Is this asking too much of PCGS at this time?
drddm
Posts: 5,384 ✭✭✭✭✭
With the long turnaround times for grading these days, is it completely unreasonable to ask PCGS to hire another grader (maybe for a couple months just to assist in catching up) and some other necessary staff to help with the processing of the enormous amount of coins they have backlogged in their system?
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I don't think hiring one additional grader would have a significant impact on turnaround times. I believe they would need several new professional graders, a half a dozen additional support staff and capital investment in associated equipment.
With the current state of the U.S. labor market it's unlikely there is a cost-effective solution in the near term.
Only PCGS can say for sure, but my guess is that one grader and a helper or two would not have much impact in the near term.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
It's a business decision that only their management can make. Members of this board don't have the background data necessary to even discuss employment issues.
I think the management at PCGS is aware of the situation and are working on a solution.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
I think it is getting better now. I just got one walkthrough order back today. It is much faster than my last walkthrough order. I still have 6 orders out there. I still have two orders with no TV yet but I will wait in line. I don't want to push PCGS to get my TV even though I really love to see the nice TV when it is available.
It's not just coins and it's not just PCGS.
I ventured into graded comic books recently with two of the very few comics that I ever owned. The wait times in that arena are also very protracted.
I suppose it's all partly due to that pandemic I heard about, and also increased volume.
This weekend I heard that the mint has sent pallets of silver eagles to PCGS for grading. If this is true they should make them wait longer. Not the collector / dealer who has real numismatically relevant coins. The silver eagles from the mint most likely are already no lower than a ms67. All this for nothing more than silver bullion.
I'm pretty sure that the people who collect silver eagles consider them to be "numismatically relevant".
I went to the Baltimore show...I had to wait in line to submit coins. There had to have been 5-6 employees just handling the line. I doubt seriously they brought all their employees to do a single show for 3 days. Others had to be at the Office dealing with coins that were mailed, answering phones, and grading. My point is, it's not necessarily a shortage of graders - it's an increase in collectors wanting coins graded also.
WS
I'm guessing that if you asked PCGS how many people they were looking to hire right now, the number would be significantly higher than 1.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Worked in more than a few organizations in my life and not one of my bosses was ever accepting of lack of ability to accomplish in a timely manner. Most offered "do more with less, but get it done."
As soon as collectors stop buying slabbed silver eagles, retailers will stop sending them to PCGS.
And as soon as people stop sending silver eagles to PCGS, you'll be paying $100+ to grade your "relevant" coin.
Good point. How much do you suppose a first class letter would cost if the post office stopped accepting advertising material for delivery?
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hmm
so if i had a choice: either $1 first class stamps (i just raised up the value for the sake of these comments) or no junk mail advertisements.....
so long as i could redeem junk mail for 1 free stamp (at current stamp value, which would be $1 or more) each time i received one if they slipped through the system, i'd for sure go for the $1 stamp.
this is a bit of sensitive area for me. i make my donations to various organizations and i don't do the regular monthly, so afterwards i have to call them and get removed from the list BUT in ensuing months of receiving various solicitation letters from not only the place i donate to but usually around half a dozen others. so i make say $50 in donations and receive 2-3x that in junk mail value. ugh
this last batch of donations has officially and permanently changed how i will donate to big organizations in the future. (been through this several times over the years)
ok, if i am making posts like this, it must be past my bedtime. so if i don't stop now, this will be the inevitable outcome:
Nice one Dave 😄
Depends on what they see in the future…..sustained business going forward, makes sense to hire what they think they need to service the orders. However if they see that this is a blip then it makes sense to just let the backlog grow until business starts to taper off and they can work through the backlog. So what’s the future hold for them?
My attitude about junk mail changed years ago.
I was looking out the window at work one day at the army of landscapers mulching and primping the greenery. I was lamenting how the company was spending money on such things and a coworker reminded me, "that's someone's job".
So, junk mail to me is a minor inconvenience that represents a range of jobs from the paper, printing, marketing, graphics, and eventually recycling industries.
But resources get reallocated. Stop landscaping and your lawn mower would be working through the backlog at PCGS.
@jmlanzaf .... Funny comment, but true.... Cheers, RickO
Hiring another grader at one coin per minute could help
I can just see it now ... an endless parade of "do you think the intern graded my coin" threads.
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
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i'm game for that, especially if the intern(s) is one of us.
i could be game. grade/authenticate coins by day, surf and fish by night?
14 more days and my two current orders will have taken longer than my last one that took over three months.
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value. Zero. Voltaire. Ebay coinbowlllc