REALLY NEED OPINIONS! SOMETHING SMELLS ROTTEN 2 2

[AM Cards]

I sent out a 50 card bulk in mid-December and it has already been shipped.  I sent it in mid-December, so it wasn't sitting long before being marked as scheduled for grading.  They were pretty up to date at that point on opening packages.  Is this becoming the new norm, or just a lucky break for me.  We'll see - I just sent in another bulk order rec'd on 2/11, so we'll see how long that takes.

CSG7312239121

1018529

12/23/21

50

305

Bulk (50-card minimum)

Shipped

2/22/22

 

[johnhal]

Fast...

received 12/8 shipped 1/27

received 12/27 shipped 2/14

[Fredguy11:11]

I sent in 11 cards for economy turnaround 40 days.  CSG received them less than a week after I mailed them out. They received on them on Feb 22nd.  In submission tracking I had the gradesand a return shipping date to me of Feb 24th. As I write this it still 45 minutes until it is actually Feb 24th. My cards went through the entire CSG grading process in 24 hours. Someone is yanking my chain. That is not possible. In addition all the grades were significantly lower than expected. Can someone explain how the highest sub-graded Namath card got the lowest overall grade??? By far the allegedly best centered card by 2.5 full points and all other subs the same or close enough got a lower grade.  See below.  Am I nuckin futs or do I have an issue here? Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

 

[I dont have one]

Agree. My turnaround time was way faster than expected which I guess is good? But the grades were way lower than expected. Very unreasonable as far as I’m concerned. I won’t be sending any more cards here. Waste of money. 

Edited February 24, 2022 by I dont have one

[I dont have one]

I sent a 50 card bulk order in January 11 and it’s already been shipped so it doesn’t appear you were just lucky. I haven’t received it yet but after looking at the online grades I’m in no hurry. What good is fast when their grades are so horrible? Outrageously tough and I totally disagree with their scoring. I’ll have to break them all out of their holders and send them somewhere else now for regrading.  First and last time I’ll send cards here. Total waste of $1,000+ 

[John Fischer]

I can add to that.  My bulk submission was turned around in 8 days after submission.  129 cards.  So disappointed in the grades that I have to go elsewhere. I don't want to pay PSA prices, but here's an example:

the tommy John, 66 Rose, Marichal, etc... of course these are lower rated cards. They're old. They weren't protected well in the early years of their lives. I get that.

but what is the hatred for the Lisa Leslie, the Jordans, the Strawberry?  I'll post the pics of the cards and would love to hear your thoughts.  Again, the turnaround time and bulk pricing is fantastic. But not one Griffey came back better than an 8, some were 5.5's. I'm not new. I get the hobby and the business. But, CSG had a great shot at replacing or at least competing with PSA and I think they've missed their opportunity.  Again, let me know your thoughts as I see no creases or major defects that should warrant such low grades.

So, from the three that you see and the grades they were given, am I missing something and if so, please let me know what.  I really would appreciate it as I don't want to submit cards again that bring these types of grades.

Thanks!

 

 

 

[Cardsharp1]

WOW John Fisher those are some shockingly harsh grades. Your cards look better than that to me.

Edited February 24, 2022 by Cardsharp1
omitted word

[Kon_Jelly]

On 2/24/2022 at 4:08 AM, I dont have one said:

I sent a 50 card bulk order in January 11 and it’s already been shipped so it doesn’t appear you were just lucky. I haven’t received it yet but after looking at the online grades I’m in no hurry. What good is fast when their grades are so horrible? Outrageously tough and I totally disagree with their scoring. I’ll have to break them all out of their holders and send them somewhere else now for regrading.  First and last time I’ll send cards here. Total waste of $1,000+ 

You say "horrible" but pretty much everyone else would say "accurate." 

Those of us who know how to evaluate cards before sending in are rarely surprised by the grades CSG gives. 

[Kon_Jelly]

On 2/24/2022 at 8:53 AM, Cardsharp1 said:

WOW John Fisher those are some shockingly grades. Your cards look better than that to me.

There is literally no way to tell from those photos if there is damage to the surface or to the back of the cards. Just because a card presents well in a slab/photo does not mean that the card is a gem. 

