collector. Some they have owned up to, some were more opinion based. But overall I have been satisfied a good 80% of the time as far as grading goes, and about 90% of the time as far as customer service. Maybe I've been lucky, maybe I approached them about issues that were fixable or serviceable. I imagine if they are flooded with a mountain of orders that I can't expect my single order, either large or small, to be their priority. I will say that NGC has a nicer system for kind of tracking your coins through their grading system online than does PCGS. But at least both have that going for them now. Believe me, I would love for my coins all graded overnight (in my fantasies), but I try to be understanding that the world in general won't always work in my favor. I have gotten turn-around times from both services faster and slower than the estimated timeframe. My most important criteria really is that they grade and describe my coins accurately the first time so I don't have to return them for any reason.

What I would really love is if there is some particular problem with them understanding a coin that they are not familiar with, that they call the customer to discuss the concern or issue with, not just send the coin back stating things like "unable to authenticate". These would be infrequent inquiries, and they certainly have our contact information on the submission form. One of these two companies actually compensated me for doing this twice and made up for the issue in a very fair manner.

Now this is all based on my own experiences, I have no idea what everyone else is really going through. All I can say in my Social Worker way is try not to let these things ruin a great hobby for you. Because sometimes you do actually win.