 

On 2/23/2022 at 11:29 PM, Fredguy11:11 said:

I sent in 11 cards for economy turnaround 40 days.  CSG received them less than a week after I mailed them out. They received on them on Feb 22nd.  In submission tracking I had the gradesand a return shipping date to me of Feb 24th. As I write this it still 45 minutes until it is actually Feb 24th. My cards went through the entire CSG grading process in 24 hours. Someone is yanking my chain. That is not possible. In addition all the grades were significantly lower than expected. Can someone explain how the highest sub-graded Namath card got the lowest overall grade??? By far the allegedly best centered card by 2.5 full points and all other subs the same or close enough got a lower grade.  See below.  Am I nuckin futs or do I have an issue here? Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

 

The sub-grades do not get averaged to make your final grade, so the reason your one Namath got a 4.5 has to do with the corners. The overall grade cannot be more than one point higher than the lowest sub-grade, so the highest possible on that card would be a 5 overall. The corners must present pretty bad for it to keep it at a 4.5 and not a 5. 

[John Fischer]

Thanks @Cardsharp1. Glad I'm not the only one. And, @Kon_Jelly, you are 100% correct. However, having been a collector for 40 years, I feel like I know when a card has defects this extreme that would warrant such low grades. But, again, you're correct, 2D screengrabs never can tell the whole story. I think I'm mostly disappointed in the Leslie and Strawberry. With the exception of some centering, these are such nice cards with sharp corners and surfaces. Oh well, it is now in the past and we must move on.  Good weekend to you both.  Thanks again.

[Fredguy11:11]

On 2/24/2022 at 9:19 AM, Kon_Jelly said:

There is literally no way to tell from those photos if there is damage to the surface or to the back of the cards. Just because a card presents well in a slab/photo does not mean that the card is a gem. 

 

The sub-grades do not get averaged to make your final grade, so the reason your one Namath got a 4.5 has to do with the corners. The overall grade cannot be more than one point higher than the lowest sub-grade, so the highest possible on that card would be a 5 overall. The corners must present pretty bad for it to keep it at a 4.5 and not a 5. 

Ok if that's the way it's done it's crazy. I had another card.. Subs 7,7,7,3. Grade was 3.5. Basically the 7s in 3 categories are irrelevant and in no way offset the 3 surface. What would a 10, 10, 20, 2 overall grade be, a 2???

[Fredguy11:11]

10, 10,10, 1 is what I meant

[I dont have one]

I’m not new at this and have sent cards in to multiple grading services (PSA, SGC, HGA) in the past so I certainly have reference to judge grades by. I examine my cards with a lighted magnified jewelers loupe before I send them in. While I don’t expect all 9.5’s and 10’s the grades I got here were absurd. Mostly 8’s. I don't send in 8’s for grading. Plenty of others on here agree with my assessment of this service so I’d say you're misinformed if you think “most” would say they are accurate. They are not. I only wish I read these boards before I wasted my money here. 

Edited February 24, 2022 by I dont have one

[Kon_Jelly]

On 2/24/2022 at 1:14 PM, Fredguy11:11 said:

10, 10,10, 1 is what I meant

You'd get a 1.5 or a 2. That's how it works. BGS has a similar method.

[Kon_Jelly]

On 2/24/2022 at 2:11 PM, I dont have one said:

I’m not new at this and have sent cards in to multiple grading services (PSA, SGC, HGA) in the past so I certainly have reference to judge grades by. I examine my cards with a lighted magnified jewelers loupe before I send them in. While I don’t expect all 9.5’s and 10’s the grades I got here were absurd. Mostly 8’s. I don't send in 8’s for grading. Plenty of others on here agree with my assessment of this service so I’d say you're misinformed if you think “most” would say they are accurate. They are not. I only wish I read these boards before I wasted my money here. 

Plenty of trolls on here agree with you, sure. Notice how it's always someone with just one or two posts and that's it? 

I'm sure HGA would love to give you 9s and 10s for the cards you sent in. Their AI should be up and running by now.

[I dont have one]

You can have whatever opinion you like about the grading here. No big deal to me. That said Im also entitled to my take on it. I’m knowledgeable and experienced on the subject of card grading. Plainly put consumers spending their money vote with their wallets and CSG will never get any more business from me. I’ve tried a few different ones now but SGC will be the only other service I ever consider besides PSA going forward. For now I’ll sit back and wait for PSA to reopen their value service. The grades there are more fair and the resale values higher on top of it. I should have done that to begin with. Impatience cost me. Lesson learned. 

Edited February 24, 2022 by I dont have one

[robotur]

Maybe I am in the minority but I like CSG strict grading and the price point at $12 buck a card is just right for the cards i am submitting.  I got back about 500 cards back so far and 90% have been 9 or 9.5 and five 10s.  The turnaround times are improving.  In terms PSA, it still may be a while before Value tier opens up, based on PSA podcast they still have 5.8 million cards in backlog. The resale value is a concern but over time this should also improve.

good luck with your submissions

 

[PunsRTonsOfFun]

On 2/24/2022 at 5:12 PM, I dont have one said:

The grades there are more fair 

You can be honest and just say their grades are easier instead of pretending it's something otherwise. Denial never benefits anyone. I can't wait til PSA's recent (and long overdue) increase in standards creates all sorts of chaos in the hobby. A PSA 10 from five years ago would barely be a PSA 8 today. When those older PSA cards start hitting the market, people are going to notice.

[AM Cards]

Who decided to change the original title of this post?  LOL. nothing rotten here.  I've been happy with CSG and the grades I've gotten.  Great alternative while PSA is expensive right now.

[I dont have one]

On 2/25/2022 at 9:23 AM, PunsRTonsOfFun said:

You can be honest and just say their grades are easier instead of pretending it's something otherwise. Denial never benefits anyone. I can't wait til PSA's recent (and long overdue) increase in standards creates all sorts of chaos in the hobby. A PSA 10 from five years ago would barely be a PSA 8 today. When those older PSA cards start hitting the market, people are going to notice.

Semantics. I pretend nothing. The facts are what they are. Call it what you want. A fifty cards submission inspected with a professional grade lighted magnified jewelers loupe used many times previously submitting to multiple other graders with MUCH better results produced zero 10, zero 9.5, 1 nine and the other 49 cards 8.5 and below with this joke of a grading service. It’s freaking ridiculous. I’ve NEVER had anything even remotely close to this bad on cards I’ve sent with ANY other grader I’ve used. And I’ve graded hundreds of cards the past five years with 4 different grading services. My position is people would be foolish to spend their money grading here considering their unrealistic low scoring and the very low opinion CSG holds among collectors buying graded cards on resale values. I’m done with this subject and this grading service. I’m logging out and never coming back here. Anyone reading this, don’t say you weren’t warned. 

[Fredguy11:11]

On 2/23/2022 at 1:57 PM, AM Cards said:

I sent out a 50 card bulk in mid-December and it has already been shipped.  I sent it in mid-December, so it wasn't sitting long before being marked as scheduled for grading.  They were pretty up to date at that point on opening packages.  Is this becoming the new norm, or just a lucky break for me.  We'll see - I just sent in another bulk order rec'd on 2/11, so we'll see how long that takes.

CSG7312239121

1018529

12/23/21

50

305

Bulk (50-card minimum)

Shipped

2/22/22

 

My turnaround time from when they received the cards to when they posted my grades was literally 24 hours. How carefully did they look at the cards. I love the speed but that seems crazy and haphazard.  

[I dont have one]

On 2/24/2022 at 9:05 AM, Kon_Jelly said:

On 2/24/2022 at 9:05 AM, Kon_Jelly said:

Edited February 28, 2022 by I dont have one

[I dont have one]

On 2/24/2022 at 1:13 PM, Fredguy11:11 said:

 

Edited February 28, 2022 by I dont have one

[John Fischer]

On 2/24/2022 at 7:53 AM, Cardsharp1 said:

WOW John Fisher those are some shockingly harsh grades. Your cards look better than that to me.

@Cardsharp1 - just following up with you on the Strawberry, Leslie and Jordan grades I received.  I emailed CSG to ask for notes or rationale for the grades and received this message, "Thank you for reaching out to CSG. Unfortunately, there are no Grader's notes available for your cards at this time. Although we cannot advise on why a card received a specific grade, we can assure you each card was reviewed by multiple Graders before the final grade was agreed upon."

This is unique to me as I have inquired in the past to both ISA and SGC regarding grades and both were able to provide me with a grader's notes or reasons for the grade. In fact, in both cases, they were absolutely correct and I missed something when I looked at the card and thought it was worthy of grading. (one time there was a crease all the way across the back of a card - turns out I had 2 copies and submitted the wrong one). Anyway, I am sending these three cards to SGC for a re-grade.  I'll let you know how it comes back.  I have looked all three of them over and, again, being a 40 veteran of card collecting, have found nothing to warrant such low grades. Will keep you in the loop.  Happy collecting!

[Matt Zai]

I sent in 90 cards and they have already graded them....def disappointed in many of the grades.  The crazy part is I KNOW one card from a 1986 Topps football cards had a bent corner, BUT YET IT IS COMING BACK with the highest grade in the bunch......follow up with upload.